Where the Truth Lies
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(Redirected from The Case of Itaewon Homicide)
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Current user rating: 95/100 (159 votes)
Profile
- Movie: Where the Truth Lies (International English title) / The Case of Itaewon Homicide (literal title)
- Revised romanization: Itaewon Salinsageon
- Hangul: 이태원 살인사건
- Director: Hong Ki-Seon
- Writer: Lee Maeng-Yu
- Producer: David Cho
- Cinematographer:
- Release Date: September 10, 2009
- Runtime: 100 min.
- Distributor: Showbox/Mediaplex
- Language: Korean
- Country: South Korea
Plot
A college student, Jong-pil Jo, gets into an argument with some youths at fast food restaurant in Itaewon, South Korea. The boy is later found stabbed to death in the restroom of the restaurant. Two Korean-Americans, Pearson and Alex, are known to have gone into the bathroom after Jong-pil Jo and become prime suspects. The prosecution must now determine which of the two committed the crime.
Notes
- Film went under the early working title "버거킹 살인사건" / "Beogeoking Salinsajeon" / "Burger King Murder".
- Estimated budget is 1.2 million USD / 1,500,000,000 Wons. Approximately 20% of the budget was funded by KOFIC.
- Based on the true story of the April 3, 1997 murder of college student Jung-pil Jo. The murder took place in the bathroom of Burger King in the Itaewon district of Seoul. Jung-pil Cho was stabbed 9 times in the chest and neck. The names of the murder suspects were changed for the movie.
- Two men, Arthur Patterson (the son of a U.S. military service member) & Edward Lee (a Korean-American civilian), were the primary suspects. Because of the inability to clearly identify which of the two men murdered Jung-pil Cho, the two suspects were eventually freed from lengthy prison sentences. Edward Lee appealed his conviction and was eventually cleared of all charges by the South Korean Supreme Court. Arthur Patterson was pardoned from his prison sentence and fled to the United States, helped by a Korean prosecutor's mistake to renew a travel ban on Arthur Patterson .
- "Itaewon" is a neighborhood district in the city of Seoul, South Korea. The district is popular among tourists and U.S. Army personnel (U.S. military base Yongsan Garrison is nearby). Itaewon is known primarily for its many restaurants serving international dishes, a market selling discounted goods, bars, and popular tourist destinations like Insadong & Seoul Tower.
- "The Case of Itaewon Homicide" opened #3 during its opening (Sept. 11-13) weekend. The movie took in a total of 214,799 viewers on 294 screens (16.1% of all viewers) during that three day period.
- Through its theatrical run "The Case of Itaewon Homicide" sold 534,950 tickets, staying in South Korea's weekend top ten list for two weeks.
Cast
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| Jung Jin-Young | Jang Keun-Suk | Shin Seung-Hwan | Oh Gwang-Rok | Ko Chang-Seok |
| Prosecutor Park | Pearson | Alex | Attorney Kim Byeon | Alex's father |
Additional Cast Members:
- Song Joong-Ki - Jo Jong-Pil (murder victim)
- Kim Jung-Ki - Judge
- Choi Il-Hwa - Jong-Pil's father
- Kim Min-Kyung - Jong-Pil's mother
- Song Young-Chang
- Jo Seung-Eun
- Park Jin-Young - Attorney Jang
- Jin Kyung - Prosecutor Park's wife
- Lee Eung-Jae - law clerk
- Park Soo-Young - Chief Choi
Trailer
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
Jaehoon Says:
May 25 2012 1:08 am
If u guys really watched this movie.u guys should know that Alex and Pearson team up.
they blamed each other and make some false statements try to confuse the lawyer and the prosecutor.the lawyer and the prosecutor didn't realize it till the end of the movie.
if u still remember During the reenactment, he acted with haunting familiarity on the brutal stabbing. He just then pushed the victim on the wrong side, which made the prosecutor lawyer unsure of his innocence.Pearson even pretend can't speak Korean to make the investigation harder.example: just like when they forcefully did lie detector test with 2 language.
