Empire of Lust

Empire of Lust (Korean: 순수의 시대; RR: Sunsuui sidae; lit. "The Age of Innocence") is a 2015 South Korean period action film starring Shin Ha-kyun, Jang Hyuk, Kang Han-na and Kang Ha-neul.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]}

Empire of Lust
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ahn Sang-hoon
Written by	Kim Se-hee
Produced by	Kim Min-gi Bae Won-gyu
Starring	Shin Ha-kyun Jang Hyuk Kang Han-na Kang Ha-neul
Cinematography	Son Won-ho Ju Seong-rim Yu Eok
Edited by	Shin Min-kyung
Music by	Park Ki-heon
Production companies	Fineworks Keymaker
Distributed by	CJ Entertainment
Release date	March 5, 2015 (2015-03-05)
Running time	113 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Budget	₩5.4 billion
Box office	US$3.2 million[1]

Plot

Kim Min-jae (Shin Ha-kyun), is a brilliant general who's distinguished himself by protecting the borders of the recently established Joseon dynasty. He keeps a close eye on Yi Bang-won (Jang Hyuk), the fifth son of King Taejo (Son Byong-ho), whom he believes has ambitions of seizing the throne. Jin (Kang Ha-neul) is Kim Min-jae's son and the King's son-in-law. Due to his position as the King's son-in-law, he is unable to take part in politics and only seeks out pleasure. Yi Bang-won was instrumental in helping his father overthrow the Goryeo dynasty and found the Joseon, but was passed over when Taejo chose his successor. Meanwhile, Kim Min-jae falls in love for the first time with a gisaeng named Ka-hee (Kang Han-na), whom he takes as his concubine, not realizing that she aims to carry out a vendetta against him.

Cast

• Shin Ha-kyun as Kim Min-jae^[8]
  • Sung Yoo-bin as young Kim Min-jae
• Jang Hyuk as Yi Bang-won, Grand Prince Jeongan
• Kang Han-na as Ka-hee
• Kang Ha-neul as Kim Jin (Kim Min-jae's son)^[9]
• Son Byong-ho as King Taejo
• Lee Jae-yong as Jeong Do-jeon
• Choi Moo-sung as Jo Yeong-gyu
• Kang Kyung-hun as Lady Jeong (Kim Min-jae's wife)
• Kim Da-ye as Princess Gyeongsun (Kim Jin's wife)^[10]
• Kim Gu-taek as Ha Ryun
• Gi Ju-bong as Jo Jun
• Kim Seung-gi as Yi Je
• Lee So-yoon as Sun-bun (Ka-hee's personal servant)
• Hwang Geum-hee as Mae-hyang
• Sa-hee as Lady Min (Yi Bang-won's wife)
• Kim Young as Kim Min-jae's old servant
• Moon Young-dong as Nam Eun
• Yang Young-jo as Shim Hyo-saeng
• Oh Ha-nee as Chwihangru gisaeng
• Noh Haeng-ha as Chun Hyang-ru
• Kim Wang-geun as the Head Eunuch
• Hyun Seok-jun as the Crown Prince
• Jo Hee-bong as Hwajeon shop owner (cameo)

References

1. "Empire of Lust". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
2. Jin, Eun-soo (6 February 2015). "Director aims to entice with Lust". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
3. Ahn, Sung-mi (25 February 2015). "Empire of Lust sheds light on love in battle for Joseon throne". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
4. Kwon, Ji-youn (2 March 2015). "New 'Yi Bang-won' film focuses on love for a change". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
5. Jin, Eun-soo (27 February 2015). "Empire is all about the lust, not history". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
6. Na, Won-jung (3 March 2015). "In Focus: Empire of Lust". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
7. Conran, Pierce (29 December 2014). "Genre Diversity from Major 3 in 2015". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
8. Nawael, Khelil (26 January 2015). "Shin Ha Kyun's First History Challenge Is Empire of Lust". BNTNews. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
9. Jo, Yeon-kyung (2 March 2015). "Interview: Kang Ha Neul Struggled Emotionally After Filming Rape Scene on The Age of Innocence". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 5 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
10. Princess Gyeongsun's actual husband was Yi Je, who was made a separate character in the movie.

External links

• Official website (in Korean)
• Empire of Lust at the Korean Movie Database (in Korean)
• Empire of Lust at IMDb
• Empire of Lust at HanCinema