Language: Korean
Director: Kim Aaron
Main Cast: Jo An as Kim Ho-jeong
Min Seok as as Yoo Won-jae
Ryoo Sang-wook as Lee Dong-hwa
Yang Eun-yong as Yeo Jin-yeong
Kim Min-gyo as Park Moon-gi
Kim Jeong-min as Lee Ha-na/Voice of girl with story
Full Review:
Hello My Love is a romantic comedy that tells the story of Ho Jeon (played by Jo An), a Radio DJ who has been eagerly awaiting the return of her boyfriend Won Jae (played by Oh Min Seok) from Paris. Before leaving South Korea for a two-year educational trip in France, Won Jae promised to marry Ho Jeon right after he finishes with his studies. The pair have been together for ten years already and as Ho Jeong has no parents anymore, she has become practically a part of Won Jae’s family. As far as everyone is concerned, their wedding is merely a formality.
Won Jae returns home as promised but brings a surprise with him, his roommate from Paris, Dong Hwa (played by Ryoo Sang Wook). Ho Jeon notices that the two are always together but she suspends any suspicions, reasoning out it could be because the boys are opening a wine restaurant. She waits some more, preferring to wait for the restaurant to open before working on their wedding. However, she spies the two in an intimate moment, shattering any illusion that the two men’s friendship is only platonic. This leaves Ho Jeong torn between leaving Won Jae or fighting for her man, albeit against and unexpected rival.
She decides on the latter and demands to Won Jae that they date first for a month and decide only after if he still wants to be with Dong Hwa. In the end, Ho Jeon finds peace with her situation.
In plain terms, Hello My Love is basically a romantic comedy between an unlikely love triangle. It does not really deal with homosexuality per se since this sensitive subject matter isn’t the issue. Instead, the movie focuses on the themes of heartbreak and loss, no matter what one’s sexual orientation is. The elements of meeting up in Paris and opening a wine restaurant seem to be the movie’s attempt at making a homosexuality more palatable. It likens being gay as exotic as being French. In other words, it is understandable to be gay if you have lived in Paris.
Ho Jeong’s line “If you were a broken TV I’d fix it and use it” also reflects most heterosexual people’s understanding of being gay as a defect that needs to be fixed. Instead of being inflammatory, this just reflects a woman’s heartache and her tenacity in clinging to a hope that she can change her errant lover’s heart.
The movie’s use of the heroine’s drink preference as a metaphor for finding peace is ties up neatly with the wine restaurant theme. At the beginning, Ho Jeong declares she only likes soju but towards the end, she becomes interested in wine even if it can trigger memories of the her boyfriend and the man who stole him from her.
Jo An delivers a very fine performance but the two male leads seem to have only a one-dimensional portrayal of their characters. Even during scenes where they display affection, it doesn’t come out convincing enough. All in all though, the movie effectively sends out its message that love can hurt, whether you’re straight or gay.
Summary: Radio DJ Ho Jeong (Jo An) eagerly waits for the return of her boyfriend Won Jae (Oh Min Seok), who is also on a two year educational trip in France. Prior of leaving South Korea, Won Jae earlier had promised to marry her once he is finished with his studies. The two had been dating for 10 years and the orphaned Ho Jeong gets quite close with Won Jae’s family and it is the right time for them to get married. Won Jae brings back his male roommate Dong Hwa, who seems to never leave his side. Ho Jeong thinks they’re just planning to open a wine restaurant together – but it turns out they’re actually together. An unconventional romantic comedy unfolds as Ho-jeong tries to win him back from a rival she never imagined having.
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