you are my sunshine korean movie review

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You are my Sunshine

Story: Farmer Seok-joong (Hwang Jeong-min) is about to hit his 40s and finally wants to find a wife. His plans to marry a Filipino woman, since this is popular these days, are soon discarded as he wants to find his true love in life. Luckily, he really seems to find it in shape of Eun-ha (Jeon Do-yeon). Eun-ha works at a Coffee-shop, whose employees not only deliver coffee right to your home, but also provide you with another special service if the customer wants to. Seok-joong doesn't care about that, however, as he has fallen in love with the girl. He ensnares his beloved, and after being amused by Seok-joong at first, the girl understands that he isn't only serious about his feelings, but she also realizes that she could find all the things in his arms she thought the world would deny her all her life. Eun-ha's and Seok-joong's difficult relationship finally blossoms, but Eun-ha's past suddenly catches up with her. Her former husband reemerges and tries to destroy the relationship she has. But all of that is nothing compared to the terrible news Seok-joon gets one day. Eun-ha has AIDS...

Review: Stop clicking somewhere else! Granted, after reading the plot summary you might be tempted to head off somewhere else. Not yet another TV-tearjerker drama... But wait, this isn't just your ordinary drama! "You are my Sunshine" proves to be surprisingly multilayered and more than anything else... "different". It's not without a reason that director Park won himself several awards with his genuine work. His mix of a romantic comedy and a melodrama might sound all too familiar, yet it stands out with an interesting presentation and puts its focus where most other movies don't care to take a closer look. We don't get to see Eun-ha lying in her deathbed terminally ill - to be exactly she doesn't even look ill at all. This movie doesn't aim for some cheap tears, but wants to portray a relationship in a little different way than what we are used to see, while it also deals with taboo topics in Korea like AIDS and prostitution. In the story summary there might be more spoilering than in most other reviews, but that's necessary, because only this way it is possible to concentrate on what's really of importance in this film. It's shocking how little Koreans know about AIDS, at least if we believe what the film tells us. According to a housewife HIV is an illness that is actually airborne, while prostitutes don't take any precautions and even don't visit their doctor at a regular basis. Park somewhat makes it his obligation to throw light on the subject, but he wraps up his story with a nice romantic tale. At the same time he also explores the Korean red light district, and at times even does so with a wink, without running the risk to lose any of his credibility. Don't forget, you can order your coffee along with a daughter of joy if you like... Anyway, it takes about one hour until the socio-critical undertone crawls up to the surface. Before that we get nice romantic comedy stuff, even though you might miss some real laughs. Jeon Do-yeon gives a nice, even though a bit clichéd performance as a prostitute with a heart. Hwang Jeong-min ("Bloody Tie") portrays the naive farmer Seok-joon, who is looking for his one and only true love in life. His attempts to win over Eun-ha and his numerous, at first shy endeavors to show her that he is really honest about his feelings finally pay off at some point. When Eun-ha starts to lay down her rejecting behavior, even though she never really left a doubt that she can be anyone's woman for an hour, a nice romance begins to unfold. The positive mood and the newly in love couple can create a lyrical feeling inside the viewer. Nevertheless, just when it's about half time, the movie makes a turn. Eun-ha's past catches up with her, things are getting messy, and therefore it all gets a bit more worse than expected. Naturally, the viewer will feel somewhat betrayed by the sudden turn of events. Now, everything gets incredibly melodramatic, tears are flowing, yet the film still never drowns unnecessarily in clichés. AIDS as an illness isn't as superfluously expatiated here than it would had been in many Hollywood films, and, at all time, the story of "You are My Sunshine" centers more around the complex relationship of the two main characters instead of simply going for some tears. The topic the film deals with and the many socia-critical themes are brought into the movie with care and caution, and luckily never immoderately jump into the foreground, which eventually makes this film work out so much better than expected. Unfortunately, the film starts to drag a bit from the second half onwards. Moreover, the audience feels emotionally distant to the main protagonists, which is because they themselve also drift away from one another. This is somewhat frustrating, and at some point you may even lose interest in where the story might be heading to, even the more as you aren't really sure anymore if the script writer actually knew in what direction he steered the movie. However, luckily, in the end it shows that all events work towards one certain ending. Especially well done are the acting achievements of the two main actors. Their characters evolve throughout the whole film, so that in the end you even might not recognize them anymore. During one allusion to "One Fine Spring Day", which the two lovers watch at a cinema, the question is introduced if love can actually change and maybe even fizzle out? Well, it doesn't seem to be the case, here. It's more that the characters undergo a change, but love remains an unchanging constant between them. A constant, that may be in need of being defined anew on several occasions, but what may prove to be a problem to a mathematician, is a welcome change for the viewer. With his ending director Park once again shows that his intention wasn't to create another typical tearfilled, sobbing variant of the well-known "illness-of-the-week" premise, but that he wanted to do something extraordinary. Sadly, the film has some downsides. Many topics are just touched and you have to ask yourself, for example, what it was all about, concerning Eun-ha's former husband. The second half at first disconnects from the movie, because of the sudden turn, but thanks to the actors, as well as the very good supporting cast, e.g. Seok-joon's mother, you will find your way back into the movie before the finale. Still, especially towards the end there are some scenes where you don't feel as emotionally involved as it could have been possible. At least that's not that often the case. Park Jin-pyo ("Too young to die") creates a genuine movie, that can surprise and touch you. More than anything else it is a welcome change to the same old Korean romance and melodrama story. Mainly because of the interesting way the director approaches the themes of his movie, "You are my Sunshine" clearly deserves to be recommended.

