Happy Funeral Director (2000 Film)

Happy Funeral Director (Korean: 행복한 장의사; RR: Haengbokhan jangeuisa) is a South Korean comedy film released on January 8, 2000. The film was directed by Jang Moon-il, who also contributed to the screenplay alongside Park Kye-ok and Choo Chang-min.

Promotional poster for the film Happy Funeral Director.

Plot

The story follows three men living in a small town where the local mortuary business has stagnated because no one has died in the area for ten years, largely due to the opening of a new hospital. The central characters include Cheol-gu (Kim Chang-wan), a pessimistic man; Jae-hyeon (Im Chang-jung), the grandson of the local mortician; and Dae-shik (Jung Eun-pyo), the son of a supermarket owner. Dae-shik aspires to apprentice under Jae-hyeon's grandfather (Oh Hyeon-kyeong), but the lack of recent deaths prevents him from gaining practical experience. The trio forms an unlikely group, often waiting for opportunities to practice their trade, while Jae-hyeon harbors personal ambitions of opening a video arcade and pursues a romantic interest in So-hwa (Choi Gang-hee), a local flower shop owner.

Production

The film was produced and distributed by CJ Entertainment. It features a runtime of 98 minutes. The cinematography was handled by Jin Young-hwan, with Choo Chang-min serving as the assistant director.

Cast

Im Chang-jung as Jae-hyeon
Oh Hyeon-kyeong as Jae-hyeon's grandfather
Kim Chang-wan as Cheol-gu
Jung Eun-pyo as Dae-shik
Choi Gang-hee as So-hwa
Yi-da Jeon as Ms. Hwang
Sung Jeong-seon as Dae-shik's mother