Jungle Fish (Korean: 정글피쉬) is a 2008 South Korean youth television special starring Kim Soo-hyun and Park Bo-young. Based on a true story, the drama depicts the pressures placed on students to achieve and gain admission to prestigious colleges and universities. Also, it showcased new interactive blogging. The series marked Kim's first official lead role. It aired on KBS2 on 5 May 2008 at 19:20 (KST), and is available for worldwide streaming through KBS World's official YouTube channel.[1][2][3][4]
| Jungle Fish | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster
| |
| Hangul | 정글피쉬 |
| Revised Romanization | Jeonggeulpiswi |
| Genre | Teen drama |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by | Choi Sung-bum |
| Starring |
|
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 1 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Kim Gwang-pil |
| Producer | Kim Jeong-hwan |
| Production locations | Seoul, South Korea |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | KBS2 |
| Release | May 5, 2008 (2008-05-05) |
The special recorded a viewership rating of 3.3%. It received critical acclaim for filming and editing, and acting by a cast of young performers winning numerous awards, including the Peabody Award. It became the KBS show with the most international awards in history.[5]
It was given a theatrical screening on 23 September 2010 at the Lotte CinemaatKonkuk University. A television series, Jungle Fish 2, was created featuring a different cast, and aired in 2010 on KBS.[6][7][8][9]
The drama Jungle Fish, which means a fish that lived on the coast of Africa and fell into the jungle by a whirlwind, portrays the current youth (fish) who are struggling for the better future (beach) while suffering from the reality (jungle) of the entrance exam.
The story is about high school students around Han Jae-ta (Kim Soo-hyun) who share their concerns and problems through the blog. One day, an examination paper leak incident occurs at his school through special tutoring. The class leader leads Jae-ta and digs into the problem to confirm "Who is the protagonist of the incident?", and the incident is gradually amplified through Jae-ta's blog. Through this incident, Jae-ta and his friends are increasingly in conflict and skepticism about "the value of friendship and success."
| Ceremony | Year | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan East Asia PD Forum | 2008 | Excellence Award | Won | [10] |
| Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union Awards | Grand Prize - TV Youth | Won | ||
| Seoul Drama Festival Awards | Best Juvenile Series | Won | ||
| Peabody Award | 2009 | Award Winner | Won |