My Sassy Girl (엽기적인 그녀; literally, "That Bizarre Girl") is a 2001 South Korean Romantic Comedy film. It is partially based on the true story told in a series of love letters written by Kim Ho-sik, a man who posted them online. The film is directed by Kwak Jae-yong.

The film was extremely successful in South Korea. When My Sassy Girl was released throughout East Asia, it became a mega blockbuster hit in the entire region, from Japan to China to Taiwan to Philippines to Hong Kong to Singapore to Vietnam, to the point where it was drawing comparisons to Titanic.. Through positive word of mouth , the movie eventually became one of the most popular South Korean films among Asian-Americans in the United States.

Story and Spoiler:

The film tells the story of a male college student (Cha Tae-Yun) as Gyeon-woo and a girl (Jun Ji-hyun) whose name is never given (in this movie). Our male protagonist, Gyeon-woo, does not seem to be able to catch a break. His romantic prospects are so pathetic that even his mother tries to get into the act, telling him to go visit his aunt so he can get hooked up with a girl. Gyeon-woo has more pride than that so he refuses. He goes to the train station for a ride home. There he sees the Girl, stone drunk and standing precariously close to the edge of the train platform. He pulls her to safety just in time.

Inside the train, Gyeon-woo cannot help but stare at the girl wavering back and forth, who he is slightly attracted to but repulsed by her drunkenness. Finally, she throws up on an old man, calls Gyeon-woo "honey" and faints. Gyeon-woo, confused, carries her all the way to the nearest motel. While he is showering, her phone rings and he runs out to answer it, still naked. He informs the caller of his location, and is soon received by a pair of police officers. A short struggle later, he is taken to jail.

He eventually gets out. That morning the Girl calls him out to a café, where he details the previous night. She seems irritated and drags Gyeon-woo off to a bar, where she gets hammered again, resulting in yet another trip to the same motel.

The Girl is a fierce character. After this second overnight stay at the motel, she seeks Gyeon-woo out in class. Faced with a feisty teacher, she succeeds in getting him out of class by claiming to be on the way to an abortion, with him being the father. Her plan a success, she takes Gyeon-woo to the theme park to enjoy themselves.

She is an aspiring scriptwriter, giving Gyeon-woo three different looks at genres. The first is an action movie - "The Demolition Terminator" - which switches gender roles, symbolically having the Girl save her helpless lover (Gyeon-woo). The second is a wild perversion of one of Gyeon-woo's beloved melodramas in which the Girl, having died, asks that her lover be buried along with her, even alive. The resulting situation is quite humorous. The last is a wuxia/samurai movie spoof full of genre cliches and anachronisms. All three feature the same common thread: the Girl is from the future.

Despite all the horrible things Gyeon-woo endures, he is determined to stick with the Girl. He feels a pain inside her and wants to ease it. So no matter what happens, he bites his tongue and trudges on. Throughout the first half of the movie, she is resolute in her pain, dishing it out in plenty. But as the second half comes around, she begins to change; she shows vulnerability.

The second - and the more touching - half of the movie begins with the Girl waiting for Gyeon-woo after school. She takes him out to the park and suddenly complains about the pain her high heels are causing her. In the subsequent conversation, she convinces Gyeon-woo to switch shoes with her. Overjoyed, she tells him to chase her around the park and which he does until it starts raining. They walk to her house where Gyeon-woo meets her parents, after which he overhears a massive argument between the Girl and her mother over her relationship with him. Gyeon-woo does not hear from her for a long time.

For their 100th-day anniversary, she calls him and asks him to bring her a rose during class. He does this, leading to a touching and romantic scene where he follows the beautiful music of Pachelbel to where she is. But the night unfolds further and again he is faced with her parents, the Girl herself unconscious for the third time. Her father, infuriated, arranges a break-up.

