Overview of Sweet and Sour

Profile

• Movie: Sweet and Sour
• Genre: Romance, Humour
• Directed by: Lee Gye-byeok
• Produced by: Jong-dae Kim
• Screenplay by: Lee Gye-Wook
• Story by: Kurumi inui
• Cinematographer: Park Young-Joon
• Release Date: June 4, 2021
• Runtime: 102 minutes
• Distributor: Netflix
• Language: Korean
• Country: South Korea

Cast

• Jang Ki-yong as Jang-hyuk
• Chae Soo-bin as Da-eun
• Krystal Jung as Han Bo-yeong

• Lee Woo-je as Lee Jang-Hyuk
• Choi Hwan-yi as Jo Yeon-hwan
• Shin Joon-hang as
• Park Chul-min as Jang-hyuk and Bo-yeong’s boss
• Yeo Min-joo
• Park Ji-hoon as Macaron
• Yoon Byung-hee as patient

• Lee Geung-young as janitor of office building
• Yoo Sun
• Choi-hyeong as Emergency room doctor
• Kim Mi-hye as Nurse 2
• Ahn Gil-kang as Lee Jang-hyuk’s father
• Kim Mi-kyung as Lee Jang-hyuk’s mother

Synopsis

Lee Jang-hyuk is admitted to Incheon Juan Hospital as he is suffering from Hepatitis-B. Everyone shuns coming around his bed, worried they might also get the illness. Da-eun is working as a contract nurse in the same hospital and she does not show any reluctance to be near Jang-hyuk. She eats from his plate, provides him with prescriptions and even rests on his bed. Pleased by her warm nature, Jang-hyuk starts taking care of her by giving her food and drinks in between her tireless schedule.

The two become close and help each other until one day Da-eun shows a detachment from Jang-hyuk. Finally, the day arrives when Jang-hyuk has to leave the hospital after his recovery, but he could not find her to say goodbye.

The following day, he returns back to the hospital to enquire about Da-eun and manages to get her number after relentlessly trying for hours. He confesses his romantic feelings to her that night. Da-eun calls him over to her house. He reaches her place with a pack of vitamin drinks and both spend the night together.

The next morning when Da-eun wakes up, she finds out that Jang-hyuk has prepared a wholesome breakfast and has even changed the bulb for her. She is so stirred up by his loving gestures and goes on to kiss him. Since then, they go out as a couple and continue to make each other feel special.

One day, Da-eun shares the idea of going to Jeju Island for a vacation. Jang-hyuk agrees and they go out shopping. When they meet at the airport afterwards, she gifts him a new pair of matching sports shoes and he promises that he will lose weight for their next vacation so that they can wear matching shirts too.

From there on, we see a sturdy Janga-hyuk, who is working at a small corporate firm in Incheon. Unanticipated, he secures an offer letter from a large engineering firm in Seoul. Since the job location is a long way from home, Da-eun is not pleased by the news. Nevertheless, Jang-hyuk gets a car for his daily commute to make her happy. The next day, Jang-hyuk joins his new workplace and meets his counterpart employee, Bo-yeong. Only later it is understood that the permanent position is awarded to only them, solely based on performance.

Bo-yeong has a cutthroat nature and is very competent in everything she does. She plays gimmicks to win the position. She works on a bridge plan and during a board meeting submitted it to the executive committee.

Jang-hyuk indicated a major flaw in the plan and it was abruptly nulled by the board of directors. Bo-yeong was asked to gang up with Jang-hyuk. She overloaded herself to fix the drawback and Jang-hyuk rejoiced watching it. Down the line, he felt compassion for her and they started to work together. The fault in the project was solved and they became friends.

At the rear end, tension starts to build up between Da-eun’s and Jang-hyuk’s relationship. Da-eun calls him to visit her many times and says that she has some news to share. As a result of his jam-packed schedule, Jang Hyuk could not possibly concentrate on Da-eun and other house chores. By the time he reaches back home, he would be weary and the back-and-forth travel made him sleep-deprived.

They both pick up a fight over this and in between Da-eun reveals that her cycle is not regular this month and she might be pregnant. They then make a decision to abort the child. He takes a day off and accompanies her to the hospital. Later that day, he is wanted back at the office and thus sets off, leaving a tired Da-eun at home.

