My Sassy Girl (2001)

I still remember very well the time when I first got swept away by the Korean wave back in 2002. Movies and tv series are not that accessible yet via online so people like me rely on hardworking fans that find a way to spread the word about the best films, tv dramas and albums at the moment.

It was a friend who strongly suggested that I watch this Korean movie My Sassy Girl. After some time, I gave in and the rest as they say, is history.

Since that's the first ever K-movie that I have seen, I think it is also fitting to make it as the first film that I am going to talk about and share with you.

SPOILER ALERT!

My Sassy Girl (Korean: 엽기적인 그녀) is a hugely popular Korean Romantic Comedy (RomCom) film shown in 2001. Its fame became so great that word of mouth crossed the shores and made it to different parts of the planet.

Movie Poster

The story revolved around two characters, "Sassy Girl" (SG) and "Gyeon Woo" (GW). GW is an engineering student who is unlucky when it comes to his love life. One day, while eating out with friends, his mother phoned him and asked him to visit his aunt for a potential date. Dismissing the idea, GW finished the call and went on eating with his friends. On his way home, GW met the drunk SG for the first time at a train station. She mistaken GW as her boyfriend and that's how their story began. The silly and kindhearted MG tried to stay away from SG but it seemed like he couldn't leave her even after the train station incident so he finds himself meeting SG in places where she wants him to show up and do things that SG asks him to do.

SG and GW playing while on the train.

As the story went on, it turns out that SG lost her boyfriend one year ago when she and GW met at the train station for the first time hence her drunkardness. Finally knowing SG's pain and loneliness, GW decided to never leaver her side. However, it was SG who decided that it's time for them to part ways since she is unsure of what her feelings might be and if she is ready to fall in love again.

GW and SG going to the club.

Before parting ways, the two wrote down letters for each other and bury them in a time capsule agreeing to meet again after two years in the same spot (under a tree in the mountains) so they could read the letters together.

Two years have passed, GW and SG showed up at the meeting place but did not meet each other because they came at a different date. During SG's visit, an old man was sitting under the tree and told her that the tree has a secret. He later revealed that the tree she is seeing at the time is not the same tree that she saw when they buried the time capsule a couple of years ago. A lighting struck and killed the tree a year before that time and a young man planted a similar looking tree on the same spot to make sure that his special someone will still find the right spot and won't feel sad.

After 2 years, GW waited for SG at their meeting spot but she never came.

Upon hearing what GW has done, SG knew that it was time to get in touch with GW but she couldn't find a way to connect with him again.

A year has passed since the supposed to be meeting under the tree, GW has finally agreed to meet his aunt for lunch and meet the lady his aunt wants him to see. When his aunt finally introduced the lady, it turned out to be SG and the pair smiled at each other like there's no tomorrow.

QUICK FACTS

• This movie is based on real life blog posts written by Kim Ho Sik.
• The main casts consist of Jun Ji-Hyun as Sassy Girl and Cha Tae-Hyun as Gyun Woo.
• The name of the girl in the story was never revealed.
• Its huge popularity resulted to several remakes done by countries such as Japan, China, India and USA.

MY TAKE

First of all, let me just tell you that I am a sucker for RomComs. Now, having said that, I bet you will know what I will say next. Yes, I did enjoy this movie very much not only because of the funny and cheesy scenes but more importantly because of the uniqueness of the story. I mean, yes, there are many movies that tackled the role of destiny or fate or the universe conspiring or whatever you wanna call it when it comes to two people who are meant to be together but the way the story unfolded in this movie was just too good.

If you want to just relax, be greatly entertained and feel all mushy and corny, this movie is something that you may want to consider watching. It's even better if you watch it with your special someone so you could also reminisce the crazy and fun times you've had so far while you watch SG and GW fall in love with each other.

Til next time!