''Too Beautiful to Lie'' (; lit. "Don't Believe Her") is a 2004 South Korean

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film about a beautiful ex-con and a naive village pharmacist.

Plot

Yeong-ju is a girl with cute looks, an innocent smile, and a brilliant talker. She is also in prison for fraud. She easily convinces the evaluation board to grant her parole in time to attend her older sister's wedding. As soon as she's released, she boards a train for

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

with the wooden ducks she'd handcrafted as her wedding gift. On the train, she sits across village pharmacist Hee-cheol, who is on his way to propose to his girlfriend with his deceased mother's family heirloom ring. Yeong-ju witnesses a pickpocket stealing the ring from Hee-cheol, and afraid of becoming the suspect and violating her parole, she steals the ring back for Hee-cheol. But in the process, she is unable to board the train on time, missing it and leaving her wedding gift bag on the train. Determined to find her bag, she tracks down Hee-cheol, and arrives in his hometown Yonggang Village. But the situation becomes complicated when his family members mistake her as their future daughter-in-law due to the ring, welcoming her to the family. Unwilling to tell them the truth so that she can find her bag then leave, Yeong-ju sweetly plays along, even telling them that Hee-cheol is the father of her unborn child. Meanwhile, Hee-cheol, who wasn't able to make the marriage proposal because of the lost ring, comes back home with a heavy heart. He is enraged to find himself in the middle of Yeong-ju's schemes. Worst of all, no one believes him, thinking he had abandoned his poor pregnant fiancée, and he ends up miserably kicked out of the family home. As a showdown brews between Yeong-ju and Hee-cheol, pitting truth vs. lies, they gradually get to know each other and fall in love.

Cast

Kim Ha-neul Kim Ha-neul (; born February 21, 1978) is a South Korean actress. After starting her career as a model, she rose to fame by starring in romantic-comedy films ''My Tutor Friend'' (2003) and ''Too Beautiful to Lie'' (2004) and the action-comedy f ...

... Joo Yeong-ju *

Gang Dong-won Gang Dong-won (born January 18, 1981) is a South Korean actor. Early life Gang Dong-won was born January 18, 1981, in Busan, and grew up in Changwon of Gyeongsangnam-do. His father, Gang Cheol-woo, was an engineer and later vice president ...

... Choi Hee-cheol *

Song Jae-ho Song Jae-ho (born Song Jae-eon; 10 March 1937 – 7 November 2020) was a South Korean actor. Career He made his acting debut in 1959, and became best known for his work in 1970s and 1980s Korean cinema, notably ''Yeong-ja's Heydays'' (1975). S ...

... Hee-cheol's father * Kim Ji-young ... Hee-cheol's grandma * Ku Hye-ryung ... Hee-cheol's aunt *

Lee Chun-hee Lee Chun-hee (born February 19, 1979) is a South Korean actor. Career Lee Chun-hee made his acting debut in the movie '' A Good Lawyer's Wife'' in 2003 and has since starred in several big screen roles such as '' The Aggressives'' (2005), ''Thr ...

... Young-deok * Nam Soo-jung ... Hee-cheol's aunt * Lee Ju-seok ... Doctor *

Lee Young-eun Lee Young-eun (born August 9, 1982) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for starring in Korean dramas such as ''Likeable or Not'', ''Obstetrics and Gynecology Doctors'', '' While You Were Sleeping'', and ''Can't Stand Anymore''. Persona ...

... Soo-mi *

Im Ha-ryong Im Ha-ryong (born Im Han-yong on October 31, 1952) is a South Korean actor and comedian. During the 1980s and 1990s, Im was one of Korea's foremost comedians (called "gag men") alongside Shim Hyung-rae and Kim Hyung-gon. As his brand of comedy b ...

... Hee-cheol's uncle * Myeong Ji-yeon ... Hwa-sook *

Nam Sang-mi Nam Sang-mi (born May 3, 1984) is a South Korean actress. Career Nam Sang-mi was working in a Lotteria restaurant near Hanyang University in the fall of 2001 when someone posted her personal photos on the internet. Her popularity as an ulzzang ...

... Jae-eun * Ryu Tae-ho ... Hee-cheol's uncle * Kim Jae-rok ... pickpocket * Park Yong-jin ... Man-seok *

Jin Kyung Jin Kyung (born March 27, 1972) is a South Korean actress. Career Jin made her stage debut in 1998 and spent ten years in theater, before becoming active in film and television. She won Best Supporting Actress at the 50th Baeksang Arts Award ...

... Joo Young-ok * Son Young-soon ... grandmother in front of the restaurant * Lee Mi-eun ... hairdresser * Lee Jae-gu * Park Jae-woong * Kwon Tae-won *

Park Gun-tae Park Gun-woo (born Park Gun-tae on February 5, 1996) is a South Korean actor. He began his career as a child actor in TV series such as ''I'm Sorry, I Love You'' (2004), ''Time Between Dog and Wolf'' (2007) and '' East of Eden'' (2008). The teena ...

... child at the pharmacy

Awards and nominations

;2004

Baeksang Arts Awards The Baeksang Arts Awards (), also known as the Paeksang Arts Awards, are awards for excellence in film, television and theatre in South Korea. The awards were first introduced in 1965 by Chang Key-young, the founder of the Hankook Ilbo newspap ...

"Too Beautiful to Lie - Awards"
''Cinemasie''. Retrieved 2013-08-12. * Best Actress –

* Nomination – Best Screenplay – Choi Hee-dae, Park Yeon-seon ;

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

Grand Bell Awards The Grand Bell Awards (), also known as the Daejong Film Awards, is an awards ceremony presented annually by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea for excellence in film in South Korea. The Grand Bell Awards retains prestige as the oldest co ...

* Nomination – Best Actress –

* Nomination – Best New Actor –

;2004

Blue Dragon Film Awards The Blue Dragon Film Awards () is an annual awards ceremony that is presented by ''Sports Chosun'' (a sister brand of the ''Chosun Ilbo'') for excellence in film in South Korea. The Blue Dragon Film Awards considers only blockbusters and popula ...

* Nomination – Best Actress –

;2004

Korean Film Awards The Korean Film Awards was a South Korean film awards ceremony hosted by the broadcasting network MBC from 2002 to 2010. History Originally named the MBC Film Awards, the ceremony was first established in 2002. It was renamed the Korean Film Aw ...

* Nomination – Best New Actor –

;2004

Director's Cut Awards The Director's Cut Awards () is an annual awards ceremony for excellence in film in South Korea. It is presented by the Korea Film Director's Network (KFDN), a group of approximately 300 Korean filmmakers. The KFDN selects winners in the Korean f ...

* Best New Actor –

References

External links

* * *
''Too Beautiful to Lie'' review
at LoveHKFilm.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Too Beautiful to Lie 2004 films 2004 romantic comedy films South Korean romantic comedy films Cinema Service films 2000s Korean-language films 2000s South Korean films