West 32nd is a 2007 film directed by Michael Kang and written by Edmund Lee of The Village Voice. It stars John Cho, Jun-seong Kim, Grace Park, Jane Kim and Jeong Jun-ho. The plot concerns John Kim (John Cho), an ambitious young lawyer in New York, who takes on a pro-bono case involving a fourteen-year-old Korean boy accused of murder. Upon investigating the case, he meets Mike Juhn (Jun Sung Kim), a street thug from Flushing. The two quickly realize the benefits of working together. A well-written and designed screenplay, West 32nd shows the differences and similarities between the two worlds.

Plot

The film starts by showing the city streets of Korea-Town in New York and then goes straight into a room salon. Korean mobster Jin Ho Chun (Jun-ho Jeong) runs the place as a money launderer for the Korean mafia. Chun makes sure the room salon is running smoothly by taking care of customers. His mistress, Sook Hee (Jane Kim), makes her first appearance while entertaining some VIP customers. Chun then grabs a bag full of cash and makes his way into his car. As Chun begins to drive off, another car blocks his way, and he gets shot to death while still in his car.