SPRING BEARS LOVE

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SPRING BEARS LOVE

Jan 23, 2018

Writer by Pierce Conran
View2213

2003｜96 MIN | Drama

DIRECTOR YONG Yi

CAST BAE Doo-na, KIM Nam-jin, YOON Ji-hye, YOON Jong-shin, OH Gwang-rok

RELEASE DATE October 24, 2003

CONTACT 9ers Entertainment

Tel : +82 70 4490 4072

Fax : +82 2 797 7279

Email : debpark@niners.co.kr

A young BAE Doo-na stars in the quirky Spring Bears Love, a colorful romantic comedy from the mind of commercials director YONG Yi. Released in 2003, which is considered by many to be the best year of Korean cinema, this relatively low-key effort struggled to gain much notice at the time. Yet 15 years on, Spring Bears Love remains a worthwhile title to seek out, owing to its dynamic central performance and its imaginative and whimsical staging.

Hyun-chae, a young woman who works in a supermarket, comes across a romantic note tucked within the pages of an art book at the library. One note leads to another, and the unlucky in love Hyun-chae believes that they are written by the man of her dreams and intended for her. At the same time, childhood friend Dong-ha, who harbors a secret crush on Hyun-chae, has returned from military service but Hyun-chae continues to ignore him.

BAE got her start just four years before stepping into the role of Hyun-chae, but in that time she quickly made a name for herself by appearing in important works such as BONG Joon-ho’s Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000), JEONG Jae-eun’s Take Care of My Cat (2001) and PARK Chan-wook’s Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002). Beyond these auteur works, BAE also began to take on romantic roles with 2002’s Saving My Hubby. Spring Bears Love offered BAE another romantic vehicle with a part that provided a strong showcase for her unorthodox charms.

Spring Bears Love is to date the only feature film by YONG, who honed a keen eye for visuals from his time directing commercials. Owing to this, several sequences that sprout from within Hyun-chae’s imagination take on a kaleidoscopic and delightfully absurd sheen. Following his feature debut, YONG has performed other roles in the industry, such as cutting trailers for several films (including PARK Chan-wook’s Old Boy, released just a month after Spring Bears Love), and taking on a small role in E J-yong’s Dasepo Naughty Girls (2006).

Save for a few successes such as 2001’s My Sassy Girl, the quirkier variants on the romantic comedy genre have experienced mixed fortunes at the Korean box office, yet this sub-genre has continued to churn out several memorable titles, all the way from Spring Bears Love to more recent works such KIM Jung-hwan’s Penny Pinchers (2011) and LEE Won-suk’s How to Use Guys with Secret Tips (2013).

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