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My Sassy Girl: Overview, Cast, 5 Fun Facts & More

Overview of My Sassy Girl

Released on July 27, 2001, ‘My Sassy Girl’ is a South Korean romantic comedy movie directed by Kwak Jae-young. The movie was received by audiences around the world and was even remade into different languages.

The screenplay was adapted from a novel written by Kim Ho-sik based on real-life events. It is one of the highest-grossing films in the Korean industry in the comedy genre. TV drama adaptations in Japanese and Korean languages were also a huge success. A direct sequel to the movie named ‘My New Sassy Girl’ was released in 2008.

Profile

  • Movie: My Sassy Girl
  • Genre: Romantic/Comedy
  • Director: Kwak Jae-young
  • Writers: Kim Ho-sik (novel), Kwak Jae-young
  • Producers: Shin Chul, Park Geon-seob
  • Cinematographer: Kim Sung-bok
  • Edited by: Kim Sang-bum
  • Music by: Kim Hyeong-soek
  • Production companies: ShinCine Communications, IM Pictures
  • Distributed by: Cinema Service
  • Release Date: July 27, 2001
  • Runtime: 123 minutes
  • Country: South Korea
  • Language: Korean

Cast

Main

  • Jun Ji-hyun as The Sassy Girl
    The nameless character generally addressed as ‘The Girl’ is an oddball. Her whole character is contrary to the conventional feminine image. She hates hugs and shows her affection by hitting and saying offensive words to people. She laments her boyfriend’s untimely death and uses alcohol as an escape from her reality.
kdramalive Image from "My Sassy Girl"
Cha Tae-hyun as Kyun-woo and Jun Ji-hyun as The Girl in “My Sassy Girl” (2001). Credit: Pinterest
  • Cha Tae-hyun as Gyeon-woo
    A desperate soul searching for love. He likes spending time with his friends and wooing girls every now and then. He studies engineering and lives with his nagging parents.

Supporting

  • Kim In-moon as Gyeon-woo’s father
  • Song Ok-sook as Gyeon-woo’s mother
  • Han Jin-hee as ‘The Sassy Girl’s’ father
  • Im Ho as the Blind Date Guy
  • Yang Geum-seok as Gyeon-woo’s aunt
  • Hyun Sook-Hee as ‘The Sassy Girl’s’ mother

Synopsis

The opening scene unfolds with Gyeon-woo standing close to a tree at the top of a mountain. A mound of pebbles is also seen adjacent to him and he pauses there for a long time and retreats. The movie flashbacks and Gyeon-woo starts to narrate his story. He is in a photo studio and is all set to get a picture taken. At that moment, his aunt rings on his phone. He perfectly knows the reason behind the call and makes a pause. Then, he continues to talk about his childhood.

Gyeon-woo’s parents desperately wanted a baby girl, but destiny took a different turn. Although his upbringing was sheerly like that of a girl, he withstood it and continues to live as a man. Later, Gyeon-woo is seen in a beer room with his friends and is interrupted by his mother’s call. She asks him to visit his aunt who wants to introduce him to a girl. His aunt is grieving her son’s death and looks upon Gyeon-woo as his own son.

Gyeon-woo does not seem happy with the message even though he yearns for a girlfriend. Nonetheless, he nodded yes to his mother’s demand and departed for the subway. There he met a girl flippantly standing close to the track. She is tipsy and Gyeon-woo saves her from falling off the ground. He was hooked on her beauty but was repulsed by her drunkenness. As the train arrives, he guides her inside as they head towards the same route.

Inside the trail, the girl makes a rumpus by shouting at a fellow traveller about wearing a pink shirt and even throws up over an old man. The commuters mislabel Gyeong-woo as her boyfriend after she calls him ‘honey’. For this reason, he is asked to clean up the mess and step off the waggon. He gets off at the next station, piggybacking the girl. Even though his intention was to leave her at the subway station and flee, his sense of right said otherwise.

kdramalive Image from " My Sassy Girl"
Cha Tae-hyun as Kyun-woo and Jun Ji-hyun as The Girl in “My Sassy Girl” (2001). Credit: Pinterest

So, he took her guardedly to a nearby motel and took a shower. He was unclothed and that is when a bunch of cops dashed into the room with an arrest warrant, thinking the girl was kidnapped by him. However, Gyeon-woo was deemed innocent and left the police station the next morning. He missed out on the date set up by his aunt and his mother makes a fuss about it.

