Villains Wiki

Hi. This is Thesecret1070. I am an admin of this site. Edit as much as you wish, but one little thing... If you are going to edit a lot, then make yourself a user and login. Other than that, enjoy Villains Wiki!!!

READ MORE

Villains Wiki
Register
Advertisement
           JokerCoringaPalhaco

This Villain was Headlined on September 2009.

Warning
Scarfaceinthefall
This article's content is marked as Mature
The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older.

If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page.

Villain Overview

My sister and I loved each other, despite everything. Can you two do the same?
~ Lee Woo-jin's last words to Oh Dae-su, before he has a psychotic episode and kills himself

Lee Woo-jin (이우진) is the main antagonist of the 2003 South Korean film Oldboy. He is a wealthy businessman who seeks out extreme revenge against his former classmate Oh Dae-su for playing an indirect part in causing his sister's death from suicide. He is hellbent on not killing, but ruining the lives of all those who wronged him in order for them to suffer as he has.

He was portrayed by Yoo Ji-tae in his adult self, who also played Han Dong-soo in Midnight FM. Young Woo-jin was portrayed by Yoo Yeon-suk, who played also played Ji-tae in the 2012 fantasy-romance film A Werewolf Boy.

Biography[]

You really are the very monster I created, aren't you? But you won't find out the "why" of this if you kill me. Fifteen years of being curious would go to waste.
~ Lee Woo-Jin taunting Oh Dae-Su by testing his desire for the truth.

Background[]

On the day before Dae-su was to transfer to a different high school in Seoul, he saw Woo-jin have sex with his own sister, Soo-ah. They both saw him watching and Soo-ah recognized him. Dae-su, who didn't realize that they were brother and sister, told his friend, Joo-hwan, about it, starting a rumor that Soo-ah was promiscuous. The rumor spread and evolved with each telling, and their classmates eventually said that she was pregnant. Deeply traumatized, Soo-ah began to believe the stories, and, according to Woo-jin, developed a hysterical pregnancy because of it. Believing that everyone would find out about her sexual relationship with Woo-jin, she resolved to kill herself. On July 5, her and Woo-jin visited a local dam, and she tried to jump off. Woo-jin caught hold of her hand as she was hanging from the edge, but she convinced him to let her fall to her death. When the autopsy determined that she was not pregnant, Woo-jin was consumed with guilt and began planning revenge against Dae-su.

Oldboy (2003)[]

Years later, Woo-jin had a drunk Dae-su kidnapped off the streets on the day of his daughter’s birthday, and imprisoned in a hotel room for 15 years. Meanwhile, he had Dae-su's wife killed and took his infant daughter Yeon-hee, raising her as Mi-do. Just before he had had Dae-su released, Woo-jin hired a hypnotist to make him meet and fall in love with Mi-do, who had been similarly hypnotized. He released Dae-su, who had sworn to take revenge on his captors.

As Woo-jin planned, Dae-su and Mi-do met and fell in love. Woo-jin left enough clues for Dae-su to find him, and when he did, he told Dae-su to find out who he was by July 5, or he would kill Mi-do. Dae-su began to investigate with the help of Joo-hwan, who now owned a cyber cafe. Dae-su went to visit his old school, and when he did so, he remembered what he saw, except now he understood. In the meantime, he and Mi-do made love, after which Woo-jin gassed the room and visited them to make sure his plans were working out.

During his search, Dae-su realized Woo-jin's sister committed suicide, and asked Joo-hwan over the phone what she was like. He replied by saying that she was "a slut from a rich family", not knowing that Woo-jin was secretly listening in on their conversation. Angered by Joo-hwan's disparagement of his sister, Woo-jin brutally murdered him, taunting Dae-su that his actions caused Joo-hwan’s death.

Dae-su followed the clues, and visited Woo-jin's penthouse. There Dae-su explained that he knew what he had done and understood why he had been imprisoned. Woo-jin then said that Dae-su should not have asked why he was imprisoned, but rather why he was released. As an answer to that question, Woo-jin revealed that he had manipulated Dae-su into having sex with his own daughter. Horrified and stricken with guilt, Dae-su begged Woo-jin not to tell Mi-do the truth, even cutting off his own tongue as symbol of his silence.

