The results of the eighth Raspberry Film Festival are based on a survey by Sports Kyunghyang, which collected the opinions of 51 film journalists from major Korean media to evaluate commercial films released between December last year and November 30 this year. The awards were divided into three categories: “Worst Film”, “Worst Acting” and “Worst Manners”, with the winners of each category announced accordingly.
Worst film: the plot
The “Worst Film” title went to “The Plot” (directed by Lee Yo-seop), which received 15 votes. Critics labeled it “a genre film that sent all the entertainment value to another galaxy” and “the worst possible outcome despite having a great original story and talented actors.”
Second place was awarded to “Amazon Bullseye” (directed by Kim Chang-joo), which garnered 12 votes. Comments included, “It’s so terrible you might feel the need for digestive medicine while you watch” “A regressive comedy completely out of touch with modern sensibilities.” AND “Just because it’s set in a fictional country doesn’t mean it’s not racist.”
In third place was “Project Silence” (directed by Kim Tae-gon) with 11 votes. Critics have observed, “A colossal waste of a multi-billion dollar production budget” “A delusional belief that money alone can solve everything in cinema,” AND “A disastrous sprawling project that highlights CJ ENM’s poor content judgment.”
Other notable mentions include Kim Tae-yong’s “Wonderland,” Ha Jun-won’s “Dead Man,” and Hyun Moon-seob’s “Devils Stay,” all tied for fourth place with 10 votes each.
Worst acting: Kang Dong-won
First place for “Worst Acting” went to Kang Dong-won in “The Plot,” receiving 11 votes. Comments criticized his “consistently unconvincing emotional range”, “stagnant acting skills”, and “lack of competitive edge as an actor, other than his height, which is now quite common”.
Second place was a tie labeled “None”, with 10 marks suggesting no other performance was comparable.
Third place went to Joo Ji-hoon in “Project Silence,” with 8 votes. It was criticized for “overdoing it to the point of ruining key scenes” and being “so over the top that it makes the film unbearable”.
Fourth place was shared by Song Joong-ki and Song Seung-heon, who each received 7 votes. Song Joong-ki’s performance in “My Name Is Loh Kiwan” was described as “embarrassing” and “relatively weaker than his co-star”. Song Seung-heon’s work in “Hidden Face” sparked comments such as: “Needlessly consistent poor acting.”
Worst Manners: Jung Woo-sung
The “Worst Manners” award went to actor Jung Woo-sung, who received 22 votes. His controversies included sending inappropriate direct messages to female celebrities and the “biological father” scandal, leading critics to feel “betrayed by his long-standing image”.
Second place went to veteran actress Youn Yuh-jung, who earned 18 votes. She has been criticized for rude comments during interviews, including smoking indoors and firing journalists with condescending comments.
Third place was shared by Jeon Do-yeon and Lee Sun-kyun, each with 4 votes. Jeon Do-yeon faced backlash for showing discomfort during interviews and promotional activities for “Revolver”, while Lee Sun-kyun’s unspecified actions also attracted negative attention.
Special Mentions
Actors not officially nominated but who received significant votes included Kwak Do-won (9 votes) for his drunk driving scandal, which overshadowed the film “Firefighter”, and Gong Yoo (4 votes) for defended controversial past comments about Park Chung-hee, sparking public criticism.
