Kim Go Eun’s controversial role in the Korean version of “Lolita”: an erotic love triangle with a huge age gap
After many years, Kim Go Eun’s “A Muse” is still receiving different opinions from viewers.
As one of Korea’s talented young actresses, Kim Go Eun is famous for blockbusters such as “Goblin”, “Yumi’s Cells” and “The King: Eternal Monarch”. Among them, her most controversial debut movie “A Muse” should be mentioned.
“A Muse” is a story revolving around three characters: 70-year-old poet Lee Juk Yo (Park Hae Il), carefree 17-year-old schoolgirl Eungyo (Kim Go Eun) and Lee Juk Yo’s student cum assistant Seo Ji Woo (Kim Moo Yul). Poet Lee Juk Yoo is going through a boring and lonely life in his autumnal age. He has no friends but his student cum assistant Seo Ji Woo. However, Lee is not a good teacher. What he does is lend Ji Woo his reputation and help him complete his work of a lifetime in exchange for having someone to serve him as well as take care of him. The appearance of Eungyo changes the quiet life of him and his incompetent student, which raises the question of whether Eungyo is really a pure “muse” or not.
At first, it was Ji Woo who decided to bring Eungyo home to take care of his teacher, so that he can have the time to promote his new book. What Ji Woo could not predict was how Mr. Lee started to see Eungyo as his writing inspiration, a youthful beauty that he wanted to re-experienced. Eungyo was not simple, with her small but delicate touches, she lit back the desire inside poet Lee. But due to his popularity, the only way he could become her man is to imagine her young body next to a younger version of himself. He brought everything into his book “A Muse”, which would soon turn his life onto a new page. After Ji Woo realized that the main character in the book was Eungyo, the jealousy because he also loved Eungyo and the thirst for fame has urged Ji Woo to steal his teacher’s story to publish under his name.
At the end of the movie, after a kiss, which was the only thing that Mr. Lee could do to Eungyo, he had to watch Eungyo and Ji Woo making love. His age rendered him helpless in front of his muse’s desire. Losing both his story and his lover into his student’s hand, poet Lee planned to kill the young man. Even though Ji Woo had found out about his teacher’s plan and fixed his car, a sudden accident still took away his life. This character’s death seems to be a kind of comfort for the guilt of the old poet.
Kim Go Eun’s pure, vibrant beauty and bright, refreshing smile that gives off the feelings of an innocent first love truly shines through the footage of “A Muse”. Additionally, the actress’s graceful body is also highlighted to the fullest to match the film’s script.
The love story between a 70-year-old poet and a 17-year-old high school girl once sparked great controversy among the audience. In particular, the daring, steamy scenes in “A Muse” have caused a lot of debate about the boundary between an erotic film and an artistic film. To this day, Kim Go Eun is still criticized by some viewers for starring in “A Muse”.
Despite receiving mixed reactions, her performance in “A Muse” helped Kim Go Eun earn many prestigious awards. She won “Best New Actress” for the role of Eungyo at the 2012 Blue Dragon Film Awards, a title that every rookie actor dreams of. “A Muse” is also the first stepping stone for Kim Go Eun to showcase her acting ability and continue to achieve further success in her career.
