I have watched a lot of Korean Movies myself, like
(List organized from the best to the worst)
I give these a 4 on 5 rating, the four best Korean movies I have seen so far.
My Tutor Friend
My Tutor Friend (동갑내기 과외하기 – Donggabnaegi gwawoehagi) is a 2003 South Korean film released on January 30, 2003. It is about a touching story of two completely different students from two completely different worlds. One is a rich male repeating his third year of high school and the other a poor girl in her second year of university struggling to make ends meet.
My Little Bride
Boeun (Moon Geun Young) is an ordinary high school girl who worries about grades and has a crush on her school’s baseball team ace, Jungwoo. One day, Boeun’s grandfather orders her to marry Sangmin (Kim Rae Won) because of a pact he made with Sangmin’s grandfather during the Korean War. Despite the grandchildren’s opposition, they are forced to marry because of Boeun’s grandfather’s strong influence. Boeun’s undercover married life begins: She pretends that she doesn’t have a husband and starts dating Jungwoo. Boeun believes that she can manage both men and live a double life. Everything goes smoothly until Sangmin visits Boeun’s school as a student teacher.
100 days with Mr. Arrogant
100 Days with Mr. Arrogant (aka My Love Sagaji) is a 2004 South Korean romantic comedy film.
After dumping her boyfriend just before their 100 day anniversary, Ha-Young (Ha Ji-Won) meets a college guy named Hyung-Joon when she accidentally kicks a can that hits him in the face and causes him to scratch his Lexus. He demands she pay him $3000 on the spot. She escapes from him, leaving her wallet behind.
Hyung-Joon stalks her, demanding money to pay for his car. Since she is a poor high school student Hyung-Joon writes up a “Enslavement Agreement” for Ha-Young in order to pay for the damage to his car. Ha-Young is thrown into a nightmarish slave life for 100 days, cleaning his house, running his errands, doing his homework and cleaning his car.
By accident she finds out that the damage to Hyung-Joon’s car only costs $10! She then takes her revenge. However, before she knows it Hyung-Joon shows up at her house as her new tutor! He once again takes advantage of her, but soon Ha-Young finds herself falling head over heels for Hyung-Joon. But what happens when he drops out of her life just when she needs him most?
The original Korean title can be literally translated as “my love, the asshole,” or, more roughly, as “my love, the no-manners”.
He was Cool
The film is based on a novel written by Guiyeoni. The story is about a cheerful high school student named Han Ye Won (Jung Da Bin). She is a sweet, clumsy and warm girl. On the other side there is Ji Eun Sung (Song Seung Hun), a student from vocational school and well-known as a bully. He is hot- tempered and rude but deep inside he is longing to be loved.
One day, clumsily, Ye-Won leaves a message on the school website to reply to Ji Eun Sung’s impolite message. She is shocked when someone calls her mobile and threatens her. Gradually, her best friend, Lee Kyung Won, tells her who Ji Eun Sung is. Ji Eun Sung sends Han Ye-Won a message on her mobile: he will wait for her in front of the main gate. She is so scared that she and Lee Kyung Won decide to jump over the school wall. Unfortunately, the moment Ye-Won jumps, Ji Eun Sung is standing exactly at the other side of wall. She falls on him and accidentally their lips meet. Raising his voice, Eun Sung asks for her to take responsibility; she is astonished. His friend explains that Eun Sung has never even held hands with a girl. Since she is the first girl who kissed him, as a consequence she must marry him.
The story continues very fast, at the beginning Ye-won does not have any feelings for Eun Sung, she even rejects his invitation to come to his birthday party. Unknowingly, Eun Sung has fallen in love with her; but he is not the kind of guy who knows how to express his inner feelings. He is jealous when Ye-Won is approached by other guys but he does not know how to be with someone he loves.
Although he is rude and bad-tempered, Eun Sung always pardons Ye-Won’s faults and clumsiness. One thing he couldn’t bear was when he found out that Ye-Won went out with Kim Han Sung, his senior and the one he hates a lot. The broken-hearted Ji-Eun Sung decides to leave Korea following his mother to the USA.