Cast & crew
User reviews

You Are My Sunshine

Seok-joong, a farmer in his mid thirties falls head over heels in love with local tabang delivery girl Eun-ha, but the couple's marital bliss is short lived as Eun-ha tests positive for HIV. Seok-joong, a farmer in his mid thirties falls head over heels in love with local tabang delivery girl Eun-ha, but the couple's marital bliss is short lived as Eun-ha tests positive for HIV. Seok-joong, a farmer in his mid thirties falls head over heels in love with local tabang delivery girl Eun-ha, but the couple's marital bliss is short lived as Eun-ha tests positive for HIV.

Park Jin-Pyo
Jeon Do-yeon
Hwang Jung-min
Na Moon-hee
7 User reviews
7 Critic reviews
9 wins & 8 nominations

Jeon Do-yeon and Hwang Jung-min in You Are My Sunshine (2005)

(as Jeong-min Hwang)

Seok-joong's mother
(as Moon-hee Na)

(as Seung-su Ryu)

Public Defender
(as Do-bin Baek)
Tea House Lady 1
(as Hyo-eun Hwang)
Newspaper Reporter 2
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

Trivia Based on a true story.
Connections Features One Fine Spring Day (2001)

User reviews 7

AJ_McAninch
Sep 15, 2018
How long is You Are My Sunshine? Powered by Alexa
September 23, 2005 (South Korea)
South Korea
Official site (South Korea)
Neoneun nae unmyeong
B.O.M. Film Productions Co.
See more company credits at IMDbPro
$17,650,142

Technical specs

Runtime 2 hours 1 minute

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You are my sunshine.

Directed by Park Jin-pyo

Thank you, for loving me...

An old bachelor Seok-joong, who has no experience in dating, falls in love at first sight with a prostitute named Eun-ha. At first Eun-ha shows no interest in Seok-joong, but gradually she begins to be flattered by his devotion and eventually falls in love with him. They marry. However, one day, Eun-ha finds out that she is infected with HIV and decides to leave Seok-joong.

Jeon Do-yeon Hwang Jung-min Na Moon-hee Seo Ju-hee Yoon Je-moon Jung You-seok Koh Soo-hee Kim Bu-seon Lim Jong-yun Lee Gyeong-a Kim Kwang-kyu Kim Sang-ho Baek Do-bin Ryu Seung-su Baek Jong-hak Hwang Hyo-eun Bae Yun-beom Kim Joo-ryoung Kang Yeong-il Park Myeong-gyu Moon Won-ju Kim Hak-seon Lee Ru-ahn Byun Shin-ho Hong Seok-yeon Choi Dae-woong Park Jin-woo Lee Min-ah Kim Jung-young Show All… Yoo Ji-yeon Park Jin-Taek

Director Director

Park Jin-pyo

Producers Producers

Lee Eugene Oh Jung-wan Ahn Soo-hyun

Writer Writer

Editor editor.

