The Ugly Duckling

The Ugly Duckling

2012 · 96 min · ★ 6.0 · Drama, Comedy

A man joins the national army as a soldier who does haircuts for other soldiers. However, he feels frustrated for being on miscellaneous duties rather than what he was conscripted for.

Directed by Kwak Kyung-taek · Written by Kwak Kyung-taek

Your Rating

Cast

Make it a double feature

3h 36m together

The Ugly Duckling

Lifting King Kong

Both from Kwak Kyung-taek.

More from Kwak Kyung-taekSee all →

FirefightersFirefighters · 2024
Firefighters
7.02024
MovieDrama
Even in the harshest environments, firefighters must focus on extinguishing fires and rescuing everyone there. At 3:47 AM on March 4, 2001, the 119 emergency call center receives a phone call about a fire that has broken out in the Hongje-dong neighborhood. Firefighters, including newcomer Cheol-woong, rush to the scene.
Lifting King KongLifting King Kong · 2009
Lifting King Kong
7.02009
MovieDrama
Lee Ji-Bong is a former Olympics bronze medalist for weight-lifting, but a career-ending injury from the games forces him into early retirement. Unable to find another vocation, he becomes destitute. Down and out, he ends up working at a shady nightclub passing out flyers until he is visited by his former coach who insists he begin a career as a coach at a high school. There, he forms a weight-lifting team comprised of a rag-tag group of outcasts.
FriendFriend · 2001
Friend
6.92001
MovieActionDrama
Despite their different family backgrounds, four friends grew up together in the wearisome years of the 70s. But as time goes by, each of them takes a different life path.
Battle of JangsariBattle of Jangsari · 2019
Battle of Jangsari
6.72019
MovieDramaHistory
Korean War, September 1950. In order to fight the enemy forces based in the South of the peninsula, General MacArthur orders the start of the Incheon Landing Operation, deploying diversionary attacks in other locations. Without real military forces to spare, 772 very young Korean student soldiers, barely trained, are sent to Jangsari Beach, where they will face a heroic fate and discover the value of friendship. (A sequel to Operation Chromite, released in 2016.)
A LoveA Love · 2007
A Love
6.72007
MovieActionDrama
In-ho is willing to do anything to protect his first love, Mi-ju, including murder. They cannot forget each other while In-ho is in prison, but their love does not go smoothly.
Friend: The Great LegacyFriend: The Great Legacy · 2013
Friend: The Great Legacy
6.62013
MovieDramaAction
Joon-seok is sent to prison for his involvement in Dong-soo's death. He meets Dong-soo's son in prison, keeps his identity a secret, and agrees to join forces when he is released. All of their plans fall apart when Sung-hoon finds out the truth.
The Classified FileThe Classified File · 2015
The Classified File
6.62015
MovieCrimeDrama
A detective and a fortune teller join forces to find a kidnapped child whom no one expects to be alive. Based on a true story.
Dark Figure of CrimeDark Figure of Crime · 2018
Dark Figure of Crime
6.62018
MovieCrimeDrama
A serial killer is caught for his seventh murder. A cop tries to solve the first six cases with the killer's help, but starts to suspect that he has ulterior motives. Based on a true story.
PainPain · 2011
Pain
6.42011
MovieDramaRomance
A debt collector who has lost his sense of pain after being in an accident when he was young falls in love with a street vendor who has acute hemophilia.
Eye For An EyeEye For An Eye · 2008
Eye For An Eye
6.42008
MovieActionCrime
The devious brain behind a heist draws a top police detective, on the eve of his retirement, into an elaborate plot of robbery and revenge.
Doctor KDoctor K · 1999
Doctor K
6.41999
MovieRomanceDrama
Terminally ill patients are magically cured by a neurosurgeon who transfers their tumors to his own brain.
Mutt BoyMutt Boy · 2003
Mutt Boy
6.22003
MovieDrama
Life is tough for Chol-Min - his mother died during labor, forcing him to grow up alonge with his stoic police officer father. However, Chol-Min lives a high-spirited life and roams around town with his own mutt, a half-bred police dog, making friends and enemies along the way.
TyphoonTyphoon · 2005
Typhoon
6.02005
MovieActionThriller
A vengeful refugee-turned-pirate steals nuclear materials to attack and obliterate the Koreas in a Nuclear Typhoon. A top South Korean naval officer is assigned the task to stop his plans and execute him.
RV: Resurrected VictimsRV: Resurrected Victims · 2017
RV: Resurrected Victims
5.62017
MovieThrillerMystery
Based on the Resurrected Victims Phenomenon where murder victims come back to life to avenge the murderer, a prosecutor is suspected of his mother’s murder.
BoyBoy · 2011
Boy
5.52011
MovieDrama
Winter 1988 - Middle school student Jin-Woo lives with his unemployed alcoholic father and his mother who frequently attempts to run away from home due to her unhappiness with her husband. Jin-Woo's older sister does whatever she wants and fumes at her mother for the life she lives. Jin-Woo feels sorry for his mom who has to support the family alone and starts to work as a newspaper delivery boy. At the newspaper distribution plant, he meets another boy named Chang-Geun who works hard to save money. Jin-Woo learns from Chang-Geun things like how to smoke, drink alcohol and how to deal with girls. Jin-Woo learns about life through Chang-Geun.
ChampionChampion · 2002
Champion
5.22002
MovieDrama
This biopic tells the true story of Korean boxer Kim Deuk-gu. Born into poverty, Kim used boxing to free himself from his bleak surroundings, eventually becoming the world's top lightweight. Tragically, Kim's life was cut short when he died from a blood clot in his brain during a championship fight with Ray Boom Boom Mancini.

