The King and the Clown
The King and the Clown (Korean: 왕의 남자) is a 2005 South Korean historical drama film starring Kam Woo-sung, Jung Jin-young, and Lee Joon-gi. It was adapted from the 2000 stage play, Yi ("You") about Yeonsangun of Joseon, a Joseon dynasty king and a court clown who mocks him. It was released on 29 December 2005, runs for 119 minutes; and distributed domestically by Cinema Service and internationally by CJ Entertainment.
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| Hangul | 왕의 남자 |
| Hanja | 王의 男子 |
| Literal meaning | The King's Man |
| Revised Romanization | Wang-ui namja |
| McCune–Reischauer | Wangŭi Namja |
| Directed by | Lee Joon-ik |
| Written by | Choi Seok-hwan |
| Based on | Yi by Kim Tae-woong |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Ji Kil-woong |
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| Music by | Lee Byung-woo |
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Running time | 119 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Budget | US$3.5 million |
| Box office | US$74.5 million |
The movie is referred to by various titles. It is sometimes known as The King's Man (the literal English translation of the Korean title). In Chinese, the title is "王的男人" or "王和小丑", and in Japanese, it is known as "王の男". It is also known as The Royal Jester in English, as the movie's English translator found it more fitting than the original title.
The film was chosen as South Korea's official submission for the 2006 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. With over 12.3 million tickets sold, it was the most watched movie of South Korea of the year, as well the tenth highest-grossing film in South Korea.