View source for Seoul Station (film)


{{About||railway station|Seoul Station}}

{{Infobox film
| name           = Seoul Station
| image          = Seoul Station (film) poster.jpeg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Yeon Sang-ho]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/jsp/news/interview.jsp?blbdComCd=601019&seq=120&mode=INTERVIEW_VIEW|title=Seoul Station Director YEON Sang-ho|work=koreanfilm.or.kr|access-date=7 May 2016}}</ref>
| producer       = {{plainlist|
* Suh Youngjoo
* [[Lee Dong-ha (producer)|Lee Dong-ha]]
* [[Yeon Sang-ho]]
}}
| writer         = Yeon Sang-ho
| based_on       = ''[[Train to Busan]]'' by<br>Park Joo-suk
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Shim Eun-kyung]]
* [[Ryu Seung-ryong]]
* [[Lee Joon]]
}}
| editing        = Lee Yeon-jung<br>Yeon Sang-ho
| music          = Jang Young-gyu<ref name="Young-gyu_discography">{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/2267936-Jang-Young-Gyu|work=Discogs|title=Jang Young Gyu discography|access-date=24 December 2020}}</ref>
| studio         = {{Plainlist|
* Finecut
* [[Next Entertainment World]]
* Studio Dadashow
}}
| distributor    = Next Entertainment World
| released       = {{film date|2016|8|18|South Korea}}
| runtime        = 92 minutes
| country        = South Korea
| language       = Korean
| budget         = $575,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://koreanfilm.or.kr/webzine/sub/interview.jsp?mode=A_VIEW&wbSeq=120|title=Seoul Station Director YEON Sang-ho|work=koreanfilm.or.kr|access-date=14 September 2016}}</ref>
| gross          = $2,021,735<ref name="BOM">{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/releasegroup/gr4274082309/ |title=Seoul Station (box office) |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date=3 September 2021}}</ref>
}}

'''''Seoul Station'''''  ({{Korean|서울역}}) is a 2016 South Korean [[Adult animation|adult animated]] [[post-apocalyptic]] [[Zombie film|zombie]] [[horror film]] written and directed by [[Yeon Sang-ho]].<ref name="Tsui">{{cite web|last=Tsui |first=Clarence |author-link=Clarence Tsui|date=1 August 2016|title='Seoul Station' ('Seoul-yeok'): Film Review|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/seoul-station-seoul-yeok-film-915964|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref> It is the second installment in the [[Train to Busan (film series)|''Train to Busan'' film series]], and a [[prequel]] of its [[Train to Busan|eponymous film]]. The [[aeni]] ''(South Korean animation)'' depicts the onset of the zombie epidemic,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allkpop.com/article/2016/07/animation-prequel-of-train-to-busan-to-hit-theaters-in-august|title=Animation prequel of 'Train to Busan' to hit theaters in August!|work=[[Allkpop]]|access-date=26 June 2016}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|reason=See reliable sources list on [[WP:KO/RS]]|date=June 2025}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-hidden-gem-train-busan-893301|title=Cannes Hidden Gem: South Korean Animator Makes Apocalyptic Live-Action Debut With 'Train to Busan'|work=hollywoodreporter.com|date=12 May 2016 |access-date=26 June 2016}}</ref> and revolves around the three main characters; Hye-sun, a young woman and prostitute attempting to survive in the world which sees her as disposable,<ref name="Seoul Station">{{cite web |title=Seoul Station |url=http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk/films/2016/seoul-station |access-date=22 February 2017 |work=edfilmfest.org.uk}}</ref> Suk-gyu, her father who is searching for his runaway daughter with help from her boyfriend, Ki-woong.<ref name="koreanfilm.or.kr">{{cite web |last=Conran |first=Pierce |date=7 April 2016 |title=YEON Sang-ho's SEOUL STATION Debuts in Belgium |url=http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/jsp/news/news.jsp?seq=3835&mode=VIEW#sthash.VhW0pLBF.dpuf |access-date=14 July 2020}}</ref>

Released on 18 August 2016, the film stars [[Shim Eun-kyung]], [[Ryu Seung-ryong]] and [[Lee Joon]] in the lead roles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=246704.html|language=fr|title=Seoul Station|work=allocine.fr|access-date=7 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmaffinity.com/en/film855356.html|title=Seoul Station|work=filmaffinity.com|access-date=7 May 2016}}</ref> The film was shown at the 2016 [[Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival]].<ref name="Tsui"/> The film was awarded the [[Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Animated Feature Film|Best Animated Feature Film]] at the 10th edition of the [[Asia Pacific Screen Awards|Asian Pacific Screen Awards]] in 2016.