A year later Ye-Won is seen with Kim Han Sung discussing her if she is scared for her SATs. It seems to be that they are in a relationship at this point. During her SAT, the hearing portion of the exam brings up a quote from Romeo and Juliet bring Ye-Won back to the memory of her and Eun Sung in the park in front of the telephone booth where no matter what they would re-unite at the first snowfall. At this point Ye-Won stops what she is doing and runs to the park. She waits there as the scene rolls back to her fantasy she had a year ago and she starts to cry as Eun Sung is not there. As she turns around a rabbit is hopping towards her, the same rabbit she gave to Eun Sung. She looks up and Eun Sung is there she yells at him “Why did you leave without saying goodbye?” He does not answer. “Why?” Eun Sung’s reply “True love requires no words”
The film ends with Eun Sung’s childhood memory of some opening event of elementary school where the only kid that would kiss Eun Sung was Ye-Won. An interesting aspect to this is that earlier on in the film, Ye-won uses Eun Sung’s cell phone to make a mini-video of her bedroom. There she captures footage of an old photo from when she was little, showing her and a friend. It turns out that this friend is actually little Eun Sung, hinting at the connection between the two. When Eun Sung watches the video on his cell towards the end of the film, he is surprised to see himself and remembers that Ye-Won was THAT little girl.
Seen recently….3.5 ratings
Too Beautiful to Lie
More made-to-order romantic comedy from the Korean Cinema mill. Starring popular star Kim Ha-Neul (Ditto, My Tutor Friend), Too Beautiful to Lie is a textbook example of manufactured romantic comedy. Kim is Joo Young-Joo, a sickeningly lovable ex-con who accidentally comes into possession of a family heirloom engagement ring soon after her parole. She lifted it from the actual thief, but was unable to return it to rightful owner Choi Hee-Chul (Kang Dong-Won). She instead journeys to his rural hometown and tries to return it to his family, but thanks to a variety of misunderstandings, miscommunications, and general silliness, his family comes to believe that she’s his fiancee. Even worse, the story becomes that he knocked her up, and wants her to have an abortion. When Hee-Chul arrives with his real girlfriend following shortly thereafter, sparks of epic proportions are guaranteed to fly.
Most of the success attributed to Too Beautiful to Lie can probably be handed to star Kim Ha-Neul, who’s effective as a wacky romantic comedy lead. Young-Joo is as manufactured as romantic comedy heroines come. Despite the fact that she’s an ex-con, Young-Joo has a heart of gold, and honestly wants to stop her major vice: lying. However, circumstances prevent her from doing so right away, and even when Hee-Chul does show up, his abusive attitude towards her makes her continue lying just to show him what a heel he’s being. Kim handles the role with lots of overdone wacky mugging, but she’s a likable lead who can convincingly pull off this sort of cookie-cutter comedy. Kang Dong-Won complements her suitably, though his job is mainly to overact and get beaten up from time to time. You can clearly see that nobody was aiming for awards with this film.
If Too Beautiful to Lie were an American film, it would likely star Sandra Bullock or Julia Roberts – well, the nineties versions anyway. Exaggerated situations snowball out of control, misdirection abounds from start to finish, and the film even resorts to hackneyed devices like a multiple-town pageant (for the local “Pepper Boy”) to bring all the characters together. Duh, everyone grows to love Young-Joo, such that even when her duplicity does get revealed, they can’t help but love her anyway. The same goes for Hee-Chul, who realizes she’s a much better girl than his current materialistic squeeze. Also, Young-Joo realizes that she actually likes Hee-Chul. It’s just like every other romantic comedy ever made.
Yep, the above sounds like I’ve spoiled the movie, but I really haven’t. If you don’t know from the minute you start watching Too Beautiful to Lie that the above will happen, then I envy you. You’ve probably only seen one movie, or are so incredibly naive and innocent that you think professional wrestling isn’t scripted. This is frightfully average stuff that’s as predictable as death and taxes. Any and all amusement is gleamed in the film’s journey, which is sometimes effectively entertaining. Again, however, it’s exactly what you expect, so those looking for something “special” should keep looking. Those who like Kim Ha-Neul, cookie-cutter Korean comedy, or simply manufactured romance with cute people will probably find this a worthwhile time. I’m probably going too easy on this film, but that’s okay. Too Beautiful to Lie is really not a big deal, and as such I’m treating it nicely. Completely dissecting and evaluating this film like a serious film critic would be akin to using a shotgun to kill a fly. (Kozo 2004)
My View: The beginning was really nice and funny, but in the end when the two fall in love, there is no sense of love and romance, that really feel flat according to me. The first part is brilliant, though, it will have you laughing your head off…
Almost love
Ji-hwan and Dal-rae are old friends and they have grown up in the same neighborhood. Ji-hwan admires Hong Kong movie star “Jacky Chan” and wants to be a world action star. Dal-rae has a desire to be an actress. They always bear grudges against each other with their private weak parts, and they quarrel everyday, however they are great friends who care for each other.
