Director: Kim Soo-yong
Screenplay: Yong-seong Kim
Starring: Yoon Jeong-hee, Lee Dae-kun, Lee Yeong-ha, Jeong-ran Kim, Mi-nam Song, Kim Ki-su
Country: South Korea
Running Time: 94 min
Year: 1978
BBFC Certificate: 15
South Korean cinema had a surge in popularity overseas from the early 2000s, after the release of films like Oldboy and The Host. It has continued to have an international presence throughout the 21st century, with perhaps the most notable success being Parasite, which managed the extraordinary feat of winning the Oscar for Best Picture, not just Best International Film, as well as the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
As such, 21st century South Korean films have been fairly well served on disc too, with the work of directors like Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho being readily available in the US and UK.
However, the films made during this period are known as ‘new wave’ titles. The golden age of South Korean cinema is actually considered to be the period between the mid-50s and early 70s, when the country was churning out films of a high standard, largely melodramas. Government control over the industry increased from 1962, leading to a great deal of censorship, but the filmmakers of this era still managed to produce some notable titles.
Sadly, very few of the films made in South Korea before the turn of the new millennium have been available on disc in the UK. Films like The Housemaid (1960) and Obaltan (1960) have been screaming out for a release but nothing has ever surfaced.
Radiance Films aren’t releasing either of those (yet?) but they are turning to one of the golden age’s most respected directors, Kim Soo-yong, to release Splendid Outing on Blu-ray. This 1978 film was made a little after the peak of South Korean cinema’s heyday, but it’s still a highly welcome move from the label.
What’s the film about? Well, to quote Radiance’s blurb, “Following a dream about her dead twin sister, thriving corporate tycoon Gong Do-hee (Yoon Jeong-hee) takes a drive to the seaside. But her splendid outing becomes a nightmarish one when she is kidnapped and forced to live with a gruff island fisherman who insists that she is his runaway wife.”
Splendid Outing is quite an unusual film that blends modernism with a touch of realism. It reminded me a little of the work of Luis Buñuel, in its mix of biting social commentary with surreal flourishes.
There are some bold stylistic touches in places, from the lengthy first-person camera shot running under the credits, to the warped frames during the capture of Gong and the disorientating editing of the dream sequences.
This is all anchored by an excellent central performance by the legendary Yoon Jeong-hee. I know her best from her final performance in Lee Chang-dong’s Poetry. Here she perfectly embodies her complex character, who moves from a place of power to the polar opposite.
I felt that Lee Dae-kun, who played the man claiming to be her husband, overplayed his role a little though. He sounds to be putting on a ‘dumb guy’ accent, for want of a better description. I found it a little false next to Yoon Jeong-hee’s more nuanced performance.
This is a minor grievance in an otherwise beautifully made film. It’s one that, for whatever reason, didn’t fully connect with me though. I could appreciate what it was doing but I never quite warmed to it. It’s hard to put my finger on why, so perhaps it just wasn’t playing to my tastes or mood that night.
As such, you might want to take my rating of the film with a pinch of salt.
Regardless of my personal opinion, Splendid Outing remains a thought-provoking film. With its tale of a successful woman having her power stripped from her by a violent man, it’s not hard to take a feminist reading of the film. It also takes a pot shot at the South Korean authorities of the time though. Oppression was rife, including within the film industry, and the way Gong’s voice is removed through no fault of her own can be seen as a metaphor for what was going on in the country at the time.
So, whilst Splendid Outing didn’t grip me as tightly as I’d have liked, I did admire its peculiar, dream-like approach and can’t deny it’s an intriguing and beautifully made film. I’d suggest you give it a watch and make up your own mind.
Film: 
Splendid Outing is out on 8th December on region-free Blu-Ray, released by Radiance Films. It looks good, with pleasing colours and clear details, particularly in close-ups. There is some damage, with the occasional line on screen and other light flecks, but nothing overly distracting. I’ve used screengrabs throughout this review to give you an idea of how it looks, though these have been compressed. I had no issues with the mono audio.
LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY FEATURES
– High-Definition digital transfer from a 4K scan by the Korean Film Archive
– Uncompressed mono PCM audio
– Audio Commentary by Ariel Schudson (2025)
– Interview with filmmaker Lee Chang-dong (2025, 15 mins)
– Interview with assistant director Chung Ji-young (2025, 21 mins)
– Stranded but Not Afraid: The Island Women of Classic Korean Cinema – a visual essay by Pierce Conran (2025, 16 mins)
– Newly improved English subtitles
– Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
– Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Chung Chong-hwa and Pierce Conran and archival writing by director Kim Soo-yong
– Limited edition of 2500 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
Ariel Schudson provides a commentary. She breaks down and analyses the film without ever feeling like she’s over reaching, often looking at the feminist aspects of the film. It’s a decent track.
Pierce Conran talks about Korean ‘women’s island dramas’ in an interview. He discusses where Splendid Outing fits among these and describes how he sees it as a political allegory, pointing a finger at the Korean government rather than being a purely feminist fable.
Lee Chang-dong talks about Yoon Jeong-hee in an interview. He directed her in Poetry, and has some touching stories to tell about working with her in what would prove to be her final role.
Chung Ji-young talks about Splendid Outing in an interview. He was an assistant director on the film and begins by talking about how he got into the industry before describing his work with director Kim Soo-yong. He likes to blow his own trumpet a bit but I enjoyed hearing what he had to say.
I didn’t receive a copy of the booklet to comment on that, unfortunately.
Overall, it’s a great set of extras to complement a fine film. I didn’t fully warm to Splendid Outing myself, but I could appreciate its myriad qualities and, more importantly, I’m thrilled to see a label dig deeper into the history of South Korean cinema. Let’s hope there’s more to come.
Disc/package:
