''Happy End'' is a South Korean film released in 1999. Written and directed by

Jung Ji-woo Jung Ji-woo (also spelled as Chung Ji-woo; born May 7, 1968) is a South Korean film director. He is best known for his films '' Happy End'' (1999) and ''A Muse'' (2012). Filmography *''Somebody'' (2022) - director *''Tune in for Love'' (2019) - d ...

, the film is about a woman who has an affair while her husband is struggling to find employment.

Plot

''Happy End'' is about Choi Bora (

Jeon Do-yeon Jeon Do-yeon (; born February 11, 1973) is a South Korean actress. She won Best Actress at the 60th Cannes Film Festival, making her the second Korean actress to win an acting award at a prestigious film festival, and Best Performance by an Ac ...

), a successful career woman who becomes involved with her ex-lover, Kim Il-beom (

Joo Jin-mo Joo Jin-mo (born Park Jin-tae on 26 September 1974), is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading roles in the films '' Happy End'' (1999) in which he won Grand Bell Awards for Best Supporting Actor, '' 200 Pounds Beauty'' (2006), ...

). Bora's home life is a snore: she's mother to an infant child and her husband, Seo Min-ki (

Choi Min-sik Choi Min-sik (born April 27, 1962) is a South Korean actor. He received critical acclaim for his roles in '' Oldboy'' (2003), ''I Saw the Devil'' (2010) and '' The Admiral: Roaring Currents'' (2014). For his role in ''Oldboy'', he won the Best ...

) has lost his job, leaving Bora as the family's sole breadwinner. It's unclear if Bora is with Il-beom just for the sex or for the passion, both of which Min-ki seems incapable of giving. But it seems the jobless Min-ki hasn't been just wandering around parks and reading romance novels as first thought; he knows something is going on, and he's collecting evidence. Min-ki has been emasculated by his inability to find a job and director Jung hammers this point home with a brief montage showing Min-ki grocery shopping, cooking, and doing the laundry. These are all very feminine jobs, particularly in very patriarchal South Korea. Most interesting is that Min-ki seems content to live with the cheating Bora, very much aware of his own shortcomings, which leaves him willing to be wronged. Bora is unable to stop going back to Il-beom even though she seems physically and emotionally damaged by their continued affair. Il-beom has realized that he is hooked on her, and is very aware of his jealously-driven actions toward her and her family. Without each other, they have no passion in their lives, and so they must keep going back to each other. Although ''Happy End'' ends rather unhappily, the film is not altogether downbeat. Director

has taken the role of observer, using mostly handheld cameras to capture the events in the lives of his 3 main subjects. The film is sexually explicit, and there is one scene of brutal violence.

Cast

as Seo Min-ki *

as Choi Bo-ra *

as Kim Il-beom *

Joo Hyun Joo Hyun (; born Joo Il-choon, ; March 1, 1943) is a South Korean actor. Biography Joo graduated from Konkuk University in Seoul, where he majored in political science and diplomacy. He began his acting career after being selected through a ...

as Bookstore owner * Hwang Mi-seon as Mi-yong * Kim Byeong-chun *

Park Ji-il Park Ji-il (Korean: 박지일, born September 1960) is a South Korean theatre, film and television actor. He is known for his supporting roles in various TV series and films. His better known works are: 2011 TV series '' The Thorn Birds'', 2013 ...

* Park Nam-hee * Lee Geum-ju * Yoo Yeon-soo as detective with sideburns * Park Sung-il as video store clerk

Production

Director

said he did share his thoughts about the graphic nature of the sex scenes with actress

, explaining he wanted them "to feel utterly real and natural".

Bibliography

References

External links