Once upon a time, a friend of mine borrowed me a Korean movie that started it all. The title of this movie is My Sassy Girl, starring the beautiful Jeon Ji Hyun (전지현) and Cha Tae Hyun (차태현). This film influenced me in so many ways. The Kpop culture has been influencing many for many years, and is still growing, but mostly due to their music. Many might think that this is what influenced me, but it is not actually. Like mentioned earlier, it is this movie that started it all . But yes, I admit that later on, Korean music eventually affected me as well.
So let's talk about its influence. This movie does so many things today's films fail to do. Heck, Hollywood even tried to make an American version but did not succeed. My Sassy Girl is a romantic comedy. What's amazing is the connection they make with the audience and how they somehow make things feel natural. For some however, what they will see in this movie may seem somewhat exaggerated, but for me it just worked, I just loved the way they did things. After experiencing this, I would wonder if other Korean movies portray something similar. As I watch more and more, I learned to realize that Koreans have their own way of making their movies feel different from something that we are used to. It's a bit difficult to explain unless you watch some yourself, then maybe you will understand. I can go on and on, but to summarize, My Sassy Girl opened my eyes to Korean Cinematography and Dramas.
As the months go by, the more curious I became about Korea's culture. I just wanted to know more in any way possible. To start off, just like anything else we do when we want to know something, we Google. And then maybe Youtube some stuff. As I learned more and more, the deeper I would fall in love with Korea's culture such as their food, history, you name it. Then the day came when I finally decided to learn the Korean Language. I studied whenever possible, even in the bus. I ended up learning how to read and write Korean with ease, though learning orally and the vocabulary was quite challenging. Up to this day I have trouble understand especially because I don't really have a friend that can teach me regularly. Though sometimes I am able to have a "basic" conversation. Here's a little story. One day I met this customer when I was working in Dollarama. I was wearing a Korean t-shirt and she suddenly spoke to me in Korean. Fortunately, I understood and was able to communicate with her. So whenever I would meet her at the cash, we would have a mini-chat in Korean which was cool. The same could be said with the nearby Sushi Restaurant which was owned by a Korean Family. I really hope that one day I will be able to learn their language properly.
My Sassy Girl also influenced my musical interest. Just like how this movie opened my eyes to Korean Cinematography, it also sparked my interest in Korean music. I would gain interest in "Korean Idols" such as Big Bang, and yes girl groups such as SNSD (I admit, sometimes it's because of the beautiful ladies XD). But being someone who plays and composes music, I didn't limit myself to the typical Kpop culture, but I also listened to Korean Indie music as well, in which I wish more people knew of. Back to what is related to this movie, the theme song of this movie is called I Believe by Shin Seung Hun. I fell in love with this song that I just had to master this on the guitar. It's the first song I ever completed that only uses plucking. Outside what is Korean however, My Sassy Girl introduced me to a classic, Pachelbel's Canon in D. Another song I just had to learn on the guitar acoustically, as well as the Rock version.
As you can see, this movie influenced me in so many ways, and I can certainly go on. So if you haven't seen this movie yet, I suggest you do. This movie is great in many ways. It will move you, make you laugh and make you smile. To conclude, I just want to recommend this movie to you, My Sassy Girl.
"Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit." - Jawaharlal Nehru