==Plot==
A homeless man walks around the Seoul Station area with a bloody wound on his neck until he reaches Seoul Station and lays down. A fellow squatter sits next to him, notices the blood and tries to get help, but the injured man is no longer alive when he returns. The squatter goes to the [[transit police]] to report the man's death; the officers follow him, but the man is gone. The squatter goes to search for the old man and finds him as a zombie, who attacks him.

Hye-sun, who ran away from her former life in a [[brothel]], now lives with her boyfriend, Ki-woong, who intends to [[pimp]] Hye-sun out again due to money problems. After a fight about this, the two separate and are caught in the chaos bursting out of Seoul Station. Hye-sun escapes with a few survivors into a police station, they ran into a jail cell in which Hye-sun's phone drops, where they are later trapped by a group of zombies within a jail cell with no form of communication, along with a policeman bitten by a zombie. Meanwhile, Hye-sun's father, Suk-gyu, interrogates Ki-woong for his daughter's location. The two go to Hye-sun's home, only to find that the landlady has become a zombie. Sun-gyu and Ki-woong both hide in the bathroom after another zombie attacks them, escape through the bathroom window and climb to the [[roof]]. Sun-gyu devises a plan with Ki-woong to get the zombies' attention, while he goes down to get the car. They drive away in shock, but focus on finding Hye-sun.

At the police station, the bitten officer calls for backup before succumbing to his infection, reanimating and biting another survivor in the cell. [[Riot Police|Riot police]] arrive just in time and draw the infected away, allowing Hye-sun and an old man to escape the cell and get into an [[ambulance]]. The ambulance crew seems oblivious to what is happening to the infected. Hye-sun calls Ki-woong that she is heading to the hospital and to meet her there. The old man panics when he realizes they are en route to the hospital, where many reports of bite wounds appear to be coming in. He attempts to take the wheel from the driver and causes the vehicle to crash. Hye-sun and the old man flee through the subway tunnels. Meanwhile, Suk-gyu and Ki-woong make their way to the hospital, but discover that the zombies have already taken over the place. They barely escape before continuing their search.

Outside Hoehyeon Station, Ki-woong calls Hye-sun, but their conversation alerts the nearby infected. A group of people call them to a makeshift barricade while fighting off the infected. The two are saved, only to realize they were placed in a quarantine by riot police, who mistakenly believe the crisis to be an insurrection. Suk-gyu and Ki-woong try to persuade the [[police]] to let them through, but are rejected, as they are in a state of crisis and martial law could be declared. The survivors slowly succumb to growing numbers of infected people. After a speech on his poor position in society, the old man attempts to climb over the police blockade to warn the government officials about the zombies, but is killed by gunfire from the summoned [[Republic of Korea Army|military]]. The infected charge in and overrun the barricade; Hye-sun is able to escape, but is scratched on her foot by a zombie.

Hye-sun makes her way into an empty [[show house|model apartment]] and notifies Ki-woong of her location. When Ki-woong and Hye-sun are reunited, she reveals that Suk-gyu is not her father but rather her previous pimp. Suk-gyu has been searching for her because she has stolen back her late natural parents' money he was keeping for himself. This outrages Ki-woong, who thought a deal was made to help him reunite with his girlfriend, yet Suk-gyu becomes violent to the point where he explains that he wants revenge on Hye-sun for theft. Ki-woong tries to subdue Suk-gyu with a [[knife]], but the latter takes the knife from the former and kills him. Hye-sun tries to flee but Suk-gyu subdues her. As Suk-gyu prepares to rape her, Hye-sun dies. Suk-gyu frantically applies [[Cardiopulmonary resuscitation|CPR]], but then he spots the scratch on Hye-sun's foot and realizes that she is infected. As Hye-sun reanimates and kills Suk-gyu, the camera zooms past a dead Ki-woong and the infected overrunning the quarantine.

