Peppermint Candy

Peppermint Candy follows Kim Yeong-ho, a bitter and withdrawn man who joins a reunion of old friends in 1999, roughly twenty years after they first knew each other. His behaviour unsettles the gathering, and when he walks onto a railway bridge and stands before an approaching train, the film turns backward through his life. Seven episodes from his past unfold in reverse order, moving from the reunion to his time as a policeman, his military service and his youth, tracing the personal disappointments and the turbulent years in South Korea between 1979 and 1999 that shaped him.

The film was written and directed by Lee Chang-dong, his second feature after Green Fish, and precedes Oasis, Secret Sunshine, Poetry, Burning and Possible Love. Sul Kyung-gu plays Yeong-ho, with Moon So-ri as Yun Sun-im, Kim Yeo-jin as Hong-ja, Suh Jung as Miss Lee, Go Seo-hee as Kyeong-ah and Kim In-kwon as Sergeant Lee among a credited cast of 86. It was produced by Jeon Jae-young and Jeon Yang-jun through UniKorea Pictures, East Film and other companies, with Korean and Japanese involvement.

On IMDb the film holds a 7.8/10 from seven reviews, while on TMDB it averages 7.5/10 from 313 votes, indicating a well-regarded but comparatively niche standing among international viewers rather than broad mainstream attention.