Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
Choi Min-sik, Han So-hee to headline Korean remake of 'The Intern,' out Sept. 16
A still from the Korean adaptation of Hollywood film "The Intern," starring Choi Min-sik and Han So-hee / Courtesy of Warner Bros. Korea
By Jhoo Dong-chan
A Korean-language remake of the hit 2015 Hollywood comedy, "The Intern," will arrive in theaters on Sept. 16, Warner Bros. Korea announced Tuesday alongside the release of the film's first poster and trailer.
The film pairs veteran actor Choi Min-sik with rising star Han So-hee in a story about a fashion startup CEO who takes on a much older intern. Han plays Seon-woo, who built her company into what the film describes as a dark horse of the fashion industry within three years of its launch. Choi plays Gi-ho, a 37-year veteran of the workforce who joins her company as an intern late in his career.
The project reimagines "The Intern," the 2015 film directed by Nancy Meyers that starred Robert De Niro as a 70-year-old retiree who takes a "senior intern" position at a fast-growing startup run by Anne Hathaway's character.
The U.S. film grossed more than $194 million worldwide against a $35 million budget — more than five times its production cost — and also drew a strong following among Korean audiences.
Choi, one of Korea's most decorated actors and known internationally for films such as "Oldboy" and "I Saw the Devil," takes on the De Niro role.
Han, who has built a reputation for edgy, stylish roles and gained wider international recognition through Netflix's "Gyeongseong Creature," steps into the young CEO role originated by Hathaway.
Directing is Kim Do-young, whose 2019 film "Kim Ji-young: Born 1982" and her 2025 romance film "Once We Were Us" drew large domestic audiences for their portrayals of relatable, contemporary characters. Anthology Studio and Warner Bros. Korea produced the "The Intern" Korean remake, with Warner Bros. Korea handling distribution.
The newly released trailer opens with Gi-ho on his way to his first day of work, nervous but excited. In a job interview with deputy CEO Yeong-hwan, played by Kim Jun-han, Gi-ho is asked about his strengths and weaknesses and answers: "My strength is that I have a lot of experience. My weakness is that I'm also old." He lands the internship at the fictional fashion startup Woo22.
Once at the office, Gi-ho unpacks a briefcase full of decidedly old-school desk items — a thermos, a desk clock, a pencil case, ink — while researching how to work with the "MZ generation," a term widely used in Korea for Millennials and Gen Z, along with newer slang used by his younger co-workers.
The trailer also shows Seon-woo's flustered reaction upon seeing Gi-ho's resume photo for the first time, and the latter's formal self-introduction to his new boss, setting up what the studio is billing as an unpredictable pairing between an employee and CEO from different generations.
Supporting cast members Kim and Ryu Hye-young both appear briefly in the trailer as office colleagues.
"The Intern" is positioned for Korea's Chuseok holiday box office season.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.