==Cast==
* [[Shim Eun-kyung]]<ref name="koreanfilm.or.kr"/> as Hye-sun
* [[Ryu Seung-ryong]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dramabeans.com/2014/03/ryu-seung-ryong-headlines-disaster-movie-seoul-station/|title=Ryu Seung-ryong headlines disaster movie Seoul Station|work=dramabeans.com|date=6 March 2014 |access-date=7 May 2016}}</ref> as Suk-gyu
* [[Lee Joon]]<ref name="koreanfilm.or.kr"/> as Ki-woong

== Release ==
The film debuted on 5 April 2016 at the [[Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival]].<ref name="Tsui"/> Created by [[Yeon Sang-ho|Yeon San-ho]], this animated film is considered as the prequel to his critically acclaimed movie, ''[[Train to Busan]]''.<ref>{{Citation|last=Yeon|first=Sang-ho|title=Seoulyeok|date=17 August 2016|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3845670/?ref_=ttrel_rel_tt|type=Animation, Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller|others=Seung-ryong Ryu, Joon Lee, Sang-hee Lee, Eun-kyung Shim|publisher=Finecut, Movic Comics, Studio Dadashow|access-date=20 April 2021}}</ref> American distributor [[FilmRise|Filmrise]] released the [[DVD]] and [[Blu-ray]] versions of ''Seoul Station'' on 25 July 2017.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/seoul-station-v662893/releases|title=Seoul Station (2016) - Yeon Sang-ho {{!}} Releases|website=AllMovie|language=en-us|access-date=6 April 2020}}</ref>

==Reception==
{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|100|7.0|24|Thrilling and relentless from start to finish, Yeon Sang-ho's ''Seoul Station'' is a layered and vicious entry into the zombie genre.|ref=yes|access-date=4 January 2022}} [[Clarence Tsui]] of ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' called the film "a simple, thrilling ride through a fiend-infested world."<ref name="Tsui"/> James Marsh of ''[[South China Morning Post]]'' gave a rating of 3/5. He commented that the film addresses South Korea's societal issues including prostitution and homelessness.<ref>{{Cite web|date=21 September 2016|title=Film review: Seoul Station – animated prequel to Train to Busan is a message-driven horror flick|url=https://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2020979/film-review-seoul-station-animated-prequel-train-busan-message|access-date=20 April 2021|website=South China Morning Post|language=en}}</ref> Gwilym Mumford of ''[[The Guardian]]'' also gave the film a 3/5 rating. He stated that this film is different from ''Train to Busan'' because it focuses on the "desperate souls trapped in life's margins."<ref>{{Cite web|date=17 March 2017|title=Seoul Station review – social realism infects animated zombie prequel|url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/mar/17/seoul-station-review-zombie-prequel-train-to-busan-yeon-sang-ho|access-date=20 April 2021|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref> According to [[Box Office Mojo]], the film has a cumulative gross of $2,021,735 worldwide.<ref name="BOM" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{KMDb film|14168|Seoul Station}}
* {{IMDb title|3845670|Seoul Station}}
* {{hancinema film|Seoul_Station|Seoul Station}}

{{Train to Busan}}
{{Yeon Sang-ho}}
{{Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Animated Feature Film}}

[[Category:Train to Busan (film series)]]
[[Category:2016 thriller films]]
[[Category:2016 animated films]]
[[Category:2016 films]]
[[Category:South Korean adult animated films]]
[[Category:Animated thriller films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Yeon Sang-ho]]
[[Category:Films set in Seoul]]
[[Category:2016 Korean-language films]]
[[Category:South Korean zombie films]]
[[Category:Films about viral outbreaks]]
[[Category:Animated post-apocalyptic films]]
[[Category:Animated films set in South Korea]]
[[Category:South Korean post-apocalyptic films]]
[[Category:South Korean prequel films]]
[[Category:2016 South Korean films]]
[[Category:Living Dead films]]
[[Category:Best Animated Feature Film Asia Pacific Screen Award winners]]
[[Category:Animated films about zombies]]
[[Category:Korail]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Seoul Station (film)|access_date=2026-03-05}}