Moon In-dae

Cinematography Cinematography

Sung Seung-taek

Assistant Director Asst. Director

Gook Dong-seok

Production Design Production Design

Lee Na-gyeom

Composer Composer

Bang Jun-seok

Costume Design Costume Design

Sin Seung-hui

Bom Film Productions

South Korea

Alternative titles.

You're My Sunshine, 너는 내 운명, ユア・マイ・サンシャイン, Neoneun nae unmyeong, 你是我的命運, 너는 내운명, ユア・マイ・サンシャイン：2005, 你是我的命运, 你是我的未來

Drama Romance

Releases by Date

23 sep 2005, releases by country.

Theatrical 18

123 mins More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Gabe ★★★★

Always a pleasure watching Jeon Do-yeon, not only one of the best actresses in the country, but also one of the best actresses in the world.

A very awarded popular melodrama classic.

Review by Ailish ★★★½

After finishing this film my overall consensus was that I did not particularly like it for its plot. I did however enjoy it for the message I believed it conveyed to me. We are sunshine to somebody. There is no such thing as a perfect individual. We all have faults, and we've all made mistakes but throughout this film Eun- ha remains Seok -Joongs sunshine. As the film progresses it is heart warming to see how Seok -Joong becomes Eun-has sunshine as well. A simple concept that struck home for me, while also tackling tougher and more serious issues.

Review by Nick ★★★★½ 3

True love doesn't conquer all, but it might just survive it.

Jeon Do-yeon's been pretty consistently the best actress on the planet for twenty-ish years now, and this film falls in that range, so obviously she's magnificent in it. The "hooker with the heart of gold" is a tired cinematic cliche, but here it might have been the path of least resistance. She wisely veers away from it. There is an edge to her, and occasional bouts of viciousness. Her early scenes of cautious amusement followed by guarded cynicism are excellent; the subsequent scenes of bemused optimism and hope are even better.

Hwang Jung-min is also good, and needs to be. The script asks in some ways more of him…

Review by ully ★★★½

they told us here love is about acceptance, briliantly acted by both main leads particularly jeon doyeon for being cheerful bubbly and smile the brightest despite everything. maybe we are the brightest sunshine to somebody.

Review by Adi ★★★★

I can’t let a day pass without thinking of you. I can’t stop thinking about you when I eat and see something pretty! Even when I look at the sky!

Eun-ha, I’ll make you the happiest girl on Earth.

Ang ganda mo Jeon Do-yeon hays.

Review by ukiyomonamour ★★★★

Jeon Do Yeon, you are my sunshine.

Review by pekahjusthappy ★★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

what makes you are my sunshine different than any other tragic love story? it's that YAMS able to give us a happy ending. it's something that not even LTUS (another my fav tragic love story) could give (iykyk). it was good. I'm speechless, but thank god, HJM and JDY was casted. it's perfect 🫶

Review by Shawn Kelley ★★★

Blind bought this Blu-ray because I love Jeon Do-yeon and Hwang Jung-min, they are great in everything I’ve seen them in and wanted to see them together in a movie. I didn’t love this movie however. I felt very detached from these characters and the movie as a whole despite the performances of the leads.

Review by Umechan ★★★½

Honest people are the most loyal.

Review by dear ★★★

you are my sunshine is my 2nd film from jeon doyeon’s filmography. my first was beasts clawing at straws (it was an awesome experience by the way), and yet it is VERY CLEAR to me why she is THE JEON DOYEON that she is today. YAMS isn’t actually the best imo, nonetheless, i truly enjoyed watching it — maybe, just maybe, one of the factors is that she’s cute in those colorful undergarments and dresses as well as skirts haha! i’ll definitely watch Secret Sunshine sometime soon, and perhaps, Lost when netflix puts it in their platform (LOL).

Review by kimchi ★★½

this is somewhat frustrating, and some point i lose interest in where the story might be heading to

Review by crop_a_star ★★★

真的看不了这种，因为什么都不说而错过或者无法挽回的

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Movie Reviews

You are my sunshine (2005) 너는 내 운명 korean movie review.

Hello everyone, and welcome back to another Korean movie review by EonTalk. Today’s movie review will be on the must-watch Korean melodrama, <You Are My Sunshine>.