One day, Dal-rae goes out with Young-hoon who is in the same Taekwondo group as Ji-hwan. Young-hoon is a student representative of the department as well as an all-round athlete. Ji-hwan is also dating a girl, Ji-min, a gorgeous glamour girl who has a well-shaped figure.
It seems that there would be no problem between the good friends Ji-hwan and Dal-rae, but somehow a strange atmosphere arises after they start seeing someone else. Everybody knows it is more than just a friendship, except Ji-hwan and Dal-rae.
My View:
I disagree that this is really a Romantic Comedy as such. The two never really reveal their feelings for each other. The movie is great and fast paced, but falls short somewhere in the middle, and then continues to get depressing, and after the ‘tragedy’, completely loses it charm, except for the way Ji-hwan drags himself up…that was pretty inspiring. All in all, there is no real romance in the movie, and it could be a comedy, which slowly goes downhill from then on. It seems to me that Korean movies always start out great…there is humour and fun, jokes and surprises, but then, after the interval, when everyone is hooked, they see no reason to improve the movie, as they know they have attracted enough attention. The overall effect….you know you liked the film, but don’t remember why exactly, and they are therefore very forgettable.
These were okay, worth a watch if you have nothing to do… 3 on 5.
- Innocent Steps
- 200 Pounds of Beauty
- My Boyfriend is Blood Type B
These should be watched if there is nothing to watch and only these are available. I still don’t get all the hype about ‘My Sassy Girl’ I thought it was a terrible movie, and the guy is so ugly and a complete wuss.
- My Scary Girl
- My Sassy Girl
- My Wife is a Gangster
Don’t watch these movies. Ever. ‘Romance of Their Own’ seems okay, except i don’t remember it at all. ‘Bungee Jumping of Their Own’ is anout two lovers, who are later student and teacher (both guys) and how they fall in love again. ‘Acacia’ and ‘Old Boy’ are the most horrifying and disturbing movies i have ever seen. Watch Barney the Dinosaur hump the floor rather than this.
- Romance of Their Own
- Bungee Jumping of Their Own
- Acacia
- Old Boy
…but hope to watch…
Windstruck
The film stars Jun Ji-hyun as Officer Kyung-jin Yeo, an ambitious young female police officer serving on the Seoul police department. One day while chasing a purse snatcher, she accidentally captures Myung-woo Go (played by Jang Hyuk), a physics teacher at an all-girls school, who was actually trying to catch the thief. Later, Myung-woo discovers the stolen purse, but just as he picks it up, Kyung-jin spots him and tries to arrest him again. Kyung-jin is then given the job of escorting Myung-woo through a dangerous district, only to be distracted when she tries to break up a meeting between Russian Mafia and Korean gangsters. With Myung-woo handcuffed to her, Kyung-jin almost single-handedly brings down the two rival gangs (although she is helped when she accidentally causes the groups to start shooting at each other).
The first half of the film, told from Myung-woo’s point of view, details the couple’s growing attraction and love for each other, which climaxes with a trip to the countryside where Myung-woo tells Kyung-jin that if he were ever to die, he wanted to come back to earth as the wind. Soon after, he is almost killed in a freak automobile accident, but Kyung-jin saves his life.
The film takes a turn into the fantasy genre in its second half after Myung-woo is accidentally shot and killed by another officer (although the situation is such that Kyung-jin thinks that it was her shot that killed him) as Kyung-jin chases after a criminal. Kyung-jin falls into a suicidal depression over his death and attempts to kill herself several times, almost succeeding when she throws herself off a building, only to be saved when a giant balloon floats under her. Soon after, she experiences visitations from Myung-woo, who appears as the wind, sending her messages and, at one point, he even appears in her dreams in order to give her the will to live after she is nearly shot to death by a criminal.
Ultimately the film follows a similar path set out by the American film Ghost with Myung-woo and Kyung-jin communicating and sharing one final gesture of love before he moves on to the afterlife. Myung-woo said that he will whisper, when she hears him whisper in the wind, she will meet someone with a soul like him. Myung-woo told Kyung-jin that he will always be beside her inside a book with a photo left by Myung-woo in the restaurant before he rushed to meet Kyung-jin who was chasing the insane criminal.
In the first half of the film, Myung-woo told that his only memory of high school was his high school trip. The book and the photo is found and returned to Kyung-jin in the police station. The photo showed that on Myung-woo’s trip, Kyung-jin was nearby. This proved Myung-woo’s “I’m always beside you” was true to Kyung-jin. Kyung-jin rushed out to locate the finder of the book, ultimately ending up in the train station, where she is saved by Cha Tae-Hyun (credited as The Guy). Myung-woo whispered that The Guy is the one with the soul like him. Kyung-jin whispers that “he is always beside her.”
