1. Sunny (Hangul: 써니; RR: Sseoni) is a South Korean film about a middle-aged woman who tries to fulfill
her friend's dying wish of reuniting their group of high school friends. The film alternates between two
timelines: the present day where the women are middle-aged, and the 1980s when they were in high
school. It is the second film by director-screenwriter Kang Hyeong-cheol, who directed Speedy
Scandal.
[2]
Released on 4 May 2011, the film was the first of that year to sell five million tickets in South
Korea,
[citation needed]
and became the second highest grossing Korean film by year's end.
[1]
As of
20 September 2012, it is the 13th highest grossing Korean film by admissions sold in South Korean
history. The movie won Best Director and Best Editing at the Daejong Film Awards. Actress Kang
Sora won several awards for her role as the teenage Ha Chun-hwa.
Im Na-mi (Yoo Ho-jeong), a wealthy housewife and mother, does her daily routine. While things look
perfect on the outside (wonderful home, generous husband, beautiful daughter), she is depressed about
her life. When she washes her face, she sees wrinkles on her skin, and her hands shake from
housework. When she asks her husband to visit her mother at the hospital, he replies by giving her
money to buy luxury bags, and her daughter expresses similar indifference and annoyance. In the
mornings, Na-mi eats breakfast alone while father and daughter head to work and school, respectively.
She looks outside and notices a group of high school girls who are walking and laughing.
After visiting her mother, Na-mi passes a patient's room with a placard "Ha Chun-hwa", and thinks about
her high school life. She asks her chauffeur to take her to the all-girls high school she attended in Seoul.
As she walks toward the school, a high school girl bumps into her and apologizes respectfully. Shortly
after, a second girl bumps into her, but she is not as courteous. She wears a bright, yellow sweater, in
fact, all of the girls are now wearing colorful sweaters and bright pants, as the setting is now the 1980s
with Na-mi (Shim Eun-kyung) as a teenager.
At class, the girls are dusting records and admiring posters of American actors. Many of the girls are
wearing American athletic shoe brands. The teacher enters and introduces Na-mi. The students make fun
of her country accent, and she becomes embarrassed of her shoes and clothing. After the teacher leaves,
two girls sit around timid Na-mi, and bully her. As their remarks turn vicious, a large Adidas bag hits one
of them on the head. The girl turns around, ready to lash out, but when she sees who it is, she
immediately apologizes, and returns to her seat.
The girl who threw the bag is Ha Chun-hwa (Kang Sora), who introduces Na-mi to her group of friends:
Kim Jang-mi is a portly girl who is obsessed with her looks, and desires comestic surgery for her eyes.
Hwang Jin-hee, the daughter of a Korean literature professor, swears profusely.
[3]
SeoGeum-ok is a bright
student who wants to become a writer; she will hit anyone who messes with her friends. Ryu Bok-hee has
dreams of becoming Miss Korea; she carries a small hand mirror and makes faces to herself.
[4]
Jung Su-ji
is a quiet, mysterious beauty; whenever she speaks to Na-mi, it is always with disdain.
[note 1]
Na-mi is
accepted into their group as their seventh member, after she unexpectedly proves herself against a rival
group from a different school. Chun-hwa suggests naming their group; they settle on "Sunny", after a
nighttime radio DJ responds to their letter on air.
Back at the present time, Na-mi returns to Chun-hwa's room and confirms it is indeed her high school
friend. She learns that Chun-hwa (Jin Hee-kyung) became a successful businesswoman, but has terminal
cancer with two months to live. Na-mi’s husband calls, and informs her that he is on a two-month
business trip. As Na-mi leaves, she promises she will visit often; Chun-hwa then tells her she would like to
see Sunny reunited one more time before she dies.
[4]

2. Na-mi hires a private detective to find the members of Sunny. Jang-mi is struggling as a life insurance
sales agent. The foul-mouthed Jin-hee married rich, but her husband cheats, and she pretends to be
ladylike. Geum-ok is unemployed and living in a cramped apartment with her overbearing mother-in-law,
her sister-in-law’s husband, and a newborn. After her mother's salon went bankrupt, Bok-hee had
resorted to prostitution; her daughter lives at a shelter. The detective notes that Su-ji has been
exceptionally difficult to find; he recommends posting a newspaper ad.
Chun-hwa passes away before the group manages to get together, but by finding each other, the women
rekindle their passion for life and enjoy each other's company.
[when?]
