The Match (2025): The True Go Masters
2025 • Kim Hyung‑joo • 2.35:1 • Jump to Gallery ↓
Directed by Kim Hyung-joo, The Match is a true story set in the 1980s and 1990s, inspired by the lives of two renowned Go players. The film follows the life of champion Go player Cho Hun-hyun, who spots a naturally talented but untrained boy named Lee Chang-ho during an amateur competition. Taking him under his wing, Cho trains Lee to become a professional player. However, tensions emerge when Lee ultimately challenges the principles he was taught.
Unlike traditional sports movies, this film focuses on the quiet, static game of Go, depicting matches as psychological confrontations, with tension rising through close-ups and rhythmic editing. The wooden goban (board) and the polished stones become a battlefield and military units. The players look at them with such intensity that they become a source of tension imbued with personal meaning.
With its soft, warm brown colours and meticulously recreated 1980s aesthetic, The Match looks like a nostalgic piece, and its narrative structure works more like a relationship drama, driven by the performances of Lee Byung-hun and Yoo Ah-in, than a classic sports drama where winning is the goal. Here, the focus is on learning how to fail in order to succeed in life.
Technical Specs:
- The Story: Set against the backdrop of South Korea’s professional Go world in the 1980s and 1990s, this is the exploration of the real-life relationship between Go master Cho Hun‑hyun and his protégé‑turned‑rival Lee Chang‑ho. Read my review of The Match.
- Actors: Lee Byung‑hun, Yoo Ah‑in, Moon Jeong‑hee, Ko Chang‑seok, Hyun Bong‑sik, Kim Kang‑hoon.
- Director: Kim Hyung‑joo
- Year: 2025
- Cinematographer: Yoo Eok
- Origin: Korean Cinema
- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Genre: Drama