Ii Mare
Il Mare (Hangul: 시월애; RR: Siworae) is a 2000 South Korean film, starring Jun Ji-hyun and Lee Jung-jae. The title, Il Mare, means ‘The Sea’ in Italian, and is the name of the seaside house which is the setting of the story. The Korean title, siworae is the Korean pronunciation of Hanja “時越愛,” meaning “time-transcending love.” The two protagonists both live there two years apart in time, but are able to communicate through a mysterious post box.
The film was remade by Warner Brothers starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves and released in 2006 as The Lake House, which was co-produced by Sonny Mallhi and Chris Krapek.
Ditto
Reminiscent of the film FREQUENCY, DITTO follows high-school students So-eun (Kim Ha-neul) and In (Yoo Ji-tae) as they realize that they can never be together. So-eun, living in 1979 South Korea, begins making transmissions on a ham radio and contacts In, who unbeknownst to her lives in the year 2000. The two find that they attend the same high school, and still not aware of the time warp, strike up friendship and a romance. In addition to the timeless love story, this film is significant in its exploration of cultural identity and politics.
My Boss, My hero
Sakaki Makio, also known as “Tornado” is a tough 27-year-old high school drop-out. By academic standards, he’s pretty dumb. His father decides to force Makio to return to high school to receive his diploma and he asks an old friend who happens to be the principal of a nearby school to admit Makio. If Makio doesn’t graduate, the position of boss will be given to his younger brother, Mikio.
Furthermore, he must pose as a 17-year-old during school hours and in the presence of any classmates or teachers outside of school. If his cover is blown, it would be the end of his high school career as well as his hopes to become boss. Things start out rough and tough as Makio’s violent temper is tested. As the lessons and days go by he learns there is much more to school than just tests and studying.
Untold Scandal
Chosun’s most infamous Casanova, irresistible temptress and virtuous widow entangled in provocative and dangerous liaisons
The end of the Chosun dynasty-a period when rigid Confucianism clashed with encroaching new beliefs.
Lady Cho is a brilliant woman who mastered the classics on her own, and she resents the limited life she must lead as a woman. A devoted wife on the surface, she secretly entertains herself with sexual conquests.
On the other hand, her younger cousin Jo-won is accomplished both as a scholar and in martial arts, but rejects a high government post as if he disdains the hierarchical and patriarchal conventions of the time. He indulges in the pleasures of the flesh with as many women as he can seduce. Lady Cho was his first love, and they become co-conspirators in a high-stakes game of love and intrigue while hiding their true feelings for each other.
One day, Lady Cho asks Jo-won to deflower the innocent young Soh-ok, who is to become her husband’s concubine, but his attentions are elsewhere: Lady Sook. Graceful and aloof, Lady Sook lives according to her convictions as a Catholic. Jo-won becomes obsessed with seducing her, a woman who has remained chaste for nine years since her husband’s death. However, it proves to be more difficult than he expected when Chosun’s greatest playboy sets out to conquer the most virtuous woman in the land…
My girl and I
It may not be fair to measure a remake against its predecessor – it either works on its own or it doesn’t – but comparisons are inevitable, especially when there’s already been an original novel, a 2004 feature film, and a subsequent J-drama adaptation. Clearly, this is an oft-told tale that has garnered varying amounts of success in each of its incarnations. So what do the Koreans have to add?
Those unfamiliar with Crying Out Love in the Center of the World‘s plot will no doubt still recognize a familiar formula at work in My Girl and I, a tale of young love with an oh-so-tragic end in sight. My Sassy Girl‘s Cha Tae-Hyun plays Su-Ho, a likable high school student, who finds himself the object of affection of Su-Eun, a beautiful classmate who, unbeknownst to him, saves him from drowning in the sea. The film is comical and cute in the early going, as the two youngsters fall for each other, utilizing pagers in order to keep in contact with one another when they’re apart. Romance blooms when the two take a trip to an island, but just as happiness seems to be within their grasp, the first inklings of tragedy take hold of them, propelling the events of the film’s heavier second half.
As far as melodramas go, My Girl and I is one of the better ones. Its characters are intensely likeable, its plotline is readily accessible, and its serious turn never feels cheap or overly manipulative. Still, this Korean revamp never really equals the emotional heft of its Japanese predecessor. As far as fidelity to its source is concerned, My Girl and I proves more or less faithful. While the grandfather’s storyline is retained, certain subplots, motivations, and locations are excised in favor of a more straightforward storyline. Some scenes in the film appear nearly identical to the Japanese version in terms of shot selection and locations, while others are remarkably different and innovative. Whatever its predecessor’s strengths may be, My Girl and I comes across as a less protracted affair, which in many ways works to the remake’s benefit.
