Cheongchun-manhwa (2006)

Cheongchun-manhwa: Directed by Han Lee. With Jong-ryol Choi, Jeong Gyu-Su, Mi-ne Jang, Park Ji-bin. Ji-hwan is a taekwondo student with a part time job as a stunt man, who dreams of becoming Korea’s answer to Jackie Chan. Dal-rae is a drama student and aspiring actress, but tends to fail auditions because of her timid personality.

“As my family was watching this video, my father constantly asked me, u0026quot;Is this a sequel to u0026quot;My Tutor Friendu0026quot;?u0026quot;. Sure, the main two characters are played by Kwon Sang-woo and Kim Ha-neul in both movies. And I honestly donu0026#39;t see the difference between the characters in both movies, maybe except the fact that Kwon Sang-woou0026#39;s character is much dorkier in this movie.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut, this is not another u0026quot;My Tutor Friendu0026quot;! The movie is about two childhood friends Ji-hwan (played by KSW) and Dal-rae (played by KHN). Typical, typical set-up. Two are obviously meant for each other, but thereu0026#39;s the too-perfect-to-be-true boyfriend in the way. Ji-hwan is a Jackie Chan wannabe with a job-drifting father. Dal-rae wants to be an actress- but she has to get over her tremendous stage fright first. The first half of the movie was a snoozer, filled with slapstick comedy, typical plot and countless cliché situations.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThen comes the second half of the movie, which really surprised me. This movie, literally translated, is called u0026quot;Teen Girl Mangau0026quot; or something close to it anyway. No way did I expect all that melodrama after a first half of cheap comedy. Though it was really out of place (in my opinion, at least) this part proves to be worth sitting through 50 minutes of comedy. I have never seen Kwon Sang Woo act better. It just blew me away because all of his acting before this seemed mediocre.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe scenes with those child actors are pretty good (the kid who plays Jihwan is that kid from u0026quot;Annyeoung Hyeongau0026quot;, right?) and the supporting cast is great. This movie is pretty hard to swallow, though, being that the best part is the last 20 minutes or so. Otherwise, the stars donu0026#39;t really get a chance to shine because everything in this movie is so cliché. Another romantic comedy with a sugary happy ending. Just like u0026quot;My Tutor Friendu0026quot;, ainu0026#39;t it? (starting to notice this trend in Korean movies. Whatever happened to the really sad ones?)”