''Forever the Moment'' () is a 2008 South Korean drama film. It is a fictionalized account of the

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

women's

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

team which competed in the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. The

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

title translates as "The Best Moment in Our Lives," and it is believed to be the first film that revolves around the sport of handball.Darcy Paquet
''Forever the Moment'' review
''Koreanfilm.org''. Retrieved on April 21, 2008.

Plot

Kim Hye-kyeong is a retired handball player who has been successfully coaching in the Japan Handball League. When the coach of South Korea's women's national team suddenly quits, she is asked to fill in, but is faced with an undisciplined squad of players. Hye-kyeong tries to improve the team by recruiting some of her old teammates, including two-time Olympic

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

ist Han Mi-sook. However, Hye-kyeong's aggressiveness causes friction amongst the players, and she is replaced by former men's handball star Ahn Seung-pil, though she decides to stay with the team as a player. Seung-pil introduces modern European training methods which brings him into conflict with the older players, and things get worse when they lose a game against a high school boys' team.

Cast

Moon So-ri Moon So-ri (born July 2, 1974) is a South Korean actress, film director and screenwriter. She is best known for her acclaimed leading roles in ''Oasis'' (2002) and ''A Good Lawyer's Wife'' (2003). Career After graduating with a degree in Educa ...

as Han Mi-sook *

Kim Jung-eun Kim Jung-eun (born March 4, 1976) is a South Korean actress best known for her roles in the film ''Marrying the Mafia'' (2002) and the television series ''Lovers in Paris'' (2004), '' I am Legend'' (2010) and ''Make a Woman Cry''. In 2008, Kim ...

as Kim Hye-kyeong *

Uhm Tae-woong Uhm Tae-woong (born April 5, 1974) is a South Korean actor. He made his acting debut in 1998, but initially struggled to emerge from under the shadow of his older sister, popular singer-actress Uhm Jung-hwa. After several years of small roles an ...

as Ahn Seung-pil * Kim Ji-young as Song Jeong-ran *

Jo Eun-ji Jo Eun-ji (born February 10, 1981) is a South Korean actress. She debuted in the gritty Im Sang-soo film ''Tears'', and has since become better known for her supporting roles on film and television, such as in ''The President's Last Bang'', ''My ...

as Oh Soo-hee *

Cha Min-ji Cha Min-ji is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in dramas such as ''Queen of Mystery'', ''How to Be Thirty'' and ''Oh My Ladylord''. She also appeared in movies ''The Cat Funeral ''The Cat Funeral'' () is a 2015 South Korean f ...

as Jang Bo-ram * Namgoong Eun-sook as Jin-joo *

Lee Mi-do Lee Mi-do (born Lee Eun-hye on 25 May 1982) is a South Korean actress. Career In 2012, she also moved into the TV arena, while remaining active in her film career. Her notable TV credits include ''The Queen of Office'' (2013) and '' You Are ...

as Hyeon-ja * Jo Yeong-jin as Director Song * Lee Bong-gyoo as Chairman * Jeong Seok-yong as Choong-sik, the office chief *

Ha Jung-woo Kim Sung-hoon (born March 11, 1978), better known as Ha Jung-woo (), is a South Korean actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. One of the highest grossing actors in South Korea, Ha's starring films have accumulated more than 100 mil ...

as Blind date man * Choi Wook as Coach Kang * Jeong Se-hyeong as Trainer Jeong * Kim Kang-mi as Dong-yoon * Kim Jong-eon as Kim Goon * Park Hyeong-jae as Myeong-seok * Jo Deok-jae as Boss Bae * Oh Chang-kyeong as Sang-yeol * Woo Yong as Nutritionist * Na Hyun as Director Hakiboo * Kim Jin-hyeok as Real estate poker man *

Sung Ji-ru Sung Ji-ru (born October 16, 1968) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Awards and nominations References External links * * * 1968 births Living people People from Gongju 20th-century Sout ...

as Jin-gook, Jeong-ran's husband (cameo) *

Park Won-sang Park Won-sang (born January 20, 1970) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television Theater Ambassadorship *Ambassador for 1st Democratization Movement Memorial Park Joint Memorial Cultural Festival (2022) References External ...

as Gyu-cheol, Mi-sook's husband (cameo) *

Ryu Seung-soo Ryu Seung-soo (born August 12, 1971) is a South Korean actor. Ryu made his acting debut in 1997 with a minor role in Park Chan-wook's film ''Trio'', and has been active as a supporting actor on film and television since. Among his notable films a ...

as Supermarket manager (cameo) ;Danish and French team * The Danish and French team players were played by real players from Danish women's handball club

SK Aarhus SK Aarhus was a Danish women's handball club based in Aarhus. They played in Damehåndboldligaen when the team closed after the 2016-17 season because of financial issues. Aarhus United took over their licence for the league. SK Aarhus has prev ...

. * Miles Meili as Danish coach 1 * Tore Hogas as Danish coach 2 * Martin Lord Cayce as French coach * Iwona Niedźwiedź-Cecotka as French player #3 (V. Pons) * Mária Tóth as French player #20 (A. Olivier)

Background

South Korea won the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

in women's handball at the 2004 Summer Olympics, following a close game against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

which was decided by a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

. The Koreans had lost a three-point lead in the second half, and at the end of normal time both sides were level at 25–25, taking the game into

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

. After the first overtime the score was still locked at 29–29, but South Korea were leading 34–33 in second overtime, until a late equaliser by

Katrine Fruelund Katrine Fruelund (born 12 July 1978 in Randers, Midtjylland) is a former Danish team handball player and two times Olympic champion. She received gold medals with the Danish national team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney

in the final ten seconds forced the game into a shootout, which Denmark won 4–2. In a poll conducted by Gallup Korea, 50.2% of respondents said that the women's handball finals was their favourite event of the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Reception

''Forever the Moment'' was released in

on January 10, 2008.The Best Selling Films of 2008
''Koreanfilm.org''. Retrieved on April 15, 2008. It topped the box office on its opening weekend, grossing $4,407,643, and remained at the top for a further two weeks, ahead of

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

films '' Enchanted'', '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'', and ''

Cloverfield ''Cloverfield'' is a 2008 American found footage monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams, and written by Drew Goddard. It stars Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel and Odette Yustman ...

'', all released during the same period.South Korea Box Office January 25–27, 2008
''Box Office Mojo''. Retrieved on April 15, 2008. By March 23 the film had grossed a total of $27,258,370,
''Bow Office Mojo''. Retrieved on April 15, 2008. and as of July 13 the total number of admissions was 4,043,293.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * *

at Koreanfilm.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Forever the Moment 2008 films 2000s sports drama films South Korean sports drama films Films about women's sports Films about the 2004 Summer Olympics Sports films based on actual events Films directed by Yim Soon-rye Best Picture Blue Dragon Film Award winners Handball in South Korea 2000s Korean-language films Sidus Pictures films Myung Films films Handball films 2008 drama films Women's handball in South Korea 2000s South Korean films