and Alex I Alex was the one who did it! There were three instances, which for a second convinced me that he did it. First was when he took the lie detector test, he was shaking. The second was when he mentioned to his dad, not intentionally though, "that he should have showed them!". "Them" meaning his friends.The last one was when he was finally acquitted and visited the defense lawyer, and his lawyer overheard him saying to his girlfriend that he will tell him something cool. The defense lawyer actually felt uneasy so do prosecutor.
so my final decision is that AJ is the one who killed the victim and team up with Pearson.
maybe Pearson stab the victim too,who knows?but I'm sure AJ did it first.
and they got escape by the legal gap.
in the movie they r so smart.can't believe they did it alone without the lawyer or their families help.
MzChinaDoll001 Says:
Apr 19 2012 11:06 am
Song Joongki and Sukkie!! =)
Cinta87 Says:
Mar 07 2012 9:31 am
Jang geun suk oppa Fighting!!! We always support you!!
Cinta87 Says:
Mar 07 2012 9:29 am
I watch this cause of jang geun suk only, love him so much!!
prepre Says:
Feb 18 2012 4:01 am
--> justice is only for those who have evidence. cruel but true.
this is reality. this is life's irony. money is the root of all evil.
yes, life is unfair, does anyone said it is fair???
what would it be if it's not???
-- rip jjp. may the family of the victim find forgiveness and peace.
LIFE is PRECIOUS.
for the killer and for those people who helped him out
-->i'm sure their conscience will not let them sleep esp. for those people who are supposed to do what their obligation is and
those people who know what is the right thing to do.
life is simple we are the only one who make it difficult. ( if it is difficult it means it is interesting. ^^)
to have FUN, otherwise it would be BORING.
jgs- hope you will have project together with park shin hye again :)
lemon Says:
Feb 03 2012 6:43 pm
soe Patterson is the real name Pearson,,,alex is edward lee
lemon Says:
Feb 03 2012 6:29 pm
Patterson is d KILLERS... it was my instinct at beginning of d story... his face like a murder.. and it bcometruewhen i find the statement dat it really his who kill the victims...
''Public prosecutors in Korea have reopened the case, after finding DNA evidence proving Patterson the murderer and testimony from Edward Lee, the witness. Patterson was arrested by US authorities in May 2011, and is currently undergoing court hearing in California for extradition to Korea for trial and conviction"
shirley Says:
Nov 07 2011 12:38 am
I don't usually watch this type of creepy drama/series/movie. I watch this becos of jgs, wanted to see him in another face, as i truely enjoyed his drama and his voice. Love him so much, and i am glad that he did well in any roles. Abt the real story, i felt sad that the real murderer wasnt punished.
mathilda Says:
Oct 04 2011 11:13 am
i actually dont understand at all how can a person kill someone? how kind of psychology is required ohh goshh!! from my point of view JGS(Pearson) is the killer even though i cant explain the situation with that lie machine.. there was a weird smile on JGSs face at the beginning of the questioning.. I hope the real Burger killer is suffering in misery!!!!!!!
jae Says:
Jul 11 2011 8:24 am
i love jang geun suk so much, and i want to see him as a good man, but no way in this movie, he and alex, both of them are the killers! and i like his english! ^^
maihani Says:
Jul 06 2011 11:52 pm
AJ was the Killer.
aoibhealfae Says:
Jun 22 2011 10:22 pm
Jang Geun Suk!!! ok.. slightly bias.
Since its a film, I doubt I could read anything from the actors's face. But from the script, it all point out that the real killer is Alex Jung, even the actor shifted glance when talking (i.e: he's making things up when being interrogated) and all his defense team was trying to him look innocent (classic sign of the guilty party).
And from the movie, Pearson did stated specifically where the knife hit the body, almost clinically. The only way he could say it actually means he witness it. If he's the knife holder, he would be fascinated with the blood lust to note how many times he stabbed his victim. Plus, if AP was really thin like JGS, I doubt he's the real killer too from the post mortem report.
