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The Prison
A claustrophobic crime-action descent into a penitentiary where the walls protect a kingdom of crime. Menace and swagger collide in concrete corridors, and a prison that looks like a cage turns out to be a throne room.
The Prison
The Prison

프리즌

"Rule The Outside From Within."

23 March 2017 South Korea 125 min 7.1 (113)

Director: Na Hyun

Cast: Han Suk-kyu, Kim Rae-won, Jung Woong-in, Jo Jae-yun, Shin Sung-rok

Crime Action Institutional corruption Power and territory Justice versus vengeance Masculinity and violence Alibi and the illusion of order

The Prison — Characters & Cast

Character Analysis

Jung Ik-ho

Han Suk-kyu

Archetype: Villain / crime king Key Trait: Chillingly affable authority

Motivation

To keep and expand an empire of crime in which the prison is his base and his alibi.

Character Arc

He starts as the calm, charming ruler of the prison. His tolerance of the new inmate turns into an attempt to recruit him, and his violent side emerges as his control is threatened.

Song Yoo-gun

Kim Rae-won

Archetype: Antihero Key Trait: Hot-headed, combative

Motivation

To survive and to come out on top, driven by his own agenda and sense of justice.

Character Arc

He goes from a reckless ex-cop who provokes everyone to a man who must survive and learn the rules of the prison. He is drawn into Ik-ho's world while looking for his own way to beat it.

Governor Kang

Jung Woong-in

Archetype: Corrupt authority figure Key Trait: Opportunism

Motivation

Self-interest, benefiting from his arrangement with the syndicate.

Character Arc

He is a prison head who appears to be in charge but is subservient to Ik-ho's enterprise. His complicity is what makes the system work.

Chang-gil

Shin Sung-rok

Archetype: Enforcer Key Trait: Physical menace

Motivation

Loyalty and profit within the syndicate.

Character Arc

He is part of the outside arm of Ik-ho's operation, and one commentator noted that he matches Kim Rae-won in the action scenes.

Cast

Han Suk-kyu as Jung Ik-ho
Kim Rae-won as Song Yoo-gun
Jung Woong-in as Prison Director Kang
Jo Jae-yun as Hong-pyo
Shin Sung-rok as Chang-gil
Jeon Bae-soo as Chief of Security
Lee Kyung-young as Director Bae
Kang Shin-il as Director Noh
Kim Sung-kyun as Dr. Kim
Park Won-sang as Manager Jung
Jung Suk-won as Beom-mo
Han Joo-wan as Jong-dae
Yu Ha-jun as Yong-chul
Park Jin-woo as Mr. Oh
Lee Seung-jin as Prisoner

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