One thing the remake gets right is an added, suitably Korean sense of humor that it happily shows off during the film’s winning first half. One example of the movie’s funny bone comes with the addition of a younger sister for the film’s hero, a woman who also happens to be on the lookout for romance and ends up in a love connection that is likely to get one of the biggest laughs in the film. The movie also succeeds in developing Su-Ho’s circle of friends, making the initial stages of My Girl and I play like an amusing high school comedy, although more naturalistic than most “wacky” Korean jokefests. The emphasis on comedy extends to the leads as well, a move that not only endears the characters to the audience, but also makes the budding relationship feel all the more real. The two leads are “stars,” but thankfully, they have ample chemistry so it never feels as if the only reason we’re supposed to root for them is because the script says so.
Still, both actors are playing below their actual ages, which in many ways ruins the verisimilitude of the story. Still, the twenty-nine year old Cha Tae-Hyun does a fine job as the film’s likable everyman protagonist, both as a youth and a grown man. While his character is an oddball of sorts, Cha turns out to be a far more accessible protagonist than Saku, the lead in Crying Out Love in the Center of the World. And in her debut film role, the gorgeous Song Hye-Kyo performs well, although she lacks the youthful exuberance of Masami Nagasawa from the original. Even worse, the film’s undeniably Korean glossiness, while certainly attractive from a purely visual perspective, subtracts considerably from the serious issues at play in the film.
Perhaps in a misguided effort to be original, My Girl and I alters a crucial plot device used in the original film. Instead of exchanging tape recorded messages and sharing them via Walkmans, the conceit here is that the two are trading beeper messages. Although both convey the same practical purpose, the cassette tapes had added importance because the older Saku discovered them in the present day and listened to them, causing his past love to re-enter his life once more, which allowed the man’s past and present to interact in beautifully complicated ways. Here, the journey of discovery lacks the immediacy and complexity of the Japanese original.
Still, the involving romance, the laugh-out loud humor, and the charming performances from its two leads are affecting enough to make My Girl and I a solid piece of commercial entertainment. It may well pale in comparison to Crying Out Love in the Center of the World in the gut-wrenching melodrama department, but when you compare it to some of the manipulative trash that comes out of Korea nowadays, this is one terminal illness tearjerker that’s leaps and bounds above a number of its peers. (Sanjuro 2006)
Old miss diary
“Old Miss Diary: The Movie” sees the graduation of a popular Korean sitcom to the big screen, a risky move which often sees concepts that worked well in small doses flounder when played out at feature length. Thankfully, that proves not to be the case here, mainly since the film features not only the same characters as the television series, but also the same writers and directors, all of whom help to recapture the same offbeat mixture of humour and romance which won over fans in the first place.
The plot revolves around Mi Ja (actress Ye Ji Won, recently in “So Cute”), a down on her luck thirty-something woman whose life is going nowhere fast, and who seems doomed to live out her days as a lonely old maid. Things start to look up when she finally manages to land some work as a voice-dubbing actress, which brings her back into contact not only with a former crush, but a possible longshot love prospect in the form of handsome young producer Ji Hyun Woo (Ji Hyun Woo, also in the television series “Over the Rainbow”). This makes for all manner of complications, as does the odd behaviour of her three grandmothers, who seem to be making a late bid for romance themselves.
“Old Miss Diary” is pretty different for a Korean romantic comedy, mainly due to the fact that instead of a dizzy youngster who looks like she has just stepped out of a cosmetics advert in the lead, it also features a thirty-two year old woman who is unemployed, lives with her grandparents, and who is introduced to viewers via depictions of some less than savoury personal habits, including the plucking of underarm hair to pass time and projectile vomiting in the street after drinking too much. Although such behaviour may not sound particularly ladylike, Mi Ja is a far more believable and human character than those that usually populates such films, and it is precisely the gambit of her not being a two dimensional beauty queen which interests the viewer and makes her an appealing underdog figure who it is hard not to root for.
