6.6 /10 1 Votes
3.5/5 Amazon Written by Yook Sang-hyo Cinematography Jeon Dae-sung Screenplay Yuk Sang-Hyo | 6/10 IMDb Directed by Yook Sang-hyo Music by Shin Hyung Director Yuk Sang-Hyo Music director Shin Hyung | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Produced by Kim Bok-geun
Lee Se-young Starring Kim In-kwon
Kim Jung-tae Initial release 30 September 2010 (South Korea) Awards PaekSang Arts Award for Best Screenplay, PaekSang Arts Award for Best New Actress in Film Cast Shin Hyun‑bin, Kim In‑kwon, Kim Jung‑tae, Khan Mohammad Asaduzzman, Nazarudin Similar Over My Dead Body, Highway Star, The Quiz Show Scandal, Baby and I, Collective Invention | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
He's on Duty (Hangul: 방가? 방가!; RR: Bangga? Bangga!; MR: Pangga? Pangga!) is a 2010 South Korean film that comically yet incisively depicts racial issues in Korea. Tae-sik finds it difficult to get a job due to his odd appearance and impatient character. After failing repeatedly, he disguises himself as a foreigner and finally lands a job. Tae-sik, however, witnesses the cruel treatment migrant workers face in Korea.
Contents
The Korean title is a pun on the lead character's name and is an abbreviated form of 반갑습니다 (bangabseumnida) or 반가워요 (bangawoyo) which translates to "Delighted? Delighted!" or "Nice to meet you."
He s on duty
Plot
Bang Tae-sik is perennially unemployed as he drifts from one job to another, from manual labor to serving coffee. His appearance (dark skin and short height), being rather atypical for a Korean is to blame it seems, but best buddy Yong-cheol persuades Tae-sik to make better use of these disadvantages: Desperate and having nothing better to do, he adopts a strange accent and ethnic hat and is reborn as Bang-ga (a twist on his family name) from Bhutan, and immediately lands a job at a chair manufacturing factory.
Despite a shaky beginning ― due to his unredeemable clumsiness, rather than doubts about his alleged Bhutani roots that are all too convincing ― Tae-sik gets along with his co-workers, and even starts romancing the lovely Jang-mi from Vietnam. He is even voted to become president of a migrant workers labor union and competent Korean language instructor, and joins in a harmonious effort to win a local singing competition for foreigners.
Tae-sik begins to truly bond with his co-workers but his loyalties are put to the test when Yong-cheol finds a way to swindle their money.
Cast
Awards and nominations
2010 Korean Film Awards
2011 Baeksang Arts Awards
2011 Buil Film Awards