CHUNG Ji Young is known among local and international film fans for his serious works such as North Korean Partisan in South Korea and White Badge. Interestingly, his earlier films produced in the 1980s have earned him fame for a different reason: highly commercial erotic thrillers and melodramatic adaptations of bestsellers. His debut film Mist Whispers Like Women is a good example of that. Hye Ryun, a successful fashion designer, is drowned by her husband Sung Min, who is having an affair with Do Hi, Hye Ryun’s colleague/model. Sung Min plans a flight with Do Hi, but the traces of his dead wife keep haunting him, driving him to panic, turning him into a suspect of his wife’s murder. The 1980s Korean film industry had mixed feelings about Hollywood — an unconquerable mountain, and a can’t-do-without role model. Taking a Hollywood approach to weaving a story of infidelity and a crime of passion, CHUNG embraces all the fun of erotic thrillers that were hugely popular in the 80’s. Plus, the then rampant consumerism and capitalist culture, with its fashion, fads, career women, and hideaways in the suburbs, are fully incorporated into the film’s fabric. The movie also offers a rare opportunity to appreciate the electrifying charisma and charm of actress OH Su Mi, whose decadent and chic persona is forever remembered by her fans. (Jin PARK)