Credited cast: | |||
Bae Doona | ... | Tae-hie (as Bae Doo Na) | |
Yo-won Lee | ... | Hye-ju | |
Ji-young Ok | ... | Ji-young | |
![]() |
Eung-ju Lee | ... | Bi-ryu |
![]() |
Eung-sil Lee | ... | Bi-ryu |
![]() |
Tae-kyung Oh | ... | Uhm Chan-yong |
![]() |
Sang Seol Choi | ... | Tae-hie's father |
![]() |
Park Sung-Geun | ... | Deputy Park |
Jung-hee Moon | ... | Team leader (as Jung-Hee Moon) | |
Seok-jeong Hwang | ... | Passbook Lady / Beggar Woman | |
![]() |
Park Rina | ... | Hye-ju's elder sister |
Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
![]() |
Hwa-yeong Kim | ... | Tae-hie's mother |
![]() |
Su-hyeon Kim | ... | Brokerage Firm Employee |
![]() |
Tae-yeong Kim | ... | Securities Company Employee |
![]() |
Kim Kwang-gyu | ... | Ticket Inspector |
In the port city of Icheon, five female friends struggle to stay close while forging a life for themselves after high school. When one of the group, upwardly-mobile Hae-ju, moves to Seoul, the other girls deal with the loss in different ways. Feeling most rejected, shy Ji-yeong finds comfort in her new friendship with rebel Tae-hee. Written by Sujit R. Varma
This movie works on two levels, basically the story that happens and also as a subtle progressive social commentary about the state of korea and how women are somewhat confined and the "minor" injustices they face all the time. I wouldn't go so far as to call it feminist because what alot of the movie is dealing with is just the basic struggle for existence, and how each of the girls can fit into the world somehow.
The story at first begins somewhat boring as its unclear what the purposes of the movie are, but around 20 minutes into the movie when Hye-ju rejects JiYoung's gift of the cat, and then later fails to meet her on time at a restaurant, it is clear that the movie is finally starting to move with its plot in some noticeable direction. And the way it does so is very smooth and well directed you slowly become immersed in the intricate details of thier world, which is a fundamental quality of a of a good movie. As a drama, it does its job of immersing the viewer in the emotions of its characters. I think it is a definitely progressive style drama as many other coming of age styled dramas are, and is enjoyable to watch throughout because you are always getting a realistic look at modern korean life as the story moves.
Worth watching!