Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 (Korean Movie, English Sub, All Region DVD)

Thankfully I read the book first and I highly recommend you do too, especially if you aren't Korean. I would have had no idea what is going on most of the time or understood the flashbacks or times when she spoke as other women. The English subtitles are obviously written by a non-English speaking person, the sentence structure is completely different from English and hard to understand. We're learning Hangul & Korean and some of the words are translated wrong (some comically so). The movie is so different from the book. I did still enjoy this movie; the acting was great, there are some artistic transitions, the story though different from the book still interesting. I think any woman in the world can relate to at least some of the things that happen, if not all. I wonder if the author was on board with all the movie changes? Why take a book about misogyny and make the movie seem misogynistic by making the men (husband & brother) almost the "heroes" who evolve and come around? Why change the doctor to a woman? The book was about misogyny and gender inequality, the movie more about depression and gave it a feel good ending where all she needed to do was go to therapy, write in a journal, and speak up for herself. Not the same ending at all. The book had a greater impact and message. If you've read the book, know the movie is not the same and may be difficult to understand, but is still worth seeing. I'll be interested to watch it again when I no longer need subtitles and see if I like it better. The book however was amazing and a must read for men & women everywhere.

I AM GLAD I READ THE BOOK BEFORE WATCHING THE DVD. THIS STORY IS BEST TOLD IN WRITING BECAUSE IT IS SO MUCH ABOUT THE INTERNAL PAIN OF BEING A WOMAN IN SOUTH KOREA BUT AS ANY ART THAT PORTRAYS AUTHENTIC HUMANITY WOMEN UNIVERSALLY CAN IDENTIFY. WITHOUT READING THE BOOK I WOULD HAVE BEEN LOST AS THE TRANSLATION TO ENGLISH WAS POOR BUT HAVING READ IT I COULD GIVE CONTEXT TO WHAT I WAS WATCHING. I AM INTERESTED IN ACTING AS AN ART FORM AND I THINK THE ACTING WAS GIFTED EVEN IN THE LESSER ROLE OF JI YOUNG'S MOTHER. JI YOUNG WAS PORTRAYED BRILLIANTLY IN THE SMALL EXPRESSIONS OF EYES, MOUTH, HANDS. ASIAN WOMEN ARE AS SHE WAS TOLD ONCE TO BE SILENT. HER OUTBURST IN THE COFFEE SHOP WAS HER FINDING HER POWER AFTER FALLING SO FAR INTO A HOLE. I WONDER HOW THIS WILL BE RECEIVED OUTSIDE OF SOUTH KOREA? AGAIN, I ADMIRE THE ACTING BUT WOULDN'T RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE BUT A SOUTH KOREAN OR A WOMAN TRYING TO FIND HER IDENTITY WHICH HAS BEEN DEFINED HER WHOLE LIFE BY MEN WHO DID NOT VALUE HER OR CONSIDERED HER OF ANY REAL WORTH.

I love Kdramas and Kmovies, having watched several hundred. Gong Yoo is one of my favorite actors and I've been wanting to watch this movie for awhile and finally decided to purchase this dvd. The subtitles are the worst I've ever seen, not always matching up with the scene and even when they were bordering on incoherent. The story is meaningful and the acting is quite good, showing the difficulty many Korean women face. I'm just not sure with these poor subtitles, this dvd is worth the price.

I enjoy the plot of this movie, as well as the two lead actors. However, the English subtitles are almost unintelligible and many times make no sense. After watching the film I read several reviews and realized I missed several key plot points because of the substandard subtitles. I do not recommend buying this DVD.