More Like This

Welcome to DongmakgolWelcome to Dongmakgol · 2005
Welcome to Dongmakgol
7.42005
MovieComedyDrama
Based on the long running play by Jang Jin, the story is set in Korea during the Korean War in 1950. Soldiers from both the North and South, as well as an American pilot, find themselves in a secluded and naively idealistic village, its residents unaware of the outside world, including the war.
Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of WarTae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War · 2004
Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War
8.02004
MovieActionAdventure
When two brothers are forced to fight in the Korean War, the elder decides to take the riskiest missions if it will help shield the younger from battle.
ObsessedObsessed · 2014
Obsessed
6.72014
MovieDramaRomance
A secret, passionate affair happens in the summer of 1969 between Colonel Jin Pyeong, trapped in a loveless marriage with Soo Jin, and Jong Ga Heun, the Chinese-Korean wife of Captain Kyung Woo Jin.
SilmidoSilmido · 2003
Silmido
7.12003
MovieActionDrama
On 31 January 1968, 31 North Korean commandos infiltrated South Korea in a failed mission to assassinate President Park Chung-hee. In revenge, the South Korean military assembled a team of 31 criminals on the island of Silmido to kill Kim Il-sung for a suicide mission to redeem their honor, but was cancelled, leaving them frustrated. It is loosely based on a military uprising in the 1970s.
6/456/45 · 2022
6/45
6.82022
MovieComedy
A comical encounter between South and North Korean soldiers over the 5.7 billions won lottery that crossed the military demarcation line on the wind.
Joint Security AreaJoint Security Area · 2000
Joint Security Area
7.82000
MovieDramaThriller
Two North Korean soldiers are killed in the border area between North and South Korea, prompting an investigation by a neutral body. The sergeant is the shooter, but the lead investigator, a Swiss-Korean woman, receives differing accounts from the two sides.
ShiriShiri · 1999
Shiri
6.41999
MovieActionAdventure
North Korea's 8th Special Forces hijack a shipment of CTX, a potent new liquid explosive, and threatens South Korea as part of a plot to re-unify the two countries. Ryu and Lee, special agents of O.P., South Korea's secret intelligence service, attempt to track down the terrorists and find the CTX. Meanwhile Hee, the 8th's ultra-bad female sniper, resurfaces to wreak havoc and haunt Ryu.
EscapeEscape · 2024
Escape
7.32024
MovieActionDrama
After completing his required decade of military service and being honored as a hero, a North Korean sergeant makes a sudden shocking attempt to defect to the South, risking life and limb for the chance to finally determine his own destiny.
The Front LineThe Front Line · 2011
The Front Line
7.22011
MovieDramaAction
In 1951 ceasefire is declared, but two remaining armies fought their final battle on the front line Towards the end of the Korean War, a South Korean battalion is fiercely battling over a hill on the front line border against the North in order to capture a strategic point that would determine the new border between two nations. The ownership of this small patch of land would swap multiple times each day. Kang is dispatched to the front line in order to investigate the tacit case that’s been happening there.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter