Yokai and Other Monsters: From Asian Folklore to Cinema | Out of Competition | Online
South Korea, 1994/ remastered 2025, 107’, Korean
Directed by: Park Heon-su
Screenplay: Park Heon-su
Cinematography (color): Koo Joong-mo
Editing: Park Soon-duk
Art Direction: Kim Yu-jun
Music: Lee Dong-joon
Producers: Shin Chul,
Lee Mun-hyeong, Oh Jungwan
Cast: Ko So-young (Hara), Jung Woo-sung (Hyeok), Dokgo Young-jae (Reaper No. 69), Bang Eun-hee (Min)
Date of First Release in Territory: July 23rd, 1994
The Fox with Nine Tails is set in contemporary Seoul, but it opens in the underworld. An official decree signed by King Yeomra, supreme ruler of the underworld, dispatches Grim Reaper No. 69 on a mission to earth to track down the world’s last remaining fox of nine tails (gumiho). The gumiho, who takes the form of a young woman named Hara, has made a mockery of the natural order by attempting to become human. Reaper No. 69 must capture her and bring her to the underworld, or failing that, kill her and return with her fox body.
Meanwhile in Seoul, a young taxi driver named Hyeok is struggling to make ends meet. One day he is running away from some thugs, and ends up being rescued and taken home by a beautiful young woman. There is something about this woman that is different from anyone Hyeok has ever known, and soon he is falling in love. But one day a mysterious man approaches him and warns him that this woman is far more dangerous than she looks.
Park Heon-su’s The Fox with Nine Tails is an unusual blend of mythology about the afterlife, and the legendary figure of the nine-tailed fox, all set within contemporary times. In this sense, it was highly innovative: previous gumiho stories on film or television generally took place in historical, rural settings. The film’s tone as well – a mix of humor, romance and spectacle – was not what audiences would have associated with the gumiho in 1994, although virtually all future depictions of the gumiho in Korea would adopt a similar tone and style.
The 1990s were an era of transition for the Korean film industry. Although it would be a few years before the results would be seen at the box office, young producers like Shin Chul were in the process of transforming the ways in which commercial films were conceived, developed, financed and shot. Major conglomerates such as Samsung and LG were just becoming involved in financing and distributing local films. Filmmakers were experimenting with genres, and rethinking how to market Korean films to audiences.
The Fox with Nine Tails is a work in which you can see that transformation underway. In particular, it holds a special place in Korean film history for being the first local feature to incorporate CGI effects. The transformations of the shape shifting gumiho and other visual effects – adding up to 5 minutes of footage – were created over many months in partnership with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology. This would be the first step for what would ultimately evolve into South Korea’s powerful digital effects industry.
One other thing this film is remembered for is its casting. Hara was played by Ko So-young in her first leading role on the big screen, though she had already achieved fame the year before for her appearance in the TV drama Mother’s Sea. The role of Hyeok was taken by a young man with no prior acting experience, named Jung Woo-sung. Although his inexperience shows through at some points in the film, we can also see the screen presence that would turn him into one of the industry’s biggest stars over the next three decades. Sure enough, Ko and Jung would re-team again three years later for Kim Sung-soo’s much-loved 1997 film Beat, securing their status as the iconic screen couple of the 1990s.
The Fox with Nine Tails did not live up to commercial expectations upon its release in 1994, but watching it today, one feels a certain energy that is hard to find in contemporary Korean cinema. Perhaps it is the energy that comes from attempting something completely new. Although judged somewhat harshly by audiences in the 1990s, it has withstood the test of time better than might be expected, and its place in Korean film history is secure.
Park Heon-su
Park Heon-su (b. 1959) studied law at Konkuk University before enrolling in the Korean Academy of Film Arts. He first received attention as the screenwriter of director Kim Ui-seok’s groundbreaking Marriage Story, which earned him a Best Screenplay award at the 1992 Blue Dragon Awards. He made his feature directing debut with The Fox with Nine Tails, and went on to direct five features in total. His final film, sex comedy My Secret Partner, screened at the 14th FEFF. Currently he teaches film directing at Sangmyung University.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
1994 – The Fox with Nine Tails
1996 – The Real Man
2000 – Chu Noh-Myoung Bakery
2004 – Two Guys
2011 – My Secret Partner