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Cleaned up the grammar of the second paragraph and made it a bit more comprehensive; removed "Release" section, as it was both underdeveloped and redundant.
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{{short description|1999 film by Kim dong-bin}}
{{short description|1999 horror film}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2012}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
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| image = Ring-Virus-poster.jpg
| image = Ring-Virus-poster.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| native_name = {{Infobox name module
| native_name = {{Infobox Korean|child=yes
| hangul = 링
| hangul = 링
| hanja =
| hanja =
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| mr = ring
| mr = ring
| context =
| context =
| translation =
| lk =
}}
}}
| director = [[Kim Dong-bin]]
| director = Kim Dong-bin
| producer = [[Jonathan Kim]]
| producer = [[Jonathan Kim]]
| based_on = {{based on|''[[Ring (Suzuki novel)|Ring]]''|[[Koji Suzuki (writer)|Kôji Suzuki]]}}
| based_on = {{based on|''[[Ring (Suzuki novel)|Ring]]''|[[Koji Suzuki (writer)|Kôji Suzuki]]}}
| writer = [[Kim Dong-bin]]<br />[[Kong Su-chang]]
| writer = Kim Dong-bin<br />[[Kong Su-chang]]
| starring = [[Shin Eun-kyung]]<br />[[Lee Seung-hyeon]]<br />[[Jung Jin-young (actor)|Jung Jin-young]]
| starring = [[Shin Eun-kyung]]<br />[[Jung Jin-young (actor)|Jung Jin-young]]<br />[[Kim Chang-wan]]<br />[[Bae Doona]]
| music = [[Il Won]]
| music = Il Won
| cinematography = [[Hwang Chul-hyun]]
| cinematography = Hwang Chul-hyun
| editing = [[Kyung Min-ho]]
| editing = Kyung Min-ho
| distributor =
| distributor =
| released = 12 June 1999
| released = 12 June 1999
| runtime = 108 min.
| runtime = 108 minutes
| country = South Korea
| country = South Korea
| language = Korean
| language = Korean
| budget =
| budget =
}}
}}
'''''The Ring Virus''''' ({{ko-hhrm|링}}) is a 1999 [[South Korea]]n [[horror film]] adapted from the [[Japan]]ese novel ''[[Ring (Suzuki novel)|Ring]]'' by [[Koji Suzuki (writer)|Koji Suzuki]]. A joint project between [[Japan]] and [[Korea]], this version has [[Park Eun-Suh]] as the creator of the [[curse]]d [[videotape]]. Although the filmmakers claimed that the film was adapted from the novel, there are various scenes in the film that match the 1998 film ''[[Ring (film)|Ring]]'', such as the sex of the lead character, some of the scenes on the videotape as well as copying other film scenes directly from the original film, including the film's climax.
'''''The Ring Virus''''' ({{ko-hhrm|링|rr=Ring}}) is a 1999 South Korean [[horror film]] adapted from the [[Japan]]ese novel ''[[Ring (Suzuki novel)|Ring]]'' by [[Koji Suzuki (writer)|Koji Suzuki]]. A joint project between Japan and Korea, this version has [[Park Eun-Suh]] as the creator of the cursed [[videotape]]. Although the filmmakers claimed that the film was adapted from the novel only, it differs from the novel in some ways that match the 1998 film ''[[Ring (film)|Ring]]'' (also known as ''Ringu'' in the US), such as having a female lead character, and several scenes were directly copied,{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}} including some of the scenes on the videotape and the film's climax.


At the time of the film's production, South Korea had placed a ban on Japanese cultural imports, which would have prevented ''Ring'' from being released in the country. ''The Ring Virus'' was commissioned as a remake for the South Korean market. By late 1998 the ban had been lifted,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1998/music/news/s-korea-to-lift-ban-on-japanese-culture-1117481242/|title=S. Korea to lift ban on Japanese culture|last=Herskovitz|first=Jon|date=9 October 1998|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=2 March 2023}}</ref>{{Original research inline|date=March 2023}} however production for the film had already progressed to near completion, and the film was released on 12 June 1999.{{sfn|Kalat|2007|pp=277–278}}
⚫
==Cast==
⚫
*[[Bae Doona]] as [[Sadako Yamamura|Park Eun-suh]]
⚫
*[[Shin Eun-kyung]] as Hong Sun-joo
⚫
*Lee Seung-hyeon
⚫
*[[Jung Jin-young (actor)|Jung Jin-young]] as Choi Yeol
⚫
*[[Kim Chang-wan]] as Reporter Kim
⚫
*Kim Ggoch-ji
⚫
*Yu Yeon-su


