Pained (2011 Film)
Pained (Korean: 통증; RR: Tongjeung) is a 2011 South Korean romantic melodrama directed by Kwak Kyung-taek. The film explores the relationship between two individuals with contrasting physical conditions: a man who is unable to feel physical pain and a woman who suffers from hemophilia, making her extremely sensitive to injury.
Plot
Nam-soon (Kwon Sang-woo) works as a debt collector for a loan shark, utilizing his inability to feel physical pain to act as a human punching bag. His condition stems from deep-seated psychological trauma following a fatal car accident in his youth, for which he blames himself. Having lost his family in the incident, he lives with a profound lack of motivation or desire for self-preservation.
Dong-hyun (Jung Ryeo-won) is an orphan struggling with the financial burden of her parents' medical debts while managing hemophilia. Her life intersects with Nam-soon when he is tasked with collecting a debt from her. As their paths continue to cross, a complex bond forms between them. Despite their disparate circumstances, they eventually fall in love, prompting Nam-soon to reconsider his lifestyle and seek a different path.
Production
The film was directed by Kwak Kyung-taek. The screenplay was written by Kang Pool, who originally conceived the story as a comic in 2006 before deciding to adapt it into a feature-length film script by 2009. Principal photography for the project commenced on February 10, 2011.
Cast
- Kwon Sang-woo as Nam-soon
- Jung Ryeo-won as Dong-hyun
- Ma Dong-seok as Bum-no
- Kim Min-jun (cameo)