I love the blood from this movie especially in the beginning. They made the blood look real A_A!!! Maybe they use real blood... all the dense dark red brownish venous blood.... (ok, im not a real psychopath; my fav subject is hematology in Uni, I have an addiction to blood)
Tae Soo Jin Says:
Jun 20 2011 5:11 am
Pearson the way he looks is more of like a killer than AJ but based on their statements, the way they try to remember what had happened, I think that AJ might be the true killer maybe because his first statement were not the same with the other statements he had. And he didn`t tell other things to the prosecutor and he just revealed it on the hearing day which is very inappropriate. On the other hand, Pearson said that he saw what AJ did. If you are in the middle of something scary, there is a possibility that you may forget everything that had happened because you are too scared or nervous & you can`t think properly. But how come that Pearson, knows the exact stabs that Aj did to the victim. The suspect will be the only one to know how many stabs he made. Pearson memorized it. But on the reenactment on the statement of Pearson, you saw him terrified. How come he was still able to memorized the stabs? Hmmmm. Pearson knows exactly what Aj did, like the real stabs on the neck and chest but he didn`t know the right way when he pushed the victim. Hmmm. I`m confused. Really am. I really don`t know who`s saying the truth. But I know that God has plans. Only God knows who`s the real killer. & in time, the real murderer will be judged by God. Let`s just pray for the soul of the victim who didn`t get justice.
I was sad that the victim didn`t get his justice. Regardless of the outcome, the movie was worth to watch. Jang Geun Suk did well, if I didn`t know he was an actor, I would`ve mistaken him as a killer lol. I love Jang Geun Suk, he can portray any kind roles. Thumbs up for this movie. Great casting. :)
Jing Says:
May 17 2011 5:16 pm
I watched the movie in youtube for two times... I think it's the two of them, Aj had a scene where he admitted the crime to a friend saying "We did it. We killed somebody."
Anyways, I only watched it because of JGS. ;)
Kristin Says:
May 09 2011 10:38 pm
For me, Pearson is the killer. I don't think Alex can do such a crime by looking at his behavior in court while Pearson stayed calm all the way but he showed a flaw when his dots in left hand were on topic in the last hearing. Base on it, in COD investigation he had 3 dots before but in the last investigation holding of Korean Prosecution he had an additional dot, it shows that in their gang, dots represents the digits of their killings. Alex were just playing cool after the case but actually he's incapable of holding such a big incident.
BTW, Sukkie looks chubby in this film and his wardrobe is formal that suits his pretty face. Admire him so much.
chitchat Says:
Apr 25 2011 10:05 pm
I also prefer comment #33. But, no one really knows what’s the truth. I just hope the case will reopen again. but, the only thing that makes this investigation hard is that, the crime scene was urgently cleaned. it shouldn’t be that way. tsk
chitchat Says:
Apr 25 2011 10:04 pm
I also prefer comment #33. But, no one really knows what's the truth. I just hope the case will reopen again. but, the only thing that makes this investigation hard is that, the crime scene was urgently cleaned. it shouldn't be that way. tsk
heny Says:
Mar 13 2011 4:54 am
it's a cruel story. still thinking up to now. I like the analysis of comment #33
zel Says:
Feb 19 2011 10:00 pm
i just finished watching it..
i really don't know who to believe..
it really for the victim's family to know that no ones gonna pay for their lost..
its so unfair..
zel Says:
Feb 19 2011 9:56 pm
the movie was great..
its just that i felt so unfair for the victim..
moeasha Says:
Feb 09 2011 10:06 am
just finished watching the movie.. i was only browsing for korean movies to watch and i came across this movie in which i saw JGS is the lead actor.. this movie brings out other side of JGS acting skill, i watched some of his movies :)..this just show how some wealthy person can manipulate justice! so saddening. i think both are guilty of the crime alex maybe the person who stabbed jung pil but pearson is an accessory to the crime i just felt sorry for the victim's family.. :( losing someone you love is really hard and they didn't have the justice for their son.. i still hope jung pil's family will have the justice they deserve!
