Radio Star

Radio Star (2006)

라디오 스타

One-time wonder returns as a dj in…

Once a famous singer, Choi Gon is reduced to doing gigs in cafes after being involved in a scandal. When Choi Gon gets arrested after an argument, Park Minsu, his manager, seeks help from a director of a radio station, who agrees, with a condition.

Date of release
2006-09-27
TMDB
6.8 / 10 (15)
Runtime
1h 55m
Genres
Drama, Comedy
Director
Lee Joon-ik

Casting

Interesting facts

Radio Star is a 2006 South Korean comedy-drama film directed by Lee Joon-ik, starring Park Joong-hoon and Ahn Sung-ki in a story about an aging, has-been rock star who, plagued by debt and run-ins with the law, unwillingly begins working as the DJ of a small radio show in the countryside, with his loyal manager of 20 years in tow.

Production

After making Korean cinematic history with his record-breaking hit period film King and the Clown (2005), director Lee Joon-ik wanted his follow-up to be a smaller-scaled, character-driven film. Like King and the Clown, Lee wanted his next film to also be about the lives of outsiders, saying, "I think the tragedy of capitalist society is that so many people endlessly struggle to become part of the mainstream.

Actor Park Joong-hoon (who once experienced the life of a KBS 2FM DJ in the 1990s) was cast first, and for the role opposite him, Park suggested his real-life longtime friend Ahn Sung-ki, with whom he had starred in three previous films, namely, Chilsu and Mansu (1988), Two Cops (1993) and Nowhere to Hide (1999). Ahn said, "If we did not sustain our 20-year friendship, we could not have done justice to the touching scenes in Radio Star.

Members of real-life punk rock band No Brain appeared in supporting roles as a fictional band who helps the character Gon find enthusiasm for rock music again. They also contributed their songs to the soundtrack, which is a mix of old pop classics and modern rock.

Radio Star was a co-production between Achim Pictures and Lee's own production shingle Cineworld, was distributed locally by Cinema Service and sold internationally by co-investor CJ Entertainment. It was filmed on location in Yeongwol County, a remote area in the mountainous Gangwon Province. After three months of shooting, the film wrapped on July 8, 2006.

When asked about the film's themes, Lee said, "Before the advent of television, most people including myself learned a lot about life through radio. But these days we depend on visual media. If visual media is regarded as a channel for spreading fully constructed images, then the radio can be seen as one that encourages people to use their imagination. Success does not necessarily mean happiness, nor does failure mean unhappiness.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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