The film’s romantic elements are handled with a surprising subtlety and realism, with the road to love being a long and rocky one, peppered with painful mishaps, most of which stem from Mi Ja’s all too believable insecurities rather than comical misunderstandings. It certainly helps that beneath his mock-cool exterior, Ji Hyun is quite blatantly a social misfit in his own right, and though the viewer never learns much about him beyond a few hints of his inner turmoil, the two do seem to be a good match, and their relationship develops in a convincing fashion. It goes without saying that the film takes the inevitable dive into melodrama towards the end, with some tragedy and shock revelations thrown in for good measure, though there are at least mercifully few tears or cheap tugs at the heartstrings.
The film’s greatest strength is that it is consistently funny throughout, and is so without undermining the central story or degenerating into nonsense. The jokes are a good mix, from the neurotic meandering of Mi Ja’s voiceover and her tendency to drift into weird visions, to a healthy amount of broad physical slapstick, most of which involves her falling over or generally making an ass of herself. There are a number of amusing film references, from the opening scene which parodies the recent Korean blockbuster “Welcome to Dongmakgol”, to the Asian horror gags resulting from Mi Ja’s work dubbing what seems to be a “Ringu” knock-off, providing the voice for a familiar looking ghost called ‘Sadako’.
Director Kim Seok Yoon keeps the film appropriately lively, with plenty of imaginative visual touches usually related to Mi Ja’s flights of fantasy and the wacky behaviour of the old folks. The proceedings move along at a pleasingly energetic pace, never dwelling too much on the more downbeat aspects of the story or pausing for unnecessary reflection. The film does betray its sitcom origins in that the plot is episodic, especially in terms of scenes featuring the grandmothers. Though amusing and interesting in their own right, as well as providing some surprisingly thoughtful ruminations on life and aging, these sequences are for the most part unconnected to the main narrative, and at times feel rather scattershot. Still, this is by no means a bad thing, as it does make for a bit of eccentricity and variety, and helps to further differentiate the film from others in the genre.
It is this kind of quirkiness which makes “Old Miss Diary” a genuine pleasure to watch, and which means that it is likely to be enjoyed even by viewers who are not fans of the form. With likeable characters, a strong story and a certain level of emotional depth, if perhaps not complexity, it offers a welcome change of pace for anyone exasperated by the fact that most Korean romantic comedies seem to revolve around fresh faced delinquents or hyperactive high school girls.
Love Phobia
On a sunny day, a boy named Jo-kang meets Ari, a girl in a yellow raincoat, and they become friends. Jo-kang falls helplessly in love with the quirky but attractive Ari, but one day, she suddenly disappears. Ten years pass and Jo-kang, now a high school student, gets a call from Ari and meets her again in a temple. Although they have not seen each other for ten years, they have such a great time together. Then, Ari disappears again. Jo-kang is devastated. Why has she disappeared again? What will become of them?
She´s on duty
Chun Jae-in, an orphan-turned-police detective, is assigned a job to go undercover in a high school to befriend Seung-hee, the daughter of notorious gangster Cha Young-jae, and protect her from any of her father’s enemies who may want to use her as bait to get Cha Young-jae to do what they want, as well as get information about her father’s work from her. At first, Jae-in is very reluctant to accept the job; however, her uncle, also a detective, pushes her at the last minute to take it. Jae-in is considered a loser when she first steps into her class, and the gang girls confront her afterward and challenge her to a fight at the backyard of the school. Jae-in, being a policewoman, easily beats them up. This earns her some sort of respect, although what Jae-in really wants is Seung-hee’s friendship. She eventually gets this with the help of Kang No-young, a handsome classmate and next-door neighbor who she starts to like; however, Jae-in thinks her crush is wrong because of their age difference.
Meanwhile, a new teacher arrives at their school. Jae-in later is informed that he is also an undercover agent, working on her side. She becomes slightly suspicious of him and vaguely recognizes his face.
One day after school, Jae-in and other policemen spot Cha Young-jae outside an airport; they rush to catch him, but his rivals are also on the chase. They meet up in the parking lot, where Cha Young-jae is trapped. Suddenly a mysterious motorcycle rider speeds into the middle of the group and his motorcycle produces white smoke, therefore allowing Cha Young-jae to get away. Jae-in and other police go after the motorcycle driver, since Cha Young-jae has already gotten away. The undercover teacher also happens to be at the event and shoots at the motorcycle driver, but the driver gets away. Jae-in rushes after him, but the undercover teacher puts a gun to her head. She assumes it is not serious and runs after the driver, but all she finds is a watch strangely identical to that of No-young’s. When she gets home, she knocks at No-young’s door and confronts him about his watch. No-young shrugs it off and is playful; however, once he gets inside his apartment, he takes off his shirt, revealing a bullet wound to the camera. Jae-in does not know of this, but she suspects that No-young is also undercover as a spy.