On reaching back home, the girl rings him and invites him for a meet-up. She enquires about the previous night and starts to tell her story over a glass of soju. Her boyfriend actually died but she lies that her habit of intoxication is accounted to her boyfriend’s infidelity and that alcohol keeps her together. The events of last night occur again and Gyeon-woo ends up with the drunken girl in the same motel. Apparently, he is smitten by her.

Gyeon-woo is an engineering student and is attending a lecture the very next day. To his disbelief, the girl pops up and pulls him out of the class by convincing his professor after fabricating a story about her pregnancy with Gyeong-woo. Afterwards, they have a good time at the amusement park. The girl is passionate about scriptwriting and shows off her work to him.

Regardless of the mediocrity in her writings, which are mainly based on preternatural female characters, Gyeong-won gave her a stamp of approval. He started liking her idiosyncratic acts and strung along with her most of the time. One day, by a twist of fate, he confessed to the girl, misidentifying her as someone else but sassily handled the embarrassing situation.

kdramalive Image from "My Sassy Girl"
Cha Tae-hyun as Kyun-woo and Jun Ji-hyun as The Girl in “My Sassy Girl” (2001). Credit: Pinterest

Gyeon-woo spared no effort to make her feel treasured. He arranged a birthday bash for her at an amusement park and afterwards met a hysterical army officer, agonised by his girlfriend’s infidelity. He held them hostage but they escaped the situation wisely. After spending a lot of time with the girl, Gyeon-woo understands that her cruel attitude is her way of expressing love.

One day, the girl takes Gyeon-woo to meet her father who is an alcoholic. Her parents do not approve of him and feeling dejected, he leaves from there. He cuts contact with her and moves on with his life.

Regardless, the girl calls him after a few days and demands to come and propose to her in front of her friends at a university function. He signs up for the task and does exactly what she had asked. They make a couple and enjoy themselves at the bar later that day. As usual, the girl got drunk and Gyeon-woo took her to her house. There he encountered the girl’s father and was asked to stay away from her. Henceforth, they led their own lives.

Gyeon-woo also registers on a dating website. In spite of all this, without notice, the girl calls and invites him one day to meet her blind date. Without giving much thought, he agrees. They meet at a coffee shop and Gyeon-woo is baffled seeing the girl putting out a calm and composed behaviour. To warm up the situation, the girl excuses herself to the bathroom, leaving her date and Gyeon-woo behind.

By the time she returns, Gyeng-woo seems to have left the place and her date starts giving details of their conversation. Gyeon-woo had told him about the girl’s attitude, her likes and dislikes and her aspirations. Hearing all this, she realises how much Gyeong-woo loves her. She ditches the guy and sets off to find Gyeong-woo. They have a dramatic confrontation at the subway station. Even after all these happenings, they experience an emotional lack in their relationship and, as a solution, they decide to write an open letter.

kdramalive Image from " My Sassy Girl"
Cha Tae-hyun as Kyun-woo and Jun Ji-hyun as The Girl in “My Sassy Girl” (2001). Credit: Pinterest

The next day, both of them meet at the top of a mountain and dig out a hole under an isolated tree and hide the letters. They make a deal to reunite in the same place after two years and then split up. Time flies and Gyeong-woo lives with the memories of the girl. He learns swimming and badminton, which are the activities they used to do together and started to write blogs online about their love story. It received huge recognition and gained the attention of producers.

Gyeong-woo was delighted by this because scriptwriting was something the girl had aspired for. Thus, precisely, after two years, he arrives at the mountaintop but the girl did not keep her promise. Disheartened, he digs up the letter and starts to read the letter the girl wrote for him. Inside it, she has reasoned out the story behind her crazy behaviour. Her boyfriend actually died and she has been grief-stricken since then.

