''Samjin Company English Class'' () is a 2020 South Korean

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film written and directed by Lee Jong-pil, starring Go Ah-sung, Esom and Park Hye-su. It was released on October 21, 2020.

Plot

In 1995, three female employees at Samjin Company, who are given the opportunity to be promoted if they score at least 600 points at the

TOEIC The Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) is an international standardized test of English language proficiency for non-native speakers. It is intentionally designed to measure the everyday English skills of people working in an ...

test, enroll in English classes. Lee Ja-young from the production management department, Jung Yu-na from the marketing department and Shim Bo-ram from the accounting department had joined the company straight out of high school and are still low-level employees despite being with the company for eight years and possessing necessary practical "street smarts". One day, Ja-young notices polluted waste water leaking from a factory where she had been sent to. Being a lover of mystery novels, she decides to investigate and Yu-na and Bo-ram join her quest to find out what illegal activities their company might be involved in. The challenge remains for them to find and expose the truth without losing their jobs.

Cast

* Go Ah-sung as Lee Ja-young * Esom as Jung Yoo-na * Park Hye-su as Shim Bo-ram * Cho Hyun-chul as Choi Dong-soo * Kim Jong-soo as Bong Hyun-chul *

Kim Won-hae Kim Won-hae (; born April 6, 1969) is a South Korean actor. Since his debut in musical in 1991, Kim Won-hae worked on stage in plays and musicals before joining the non-verbal performance Nanta as an original member in 1997. He is best known a ...

as Ahn Gi-chang *

Bae Hae-sun Bae Hae-sun (; born May 8, 1974) is a South Korean film, television, musical, and stage actress. Bae made her debut in 1995 as an understudy in the play ''Gone with the Wind''. She gradually built her acting career by alternating between small ...

as Ban Eun-kyung * David Lee McInnis as Billy Park *

Baek Hyun-jin Baek Hyun-jin (; born June 29, 1972) is a South Korean actor, musician, and artist. Film Television Producer * ''The End'' (short, 2009) * ''Eternal Joke'' (short, 2011) Screenwriter * ''The End'' (short, 2009) * ''Eternal Joke'' ( ...

as Oh Tae-young * Lee Sung-wook as Hong Soo-chul * Choi Soo-im as Jo Min-jung *

Jung Yi-seo Jung Yi-seo (; born August 13, 1993) is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in dramas such as ''Tale of the Nine Tailed'' (2020), ''Mine (TV series), Mine'' (2021), ''Snowdrop (South Korean TV series), Snowdrop'' (2022) and ''All ...

as Audit office employee * Lee Joo-young as Song So-ra * Tyler Rasch as English instructor

Production

Principal photography began in late October 2019.

Release

The film was theatrically released on October 21, 2020. It was invited at the 20th New York Asian Film Festival. It was featured in 'Standouts’ strand and screened at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

and

SVA Theatre The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Sila ...

in the two-week festival held from August 6 to 22, 2021 in New York.

Reception

Box office

The film topped the South Korean box office for six days following its release.

Accolades

References

External links

* * * {{Baeksang Arts Award Best Film 2020 films 2020s Korean-language films 2020s feminist films South Korean comedy-drama films Films about whistleblowing Films set in 1995 Films set in Seoul Lotte Entertainment films 2020 comedy-drama films Environmental films South Korean films based on actual events