Jae-in increasingly becomes more suspicious of No-young, although she is still head-over-heels about him. One day she challenges him to a taekwondo match during a physical education class at school. During the match, they vocally argue, although none of their classmates or the teacher seems to notice; by the end of the match, they both know of each other’s real position as undercover agents. Jae-in thereafter confesses to Seung-hee that she is not really a schoolgirl, which in turn gets Seung-hee very upset.
Jae-in then receives news: her beloved uncle has been stabbed by an unknown person. She sobs, overcome with grief at the loss of her only family. The camera then shows her with Seung-hee in a car with a fellow policeman. The policeman betrays Jae-in and Seung-hee and leads them to the site where Cha Young-jae has been captured and is meeting with a rival gang leader. No-young arrives, and Jae-in teams up with him to fight off everyone. Jae-in goes to capture the rival gang leader; however, as she is handcuffing him, a gun is put to her head. She turns to see the undercover teacher, who was supposed to be on her side. He reveals to her that he was the one who stabbed her uncle, and she becomes overcome with rage. Meanwhile, No-young is wounded and running out of energy; as an undercover spy, he cannot reveal himself, for he would get caught. He slips away quietly as Jae-in punches the undercover teacher again and again. A police officer finally handcuffs the undercover teacher and leads him away. Cha Young-jae is sent off to an emergency room in an ambulance with Seung-hee, and Jae-in receives news that her uncle will get better.
The movie then cuts to a scene where Jae-in is undercover once again. It has been some time since the Cha Young-jae case, although the movie does not specifically say how long. This time, Jae-in is undercover as a singing nun. She bolts after a criminal down alleys and streets; finally, when she catches up with the criminal, she realizes he has already been knocked out by someone. She looks around and discovers No-young. She starts to punch him, but he blocks it. They reconcile and kiss.
Sexy Teacher
Beautiful, sexy Ji-young is placed at an all boys’ high school as student-teacher. Teenage boys in puberty think of her as a sex goddess and fantasize about her. Then from one of the classrooms, Dean of Students sees a silhouette of a couple embracing and hears a woman moaning. He goes to the classroom only to discover a pair of red stilettos. He suspects Ji-young and is resolved to protect the boys from her sexual charms.
Trace of Love
A touring program producer Min-joo, takes notes in her journal whenever and wherever she travels, so one day she can show all those amazing places to her longtime lover Hyun-woo. Finally Hyun-woo passes the bar exam and proposes to Min-joo. However, not long after, Min-joo dies when the department store where she was waiting for Hyun-woo collapses. Hyun-woo becomes a prosecutor, but when he digs too deeply in a sensitive political case, he ends up in detention. While in detention (five years after Min-joo’s death), Min-joo’s parents send him Min-joo’s journal, which gives him a road to trace all the memories of his lost lover.
A perfect match
Mr handy
If you’ve seen your share of South Korean comedies in the last few years, you might be wondering if the industry has stopped making adult comedies altogether. With the likes of “Sex is Zero” and “Slave Love” seemingly dominating the marketplace, one might get the impression that the Korean movie industry no longer cares about making Romantic Comedies for adults. Thankfully Seok-beom Kang’s “Mr. Handy” (aka “Mr. Hong”) is here to set the record straight. Yes, Virginia, South Korea still produces RomComs for adults; and Yes, they really are better than the likes of “Slave” and “Zero” by a long shot.
“Mr. Handy” stars Jeong-hwa Eom (”Crazy Marriage”) as Hye-jin, a fiercely independent 30-year old dentist whose life changes when she hands in her resignation paper and, much to her surprise, it’s accepted. Now out of a job, Hye-jin finds that starting her own practice in a big city like Seoul is out of the question, as well as beyond her bank account. After a night of aimless driving, Hye-jin ends up in a small rural town that promises a new start — but more importantly, the rent space is cheap.
As she tries to acclimate to small-town life, Hye-jin comes into repeated contact with Du-shik, aka Mr. Hong (Ju-seok Kim). As the town’s unofficial “representative”, Hong’s duty includes every job that needs doing. In return, he receives a small pay, but as Hong tells another character, accepting money from the townspeople helps them to easier accept his help. It’s this symbiotic relationship between Hong and the town that Hye-jin just can’t understand, especially since Hong is always in her face, prodding her to become a better citizen and person.