By now, Gyeon-woo realizes how special the Girl is. He is unwilling to let her go. Upon being summoned to scout her date, he is disheartened to be labeled as a mere friend. Broken, he leaves the date with 10 rules one must follow to make the Girl happy. Unbeknownst to Gyeon-woo, the Girl hears these 10 rules and rushes to find him. They meet once again in the train station.

She asks him to write a letter and bring it with him. There, she unveils a time capsule where their letters will go inside and be buried next to a tree on a mountain for two years. In two years, they shall meet again to read the letters. Then they separate.

Gyeon-woo finds himself on the mountain in two years but does not find her there with him. Depressed, he opens the time capsule, finds a frog inside, and takes out her letter to read. The Girl had a boyfriend at first, who did everything she ever wanted and more. Like Gyeon-woo, he brought her a rose on their 100th day and like Gyeon-woo, met her on the train. She was happy and content, planning their lives together under the very tree and taking long walks in the sunset next to the lake. His sudden death left her heartbroken. In remembrance of the tragic event, she and his mother make a trip each year to the lake where he drowned. She also says that her ex-boyfriend's mother has been trying to introduce someone to her so that she will move on.

A year passes without her feeling any better, tortured by her lost love. Meeting Gyeon-woo only makes her feel worse because all the things she does to him causes her to fall more and more for him. And she cannot let go of the memories in her heart. She finally concludes that if they are really meant to be together, fate shall bring them back together.

One year after Gyeon-woo visited the tree, the Girl finally comes. Sitting under the tree is an old man. Throughout the conversation, the old man is very interested in finding out why the Girl was one year late. It is implied in the movie that old man is the Gyeon-woo from the future. Some speculation on why the future Gyeon-woo wants to find out why the Girl was one year late: (1) The Girl and Gyeon-woo got married in the end, but the Girl still refuses to tell him why she was one year late. (2) The Girl broke up with Gyeon-woo again and he never found out why she was one year late. Throughout the movie, the relationship between Gyeon-woo and the Girl is an on-off bittersweet affair.

After the old man tells the Girl the touching story of the tree getting replaced by Gyeon-woo (his younger self), the old man disappears and the Girl looks at the sky to see a tiny UFO flying across the sky and then vanishing. The Girl had mentioned a few times that she wished to meet someone from the future. Her wish is granted by the old Gyeon-Woo from the future.

After her encounter with the UFO, she proceeds to the place where her ex-boyfriend died from drowning. In a deleted scene from the director's cut, she throws the necklace into the sea. This symbolizes that she finally has closure.

In the final scene, Gyeon-woo and the Girl come full circle when they find out that the one person they have been declining to meet over the years is the one person they have always wanted to see again, the one person that they had always been with before the break-up. The Girl's ex-boyfriend's mother is actually Gyeon-Woo's aunt who since the beginning of the film, has wanted to introduce him to "a girl." THE END.

On a personal note, this is just one of my fave korean movie. I think people like this because it’s hilarious, funny and with melodramatic romance that spice up the movie. I like the girl's character in the beginning, her tantrums was kinda cute and entertaining. But later on I find her already a bit annoying because of her out of this world "brattishness". She didn't treat her boyfriend nicely. She was too much and I felt pity for the boy. But, soon after she was changed and her vulnerable side was revealed .

I BELIEVE (From the album "My Sassy GIRL")
Translation from korean to english

I believe
That although you are gone
This cannot be the end, can it?
I believe
That your journey back to me
Is just delayed, isn't it?