At Chun-hwa's funeral, Sunny (minus
Su-ji), is reunited, but not every woman knows about each other's present struggles. As they are about to
leave, Chun-hwa's lawyer walks in and asks them if they are Sunny. He reads Chun-hwa's will, which
bequeathes that Na-mi will be the leader of Sunny. Jin-hee is given the position of vice-president; she
looks disappointed because she expected something monetary. To that, the lawyer explains, "You are
already rich" from Chun-hwa. He then reads that, for Jang-mi, Chun-hwa had bought life insurance from
her, and had made all the members of Sunny beneficiaries. Jang-mi is elated that she will finally be
number one in her sales for that month. To Geum-ok, Chun-hwa offers her a position at her publishing
company, with a chance to become company president if she doubles her sales. Chun-hwa leaves Bok-
hee a paid for apartment, so that she may live with her daughter. She also leaves her the ground floor of
a building, with a large sum of money, so she can open a business.
After the conclusion of the reading, the women reprise their high school choreography to "Sunny"
by Boney M in front of Chun-hwa's funeral picture. As they celebrate, Su-ji makes a surprise appearance.
Then, their teenage forms flashed back again. The end.
Dancing Queen (Hangul: 댄싱퀸; RR: DaensingKwin) is 2012 South Korean romantic comedy film
starring Uhm Jung-hwa and Hwang Jung-min. The film tells a story of a married couple, who in the in the
midst of their mundane lives decides to pursue their lost dreams. The husband finds himself accidentally
running for Mayor of Seoul and his wife decides to become a pop singer. It was produced by JK Film and
distributed by CJ Entertainment, and released on January 18, 2012.
[1]
Dancing Queen tells the story of Uhm Jung-hwa, who shares the name of the actress who plays her. In
the film, Uhm is a girl who dreamed about becoming a singer when she was young but had to put her
dream aside when she married Hwang Jung-min, who also uses his real name. Although Hwang is a
lawyer, he is always worrying about paying the rent.
One day, Hwang rescues a drunk man who falls off of a subway platform and becomes an instant hero.
His heroic act even pushes him into the political arena and he decides to run for Seoul mayor. Things go
along just fine until Uhm receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in the form of a proposal from an
entertainment agency and she is forced to choose between her dream and his. It’s not long before she
realizes that she can’t give up her dream and she decides to pursue both.
The film demonstrates that age is just a number and that dreams can sometimes come true.
[2]

3. Masquerade (Hangul: 광해: 왕이된남자; Hanja: 光海: 王이된 男子; RR: Gwanghae: Wang-iDoenNamja;
lit. Gwanghae: The Man Who Became King) is a 2012 South Korean historical film starring Lee Byung-
hun in dual roles as the bizarre King Gwanghae and the humble acrobat Ha-sun, who stands in for the
monarch when he faces the threat of being poisoned.
[3][4]
Currently the fourth highest grossing Korean film of all time with 12.3 million tickets sold, it swept the
49th Grand Bell Awards, winning in 15 categories, including Best Film, Director, Screenplay and Actor
Background
Historically, Gwanghae, the 15th Joseon king from 1574-1641, attempted diplomacy through neutrality as
China's Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) andQing Dynasty (1636-1912) set their sights on the country. He also
tried his hand at other reforms and reconstruction to try and make the nation prosperous, including an
emphasis on the restoration of documents, but met with opposition and was later deposed and exiled
to Jeju Island.
[9]
Since he was deposed in a coup by the Westerners faction, historians did not give him
a temple name like Taejo or Sejong.
[10]
The film is an interpretation of the missing 15 days in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty during
Gwanghae's reign—designated by his 1616 journal entry, "One must not record that which he wishes to
hide."
[11]
Plot
The confusing and conspiratorial 15th ruler of Korea's Joseon Dynasty King Gwang-hae (Lee Byung-hun)
orders his councilor, HeoGyun (RyuSeung-ryong), to find him a double in order to avoid the constant
threat of assassination. HeoGyun finds Ha-sun, a lowly acrobat and bawdy joker who looks remarkably
like the king, and just as feared, Gwang-hae is poisoned. HeoGyun proposes Ha-sun fill the role as the
king until Gwang-hae recovers fully and grooms Ha-sun to look and act every bit the king. While
assuming the role of the king at his first official appearance, Ha-sun begins to ponder the intricacies of the
problems debated in his court. Being fundamentally more humanitarian than Gwang-hae, Ha-sun’s
affection and appreciation of even the most minor servants slowly changes morale in the palace for the
better. Over time he finds his voice and takes control of governing the country with real insight and fair
judgments. Even HeoGyun is moved by Ha-sun’s genuine concern for the people, and realizes he is an
infinitely better ruler than Gwang-hae. However, his chief opposition, Park Chung-seo (Kim Myung-gon),
notices the sudden shift in the king’s behavior and starts to ask questions. The queen (Han Hyo-joo) is
also conflicted between the real king and the fake king’s secret.
[12]