Min Says:
Dec 31 2010 1:27 am
The movie was pretty confusing for me. I didn't know who to believe the murderer was. I love Jang Geun Suk because he is a versatile actor and this was a pretty intense role for him. Very different from his cute and funny roles. His English is very good and I'm not surprised. It just made him that much more better to me. However, I think I prefer the roles he plays in dramas like You're Beautiful and Mary Stayed Out All Night. He was so good at acting in this movie that it was kind of scary.
I hadn't realized that Song Joong-Ki played the victim when I watched this movie though. I felt so bad for him when he got killed.
nina Says:
Dec 17 2010 11:15 am
watched this movie yesterday. too sadistic. this is based on a true story right? does any prosecutor's would like to open up the case? it's a total unfair and miserable for the victim's family. as for the victim himself, he didn't even had a chance to defense. hhhmmm....if this is just a made up story, i wouldn't feel so gloomy about it. but it's just too much to bear. the murder was so cruel and yet, nobody convicted.
gay Says:
Nov 27 2010 8:00 pm
i just watched it yesterday...the film was so great....i love jang geun suk.....
emily Says:
Nov 17 2010 2:57 am
i love geun suk soo much......i wanted to see the movie so badly because of geun suk....
emily Says:
Nov 17 2010 2:55 am
i love jang geun suk..........iwanted to see the movie so badly.......sarangheyo oppah..
Eciniue Says:
Oct 01 2010 7:06 pm
I think both of them did it. They just want only of them suffer the consequences so they pin point each other, that's just a guess. This movie gave me a head ache, Haha. :)) Go JGS !!
aprilis17 Says:
Sep 23 2010 8:12 am
Oh my! I just finished the movie in youtube. And I think they shouldn't have casted Jang Geun Suk here. BECAUSE I AM BECOMING BIASED. hahaha =)) i love him soo much that I firmly believe that Pearson is not the killer. hahaha =))
But in my opinion, free-from-bias, I really think Alex is the killer. You see, in the end, I think Alex's lawyer realized that his client was guilty enough. And, all the evidences point to Alex right? Prosecutor Park was right. Alex's side couldn't prove that he was innocent so they're dragging Pearson into the center light. It's just because his father is a SOMETHING so he was able to escape everything.
Now for Pearson, he's a gangster and yes, this is the root of all his flaws. I mean, because he has no good family background as Alex, he is being accused of something he did not do but let it happened. I don't say that he's innocent. In fact, if it wasn't for his knife, then there would be no murder at all. But then, it just made me sad when he had to endure the sentence laid on him while the true guilty is busy dating and schooling.
Well, we really don't know what happened that night. After all, the TRUTH always LIES ..
--RIP Jung Pil. Your killer might have not suffered what he deserved but in our second life, he'll be spending his forever in the flames of hell.
@lina Says:
Sep 23 2010 12:22 am
@lina
Do you personally know him? Or he's just a student in one of your classes/walking around campus?
Btw, my name's Lina, too. Interesting.
monchaichan Says:
Sep 17 2010 11:56 pm
ohh no my baby song joong ki is the innocent murder victim!!! why? T_T oppa i love you, but since you die in the movie it makes me so sad T-T....i'll be depressed knowing that the murderers get away. i'll have to watch this movie when i'm not feeling down about the unfairness of the world and the justice system.
rhein87 Says:
Sep 13 2010 3:55 am
after watching the trailer
i believe that in my opinion
both alex and pearson are both did the crime i can wait
to watch this movie…..
even though my love jang guen suk is a villain here but i will
support him love you oooopppaaahhh….^_^
i want to see you in person….
i hope you wl visit the philippines soon….
saranghe love you so much mwaaahhh….
hantanakiyo Says:
Sep 02 2010 5:09 pm
After watching the movie, I think this world is so unfair! I think both Pearson and Alex killed the innocent student, they both look suspicious at some points but we can't prove who's guilty 'cause there is not enough evidences, probably because people kept telling lies. At first I thought it's Alex because at the scene when this guy testing out the lie detector, Alex seems to be a little tense and Pearson seems to be so calm. However, as the story goes on, Pearson shows a lot of flaws. I'm just a little bit disappointed that they are all released and no one gets caught and i feel a little bit sad for the innocent student's family.
