My Little Bride

Bo-eun is at high school. On his deathbed her grandfather remembers an old promise: years ago the two families agreed that the grandchildren would marry. Sang-min is at university and has known Bo-eun since she was small. Both object, but nobody says no to the grandfather. The wedding takes place and the marriage is kept secret; Bo-eun will carry on at school as if single. They start living in the same house. There is a boy she likes at school, and the man at home is now her husband. Kim Ho-joon directs. Moon Geun-young plays Bo-eun and Kim Rae-won plays Sang-min. It is a South Korean production. The film came out in 2004 and was one of the widely seen romantic comedies of that year in Korea. Moon Geun-young was already known from child roles, and this part carried her to the position of a young star. The matter it treats is a family promise; the film does not criticise the tradition but makes comic material of it. The narrative moves between school and home and the secret marriage carries all of the comedy. The film does not much question the age difference or the uncomfortable side of its setup. The Korean romantic comedy shape is kept whole; misunderstanding, jealousy and the grand gesture. The narrative turns sentimental in the second half and the tone changes. The ending arrives where it is expected. Its limit is the setup; the story's starting point is contested today and the narrative overlooks it. Who it is for: viewers who like Korean romantic comedy of the two thousands. Who it is not for: the setup is problematic, it is predictable, and the ending what you expect.