The Book of Fish

The Book of Fish is a 2021 South Korean historical black and white film directed by Lee Joon-ik. The film starring Sol Kyung-gu and Byun Yo-han, is about an exiled Joseon era scholar and a fisherman and their exchange of knowledge in writing a book. The film was theatrically released on March 31, 2021, by Megabox. According to Korean Film Council data, it is at 14th place among all the Korean films released in the year 2021 in South Korea, with gross of US$2.70 million and 342,540 admissions, . The film won the Grand Prize at 57th Baeksang Arts Awards in May 2021. It has won 20 awards overall at various award ceremonies. Synopsis The Book of Fish is a black-and-white historical film set in 1801 about the Joseon era scholar Jeong Yak-jeon (1758–1816) (Sol Kyung-gu). He was exiled to Heuksando Island during the Catholic Persecution of 1801 in King Sunjo of Joseon’s reign. There he wrote a piscine encyclopaedia titled Jasaneobo. In the film a fictional character Chang-dae (Byun Yo-han), a young, conservative and eager to learn fisherman is introduced.