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Way Back Home
Way Back Home
	Theatrical release poster
Hangul	집으로 가는 길
Literal meaning	Way Home
Revised Romanization	Jib-eulo Ganeun Gil
Directed by	Bang Eun-jin
Written by	Yoon Jin-ho
Produced by	Im Sang-jin ; Jang Won-seok ; Kang Myeong-chan ; Seo Young-hee
Starring	Jeon Do-yeon; Go Soo;
Cinematography	Lee Mo-gae
Edited by	Kim Sun-min
Music by	Kim Jun-seong
Distributed by	CJ Entertainment
Release date	11 December 2013;
Running time	107 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Box office	$12.8 million

Way Back Home (Korean: 집으로 가는 길; RR: Jibeuro Ganeun Gil) is a 2013 South Korean drama film starring Jeon Do-yeon and Go Soo, and directed by Bang Eun-jin.^[3]^[4] It is based on the true story of an ordinary Korean housewife who was imprisoned in Martinique for two years after being wrongfully accused of drug smuggling at a Paris airport.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

This is the first time a Korean film was shot in the Caribbean, as well as the first to feature actual guards and prisoners as supporting characters. Filming took place over three weeks at a women's prison in Martinique.^[9]^[10]

Plot

Jeong-yeon (Jeon Do-yeon) and Jong-bae (Go Soo) are a happily married couple with a young daughter; they pour their savings into an auto repair shop only to have the rug pulled out from underneath them when a friend of Jong-bae's commits suicide after he is unable to pay his loans. Since Jong-bae acted as his friend's guarantor, the debt now falls onto them. With Jong-bae gradually growing despondent following their financial turmoil, Jeong-yeon makes the hard decision to do a job for a seedy acquaintance. She agrees to deliver diamonds from Paris to Seoul, which she thought would be legal. Jeong-yeon arrives in France, but as soon as she sets foot in Orly Airport she is arrested and police discover more than 30 kilograms (66 pounds) of cocaine in her bag. Being thrown in a French jail is only the beginning of her troubles as legal wranglings and an indifferent Korean embassy in France soon see her shipped off to a penitentiary on the far-flung island of Martinique, a French territory in the Caribbean, where she is jailed for two years without being tried in court. Back in Korea, her husband does his best to get through to the diplomats and secure her passage home.^[11]

Cast

Jeon Do-yeon as Song Jeong-yeon
Go Soo as Kim Jong-bae
Ryu Tae-ho as Consul Bang
Bae Sung-woo as Section chief Chu Dae-yoon
Kang Ji-woo as Hye-rin
Joanna Kulig as Yalka
Corinne Masiero as "Hellboy"
Lee Dong-hwi as Gwang-sik
Choi Min-chul as Seo Moon-do
Heo Joon-seok as Soo-jae
Park Hyung-soo as Seoul District Prosecutors' Office detective
Park Yoon-hee as KBC TV reporter Shin Cheol-ho
Park Ji-il as Police officer Lee Soo
Lee Do-kyeong as Department head Joo
Jean-Michel Martial as Martinique judge
Antoine Blanquefort as Martinique prosecutor
Hugues Martel as New defense lawyer Olivier Bécourt
Catherine Baugue as original Martinique defense lawyer
Park Ji-hwan as Ha Tae-gwang
Seo Jin-won as Sang-cheol
Oh Yeon-ah as Lee Soo-ji
Chae Yoo-hee as Ji-hye
Dong Hyo-hee as Jong-bae's older sister
Marie-Philomène Nga as "250 years old"
Feliné Quezada Figueroa as "Gangster #1"
Gastner Legerme as Ducos driving prison officer
Seo Byeong-cheol as Interrogating detective Choi Jo
Kim Mi-kyung as landlady
Son Young-joo as YTN newsreader
Kim Seon-ju as French interpreter
Pascal Vallet as French plainclothes policeman
Kim Su-hyeon as Bang's wife
Lee Sa-bi as KBC TV writer
Kang Myeong-chan as KBC TV cameraman
Jang Gwang as Korean ambassador to France (cameo)
Kim Hae-gon as Deputy driving car owner (cameo)

Background

On 30 October 2004, Jang Mi-jeong was arrested at Orly Airport in France for smuggling a suitcase filled with 17 kilograms (or 37 pounds) of cocaine. Jang said she had no idea what it contained; she had been given a bag by her husband's friend, whom she had known for more than 10 years, and was told it was filled with unpolished gemstones. Jang had agreed to carry the suitcase from Guyana to the Netherlands via France in return for ₩4 million (US$3,740). After getting caught at Orly, Jang was jailed near Paris for three months awaiting trial. Then, after being found guilty, she was sent to a prison in French-administered Martinique in the Caribbean. She finally returned to Korea two years later on 18 November 2006. Her friend was eventually arrested as well and sentenced to serve 10 years in jail. Jang's story was later featured on In Depth 60 Minutes, a KBS investigative-documentary show, in 2006.^[12] In 2013, Jang published the book Lost Days, recounting her ordeal and her life after returning from prison, particularly her difficult re-adjustment to Korean society and the ostracism she and her two daughters faced.^[13]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been criticized by Jang and the filmmakers for its handling of the incident, citing their "diplomatic negligence" and calling them irresponsible when it comes to protecting Koreans abroad. Foreign Ministry officials have insisted that the story in the movie is not the whole truth.^[14]

Box office

Way Back Home was released in theaters on 11 December 2013. The film recorded 610,000 admissions on its opening weekend, placing second in box-office sales.^[15] It ended up selling a total of 1,854,702 tickets, with a gross of ₩13,048,981,745.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
2014	5th KOFRA Film Awards ^[16]	Best Actress	Jeon Do-yeon	Won
	9th Max Movie Awards			Won
	19th Chunsa Film Art Awards			Nominated
	50th Paeksang Arts Awards			Nominated
	23rd Buil Film Awards^[17]			Nominated
	51st Grand Bell Awards^[18]			Nominated
	35th Blue Dragon Film Awards^[19]			Nominated
	34th Golden Cinema Festival	Best Actor	Go Soo	Won