One fine evening, Jang-hyuk takes Da-eun for an outing. All along the way, he seems disturbed and unenthusiastic about the trip. Da-eun questions this and asserts that he no longer has the air of being with her. Things get elevated when she is addressed as ‘my pretty Bo-yeong’ by Jang-hyuk.

She speculates that he has an affair with Bo-yeong. They end up having a row inside the car while ordering burgers. Jang-hyuk drops her at the house and drives off to the office. He continues to work as usual and gets closer to Bo-yeong. Their boss wants them to be closer and thus deliberately switches off the light, at night, when they are together. One night, Bo-yeong approaches Jang-hyuk, seeing him dejected. He then kisses her precipitously. They spend the night together and get involved romantically.

In a future conference, it is ascertained that both Jang-hyuk and Bo-yeong are not selected for the permanent position. They meet for the annual party of the company and talk about their future plans.

He plans on taking his previous job at Incheon and Bo-yeong expects to complete her studies abroad. While drinking, one of the board executives announced the free Christmas package to Jeju Island. This reminds Jang-hyuk of Da-eun and the Jeju Island trip she wanted to go for Christmas. He comes to his senses and understands that he still has feelings for her. He rushes out of the party to meet her at the airport.

On reaching the airport, he saw Da-eun standing near the foot pavement. He was knocked off the floor while running to meet her. The plot takes a turn here by revealing that Jang-hyuk is hit down by Lee Jang-hyuk, seen in the first part of the movie. Both of them share the same name, Jang-hyuk, but are two different people. Da-eun has been in a committed relationship with Jang-hyuk, who was a corporate engineer. Their relationship took its course and that is when she met her patient, Lee Jang-hyuk. He was a source of comfort for Da-eun.

The storyline runs in a parallel manner and when both the characters meet each other at the airport, the scene switches to the part where Da-eun gifts Lee Jang-hyuk with a pair of shoes. In the end, it is shown that Da-eun goes to Jeju Island with Lee Jang-hyuk leaving a baffled Jang-hyuk back at the airport. He then returns back to Bo-yeong to propose to her, but quite to his surprise, she backs off saying she is not ready for such a commitment.

Modern Dating, Modern Problems

Da-eun and Jung-hyuk are depicted as two working professionals with overtime duty. A crack opens up in their relationship once the latter gets transferred to a big corporate company. Even though, they move heaven and earth to make their bond work, their tight schedule never seems to cooperate.

Late replies, missed-out meetings and phone calls that last seconds mark the beginning of a strained relationship. Open communication and vulnerability, laid out by both people, can only ensure a smooth connection. In this movie, it is pretty clear that closed-up interaction paved the way for their break up.

Commitment is a noble virtue, but in modern dating life, it appears more like a novel concept. Both the lead characters were not available for each other in their supersensitive stages. They found solace in another person- Jung-hyuk in Bo-yeong and Da-eun in Lee Jang-hyuk.

It is bred in the bones of humans to seek comfort from anywhere, especially when we feel susceptible. It is not brand new to fall for someone who watches our step when we feel a little too dizzy on the path of life. Da-eun cries when Lee Jang-hyuk fixes the broken light bulb because she feels looked after. Jang-hyuk kisses his colleague, Bo-yeong, because he feels understood. There are snippets all around the movie denoting the human craving for love and affection.

Interesting Facts about Sweet and Sour

1. The movie ‘Sweet and Sour’ was expected to be released in 2020. However, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the release was done by Netflix in 2021.
2. This is the second movie directed by Lee Gye-byeok, after ‘The Bad Guys’.
3. The movie’s title, “Sweet and Sour”  was inspired by a candy eaten by the director, Lee Gye-byeok. The official name ‘saekomdalkom’, is a Korean candy which tastes sweet and sour at the same time.
4. Jang Ki-yong has never played a role in a romantic film before. This is his first film in that genre.

FAQs

1. Who is the director of ‘Sweet and Sour’?
   Lee Gye-byeok is the director.

2. What is the Japanese adaptation of ‘Sweet and Sour’?
   ‘Initiation Love’ is the Japanese adaptation of the movie.

3. Who is the male lead in ‘Sweet and Sour’?
   Jang Ki-yong is the male lead of the movie.
4. What is the Instagram ID of Jang Ki-yong, Chae Soo-bin and Krystal Jung?
   juanxkui – Jang Ki-yong, soobinms – Chae Soo-bin, vousmevoyez – Krystal Jung.