Happiness () is a 2007 South Korean romantic drama film directed by Hur Jin-ho, and starring Hwang Jung-min and Im Soo-jung. It is a love story about two people who meet while battling serious illnesses. The film was released in South Korea on October 3, 2007.
Plot When stricken with liver cirrhosis, Young-su leaves his careless high life in the city, live-in girlfriend, and dwindling nightclub business. He retreats to a rural sanatorium to receive treatment for his condition, where he meets Eun-hee, a young woman who is a long-term resident patient suffering from a severe lung disease that has left her with only about 40 percent lung capacity and places her at constant risk of respiratory failure. Soon they develop feelings for each other and leave the sanatorium together to live in a small but cozy farmhouse. Their health improves dramatically, but when Young-su's friends from the city come for a visit, he starts to wonder if he should abandon the mundane rural village and return to his former lifestyle.
Unable to overcome his growing dissatisfaction with country life, Young-su leaves Eun-hee and returns to Seoul with the hope of rebuilding his old life. His decision proves disastrous: his nightclub business fails once again, his renewed relationship with his former girlfriend quickly falls apart, and his liver cirrhosis relapses. Having lost everything, Young-su returns to the countryside to reunite with Eun-hee, only to discover that her lung condition has worsened to a terminal stage, leaving her bedridden and near death. Eun-hee silently forgives him before succumbing to her illness, leaving Young-su devastated. He mourns over her ashes before returning alone to the sanatorium, burdened by the consequences of abandoning the woman who had given him genuine love and happiness.
Cast Hwang Jung-min as Young-soo Im Soo-jung as Eun-hee Kim Ki-chun as Boo-nam Yoo Seung-mok as Chae-gon Lee Jae-hun as Suk-woo Seo Jin-suk as Jin-suk Kim Jin-goo as Young-soo's mother Joo Boo-jin as doctor Min Kyung-jin as truck driver Oh Seo-won as medicine doctor Kim Chang-sub as waiter Kim In-sook as Mi-young Gong Hyo-jin as Soo-yeon Ryu Seung-soo as Dong-joon Park In-hwan as Suk-goo Shin Shin-ae as The director of a nursing home
Accolades Award Year Category Recipient(s) ResultAsian Film Awards 2008Best Supporting Actress Gong Hyo-jin Baeksang Arts Awards 2008 Best Film Happiness Best Actress Im Soo-jung Blue Dragon Film Awards"Happiness - Awards" . Cinemasie. Retrieved 2012-11-27. 2007 Best Film Happiness Best Director Hur Jin-ho Best Actor Hwang Jung-min Best Actress Im Soo-jung Best Screenplay Hur Jin-ho, Lee Suk-yeon, Seo Yoo-min and Shin Joon-ho Best Cinematography Kim Hyung-koo Best Lighting Jung Young-min Best Music Jo Seong-woo Buil Film Awards 2008Best Director Hur Jin-ho Best Actress Im Soo-jung Best Cinematography Kim Hyung-koo Grand Bell Awards 2008 Best Film Happiness Best DirectorHur Jin-ho Best Actor Hwang Jung-min Best Actress Im Soo-jung Best Supporting Actress Gong Hyo-jin Best Screenplay Hur Jin-ho, Lee Suk-yeon, Seo Yoo-min and Shin Joon-ho Best Cinematography Kim Hyung-koo Korean Association of Film Critics Awards 2007Best Screenplay Hur Jin-ho, Lee Suk-yeon, Seo Yoo-min and Shin Joon-ho Korean Film Awards 2007Best Film Happiness Best Director Hur Jin-ho Best Supporting Actress Gong Hyo-jin
References
External links