Hello, Schoolgirl

Hello, Schoolgirl (Korean: 순정만화; RR: Sunjeong Manhwa; literally "pure/romantic comic," the Korean version of shōjo manga) is a 2008 South Korean film. Adapted from Love Story, a popular webtoon by Kang Full, it is the second film directed by Ryu Jang-ha. It stars Yoo Ji-tae, Lee Yeon-hee, Chae Jung-an, and Kang-in.

Hello, Schoolgirl
Theatrical poster
Hangul순정만화
Hanja純情漫畵
Revised RomanizationSunjeong manhwa
McCune–ReischauerSunjŏng manhwa
Directed byRyu Jang-ha
Produced byKim Soon-ho
Jo Seong-woo
Choi Yong-bae
Screenplay byRyu Jang-ha
Lee Taek-kyeong
Kang Kyoo-heon
Yoon Taek-Geun
Jeon Hyun-hee
Based onSunjeong Manhwa
by Kang Full
StarringYoo Ji-tae
Lee Yeon-hee
Chae Jung-an
Kang-in
Music byChoi Yong-rak
CinematographyJo Sang-yoon
Edited byMoon In-dae
Production
company
Lets Films
MNFC
Cheong-a-ram
Distributed byCJ Entertainment
Release date
  • November 27, 2008 (2008-11-27)
Running time
113 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$3,550,487[1]

Plot

Kwon Yeon-woo is a somewhat naive 30-year-old low-level civil servant who works in a city hall branch office. After moving into a new apartment, he encounters a high school girl, Soo-young, and sees her on his way to work every morning. She is a cheerful and eccentric 18-year-old who lives with her mother downstairs from him. Over time, the two begin to develop feelings for one another.

Meanwhile, 22-year-old Kang Sook, has just started working at the branch office. He falls head over heels for 29-year-old Kwon Ha-kyeong, a melancholy woman who wanders around taking pictures. She is still holding onto an old flame, and keeps looking for traces of that lost love every day. Kang Sook continues to woo her, regardless of her living in the past.

Can these two relationships ever lead to a happy ending?

Cast
  • Lee Yeon-hee as Han Soo-young, the schoolgirl
  • Yoo Ji-tae as Kim Yeon-woo, the older man
  • Kang-in as Kang Sook, the new hire
  • Chae Jung-an as Kwon Ha-kyeong, the older woman
  • Choi Soo-young as Jeong Da-jeong, Soo-young's friend
  • Na Young-hee as Soo-young's mother
  • Shin Choon-sik as the dry cleaner father
  • Lee Joo-sil as the dry cleaner mother
  • Kang Full (author of the webtoon) as the umbrella shop man (cameo)[2]

Production

Hello Schoolgirl is the second feature film directed by Ryu Jang-ha, following his 2004 debut Springtime.[3] The film is adapted from the first webtoon by Kang Full,[4] which was serialized on Daum and attracted a record-breaking 60 million page views and 500,000 visitor comments.[5] As with the webtoon, the story of the film revolves around two unconventional romances with a noticeable age disparity, though other details of the original serial were changed, such as setting the story in the summer as opposed to winter.[4] The script took two years to complete,[6] and filming commenced on April 1, 2008.[7]

Release

Hello, Schoolgirl was released in South Korea on November 27, 2008, and topped the box office on its opening weekend with 309,065 admissions.[8] As of December 21, the film had received a total of 740,379 admissions.

Critical reception

Joon Soh of The Korea Times praised the film for retaining the essence of the webtoon despite deviations from the original story, saying, "Ryoo succeeds in capturing the tenderness of the online comic, which slowly comes to the surface as the relationships unfold. There is a rich, layered quality to the film, where each little decision or gesture leads to further meanings and possibilities"; however, he also noted that "there are times when the movie aims too much for the conventionally beautiful, sacrificing the awkward, self-deprecating humor that drives much of Kang Full's works."[4]

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References
  1. "Sunjeong-manhwa (Hello, Schoolgirl) (a.k.a. Crush on You) (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
  2. "The author of Hello Schoolgirl, Kang Full, works as a cameo for the first time". Hancinema. 21 November 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  3. Yi, Ch'ang-ho (6 November 2008). "YOO Ji-tae and LEE Yeon-hee in romantic film". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
  4. Soh, Joon (4 December 2008). "Soonjeong Stays True to Its Heart". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
  5. Yang, Sung-jin (3 November 2008). "Filmmakers eye hit with stories from other genres". The Korea Herald via Hancinema. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
  6. "Comic artist Gang Do-young". KBS World. 5 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  7. Yi, Ch'ang-ho (21 April 2008). "RYU Jang-ha's comeback stars YOO Ji-tae and LEE Youn-hee". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
  8. "Korean Box Office (2008.11.28 ~ 2008.11.30)". Hancinema. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
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