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<You Are My Sunshine> is an older film that was released back in 2005, and was directed by Park Jin-Pyo, who also directed <Voice of a Murderer>, <Closer To Heaven>, and <Love Forecast>. The movie featured the duo of Jeon Do-Yeon and Hwang Jung-Min, and the chemistry between the two was amazing. Based on a true story, the movie revolves around a farmer in his mid thirties who falls head over heels for a local girl, and how their love story blossoms, and then turns in the worst way possible. Let’s take a look at the detailed synopsis before getting into the review.

The synopsis is as follows: Seo-Joong, a farmer in his mid thirties, is desperate to find a wife and settle down. However, finding love is harder than expected and he just can’t seem to find “the one.” Then one day, he lays his eyes on Eun-Ha, a local “dabang,” or a Korean coffee shop, girl, and falls head over heels for her. In order to get her attention and make her fall for him as he did for her, he starts showering her with gifts. Eun-Ha is initially unimpressed and shakes him off, but gradually she starts to fall for the innocent Seo-Joong as well, and is eventually won over by his kindhearted nature. Seo-Joong is eventually able to accomplish his goal of finding true love and settling down, as the two get married. Seo-Joong and Eun-Ha live an ever-so happy and jolly marriage life, but the couple’s marital bliss is short lived, as a devastating news is given. What seemed to be like a dream come true, turns into a nightmare that they desperately want to wake up from.

First, I have to mention Hwang Jung-Min’s performance. Hwang Jung-Min’s expressions were so real, and he fit the role so well. I can’t think of anyone else that could’ve replaced him. From funny to emotional, he can do it all, and he truly showed his talent through this film. He had his mainstream breakthrough with this movie, and won the Best Actor award at the 2005 Blue Dragon Film Awards with <You Are My Sunshine>. He made his famous acceptance speech when he won the award, which went something like this: “All I did was add a spoon to a dinner table that had already been prepared by others.” Through this, he showed just how humble he is, and displayed his unconditional appreciation for the director and the film staff.

Not to mention, the competition for the Best Actor category for that year was highly competitive. Some of the other nominees were Park Hae-Il for <Rules of Dating>, Ryu Seung-Bum for <Crying Fist>, Lee Byung-Hun for <A Bittersweet Life>, and Cho Seung-Woo for <Marathon>.

Furthermore, Jeon Do-Yeon was also incredible in her role. She also won the Best Actress award at the 2005 Chunsa Film Art Awards, and her and Hwang Jung-Min’s on-screen chemistry was jaw-droppingly good. If there was a “Best Couple” award back then, they would’ve definitely swept that award. Moreover, director Park Jin-Pyo also won the Best Director award at the 2005 Blue Dragon Film Awards with this film. This just shows how well-received and acclaimed this film was.

Visually speaking, <You Are My Sunshine> has that older film style with not much shifts in camera angles. Therefore, the audience can really focus on the actors and the performances they give. In other words, there aren’t much distractions or technical methods that takes away from the film.

And most importantly, the movie is a very real one. From the dialogue the characters have with one another, (such as Seo-Joong and his friends, and Seo-Joong with Eun-Ha) and trying to get her to fall for him, as well as the story, the movie was very real on all levels. I don’t want to say too much or give too much examples and details in order to refrain from giving spoilers, but yes, the narrative reflected reality very well, especially of that time. There was a really big turn of events, and the ending scene is one of the saddest scenes in Korean cinema. It’s worth watching for that build up to the finale and the big conclusion.

I mentioned this in the good parts as well, but the film has that older style. This can be good for the reasons given before, but on the other end of the spectrum, if you don’t like that older style, then you may find the movie to be on the slower side. In sum, you may find that the film has a relatively slow progression, and the tone and vibe is very different from what we see today.

All in all, <You Are My Sunshine> is a very real movie and that gets really emotional. However, the emotions aren’t forced, and is a genuine film. If you are a fan of Korean movies and the melodrama genre, then this is a must-watch.

Ticket Price Value: $10

(Ticket Price Value is the price I would pay to watch the film again for the first time)

What were your thoughts on the movie? Do you agree or disagree with my review? What would your ‘Ticket Price Value’ be? Leave a comment down below!

**follow the eon talk facebook page for more korean movie content ☞ @eontalk, watch the video review:, related films (click to view):.

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Disclaimer Please keep in mind this review is composed of solely my own opinions, and should be taken with a grain of salt. I am in no way a professional writer, nor have I majored or studied journalism. This is for informative entertainment purpose only, representing my personal views. I do not own the images and/or videos used in the review. No copyright infringement intended.