The King and the Clown

The King and the Clown (왕의 남자, Wang-ui namja) is a 2005 South Korean film, adapted from the 2000 Korean play titled “Yi”, (“You”) about Yeonsangun of Joseon, a Joseon dynasty king who falls in love with a court clown who mocks him. The movie is based on a small passage from the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty that briefly mentions the king’s favorite clown. It was the highest grossing (over $85,000,000 in domestic receipts) Korean film in history with 12.3 million viewers, surpassing total admissions of Silmido and Taegukgi until the horror film The Host surpassed the record in summer of 2006. Production costs were relatively modest for a Korean film, approximately $4.5 million dollars.

There are alternative titles of this movie: The King’s Men or The King’s Man (the literal translation of the Korean title) and All the King’s Men (working title).

This film was chosen by Korea as its submission for the Oscars in the best foreign film category.