''Lovely Rivals'' (; lit. "Female teacher vs. female student") is a 2004 South Korean comedy film about a harsh teacher and her headstrong 5th grade student who battle for the affection of the school's handsome new teacher. The film attracted 1,175,580 admissions in 2004.
''Koreanfilm.org''. Retrieved 2013-01-11. The scene in which the character Yeo Mi-ok is caught on camera slapping her student was based on a similar real-life incident from earlier in the year in which a teacher repeatedly punched a student in the face.

Plot

On the first day of the new elementary school year in Korea, Ms. Yeo Mi-ok (

Yum Jung-ah Yum Jung-ah (born July 28, 1972) is a South Korean actress. Her notable films include ''A Tale of Two Sisters'' (2003), '' The Big Swindle'' (2004), '' The Old Garden'' (2007), and ''Cart'' (2014), as well as the television series ''Royal Famil ...

) lays down the law to her students. She is strict and demanding. When her new student Go Mi-nam (

Lee Se-young Lee Se-young (; born December 20, 1992) is a South Korean actress. She debuted as a child actress in 1997 and was best known for her roles in ''Dae Jang Geum'' (2003), '' When I Turned Nine'' (2004), ''Lovely Rivals'' (2004), and ''The Wonder ...

) arrives late and calmly takes her seat, Yeo ignores Mi-nam. Assigned bathroom cleaning duty as punishment, Mi-nam beats up the girls who taunt her and forces them to clean instead. At home we see that Mi-nam lives with her mother, who rarely has time for her because of the hours she must work at the food and alcohol tent she owns. Back at school, the newest male teacher Mr. Kwon Sang-min ( Lee Ji-hoon) is causing a stir with his handsome good looks, and every female teacher and student is falling for him. Mi-nam tries to apologize and unburden herself to Ms. Yeo, who ignores her while trying to impress Mr. Kwon. Mi-nam decides to compete for him as well, even getting his cellphone number. Mr. Kwon goes to Ms. Yeo for advice on how to deal with the students' affection, not realizing she likes him too. The teacher and the student start a heated rivalry that climaxes when Ms. Yeo slaps Mi-nam in class—and is recorded doing so on a student's cellphone camera. She resigns from the school but eventually makes amends with Mi-nam and returns to teach.

Cast

- Yeo Mi-ok *

- Go Mi-nam * Lee Ji-hoon - Kwon Sang-min *

Byun Hee-bong Byun Hee-bong (born Byun In-chul; June 8, 1942) is a South Korean actor. Career Byun In-chul was born in Jangseong County, South Jeolla Province, and attended Salesian High School in Gwangju. He took up law at Chosun University before dropping ...

- Principal Byun In-chul *

Lee Won-jong Lee Won-jong (born January 1, 1966) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Variety shows Theater *''Blind'' (2010) *''The Masked Hut Murder Case'' (2022) - Nobuhiko Awards *2002 SBS Drama Awards: Best Supporting Act ...

- traffic police officer *

Na Moon-hee Na Moon-hee (; Na Kyung-ja, ; November 30, 1941) is a South Korean actress. Since 1960, Na has had a prolific acting career in television and film spanning more than five decades. She established a classic Korean mother persona with her Korean d ...

- Mi-ok's mother *

Choi Ran Choi Ran (born November 30, 1960) is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in 1979 and became best known as a supporting actress in television dramas, notably those written by the Hong sisters Hong Jung-eun (born 1974) and Hong ...

- Mi-nam's mother *

Kim Eung-soo Kim Eung-soo (; born February 12, 1961) is a South Korean actor. Kim lived in Japan for seven years, where he studied filmmaking at the Japan Institute of the Moving Image The , formerly known as the Yokohama Broadcasting Technical School, is a ...

- vice principal *Choi Bo-kwang - Jang Soo-kyung *Lee Jae-gu - Kim Joon-sung *Kim Ga-eun - Grade 5 Class 2 female student *

Im Won-hee Im Won-hee (born October 11, 1970) is a South Korean actor. Im was an alumnus of the legendary Daehangno, Daehak-ro theater troupe ''Mokhwa'' (), starring in many of Jang Jin's stage plays. He made his film debut in Jang's black comedy ''The Happ ...

- man in

TV drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-ge ...

(cameo) *

Cha Seung-won Cha Seung-won (born June 7, 1970) is a South Korean actor, who began his career as an in-demand fashion model in the 1990s. Cha achieved stardom through the hit comedy films ''Kick the Moon'' (2001), ''Jail Breakers'' (2002), '' My Teacher, Mr. ...

- Teacher Kim Bong-doo (cameo)

References

External links

* * * {{hancinema film, Lovely_Rivals, Lovely Rivals 2004 films 2004 comedy-drama films Films about educators 2000s Korean-language films South Korean comedy-drama films CJ Entertainment films 2004 comedy films 2004 drama films 2000s South Korean films