Riisa Says:
Aug 30 2010 4:58 pm
SPOILER:
After watching this movie for the 2nd time, I believe it was BOTH Pearson and Alex who killed the student. There was this one scene where the prosecutor was talking to a doctor-ish guy and that doctor said that the victim didn't have any defense wounds therefore, I believe it was both Pearson and Alex. This is my theory: Alex held Joon-pil while Pearson stabbed him. Otherwise, why would both of them be convicting each other that the other one did it? Of course it was them both!!
Anyway, Geun-Suk and Sueng-Hwan played their characters well. Geun-suk needs to work a little bit more on his English but overall it was okay.
It's wrong how they both got released and didn't get any harsh punishment!! grrr that got me mad!!
This movie shows how unfair the world is and that sometimes justice can never be served. I hope everyone would see this movie.
waterlily Says:
Aug 22 2010 5:20 am
not a bad movie. suspense throughout. after all, i still think alex is the murderer while pearson is innocent. but the prosecutors didn't think so. oh wells.
anyway, Guen Suk's acting improved! :3
what a case Says:
Aug 13 2010 12:09 pm
This movie had me guessing from beginning to the end. Very sad and unbelievable.
Kendra Says:
Jul 01 2010 1:25 pm
I havent watched the movie, but watching the trailer.
Im pretty sure Pearson is innocent, but slightly guilty.
I can imagine that alex DID kill Jong pill, and Pearson let him kill him and watched, but didn't help stab.
But when alex was satisfied, he betrayed pearson, and rubbed all the blood on him. Then putting the knife into Pearson's hand. When alex cleaned himself quickly, to get rid of any evidence, he walked out. Leaving Pearson in nervous state of shock.
Thus, since pearson was the only person there, covered in blood and with a bloody knife, he was imediately suspected, and held in juvie for murder suspect, but when they found alex traces, seeing how in the trailer he eventually was wearing a orange juvie outfit as well, and maybe JUST MAYBE because i only watched the trailer, pearson told what happened, and they didn't believe him, so when they found those traces of alex, he became a suspect as well..
Seeing how Pearson was smirking in the end, im pretty sure he did watch the stabbing, and gave alex a knife in the beginning, he would still be charged for helping. Alex would be charged and put into prision for murder....
HEHE, I FEEL SMARTICLE FOR WRITING ALL THIS :D
BUT IT SHOULD BE EASY TO FIGURE OUT JUST WITH THE TRAILER.
KEKEKE. I SHOULD WATCH THE MOVIE, LOOKS COOL X)
Jang Geun Suk!!!<3 I LOVE YOU! SARANGHAE! XD
mikage Says:
May 06 2010 4:56 am
This is a good movie... though I feel bad for Jong-pil's family. I hope someday the truth will come out and the one who killed him got whatever he deserve.
iliekater Says:
Apr 24 2010 3:57 pm
I guess they both did it and simply accused one another to the end . They could either be both sentenced or be both free . They preferred the second . After-all , they didn't have anything else to try .
hemara Says:
Apr 01 2010 11:07 pm
it's actually in youtube. type in IMC part 1, then the rest, just go along. happy viewing.
Sam Says:
Mar 29 2010 2:02 am
This movie was really great... it has a lot of twist in the end.
I wonder if Pearson really killed the student...
But Lina of Comment 20 said Pearson was innocent...then so be it...