Satisfied with having utterly broken Dae-su's spirit, Woo-jin agreed not to tell Mi-do. He goes to the elevator, leaving Dae-su in the penthouse with these parting words: "My sister and I loved each other, despite everything. Can you two do the same?" As Woo-jin rides the elevator, he questions the purpose for his life now that his revenge against Dae-su is complete. He returns to the memory his sister's death and the futility of his attempt to save her, and upon realising his trauma will never leave him, Woo-Jin shoots himself in the head and collapses as the doors open, yet nobody gets into the elevator, symbolising how he had nobody and nothing to live for upon enacting his revenge. He lets out a slow breath and dies as the doors close on how, showing how his torment has now ended.

Personality[]

Lee Woo-jin is a complex character. He is shown to be a vengeful and bitter man seeking justice in his own way because of his sister's tragic death because of the rumor of incestuous relation spread by Dae-su. Because of this, he put Dae-su in a life of hell during 15 years. Lee is also intelligent, able to handle complex schemes like hypnotizing Dae-Su and his daughter, putting them in a incestuous relationship without them being aware and incriminates Dae-su for the murder of his wife.

While the rumor is ultimately proven to be true, Woo-jin is however genuinely in love with his sister and the love is shown to be reciprocal. And after his vengeance has been successful, Woo-jin realizes that his life has now no purpose and kills himself, showing how tragic and broken the man was from the start.

Relationships[]

Dae-su Oh[]

Woo-jin and Dae-su attended the same school, but the latter never paid the former any attention; and the former only began thinking of the latter once he caught him and his sister having intercourse (but didn't understand what was going on or that they were siblings). After Dae-su transferred to Seoul, Soo-ah killed herself; he never found out about this until Woo-jin told him years later.

Throughout the movie, Woo-jin toys with Dae-su and his feelings, at one point even referring to him as a "pet". At the end of the movie, after Dea-su begs him like a dog would, he agrees not to tell Mi-do of the truth of their relationship.

Other Media[]

Oldboy (2013 American Remake)[]

In Spike Lee’s 2013 remake of Oldboy, Woo-jin’s role is filled by Adrian Pryce. While the two share many similarities in both plot and character, Pryce is notably different in how his motivations are driven by the murder of his incestuous family instead of the suicide of his sister. He is portrayed by Sharlto Copley, who also portrayed King Stefan in the 2014 Disney fantasy movie Maleficent and Agent Kruger in the 2013 science fiction film Elysium.

Quotes[]

Remember this: "Be it a rock or a grain of sand, in water they sink as the same."
~ Lee Woo-jin to Oh Dae-su.
As a deer escapes the hands of a hunter, and a bird escapes the hands of a net-maker, save yourself.

Trivia[]

  • Character wise, Lee Woo-jin is based on Takaaki Kakinuma, a Japanese semi-conglomerate rich man, from the original Oldboy manga. However, unlike Woo-jin, Takaaki isn't a CEO. Takaaki's motive for locking up the main character for years was because when they were children, he saw Takaaki cry, unlike Woo-jin who had him locked up for catching him in the act of committing incest with his sister.
  • Yoo Ji-tae was 26 years old when he played Lee Woo-jin, a character in his mid-40s.
  • Yoo reportedly learned yoga for the role.
  • The clothes in his closet were provided by S T Dupont.[1]

External links[]

Navigation[]

                 EvilRedCrownHeadlinedTheHeadEvilRedCrownHeadlined
2009
January
Shadow Queen
March
Lord Voldemort
April
Darth Vader (SW)
May
Dahlia Gillespie
June
Smithy
July
Manfred von Karma
August
Light Yagami (DN)
September
Lee Woo-jin
October
Imhullu
November
Gaston LeGume (Disney)
2010
2011
2012
2013
February
Dominic Greene
September
Chase Young
December
Benjamin Willis
2014
2015
2016
January
Randall Flagg
February
Alex DeLarge
March
Yog-Sothoth
April
Esdeath
May
Count Dracula (book)
June
Jerome Valeska
July
Lord Shen
August
Bill Cipher
September
Tate Langdon
October
Oogie Boogie
November
Dr. Venom
December
Krampus (Krampus)
2017
2018
The2019
2020
January
Evolt
February
Santánico Pandemónium
March
Daleks
April
Judge Doom
May
Scorpion (MK)
June
Gendo Ikari
July
Victor Krane
August
Napoleon (AF)
September
Tony Montana
October
Candyman (CM)
November
Skeletor (MotU)
December
Immortan Joe
2021K
2022Year
2023
2024
January
Judge Holden (BM)
February
Catwoman (DC)
March
AM (IHNM)
April
Vote Now!
May
 ???
June
 ???
July
 ???
August
 ???
September
 ???
October
 ???
November
 ???
December
 ???

References[]

Advertisement