A Record of Sweet Murder (2014) Plot Summary Explained

Sang-joon claims that after his friend Yoon-jin was hit by a car, a god began communicating with him and commanded him to kill 27 people at age 27 as part of a ritual. He believes this ritual will resurrect Yoon-jin and the 27 victims. The car accident, which occurred when Sang-joon was 10, led to his institutionalization and appears to have triggered his psychological break.

Foreshadowing: The film hints early on that Sang-joon has been institutionalized since childhood, establishing his fragile mental state before the accident is revealed.

• park sang-joon serial killer motivation
• yoon-jin accident
• god command ritual

Sang-joon explains that a god instructed him to kill exactly 27 people before turning 27 years old. He believes this ritual will bring back his dead friend Yoon-jin, along with all 27 victims. The ritual requires documenting the final two murders on camera to prove to the world that the killings are real and that the god's power is genuine.

Foreshadowing: Sang-joon's insistence on constant recording from the moment he captures So-yeon and Tashiro hints that the documentation is central to the ritual's perceived effectiveness.

• ritual murder 27 people
• yoon-jin resurrection
• sang-joon god

When Sang-joon was 10 years old, his friend Yoon-jin was hit by a car in what appears to have been an accident. This traumatic event caused Sang-joon to be institutionalized. He claims that during or after the accident, a god began speaking to him, instructing him to perform the 27-person ritual. The accident thus serves as the catalyst that, in Sang-joon's distorted mind, opened the channel for divine communication.

Foreshadowing: Sang-joon specifically requests a cameraman, suggesting from the start that he plans to record and preserve evidence of his actions.

• car accident yoon-jin
• institutionalization childhood
• trauma trigger killings

The number 27 comes from Sang-joon's belief that he must kill 27 people before turning 27 years old. He interprets this as a divine command from the god that spoke to him after Yoon-jin's death. The ritual's completion depends on reaching this specific number, which is why he has been systematically selecting victims over time.

Foreshadowing: Sang-joon's age is mentioned early, establishing that he is approaching or has reached the critical age mentioned in his ritual.

• 27 victims number
• sang-joon age 27
• ritual requirement

So-yeon is Sang-joon's old childhood friend, making her a trusted figure he could potentially recruit. As a reporter, she also has the journalistic connections and credibility to bring along a cameraman like Tashiro. Sang-joon needed both a journalist to understand his motives and a cameraman to document the ritual, making So-yeon the ideal person to facilitate his plan.

Foreshadowing: The story establishes their childhood friendship early, explaining why Sang-joon would reach out specifically to her.

• so-yeon reporter
• sang-joon childhood friend
• recruitment journalist

The video is footage shot by Sang-joon himself depicting the car accident that killed Yoon-jin. He shows this to So-yeon as evidence of the traumatic event that he claims opened the channel for the god to communicate with him. The video serves as Sang-joon's proof of his motivation and the origin of his divine mission.

Foreshadowing: Sang-joon's request to bring a cameraman foreshadows his own history with recording events.

• yoon-jin death video
• car accident footage
• sang-joon evidence

Sang-joon believes the ritual only works if the killings are documented and perceived as real by others. He states that the final two murders must be recorded to prove the ritual's authenticity to the world. The camera serves as both evidence of the ritual's completion and a way to legitimize what he views as his divine mission.

Foreshadowing: From the moment he captures them, Sang-joon immediately orders the cameraman to keep recording without stopping.

• document murders ritual
• recording proof
• sang-joon camera

Yoon-jin was Sang-joon's close friend who was hit by a car in an accident during their childhood. The accident killed Yoon-jin and traumatized Sang-joon, leading to his institutionalization. Sang-joon became convinced that Yoon-jin could be resurrected through the ritual killing of 27 people, making Yoon-jin's death the central motivation behind the entire killing spree.

Foreshadowing: The film establishes that Sang-joon has been in a mental institution since age 10, with the circumstances of his friend's death remaining the hidden core of his obsession.

• go yoon-jin death
• friend hit by car
• sang-joon obsession

The summary indicates that Sang-joon has been held in a mental institution since the age of 10 but managed to escape, after which he began his serial killing spree. The specific method of his escape is not detailed in the provided summary, but his freedom allowed him to carry out the ritual killings and eventually contact So-yeon.

• escaped mental institution
• serial killer escape
• sang-joon institutionalized

Sang-joon specifically requested a Japanese cameraman, Tashiro (portrayed by Koji Shiraishi), because he needs someone to document the final murders on camera. As a foreigner, Tashiro may represent an impartial witness in Sang-joon's mind, and his professional experience as a cameraman ensures the recording meets the standards Sang-joon believes the ritual requires.

Foreshadowing: Sang-joon's demand that the camera never stop recording from the moment of capture establishes the cameraman's critical role.

• tashiro japanese cameraman
• koji shiraishi
• document murders