Since “Mr. Handy” is a Romantic Comedy, Hong and Hye-jin falling in love is as inevitable as death and taxes. But thankfully co-writer/director Seok-beom Kang has seen plenty of RomComs himself, and apparently dislikes their predictability almost as much as this reviewer. As a result, not very much of “Mr. Handy”, besides the inevitable “falling in love” part, is predictable. After Hong and Hye-jin spends a (sexless) night together, Hye-jin begins to develop feelings for the man-with-no-prospects, who shockingly don’t seem especially interested in courting a dentist.
It’s that kind of unpredictability that makes “Mr. Handy” a pleasure to watch. It’s an entertaining movie from beginning to end, with a cast of likeable characters. Even Hye-jin’s friend Mi-sun (Ka-Yeong Kim), essentially the film’s Designated Comic Relief, doesn’t wear out her welcome. Later on, the film takes some liberties, giving anyone familiar with Korean films and Korea a helping of inside gags. “Shiri” makes a cameo, as well as a certain midget dictator of a certain northern country. Even George Bush Sr. shows up briefly. All of this, while obviously outrageous, is nevertheless hilarious.
While the film explores every facet of Hye-jin’s personality, Hong remains a mystery throughout much of the film. One of the film’s conceit is that Hong can do just about anything, from something as simple as filling in as a cashier, to something as artistic as playing guitar and singing, and even something as skilled as fixing electronics. When gangsters threaten Hye-jin’s burgeoning practice, Hong shows his physical prowess and wipes the streets with them. How did he become so proficient at these things? The movie never explains, and that’s part of its charm.
But if the film shortchanges us on its renaissance man, it more than makes up in laughs. “Mr. Handy” is a very funny film, with much of the comedy coming in the form of excellent performances by the two leads and out-of-the-blue situations such as Hye-jin getting groped in a grocery store, or getting back ended by a bad driver. The Hye-jin character is very well realized. She’s a woman who bucks the system at every corner, but is still vulnerable to her unwed status at age 30. Most of the time her personality gets her into trouble because she refuses to accept the status quo.
“Mr. Handy” is funny, affable, and visually impressive. The cinematography by Jun-yeong Jang (”Afrika”) is breathtaking, especially when the camera lingers on the ocean or at a delicate sunset. The beautiful Jeong-hwa Eom is a revelation, lighting up the screen with natural charisma and great comedic timing. Thankfully the film realizes it has a major talent on its hands, because the camera captures every smile and expressive look by Eom. Newcomer Ju-seok Kim, as Hye-jin’s persistent foil, succeeds in the role without ever resorting to silliness.
For anyone tired of the crop of raunchy teen comedies that have sprung out of Korea like a bad rash, “Mr. Handy” is a perfect change of pace. You won’t find a better, funnier, and more romantic comedy coming out of Korea at the moment.
Love me not
Julian has lived off with the money he lures from his rich female customers. But now he faces usurious debts from a hasty expansion of his business, and he will be killed unless he clears the debt in one month. The only way to save himself is to pretend to be the long-lost brother of an heiress and kill her to get her huge fortune. Min, the blind heiress, cold-hearted like Julian, slowly opens herself to him, and he, too, falls for her. But Julian has to pay his creditor and what makes it worse for him is that the illness that took Min’s eyesight relapsed, threatening her life. This story takes a terrible turn when Julian becomes guilty, and pained with guilt. The tearjerker moments of the ironic betrayel and innocent love will make your heart turn.
Delightful girl chun hyang
Sassy Girl, Choon-hyang” is the 2005 interpretation of the “Legend of Choon-hyang”. The story begins when Lee Mong-ryong is transferred from Seoul to a high school in Namwon, North Jeolla Province. Chun-hyang does her best to help Mong-ryong, her first love and the son of the Namwon Police Station chief, to enter a prestigious university. However, after meeting with Mong-ryong’s first love, Chae-rin, Mong-ryong’s love toward Chun-hyang is shattered, although Chun-hyang’s love remains unwavering.
One day, Byeon Hak-do, CEO of a famous entertainment company, appears in her life. He exudes confidence that he can make any woman fall for him. But as Chun-hyang shows no interest in him, his self-esteem is damaged profoundly. Byeon Hak-do is determined to make her love him.
Miracle on 1st street
Miracle on 1st Street is a Korean Drama comedy about gangsters who trying to scare people to move out from their property so the can clear out the area to make way for corporate construction. Pil Je (Lim Chang Jung, Sex is Zero) is a gangster who tries to scare people in the neighborhood. But Myeong Ran (Ha Ji Won, Hwang Jin Yi) isn’t scare with Pil Je. She fights back and gives Pil Je something to think about. But as he gets to know her and the locals more, Pil Je senses himself changing, changing enough for a miracle to happen?
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