Overview of Sunny

‘Sunny’ is a South Korean comedy entertainer. It was written and directed by Kang Hyeong-cheol. The film tells the story of a group of girls, and it is shown in two timelines. It features Yoo Ho-jeong, Jin Hee-kyung, Go Soo-hee, Hong Jin-hee, Lee Yeon-kyung, Kim Sun-kyung, and Yoon Jung as a group of high school girls. The middle-aged roles of the girls are played by actresses Shim Eun-kyung, Kang So-ra, Kim Min-young, Park Jin-joo, Nam Bo-ra, Kim Bo-mi, and Min Hyo-rin.

‘Sunny’ was released on 4 May 2011 and became second on the top-grossing movie list of the year.

Profile

• Name: Sunny
• Genre: Drama, Comedy
• Starring: Shim Eun-kyung, Kang So-ra, Jin Hee-kyung, Yoo Ho-jeong
• Director: Kang Hyeong-cheol
• Screenplay: Kang Hyeong-cheol
• Produced by: Ahn Byeong-ki, Ahn In-ki
• Production Companies: Toilet Pictures, Aloha Pictures
• Cinematography: Lee Hyung-deok
• Distributed by: CJ Entertainment
• Edited by: Nam Na-yeong
• Music by: Kim Jun-seok
• Running time: 124 minutes
• Release date: 4 May 2011
• Language: Korean
• Country: South Korea

Cast

Main Cast

• Yoo Ho-jeong as Im Na-mi
• Jin Hee-kyung as Ha Chun-hwa
• Go Soo-hee as Kim Jang-mi
• Hong Jin-hee as Hwang Jin-hee
• Lee Yeon-kyung as Seo Geum-ok
• Kim Sun-kyung as Ryu Bok-hee
• Yoon Jung as Jung Su-ji
• Shim Eun-kyung as Im Na-mi
• Kang So-ra as Ha Chun-hwa
• Kim Min-young as Kim Jang-mi
• Park Jin-joo as Hwang Jin-hee
• Nam Bo-ra as Seo Geum-ok
• Kim Bo-mi as Ryu Bok-hee
• Min Hyo-rin as Jung Su-ji

Supporting Cast

• Lee Yeon-kyung as Seo Geum-ok
• Jung Suk-yong as Jong-ki
• Ha Seung-ri as Ye-bin
• Sung Ji-ru as Chun-hwa’s lawyer
• Kim Shi-hoo as Joon-ho’s son
• Lee Jun-hyeok as the owner of the private detective agency
• Kim Joon-ho as Private detective
• Kim Shi-hoo as Han Joon-ho
• Park Young-seo as Jong-ki
• Jung Won-joong as Na-mi’s father
• Kim Hye-ok as Na-mi’s mother
• Kim Young-ok as Na-mi’s grandmother
• Chun Woo-hee as Sang-mi
• Park Hee-jung as Young-jin
• Kim Ye-won as Leader of rival gang “Girls’ Generation”
• Ryu Hye-rin as Member of band “Girl’s Generation”
• Han Seung-hyun as Jang-mi’s older brother
• So Hee-jung as Homeroom teacher
• Kim Won-hae as Student liaison teacher

Synopsis

The movie opens by showing the middle-aged Im Na-mi (Yoo Ho-jeong). She lives a prosperous life with her wealthy husband and pretty daughter. Her husband always replaces his presence with money whenever she asks for his company. On the day she visits her ill mother at the hospital, she passes in front of the room with the name board ‘Ha Chun-hwa’. The name brings back memories of her high school days with her friends.

Na-mi joins the all-girls high school in Seoul. The school bullies quickly noticed her due to her poor clothing and country accent. There, she meets the student, Ha Chun-hwa, for the first time. Chun-hwa introduces Na-mi to her friend circle, and she easily gets along with them.

The girl group of Chun-hwa consists of Kim Jang-mi (Kim Min-young) – a chubby and beauty-conscious girl, Hwang Jin-hee (Park Jin-joo) – a girl who always swears, Seo Geum-ok (Nam Bo-ra) – a bright student and also an excellent competitor, Ryu Bok-hee (Kim Bo-mi) – a girl who wishes to become Miss Korea, and Jung Su-ji (Min Hyo-rin) – a silent girl who always talks with a disgust to Na-mi. After joining the new friends group as the seventh member, she helped her friends escape from an unnecessary quarrel with their rival gang. Chun-hwa names her friend’s ‘Sunny’.

One day, Na-mi meets a boy named Han Joon-ho (Kim Shi-hoo) and falls in love for the first time in her life.

Coming back to the present, Na-mi goes and meets Chun-hwa. She is under treatment for terminal cancer. As her last wish, she asks Na-mi to find the other members of ‘Sunny’.

Na-mi determines to find her other friends and appoints a detective for that purpose. In the investigation, she learns that many of the members are struggling in their lives. The detective is able to find five members of the group except Su-ji. Therefore, he discusses with Na-mi the idea of publishing a newspaper ad. Also, Na-mi asks the detective to find her first love, Joon-ho. When she finds him, she is surprised to see his son, who exactly looks like Joon-ho.

However, Chu-hwa dies before the Sunny members reunite to meet Chu-hwa. After a long time, the women smiled and laughed, forgetting their struggles and sorrows. Before the women leave, Chu-hwa’s advocate steps into the scene to read her will. In the will, Chun-hwa wrote the names of Na-mi as the new leader of Sunny and Ji-hee as the vice president. Also, she divided her assets among her friends.

When the advocate completes reading her will, Sunny members gather together to perform the dance that once they have choreographed as the final wish of Chu-hwa. Finally, the movie ends by showing Su-ji joining the team, surprising everyone.

Theme

‘Sunny’ is a South Korean movie which revolves around a group of female friends. The girls were deeply attached during their school days. By showing two timelines, ‘Sunny’ presents the past and present lives of the girls. After 25 years when the women reunite, they experience the pure feeling of love that they were familiar with.

Awards

Interesting Facts about Sunny

1. ‘Sunny’ is the second movie by Kang Hyeong-cheol, who directed his first movie ‘Scandal Makers’ in 2008.
2. ‘Sunny’ sold five million tickets in South Korea after its release.
3. Kang Hyeong-cheol is the writer and director of ‘Sunny’.

FAQs

1. When was the movie ‘Sunny’ released?
   4 May 2011
2. Who is the director of the movie ‘Sunny’?
   Kang Hyeong-cheol
3. What is the Instagram ID of Yoo Ho-jeong?
   @hojung_u.