The Barefooted Young

The biggest box-office hit of the era with some 250,000 viewers in Seoul, and the film that made Shin Seong-il famous. Gangster Dusu and diplomat's daughter Joanna fall in love after a chance meeting. To make a new man out of Dusu, Joanna asks her mother to give him a job. But her mother is opposed to them dating and tries to send Joanna away to Thailand. Their love hopes to overcome class distinction, but inevitably fails, leaving behind a legend. Shin's character Dusu is an unfortunate orphan who grows up without parents, and this image of rebellious youth is reenacted in countless young adult films. (Busan International Film Festival)