PEPPERMINT CANDY | 박하사탕

SOUTH KOREA | 1999 | COLOR | DCP | 129’ | KOREAN
Beginning with the desperate cry of a man who takes his own life, the film travels backwards in time unraveling across seven chapters the twenty-year journey of a man crushed by existential despair. From this point onwards, Lee Chang-dong’s string of masterworks begins. In “Peppermint Candy” the director crafts a contemporary, magnificent tragedy, casting his protagonist as both perpetrator and victim of the traumas of modern South Korean history. His collapse arises from the relentless dissection of pivotal events. Through his harrowing journey, the film shockingly addresses how the regime’s violence, political turmoil and social upheavals crushed the innocence of an entire generation. Thodoris Karamanolis

DIRECTOR: Lee Chang-dong
SCREENWRITER: Lee Chang-dong
DoP: Hyung-ku Kim
MUSIC: Lee Jae-jin
EDITOR: Hyun Kim
PRINCIPAL CAST: Sul Kyung-gu, Moon So-ri, Kim Yeo-jin, Suh Jung, Park Soo-young, Park Sung-yeon

LEE CHANG-DONG

Acclaimed South Korean film director, screenwriter and novelist. Born in Daegu in 1954, he began his artistic career in theater and literature. He transitioned to filmmaking in his early forties, quickly establishing himself as a defining figure of Korean Cinema. He also served as South Korea’s Minister of Culture and Tourism from 2003 to 2004. His celebrated filmography is characterized by profound humanism, complex characters, and descriptions of societal trauma. His work frequently explores themes of grief, alienation and redemption.

FILMOGRAPHY
2026 Possible Love
2018 Burning
2010 Poetry
2007 Secret Sunshine
2002 Oasis
1999 Peppermint Candy
1997 Green Fish