Samjin Company English Class (Korean: 삼진그룹 영어토익반; lit. 'Samjin Group English TOEIC Class') is a 2020 South Korean comedy-drama film directed by Lee Jong-pil, starring Go Ah-sung, Esom and Park Hye-su. It was released on October 21, 2020.
Contents
Plot
In 1995, three female employees at Samjin Company are offered the opportunity for promotion if they achieve a score of at least 600 on the TOEIC test and therefore 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 joined the company straight out of high school and remain in low-level positions despite eight years of service and possessing considerable practical experience. One day, Ja-young notices polluted wastewater leaking from a factory to which she has been assigned. A fan of mystery novels, she decides to investigate, and Yu-na and Bo-ram join her in uncovering what illegal activities their company may be involved in. The challenge for them is to discover 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 as Ahn Gi-chang
Bae Hae-sun as Ban Eun-kyung
David Lee McInnis as Billy Park
Baek Hyun-jin as Oh Tae-young
Lee Sung-wook as Hong Soo-chul
Choi Soo-im as Jo Min-jung
Jung Yi-seo 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 and SVA Theatre 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.