==Plot==
==Plot==
Followed by the death of her friends, journalist Hong Sun-Joo comes across a videotape containing incomprehensible images. Towards the end of the tape, she finds the curse which states that the viewer would die at the same time next week if he/she does not perform certain tasks. However, the next scene explaining the nature of the task has been erased. Sun-Joo and a doctor named Choi-Yul embark on a journey to break the curse placed upon them. They discover that the videotape was made by the psychic called Park Eun-Suh. Eun-Suh was an illegitimate daughter of a female psychic and was born a hermaphrodite. She was romantically involved with her half-brother and worked in a night club for a while. There, a man who found out about her secrets was killed as she had the uncanny ability to protect herself. The video tape is the medium Eun-Suh uses to reveal herself to the society. Her first exposure to the media was a painful experience, which caused her to withdraw from the outside world. When it became difficult for her to relate to the society, she retaliated by infiltrating it like a virus. The way of infiltration is one-way only and any attempt to block the process ends in extremely negative consequences.
Followed by the death of her friends, journalist Hong Sun-Joo comes across a videotape containing incomprehensible images. Towards the end of the tape, she finds the curse which states that the viewer would die at the same time next week if they do not perform certain tasks. However, the next scene explaining the nature of the task has been erased. Sun-Joo and a doctor named Choi-Yul embark on a journey to break the curse placed upon them. They discover that the videotape was made by the psychic called Park Eun-Suh. Eun-Suh was an illegitimate daughter of a female psychic and was born [[intersex]]. She was romantically involved with her half-brother and worked in a night club for a while. There, a man who found out about her secrets was killed as she had the uncanny ability to protect herself. The video tape is the medium Eun-Suh uses to reveal herself to the society. Her first exposure to the media was a painful experience, which caused her to withdraw from the outside world. When it became difficult for her to relate to the society, she retaliated by infiltrating it like a virus. The way of infiltration is one-way only and any attempt to block the process ends in extremely negative consequences.


⚫
==Cast==
==Differences between the film and the book==
⚫
* [[Jung Jin-young (actor)|Jung Jin-young]] as Choi Yeol
As opposed to the Japanese adaptation ''[[Ring (film)|Ring]]'', this movie more closely follows [[Ring (Suzuki novel)|Koji Suzuki]]'s storyline, while keeping some elements first introduced with ''Ring''.
⚫
* [[Shin Eun-kyung]] as Hong Sun-joo
* The main character from the novel is a man called Kazuyuki Asakawa, while in the film, the main character is a woman called Sun-Joo Hong.
⚫
* [[Kim Chang-wan]] as Reporter Kim
* The villain from the novel is named [[Sadako Yamamura]], while in the movie, she is called [[Park Eun-Suh]].
⚫
* [[Bae Doona]] as [[Sadako Yamamura|Park Eun-suh]]
* Ryuji in the novel is a philosophy professor who also achieved medical studies, whereas in the movie, Choi is a doctor who made a mystical pronouncement at the scene of one the deaths about [[supernatural]] forces having been at work.
⚫
* Lee Seung-hyeon

⚫
* Kim Ggoch-ji
==Similarities between the film and the book==
⚫
* Yu Yeon-su
There are similarities between this film and the novel that contrast with [[Ring (film)|Hideo Nakata]]'s adaptation.
* The cursed tape in the movie is very similar to the one in the book, although the book version is much longer and more complicated. Both videotapes feature a message at the beginning along the lines of "Watch until the end, you will be eaten by the lost," and ending with "Those that have viewed this tape are [[wiktionary:fate|fated]] to die at this exact time seven days from now. In order to survive, you must-" The rest of the end message is taped over, and it is not until the end that Sun-Joo realizes that the rest of the message is about copying the tape and showing it to someone else.
* Choi also analyzes the tape sequences the same way Ryuji does in the book. He categorizes the parts into two categories: real scenes and abstract scenes. The realistic scenes are easy to spot, since they have dark blurry edges, and instants of darkness. Choi quickly concludes that those instants of darkness are eye blinks. The average man blinks twenty times per minute, whereas the average woman blinks fifteen times per minute. Considering this fact, this video was created by a woman, scenes filmed through her own eyes and images in her mind.
* Sadako / Eun-Suh is a [[hermaphrodite]] in the movie. She has [[Androgen insensitivity syndrome|testicular feminization syndrome]], meaning she is anatomically female, except she has a pair of [[testes]] beneath her [[vagina]] (she evidently does not have a [[penis]]). The movie starts with Sun-Joo interviewing a gallery owner that explains the theme of her exposition: the beauty of women and the strength of men combined in one individual, a hint for those who have read the book.
* The movie is faithful to the storyline of the book, including the search for Sadako / Eun-Suh's clinical records, her origin story and her [[rape]] before being murdered.
* Like Sadako in the novels and nearly in ''Ring Kanzenban'', Eun-Suh was raped before being thrown down the well. The rapist was her half-brother. Similarly to Sadako in Ring Kanzenban, she struggles to escape, defends herself by biting and drawing blood from her captives shoulder, and is ashamed when he discovers her testicular feminization syndrome. Though it is not as clearly explained, Eun-Suh appears to telepathically threaten to kill him for discovering her secret. Horrified, he strangles her unconscious before dropping her into a nearby well. In Eun-Suh's cursed tape this is briefly shown.
*Even though the film kills its supporting character the same way ''Ring'' did, the movie shares the book views on a pseudo-science-fictitious medical-mystery approach with its title and Choi's scientific research on viruses, and the conclusions he makes before his death.


