Tough as Iron

Tough as Iron (Korean: 깡철이; RR: Kkangcheori) is a 2013 South Korean action drama film written and directed by Ahn Gwon-tae, starring Yoo Ah-in and Kim Hae-sook in the title role.^[1][2][3]

Tough as Iron
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Ahn Gwon-tae
Written by	Ahn Gwon-tae
Produced by	Baek Sun-hee Lee Min-ho Han Seong-gu Kang Woo-suk
Starring	Yoo Ah-in Kim Hae-sook
Cinematography	Lee Hyung-deok
Edited by	Kim Sun-min
Music by	Jo Yeong-wook
Production companies	Popcorn Film The Dream&Pictures Cinema Service
Distributed by	CJ Entertainment
Release date	October 2, 2013 (2013-10-02)
Running time	108 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Box office	US$7.9 million

Plot

Gang Cheol (whose name means "iron" in Korean^[4]) was once a legendary street gangster in Busan,^[5] but he put away his fists and cleaned up his act for the sake of his mother Soon-i, who has dementia. Things are going well for him; he now works as a stevedore at a loading dock and is pursuing a relationship with Soo-ji, a free-spirited woman from Seoul vacationing in the port city. But Soon-i is diagnosed with kidney failure and needs an expensive organ transplant that he cannot afford. Knowing that Cheol is desperate for money, local gang leader Sang-gon proposes that Cheol come work for him and his brother Hwi-gon. At first Cheol refuses, but when his debt-ridden best friend Jong-soo gives the deed to Cheol's house to Sang-gon as collateral for a private loan, he's left with no choice but to get dragged back into Busan's criminal underworld. Cheol is ordered to kill a visiting Japanese Yakuza boss whose death will enable Sang-gon's ascension within the Korean branch of the mob organization.

Cast

• Yoo Ah-in as Gang Cheol
• Kim Hae-sook as Kim Soon-i
• Kim Jung-tae as Sang-gon
• Kim Sung-oh as Hwi-gon
• Jung Yu-mi as Jo Soo-ji
• Lee Si-eon as Jong-soo
• Shin Jung-geun as Yagami
• Bae Seul-ki as Go Jae-sook
• Jang Tae-sung as Lee Byeong-hee
• Kim Byeong-seo as Poloti
• Kim Seo-kyeong as Chyurining
• Choi Young-sung as Adidas
• Song Young-chang as Hwan-gyu
• Kim Hyun-sook as Organ broker
• Go In-beom as Police substation captain
• Lee Jeong-heon as Director of internal medicine department

Release

Tough as Iron opened in South Korean theaters on October 2, 2013.^[6] It grossed US$7,889,145 on 1,209,363 admissions.

It also received a limited theatrical release in the United States (October 11, 2013) and Japan (May 2014).^[7][8][9]