# Obsessed (인간중독) (2014 film)
**Obsessed** (인간중독) is a 2014 South Korean erotic melodrama directed by Kim Dae-woo, set in 1969 during the final phase of the [Vietnam War](https://www.edgepedia.org/vietnam-war), in which a decorated army colonel begins a secret affair with the wife of his subordinate inside a military officers' housing compound[1](https://cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=76289). It was produced by Iron Package and distributed by NEW[1](https://cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=76289).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director | Kim Dae-woo (born 1962), who wrote *The Scarlet Letter* and *Untold Scandal* and directed *Forbidden Love* and *The Servant*[1](https://cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=76289) • [2](https://www.koreafilm.co.kr/news/news2014_5-24.htm) |
| Cast | Song Seung-heon (Kim Jin-pyeong), Im Ji-yeon (Jong Ga-heun), Jo Yeo-jeong (Lee Sook-jin), On Joo-wan (Kyeong Woo-jin); supporting roles include Yu Hae-jin, Jeon Hye-jin, Bae Sung-woo, and Park Hyuk-kwon[1](https://cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=76289) • [3](https://www.ajunews.com/view/20140516193836327) |
| Setting | 1969, the late Vietnam War, in a rear-area army compound with a strict hierarchy[1](https://cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=76289) |
| Release | May 14, 2014, moved up one day from the planned May 15; rated teenagers-not-admitted (청불)[4](https://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0106_201405081335114174_001) |
| Box office | 89,081 admissions on opening day, first place; 1,000,020 admissions by May 24; final total 1,441,964 admissions and 11,285,117,400 won[5](https://www.etoday.co.kr/news/view/915784) • [2](https://www.koreafilm.co.kr/news/news2014_5-24.htm) • [6](https://mcst.go.kr/servlets/eduport/front/upload/UplDownloadFile?pFileName=2014%EB%85%84%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD%EC%98%81%ED%99%94%EC%82%B0%EC%97%85%EA%B2%B0%EC%82%B0.pdf&pPath=0408010000&pRealName=1427420073902.pdf) |
| Distinction | First teenagers-not-admitted Korean film of 2014 to pass 1 million admissions[2](https://www.koreafilm.co.kr/news/news2014_5-24.htm) |
| Awards | 2014 Korean Film Critics Association Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Cho Yeo-jeong) and Best New Actress (Im Ji-yeon)[7](https://koreafilm.net/movie/20133322) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and setting
The story takes place in 1969, described in pre-release coverage as a chaotic era of war. Kim Jin-pyeong ([Song Seung-heon](https://www.edgepedia.org/song-seung-heon)) is a respected army officer who served in Vietnam; his wife Lee Sook-jin (Jo Yeo-jeong) wants him to rise further to general. When his subordinate Kyeong Woo-jin (On Joo-wan) moves into the officers' housing compound with his wife Jong Ga-heun (Im Ji-yeon), a woman of Chinese-merchant (hwaqiao) background, Jin-pyeong and Ga-heun fall into an unexpected love affair[1](https://cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=76289).
The director explained the title as a compressed expression of ultimate love: "the thing you cannot endure without, the thing you cannot breathe without"[8](https://view.asiae.co.kr/article/2014050804115455855). Reviews noted that the war itself stays offscreen; Jin-pyeong's inner damage is conveyed through his expression and late-1960s props rather than battle scenes, and the military is shown as an institution eager to make him a hero while colleagues maneuver for advantage[9](https://m.hrising.com/movie/?keyword=&mode=view&no=1648&page=221&sort=date).
## Production and cast
Kim Dae-woo had built a reputation for erotic period melodrama: he wrote the screenplays for *The Scarlet Letter* (2004) and *[Untold Scandal](https://www.edgepedia.org/untold-scandal)* (2003) and directed *Forbidden Love* (2006) and *The Servant* (2010)[2](https://www.koreafilm.co.kr/news/news2014_5-24.htm). The film held what its distributor called the first production press conference in Korea for a 19-rated film, at CGV Apgujeong in Seoul on April 17, 2014, hosted by comedian Shin Dong-yup, where an adults-only trailer was shown[10](https://www.khan.co.kr/article/201404071148031).
**Casting.** Song Seung-heon, returning to the screen after four years, played the colonel; he said at the press screening that he had prepared for the exposure scenes and, trusting the director, did not even ask about the level of explicitness while filming[11](https://en.seoul.co.kr/news/2014/06/12/20140612500139). For Im Ji-yeon, born in 1990 and then a student at the Korea National University of Arts acting program, the film was her feature debut[12](https://www.donga.com/news/Entertainment/article/all/20140507/63312303/4). She said the fear of exposure was real but that her greater concern was playing the role well, and that she had wept when first reading the script[5](https://www.etoday.co.kr/news/view/915784).
The film contains four love scenes: one between Song Seung-heon and Jo Yeo-jeong, and three between Song Seung-heon and Im Ji-yeon[12](https://www.donga.com/news/Entertainment/article/all/20140507/63312303/4).
## Release and box office
The release date was moved up one day from May 15 to May 14, 2014[4](https://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0106_201405081335114174_001). Despite the adults-only rating, the film opened in first place with 89,081 admissions on the Korea Box-office Information System tally, and drew about 100,000 admissions the next day, beating Hollywood releases such as *Godzilla* as well as Korean competitors *The Target* and *The Pirates*[5](https://www.etoday.co.kr/news/view/915784).
On May 24, eleven days after release, it became the first teenagers-not-admitted Korean film of 2014 to pass 1 million admissions, reaching 1,000,020; the distributor noted this was about twice as fast as *Lust, Caution*, which took 18 days to reach the same mark[2](https://www.koreafilm.co.kr/news/news2014_5-24.htm). The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's 2014 industry settlement report records final cumulative admissions of 1,441,964 and a gross of 11,285,117,400 won across 682 screens[6](https://mcst.go.kr/servlets/eduport/front/upload/UplDownloadFile?pFileName=2014%EB%85%84%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD%EC%98%81%ED%99%94%EC%82%B0%EC%97%85%EA%B2%B0%EC%82%B0.pdf&pPath=0408010000&pRealName=1427420073902.pdf). The film also ranked first among Korean films on Naver's N Store VOD service for 2014[6](https://mcst.go.kr/servlets/eduport/front/upload/UplDownloadFile?pFileName=2014%EB%85%84%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD%EC%98%81%ED%99%94%EC%82%B0%EC%97%85%EA%B2%B0%EC%82%B0.pdf&pPath=0408010000&pRealName=1427420073902.pdf), and became available on IPTV, online, and mobile platforms from June 12, 2014[11](https://en.seoul.co.kr/news/2014/06/12/20140612500139).
## Reception
Pre-release coverage repeatedly drew comparisons to [Ang Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/ang-lee)'s *Lust, Caution* (2007): Im Ji-yeon was called "the Korean Tang Wei," and commentators noted the resemblance of the poster and trailer to that film[13](https://enter.etoday.co.kr/news/view/7465) • [14](https://www.donga.com/news/amp/all/20140508/63311379/1).
**Critical response.** Reviews were mixed. The Asia Economy review described a film that opens with daring and ends in *sinpa* (Korean melodramatic excess), while crediting Jo Yeo-jeong's status-obsessed wife and Yu Hae-jin's waltz instructor with supplying wit that kept the story from turning stale[8](https://view.asiae.co.kr/article/2014050804115455855). A later retrospective account noted that the film drew harsh criticism for relying on the actress's exposure rather than artistic merit, despite its 1.44 million admissions[15](https://www.kookje.co.kr/news2011/asp/newsbody.asp?code=0500&key=20170531.99002013100). The Cinematheque entry records that the French magazine *Cahiers du Cinéma* called it "a sensual masterpiece recreating East Asia's *Dangerous Liaisons* in military uniform," and argues that the aesthetic achievement was overshadowed at release by the controversy over the nude scenes[16](https://www.cinematheque.co.kr/cine/20133322).
At the 2014 Korean Film Critics Association Awards, Cho Yeo-jeong won Best Supporting Actress and Im Ji-yeon won Best New Actress[7](https://koreafilm.net/movie/20133322).
## References
1. [정한석 (2014). "[Coming Soon] 혼돈의 시대에 피어난 스캔들 <인간중독>", Cine 21](https://cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=76289)
2. [김철연 (2014). "<인간중독> 2014년 첫 19금 한국영화 100만 돌파", 코리아필름](https://www.koreafilm.co.kr/news/news2014_5-24.htm)
3. [권혁기 (2014). "[인터뷰] 2014년 최고의 신예 임지연에게 '인간중독'이란?", 아주경제](https://www.ajunews.com/view/20140516193836327)
4. [YTN (2014). "송승헌·임지연 '인간중독' 하루 일찍 본다"](https://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0106_201405081335114174_001)
5. [최두선 (2014). "'인간중독' 임지연 "첫 노출 연기 부담됐지만…절실했다"", 이투데이](https://www.etoday.co.kr/news/view/915784)
6. [문화체육관광부, 2014년 한국영화산업결산](https://mcst.go.kr/servlets/eduport/front/upload/UplDownloadFile?pFileName=2014%EB%85%84%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD%EC%98%81%ED%99%94%EC%82%B0%EC%97%85%EA%B2%B0%EC%82%B0.pdf&pPath=0408010000&pRealName=1427420073902.pdf)
7. [Obsessed (2014), Korea Film](https://koreafilm.net/movie/20133322)
8. [조민서 (2014). "시작은 파격, 끝은 신파…영화 '인간중독'", 아시아경제](https://view.asiae.co.kr/article/2014050804115455855)
9. [미디어라이징 (2014). "[인간중독] 리뷰: 설레는 로맨스로 그려진 '치정극'"](https://m.hrising.com/movie/?keyword=&mode=view&no=1648&page=221&sort=date)
10. [하경헌 (2014). "송승헌 멜로영화 '인간중독' 국내 최초 '19금' 제작보고회", 경향신문](https://www.khan.co.kr/article/201404071148031)
11. [서울신문 (2014). "'인간중독' VOD 개시 "수위조차 묻지 않았다""](https://en.seoul.co.kr/news/2014/06/12/20140612500139)
12. [동아일보 (2014). "'인간중독' 송승헌과 파격 베드신 임지연은 누구?"](https://www.donga.com/news/Entertainment/article/all/20140507/63312303/4)
13. [비즈엔터 (2014). "'인간중독', 야한 걸 기대했다면 착각은 자유 [리뷰]"](https://enter.etoday.co.kr/news/view/7465)
14. [동아일보 (2014). "송승헌의 '인간중독' 벤치마킹인가 모방인가"](https://www.donga.com/news/amp/all/20140508/63311379/1)
15. [신동욱 (2017). "스크린 편성 '인간중독'은 … 송승헌x임지연 파격 베드신", 국제신문](https://www.kookje.co.kr/news2011/asp/newsbody.asp?code=0500&key=20170531.99002013100)
16. [인간중독 (Obsessed), Cinematheque](https://www.cinematheque.co.kr/cine/20133322)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 2010 to 2014 › Romantic and coming-of-age drama films*
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