The Book of Fish
Theatrical release poster
Hangul	자산어보
Hanja	玆山魚譜
RR	Jasaneobo
MR	Chasanŏbo
Directed by	Lee Joon-ik
Written by	Kim Se-gyeom
Produced by	Kim Seong-cheol
Starring	Sul Kyung-gu Byun Yo-han
Cinematography	Lee Eui-tae
Edited by	Kim Jeong-hun
Music by	Bang Jun-seok
Production company	Cineworld
Distributed by	Megabox Plus M M-Line Distribution
Release date	31 March 2021 (2021-03-31)
Running time	126 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Box office	US$2.6 million[1][2]

The Book of Fish (Korean:자산어보;RR:Jasaneobo) is a 2021 South Koreanblack-and-whitehistoricaldrama film directed byLee Joon-ik. The film starringSul Kyung-gu andByun Yo-han, is about an exiledJoseon era scholar and a fisherman and their exchange of knowledge in writing a book.^[3][4] It was theatrically released on March 31, 2021.^[5]

The film won theGrand Prize at57th Baeksang Arts Awards in May 2021.^[6]

The Book of Fish is set in 1801 about theJoseon era scholarJeong Yak-jeon [ko] (1758–1816). He was exiled toHeuksando Island during theCatholic Persecution of 1801 in KingSunjo of Joseon's reign. There he wrote a piscine encyclopedia titledJasaneobo [ko]. In the film a fictional character Chang-dae, a young, conservative and eager to learn fisherman is introduced.

In the first year of KingSunjo's reign,Jeong Yak-jeon [ko] is exiled to the remote island ofHeuksan due to theSinyu Persecution. Curious by nature, Jeong Yak-jeon becomes fascinated by marine life and decides to write a book about it. To do so, he seeks help from a young fisherman, Chang-dae, who knows the sea better than anyone. However, Chang-dae refuses outright, declaring that he cannot assist a criminal.

Upon discovering that Chang-dae struggles with self-studying, Jeong Yak-jeon proposes an exchange of knowledge. Though reluctant at first, Chang-dae eventually agrees. Despite their frequent bickering, the two gradually become both teachers and friends to each other. But when Jeong Yak-jeon learns that Chang-dae's true motivation for studying is solely to achieve success, he is deeply disappointed. Likewise, Chang-dae realizes that his path is different from Jeong Yak-jeon's and makes up his mind to leave his mentor's side and step out into the wider world.

The Book of Fish is ablack and white film, which are making a comeback in South Korea.^[8]

Filming

Filming was wrapped up on November 15, 2019.^[9]

The film was theatrically released on March 31, 2021 by Megabox.^[5]

The Book of Fish has been invited at the20th New York Asian Film Festival. It was featured in 'Standouts' strand and screened atLincoln Center andSVA Theatre in the two-week festival held from August 6 to 22, 2021 in New York.^[10][11] It was also selected in 'Korean Cinema Today - Panorama Section' at26th Busan International Film Festival and will be screened in the festival in October 2021.^[12] The film was also screened at 10th Korean Film Festival Frankfurt on October 23, 2021.^[13] On May 6, 2022, it was screened at the Habitat International Film Festival (HIFF), at the Habitat Center in New Delhi.^[14]

In 2022, it was selected as one of the films in 'The Actor, Sol Kyung-gu' special exhibition event at26th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival to honour actorSul Kyung-gu.^[15]

The film released on March 31, 2021, on 1250 screens.^[16] It was at the number 1 place at the Korean box office by collecting 54,000 audiences on the weekend, taking its total commutative audience to 255,000 persons in the second week of its release.^[17]

According to Korean Film Council data†, it is at 14th place among all the Korean films released in the year 2021, with gross of US$2.71 million and 342,540 admissions, as of December 11, 2021^[update].^[2]

• †The system of KOBIS (Korean Box Office Information System) is managed by KOFIC.

Going by Koreanreview aggregatorNaver Movie Database, the film holds an approval rating of 9.11 from the audience.^[18]

Kim Boram reviewingThe Book of Fish for Yonhap wrote that the film keeps interest of the viewers alive as the tone is not serious. He considered that the beautiful scenery ofHeuksando Island made the viewing pleasurable. He praised the performances ofSul Kyung-gu as an open-minded scholar andByun Yo-han as Chang-dae, a young but conservative fisherman. Concluding the review Boram said, "The black-and-white cinematography makes the movie feel like a Joseon Dynasty ink painting, .... and the viewers even get the sense that color is not really important in the script-driven and performance-based piece."^[19]

• The Book of Fish atHanCinema
• The Book of Fish at theKorean Movie Database(in Korean)

• 2021 films
• 2020s Korean-language films
• South Korean historical drama films
• South Korean biographical drama films
• South Korean black-and-white films
• Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Films about Catholicism
• Films about marine biology
• Films about fish
• Films about fishermen
• Films about writers
• Films about teacher–student relationships
• Films set in South Jeolla Province
• Films set on islands
• Films set in 1801
• Films set in the 1800s
• Films set in the 1810s
• Films directed by Lee Joon-ik
• Films set in Joseon
• 2020s historical drama films
• South Korean films based on actual events
• Korean-language historical drama films

• IMDb ID (Cite Mojo) different from Wikidata
• CS1 uses Korean-language script (ko)
• CS1 Korean-language sources (ko)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from April 2021
• Articles containing Korean-language text
• Template film date with 1 release date
• Articles containing potentially dated statements from December 2021
• All articles containing potentially dated statements
• All articles lacking reliable references
• Articles lacking reliable references from June 2025
• HanCinema film ID same as Wikidata
• Articles with Korean-language sources (ko)