Friend
Despite their different family backgrounds, four friends grew up together in the wearisome years of the 70s. But as time goes by, each of them takes a different life path.
The film earned $44.0M at the global box office.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Friend (2001) demonstrates meticulously timed story structure, characteristic of Kwak Kyung-taek's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 58 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.1, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Opening montage of Busan harbor and streets in the 1970s. Four young boys - Joon-seok, Dong-su, Sang-taek, and Jung-ho - play together in the working-class neighborhoods, establishing their innocent childhood friendship before the world changes them.. Structural examination shows that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 15 minutes when High school fight sequence where Joon-seok brutally defeats rival gang members, demonstrating shocking violence. This event sets him on the path to gangster life and begins the divergence - Dong-su follows him into this world, while Jung-ho chooses a conventional path, creating the first crack in their unity.. At 13% through the film, this Disruption is delayed, allowing extended setup of the story world. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 29 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This indicates the protagonist's commitment to Joon-seok formally joins Boss Hwang's crime organization in a ceremonial initiation. This is his active choice to cross into the criminal underworld permanently. Dong-su follows him. The line is drawn - two friends become gangsters, two remain civilians. No going back., moving from reaction to action.
At 60 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 51% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Notably, this crucial beat Boss Hwang is killed in a power struggle. Joon-seok becomes the new boss of his faction, seemingly a victory - but it raises the stakes catastrophically. Now he's a target. Now he has real power and enemies. The false victory (promotion) contains the seeds of destruction. The fun and games are over; survival becomes the only goal., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 88 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Sang-taek is brutally murdered by rival gangsters. The whiff of death is literal - the weakest of the four friends dies because of the violence the others brought into their lives. This death destroys the illusion that their friendship can survive intact. The innocence of childhood dies with Sang-taek. The three remaining friends are shattered., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 97 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 82% of the runtime. Territorial dispute forces Joon-seok and Dong-su into opposing factions. The synthesis is tragic - the very loyalty and brotherhood that defined them now puts them on a collision course. They realize they must face each other as enemies. The code of the gangster world supersedes even their lifelong friendship. No way out but through., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Friend's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping Friend against these established plot points, we can identify how Kwak Kyung-taek utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Friend within the action genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional action films include The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Bad Guys and Lake Placid.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Opening montage of Busan harbor and streets in the 1970s. Four young boys - Joon-seok, Dong-su, Sang-taek, and Jung-ho - play together in the working-class neighborhoods, establishing their innocent childhood friendship before the world changes them.
Theme
Joon-seok's father, a former gangster, tells the boys: "In this world, the only thing you can trust is your friends." This statement of loyalty becomes the film's central thematic question - can friendship survive when paths diverge?
Worldbuilding
Extended setup showing the four friends growing up in 1970s-80s Busan. We see their school days, first fights, family backgrounds, and the socioeconomic forces shaping their world. Joon-seok is the natural leader, Dong-su the loyal follower, Sang-taek the weak link, and Jung-ho the outsider who becomes close through shared hardship.
Disruption
High school fight sequence where Joon-seok brutally defeats rival gang members, demonstrating shocking violence. This event sets him on the path to gangster life and begins the divergence - Dong-su follows him into this world, while Jung-ho chooses a conventional path, creating the first crack in their unity.
Resistance
The friends navigate their final school years and early adulthood. Joon-seok and Dong-su are drawn deeper into gang culture, enjoying the power and respect. Jung-ho observes from a distance, troubled by the violence but still bound by childhood loyalty. Sang-taek tries to maintain neutrality. The friends debate their futures but aren't ready to acknowledge the growing divide.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Joon-seok formally joins Boss Hwang's crime organization in a ceremonial initiation. This is his active choice to cross into the criminal underworld permanently. Dong-su follows him. The line is drawn - two friends become gangsters, two remain civilians. No going back.
Mirror World
Jung-ho begins his relationship with his girlfriend, representing the "normal life" path and embodying the film's thematic counterpoint. She represents what the friends could have had - stability, love, conventional happiness - if they'd made different choices. This relationship carries the weight of the road not taken.
Premise
The "promise of the premise" - we see the gangster life in full. Joon-seok and Dong-su rise through the ranks with violence, loyalty tests, turf wars, and displays of power. The friends still meet, maintaining their bond despite different worlds. The film delivers the stylized gangster sequences audiences expect - the suits, the fights, the rituals of organized crime in Busan.
Midpoint
Boss Hwang is killed in a power struggle. Joon-seok becomes the new boss of his faction, seemingly a victory - but it raises the stakes catastrophically. Now he's a target. Now he has real power and enemies. The false victory (promotion) contains the seeds of destruction. The fun and games are over; survival becomes the only goal.
Opposition
Pressure intensifies from all sides. Rival gangs target Joon-seok. Police investigations threaten everyone. The violence escalates. Dong-su, now a powerful enforcer, becomes increasingly ruthless. The friendship strains under the weight of the criminal life - Jung-ho distances himself, horrified by what his friends have become. Sang-taek is caught between worlds, vulnerable.
Collapse
Sang-taek is brutally murdered by rival gangsters. The whiff of death is literal - the weakest of the four friends dies because of the violence the others brought into their lives. This death destroys the illusion that their friendship can survive intact. The innocence of childhood dies with Sang-taek. The three remaining friends are shattered.
Crisis
Dark night of the soul. Joon-seok and Dong-su process Sang-taek's death differently - Joon-seok with cold rage, Dong-su with growing instability. Jung-ho mourns alone, realizing his childhood is truly gone. The friends can't even grieve together properly. The psychological toll of the gangster life becomes unbearable. Each man faces his demons in isolation.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Territorial dispute forces Joon-seok and Dong-su into opposing factions. The synthesis is tragic - the very loyalty and brotherhood that defined them now puts them on a collision course. They realize they must face each other as enemies. The code of the gangster world supersedes even their lifelong friendship. No way out but through.
Synthesis
The finale builds to the inevitable confrontation. Joon-seok and Dong-su prepare for war, each leading their faction. Jung-ho desperately tries to mediate, but the machinery of gang violence can't be stopped. The final showdown unfolds with brutal inevitability - the friends who once protected each other now destroy each other in the name of loyalty to different bosses.
Transformation
Jung-ho stands alone at the sea, the sole survivor of the friendship. Where the opening showed four boys playing innocently in Busan, the closing image shows one man, broken and alone, staring at the water. The transformation is complete and tragic - friendship couldn't survive the violence they chose. The theme is answered: loyalty means nothing when the system destroys you from within.