My Sassy Girl

The best-known example of Korean romantic comedy. Gyeon-woo helps a drunk woman on the metro. Barely conscious, she calls him "uncle", and the people around assume they are together. From that moment he has taken responsibility for her. Their relationship is not a usual romantic comedy relationship. She states what she wants as an order, directs him constantly, threatens him, and he accepts it. The comedy comes from that inverted balance of power. In the second half the register changes and the reason behind her behaviour emerges. The starting point is interesting: the story comes from a series of internet posts in which a user described his own relationship. The posts became a book first and then a film. Gianna Jun plays the woman and Cha Tae-hyun plays Gyeon-woo. It was a large commercial success in Korea and influential across Asia; it was remade in several countries. One of the turning points of its genre for anyone who likes Korean cinema and romantic comedy. To a viewer measuring by today, some of the behaviour in the relationship is presented as comedy and has not aged well everywhere.