Seeing her miserable life, her boyfriend’s mother, with whom she maintains a close bond, arranges a date with a guy. She met Gyeong-woo the same day she was supposed to go on a blind date with the guy. Gyeong-woo reminded her of her demised boyfriend, but she needed time to move on from the relationship. That is why she could not commit to a long-term relationship with Gyeong-woo. He leaves the place after placing the letter back in the dig.

One year passes and the girl finally reaches the mountain top. She takes out the letter and reads what Gyeong-woo has written for her. His words asserted his never ending love for her and it made her feel remorseful for not showing up on that day. An old man is seen sitting beside the tree.

kdramalive Image from " My Sassy Girl"
Cha Tae-hyun as Kyun-woo and Jun Ji-hyun as The Girl in “My Sassy Girl” (2001). Credit: Pinterest

They have a small conversation and it is revealed that the tree above them was stricken by a thunderstorm last year, but a young man replanted it as a long-lasting gift for his beloved. This made the girl realise Gyeong-woo’s love for her, but despite her numerous attempts at contacting him, she failed.

Eventually, facing up to the future, the girl agrees to meet up with the guy her deceased boyfriend’s mother has in mind, for her. Thanks to destiny, it turns out Gyeong-woo was the guy waiting for her. The movie ends with a close-up of them holding hands.

The Magic of Destiny

The movie ‘My Sassy Girl’ is a story of destiny. It shows the enticing love story of two people, hailing from two different backgrounds, and having contradictory characters. The whole backdrop of the movie underlines the serendipitous nature of love and the fact that it transcends time and age. In some instances, we can also experience the pain of loss and the perplexity of heartbreak.

The female lead in the movie is the embodiment of different emotions. She wavers from a grief-stricken lover to a savage lass. At some point, her frame of mind is in dilemma. She struggles to move on from her miserable life, but her love for the deceased boyfriend pulls her back; from life and Gyeong-woo.

kdramalive Image from "My Sassy Girl"
Cha Tae-hyun as Kyun-woo and Jun Ji-hyun as The Girl in “My Sassy Girl” (2001). Credit: Pinterest

On the other hand, Gyeong-woo longs for love. He, at first, hesitated to pursue the drunken girl he met on the subway. However, after spending time with her and knowing her inner self, he developed an interest in her.

The couple was always fated and connected by an immaculate thread of love. It got twisted and turned but never broke. As the movie ends, it once again proves that affection and devotion outstrip fate.

Awards

  • 2001 Blue Dragon Film Awards
    Best New Actor – Cha Tae-hyun
  • 2002 Grand Bell Awards
    Best Actress – Jun Ji-hyun
    Best Adapted Screenplay – Kwak Jae-yong
    Popularity Award – Jun Ji-hyun, Cha Tae-hyun
  • 2002 Golden Cinematography Awards
    Best New Actor – Cha Tae-hyun
  • 2003 Hong Kong Film Awards
    Best Asian Film
  • 2003 Hochi Film Awards
    Best Foreign Language Film
  • 2003 Fant-Asia Film Festival
    Most Popular Film

Interesting facts about My Sassy Girl

  1. The box office reception of the movie ‘My Sassy Girl’ in Asia competes with the glory of the Hollywood gem ‘Titanic’.
  2. The screenplay of the movie is adapted by filmmakers across the globe, including Indonesia, America, India and Lithuania.
  3. Jun Ji-hyun’s portrayal of the character of ‘Sassy Girl’ received a lot of recognition.
  4. A sequel to the movie ‘My Sassy Girl’ was released in China and South Korea as a coproduction, named ‘My New Sassy Girl’.
  5. The DVD release of the movie ‘My Sassy Girl’ is the best-selling Korean DVD in 2006.

FAQs

  1. Who directed the movie ‘My Sassy Girl’?
    Kwak Jae-Young directed the movie ‘My Sassy Girl’.
  2. What is the American adaptation of the movie ‘My Sassy Girl’?
    The movie was recreated with the same title ‘My Sassy Girl’ in Hollywood.
  3. Who is the female lead in the movie ‘My Sassy Girl’?
    Cha Tae-hyun is the female lead of the movie.
  4. What is the Instagram ID of Jun Ji-hyun?
    Jun Ji-hyun does not have an official Instagram account but she has several fan pages like junjihyunofficial and junjihyun.official.

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