Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsPrimetime EmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalFall TV GuideMost Anticipated This MonthSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayTrending peopleCelebrity news
    IMDb LabsHelp centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
    Some content may be auto-translated
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
    Some content may be auto-translated
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance

Original title: Chinjeolhan Geumjassi
  • 2005
  • R
  • 1h 55m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
94K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,032
335
Lee Yeong-ae in Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005)
20 years after its initial theatrical run, 'Oldboy' returns to theaters newly restored and remastered. IMDb sits down with filmmaker Park Chan-wook to discuss his career-long exploration into the themes of violence and eroticism that fuel his Vengeance Trilogy, how his characters lead him into those realms and toward those bloody endings, and how his family inspires him to keep creating. Director Park also reveals that if he were ever locked away for 15 years like Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) in 'Oldboy,' what series he'd hope were on the television in his room.
Play clip4:33
Watch Director Park Chan-wook on Weaving Violent and Erotic Themes into 'Oldboy'
1 Video
99+ Photos
KoreanDark ComedyPsychological ThrillerCrimeDramaThriller

After being wrongfully imprisoned for thirteen years and having her child taken away from her, a woman seeks revenge through increasingly brutal means.After being wrongfully imprisoned for thirteen years and having her child taken away from her, a woman seeks revenge through increasingly brutal means.After being wrongfully imprisoned for thirteen years and having her child taken away from her, a woman seeks revenge through increasingly brutal means.

  • Director
    • Park Chan-wook
  • Writers
    • Chung Seo-kyung
    • Park Chan-wook
    • Park Myeong-chan
  • Stars
    • Lee Yeong-ae
    • Choi Min-sik
    • Yea-young Kwon
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    94K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    4,032
    335
    • Director
      • Park Chan-wook
    • Writers
      • Chung Seo-kyung
      • Park Chan-wook
      • Park Myeong-chan
    • Stars
      • Lee Yeong-ae
      • Choi Min-sik
      • Yea-young Kwon
    • 240User reviews
    • 225Critic reviews
    • 75Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 13 wins & 19 nominations total

    Videos1

    Director Park Chan-wook on Weaving Violent and Erotic Themes into 'Oldboy'
    Clip 4:33
    Director Park Chan-wook on Weaving Violent and Erotic Themes into 'Oldboy'

    Photos110

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 105
    View Poster

    Top Cast58

    Lee Yeong-ae
    Lee Yeong-ae
    • Lee Geum-ja
    Choi Min-sik
    Choi Min-sik
    • Mr. Baek
    Yea-young Kwon
    • Jenny
    Kim Shi-hoo
    • Geun-shik
    Oh Dal-su
    Oh Dal-su
    • Mr. Chang
    Lee Seung-shin
    Lee Seung-shin
    • Yi-jeong Park
    Kim Byeong-Ok
    Kim Byeong-Ok
    • Preacher
    Ra Mi-ran
    Ra Mi-ran
    • Su-hee Oh
    Young-ju Seo
    • Yang-hee Kim
    • (as Yeong-ju Seo)
    Go Su-hee
    • Ma-nyeo
    Kim Geum-soon
    • Prisoner 1
    • (as Kim Kum-soon)
    Yeonsoo Song
    • Prisoner 2
    Lee Jung-yong
    • Pimp
    Ko Chang-seok
    Ko Chang-seok
    • So-young's Husband
    Hye-Ryeong Hong
    • Detective Choi's Wife
    Kim Jeong-nam
    • Won-mo's Relative
    • (as Jeong-nam Kim)
    Choi Hee-jin
    • Prisoner 3…
    Tony Barry
    Tony Barry
    • Jenny's Adopted Father
    • Director
      • Park Chan-wook
    • Writers
      • Chung Seo-kyung
      • Park Chan-wook
      • Park Myeong-chan
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews240

    7.594.4K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Summary

    Reviewers say 'Sympathy for Lady Vengeance' Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Curabitur pretium tincidunt lacus.

    Nulla facilisi etiam dignissim diam quis enim lobortis scelerisque
    Lorem ipsum dolorSit amet consecteturAdipiscing elitSed do eiusmodTempor incididuntUt labore et doloreMagna aliquaUt enim ad minimVeniam quisNostrud exercitation
    Sign in to see this summary and all user reviews
    See opinions from fans, or write your own review.
    Sign in to IMDb
    This extra step helps us keep IMDb's reviews a space for genuine, human voices.

    More like this

    Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
    7.5
    Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
    Thirst
    7.1
    Thirst
    Mother
    7.7
    Mother
    Decision to Leave
    7.2
    Decision to Leave
    Joint Security Area
    7.7
    Joint Security Area
    Oldboy
    8.3
    Oldboy
    The Handmaiden
    8.1
    The Handmaiden
    I Saw the Devil
    7.8
    I Saw the Devil
    The Chaser
    7.8
    The Chaser
    I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK
    6.9
    I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK
    A Bittersweet Life
    7.5
    A Bittersweet Life
    Burning
    7.4
    Burning

    Related interests

    Choi Min-sik in Oldboy (2003)
    Korean
    Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Sian Clifford in Fleabag (2016)
    Dark Comedy
    Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl (2014)
    Psychological Thriller
    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in The Sopranos (1999)
    Crime
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Did you know

    • Trivia
      Several actors in this film, especially the ones portraying the relatives of the dead children, also appeared in Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) and/or Oldboy (2003), the previous parts of the Vengeance Trilogy.
    • Goofs
      All entries contain spoilers
    • Quotes
      • Geum-ja Lee: Listen carefully. Everyone make mistakes. But if you committed a sin, you have to make an atonement for that sin. Atonement, do you know what that means? Big Atonement for big sins. Small Atonement for small sins.
    • Alternate versions
      There are two different versions of the film. One is full color. The other, called "Fade to Black Version", shifts from color to B&W over the course of the movie. Like Sin City, there are color highlighted, even in the B&W scenes. The second version is what the director intended, but he was not able to complete it properly until the Korean DVD (which includes both versions).
    • Connections
      Featured in MsMojo: Top 10 Best Female Revenge Movies of All Time (2022)
    • Soundtracks
      Mareta no'm faces plorar
      Composed by Jordi Savall

      Vocal by Montserrat Figuera, Arianna Savall

      Baroque Guitar by Xavier Diaz-Latotte

      Baroque Flutes Traversieres by Mare Hantai

      Bass Viola da gamba by Jordi Savall

      Courtesy by Alia Vox

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    • Release date
      • July 29, 2005 (South Korea)
    • Country of origin
      • South Korea
    • Languages
      • Korean
      • English
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Señora Venganza
    • Filming locations
      • Seoul, South Korea
    • Production companies
      • CJ Entertainment
      • CJ Capital Investment
      • Centurion Investment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    • Budget
      • ₩4,200,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $211,667
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $9,850
      • Apr 30, 2006
    • Gross worldwide
      • $23,835,242
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    • Runtime
      • 1h 55m(115 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    You have no recently viewed pages
    Get the IMDb app
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb app
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb app
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2026 by IMDb.com, Inc.