==Release==
==See also==
⚫
* [[List of South Korean films of 1999]]
''The Ring Virus'' was released in South Korea on 12 June 1999.{{sfn|Kalat|2007|p=277}}{{sfn|Kalat|2007|p=278}}


==References==
==References==
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{{Refbegin}}
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Kalat |first=David |title=J-Horror: The Definitive Guide to The Ring, The Grudge and Beyond |publisher=Vertical Inc |date=2007 |isbn=978-1-932234-08-4 |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book | last=Kalat | first=David | title=J-Horror: The Definitive Guide to The Ring, The Grudge and Beyond | publisher=Vertical Inc | date=2007 | isbn=978-1-932234-08-4}}
{{Refend}}
{{Refend}}


==External links==
==External links==
*{{IMDb title|0289424}}
* {{IMDb title|0289424}}
*{{Rotten Tomatoes|ring_virus}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|ring_virus}}
*{{Amg movie|309449}}
* {{Amg movie|309449}}
*[http://www.mandiapple.com/snowblood/ringcompare.htm Snowblood Apple Ring Comparison] Comparison of ''Ring'', ''The Ring'', and ''The Ring Virus'' movies.
* [http://www.mandiapple.com/snowblood/ringcompare.htm Snowblood Apple Ring Comparison] - comparison of ''Ring'', ''The Ring'', and ''The Ring Virus'' films.


{{The Ring}}
{{The Ring}}
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[[Category:South Korean ghost films]]
[[Category:South Korean ghost films]]
[[Category:South Korean horror films]]
[[Category:South Korean horror films]]
⚫
[[Category:South Korean films]]
[[Category:Films based on Japanese novels]]
[[Category:Films based on Japanese novels]]
[[Category:1999 films]]
[[Category:1999 films]]
[[Category:South Korean remakes of Japanese films]]
[[Category:South Korean remakes of Japanese films]]
[[Category:1990s South Korean films]]

Revision as of 17:37, 14 March 2024

The Ring Virus
Theatrical release poster
Korean name
Hangul
링
Revised Romanizationring
McCune–Reischauerring
Directed byKim Dong-bin
Written byKim Dong-bin
Kong Su-chang
Based onRing
by Kôji Suzuki
Produced byJonathan Kim
StarringShin Eun-kyung
Jung Jin-young
Kim Chang-wan
Bae Doona
CinematographyHwang Chul-hyun
Edited byKyung Min-ho
Music byIl Won
Release date
12 June 1999
Running time
108 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean

The Ring Virus (Korean: 링; RR: Ring) is a 1999 South Korean horror film adapted from the Japanese novel Ring by Koji Suzuki. A joint project between Japan and Korea, this version has Park Eun-Suh as the creator of the cursed videotape. Although the filmmakers claimed that the film was adapted from the novel only, it differs from the novel in some ways that match the 1998 film Ring (also known as Ringu in the US), such as having a female lead character, and several scenes were directly copied,[citation needed] including some of the scenes on the videotape and the film's climax.

At the time of the film's production, South Korea had placed a ban on Japanese cultural imports, which would have prevented Ring from being released in the country. The Ring Virus was commissioned as a remake for the South Korean market. By late 1998 the ban had been lifted,[1][original research?] however production for the film had already progressed to near completion, and the film was released on 12 June 1999.[2]

Plot

Followed by the death of her friends, journalist Hong Sun-Joo comes across a videotape containing incomprehensible images. Towards the end of the tape, she finds the curse which states that the viewer would die at the same time next week if they do not perform certain tasks. However, the next scene explaining the nature of the task has been erased. Sun-Joo and a doctor named Choi-Yul embark on a journey to break the curse placed upon them. They discover that the videotape was made by the psychic called Park Eun-Suh. Eun-Suh was an illegitimate daughter of a female psychic and was born intersex. She was romantically involved with her half-brother and worked in a night club for a while. There, a man who found out about her secrets was killed as she had the uncanny ability to protect herself. The video tape is the medium Eun-Suh uses to reveal herself to the society. Her first exposure to the media was a painful experience, which caused her to withdraw from the outside world. When it became difficult for her to relate to the society, she retaliated by infiltrating it like a virus. The way of infiltration is one-way only and any attempt to block the process ends in extremely negative consequences.

Cast

See also

References

  1. ^ Herskovitz, Jon (9 October 1998). "S. Korea to lift ban on Japanese culture". Variety. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  2. ^ Kalat 2007, pp. 277–278.
  • Kalat, David (2007). J-Horror: The Definitive Guide to The Ring, The Grudge and Beyond. Vertical Inc. ISBN 978-1-932234-08-4.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Ring_Virus&oldid=1213708705"