To finance his feature directorial debut , Lee then worked as a bathhouse attendant and handed out flyers on street corners , thereby raising the micro-budget of . He cast his close friend Nam Yeon-woo as a 28-year-old man who is haunted by his complicity in a teenage girl 's gang rape a decade ago , then re-encounters her ( played by Yang Jo-ah ) at a local church . After two years in development , Lee 's '' Fatal '' ( titled '' Thorny Flower '' in Korean ) premiered at the 17th Busan International Film Festival in 2012 and was released in theaters in 2013 . A romantic drama and psychological thriller that explores guilt and forgiveness , '' Fatal '' drew domestic and international critical acclaim
17th Busan International Film Festival
17th Busan International Film Festival
Lee Don-ku (director)