I praise the acting of Geun Seok...He really improved a lot in his acting skill...Kudos!
lina Says:
Mar 26 2010 4:35 am
This is a true story, Pearson..was actually a student at my school..
but anyways, in the end AJ was the murderer, but Pearson got charged with assault.
apparently pearson fled to the states too...
fan Says:
Mar 02 2010 8:31 pm
i'm assuming both of them took part in the murder since in the translation for the one of the witness he mentioned, "we finally did it." but once again, open ending.
kandy Says:
Feb 09 2010 9:17 pm
intense movie...
loved it... all through the movie I along with the the prosecutors was thinking hard trying to figure out who actually did commit the murder.
very suspense like...very good acting... loved the ending
A glimpse in to how sometimes the justice systems just lets us down, really down
데니사 Says:
Feb 04 2010 8:36 am
It was the most interesting psychological movie i ever saw and of course skill players were awesome.
축하합니다!
hally89 Says:
Jan 28 2010 1:08 am
watching this movie now..!!
its kinda disgusting the way the victim was murdered..
blood EVERYWHERE..!!
hahaha..
Boa Moua Says:
Jan 22 2010 7:16 am
OMG ! this movie seem so good
i want to watch
do u think it will be on youtube?! jw
bu yea jang geun suk is so cute I Love him!! just as a fan.
:)
Fertry Says:
Jan 18 2010 12:33 pm
I really LOVED this movie. It was so exciting and I really thing of
Jang Geun Suk as one of the best young-korean-actors at the
moment. I already saw a bunch of movies and dramas with him and
everytime I fall in love again with a whole new character.
The ending was a little disappointing eventhought I knew that this case
wouldn´t be solved but at the end you really didn´t know who did it
because they both acted so suspicious. I always thought the fat-ass
did it but seeing Jang´s smirk at the end made me kind of change my
mind.....I´m still unsure who was the culprit. Well, nobody knows
expect the killler himself after all ;)
marymaui Says:
Dec 24 2009 6:25 am
and i need english subtitle, of course..
Kirei_Lia Says:
Dec 21 2009 10:50 pm
Oh god ... it is interesting!!!
I have to watch this movie soon ...
Can't wait!!! ^^
Melody Says:
Dec 18 2009 8:25 am
OMg~ I really want to watch this.. the plot is really interesting and it is based on true story..
and my beloved Jang Geun Suk oppa is in it.. ahhhh love him..
Oppa u're so cool!!! Saranghae!!!
Joy Says:
Dec 12 2009 4:36 am
I'm going to watch this movie when i receive the DVD my friend post to me via mail..haha...jz because JKS is in it..
Love his acting,his voice and everything...
and the trailer creep the hell outta me....
great acting..
JKS Oppa FIGHTING!!
May Says:
Dec 04 2009 9:54 am
I really wanna watch this movie!!!
JGS!!! you are so hott and rock in this movie!!!
I love your acting and songs sooo much!!!
jood Says:
Dec 01 2009 2:24 pm
omo omg I,can't wait to see jang geun suk omo this is soooo Serious and soooo hot,I liked this Film >>>goooo d jooooob
axl Says:
Oct 26 2009 4:45 am
yeah!..
jAnG gEuN SuK RuLeS!!!..
iLoVe gEuN SuK!!!...
alice tuazon Says:
Oct 04 2009 1:09 am
I'm curious enough to view it...our idol's getting really promising breaks...
pure Says:
Sep 27 2009 8:19 am
WOWW!!!!!! Jang Geun Suk's English is really good. I love that smile.:D
War Says:
Sep 27 2009 8:14 am
OMG! OMG! Jang Geum Suk......... U r soooo hot. I love u so much. I can't believe that is u. The plot seems interesting. Its pretty sure that I'll watch it.
micka Says:
Sep 25 2009 8:04 pm
it is pretty interesting!
Linh Says:
Sep 05 2009 2:06 pm
cant wait to see this! omg jang geun suk i loooooooooove you. you rock:D