Tough as Iron (Korean: 깡철이; RR: Ggangcheoli) is a 2013 South Korean film written and directed by Ahn Gwon-tae, starring Yoo Ah-in in the title role.[1][2][3]
Tough as Iron | |
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Directed by | Ahn Gwon-tae |
Written by | Ahn Gwon-tae |
Produced by |
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Starring | Yoo Ah-in Kim Hae-sook |
Cinematography | Lee Hyung-deok |
Edited by | Kim Sun-min |
Music by | Jo Yeong-wook |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | CJ Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 108 minutes |
Country | South Korea |
Language | Korean |
Box office | US$7.9 million |
Gang Cheol (whose name means "iron" in Korean[4]) was once a legendary street gangster in Busan,[5] but he put away his fists and cleaned up his act for the sake of his mother Soon-i, who has dementia. Things are going well for him; he now works as a stevedore at a loading dock and is pursuing a relationship with Soo-ji, a free-spirited woman from Seoul vacationing in the port city. But Soon-i is diagnosed with kidney failure and needs an expensive organ transplant that he cannot afford. Knowing that Cheol is desperate for money, local gang leader Sang-gon proposes that Cheol come work for him and his brother Hwi-gon. At first Cheol refuses, but when his debt-ridden best friend Jong-soo gives the deed to Cheol's house to Sang-gon as collateral for a private loan, he's left with no choice but to get dragged back into Busan's criminal underworld. Cheol is ordered to kill a visiting Japanese Yakuza boss whose death will enable Sang-gon's ascension within the Korean branch of the mob organization.
Tough as Iron opened in South Korean theaters on October 2, 2013.[6] It grossed US$7,889,145 on 1,209,363 admissions.
It also received a limited theatrical release in the United States (October 11, 2013) and Japan (May 2014).[7][8][9]