I remember so well that I hurt myself
As I cry
I hope you dont cry as I do
I hope you wont cry as you leave

I know you will return someday
Because I believe
I will wait for you, just you

I believe
You should not cry
When you think about my pain

I believe
My tears will bring you back to me
My eyes cannot forget
That it is you who make them cry
I hope you dont cry as I do
I hope you wont cry as you leave

I know you will return someday
Because I believe
I will wait for you, just you

My tears will bring you back to me
My eyes cannot forget
That it is you who make them cry

Before I met you
The world was not so beautiful
Beneath the same sky
All alone I cry

But I will wait here
Just for you
Even if waiting is hopeless
Its already enough
To think of love
Time means nothing to me
I will wait for you, just you
Just you

**********

Profile of Jun Ji Hyun:

• Birth: Oct. 30, 1981, Seoul, South Korea.
• Height: 172cm (5 ft. 7 in)
• Weight: 48kg
• Blood type: B
• Religion: Christianity
• Family: Father, Mother, One brother
• Education: Dankkok University
• Hobby: Watch movies and listen music
• Ability: Swimming
• Idol: Kim Hee-sun

Jun Ji-hyun (전지현, born 왕지현, Wang Ji-hyeon, is a Korean Actress and model.

Ji Hyun was born in Seoul, South Korea, and studied in the Department of Theater and Film at Dongguk University. She began her career as a model in 1997, and after appearing in a number of TV sitcoms, her movie debut came in White Valentine (1999). This was followed by a role in Il Mare (2000). Her biggest breakthrough was in My Sassy Girl (2001), that won her the Best Actress award at the Daejong Film Festival in 2002.

Since her debut as a model for Echo, Ji Hyun has modelled many fashion companies and more recently, mobile phones and iPod. Some of her more popular product endorsements include Giordano, KFC and Samsung. In 2004, one of her Giordano adverts was considered too sexy by the censors and was banned from Korean TV. In the same year, she was voted as having the "Best Butt in Asia", polling 41% of the total votes.

In 2005 she became the first ever Korean artist to feature on cover for famous fashion magazine Elle.

Her new movie is titled "Daisy" (2006) which I got it yesterday. But I haven't watch it yet.

Filmography:

• White Valentine (1999) (Hwaiteu ballentain - 화이트 발렌타인)
• Il Mare(2000) (Siworae - 시월애)
• My Sassy Girl ((2001) (Yeopgijeogin geunyeo - 엽기적인 그녀)
• The Uninvited (2003) (4 Inyong siktak - 4인용 식탁)
• Windstruck (2004) (Nae yeojachingureul sogaehamnida - 내 여자친구를 소개합니다)
• Daisy (2006) (Deiji - 데이지)

Profile of Cha Tae Hyun:

Date of Birth : 25 March 1976
Birthplace : South Korea
Height : 175 cm
Weight : 65kg
Blood Type : Type A
Family : Father, Mother,a Brother

Cha Tae-hyun started his career as a silver medalist in a 1995 KBS Talent Contest. Over the next several years he would star in a large number of TV dramas such as Sunflower and Happy Together, while also working as a model and appearing in a huge number of TV commercials. He also made a minor film debut in the comedy Halleluja.

Then in 2001 he burst onto the film scene with a bang, in the hugely successful comedy My Sassy Girl. Cha's expressive acting established him as a recognized star in Korea as well as the Asian region at large. His next film Lovers Concerto (2002), a tragic melodrama with actresses Son Ye-jin and Lee Eun-ju, also proved to be a popular success.

From 2003, however, Cha's casting choices proved to be less inspired. He appeared in three comedies -- Crazy First Love, Happy Naked Christmas and Two Guys -- that were widely criticized by audiences for their weak scripts and lack of creativity. In 2005, Cha tries to make a comeback as part of a large ensemble cast in the relationships film Sad Movie and in My Girl and I, the remake of Japanese hit film Crying Out Love in the Center of the World.

Filmography:
My Girl and I (2005)
Sad Movie (2005)
Two Guys (2004)
Happy Ero Christmas (2003)
Crazy First Love (2003)
Lovers Concerto (2002)
My Sassy Girl (2001)
Halleluja (1997)

I watched all of these movies except "Two Guys" and "Halleluja". The best movies that he did were "My Sassy Girl" and "Lovers Concerto".

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