Origin and release year: South Korea (2016 – Love, Lies)
Korean title: 해어화
Starring: Han Hyo Joo, Chun Woo Hee, Yoo Yeon Seok, Park Sung Woong, Jang Young Nam, Ryu Hye Young, Jang In Sub, Kim Soo An, Lee Han Wi, Cha Ji Yeon, Kim Young Min, Keum Sae Rok, Takeda Hiromitsu
Director: Park Heung Shik
Screenwriter: Ha Young Joon, Song Hye Jin, Jeon Yoon Soo
Synopsis: Story follows Jung So Yool who dreams of becoming the best singer during the time of Japanese occupation of Korea. (IMDb)
The True Story Korean Film “Love, Lies” Was Inspired By
Love, Lies is partially based on a true story. They used the story of a singer as the motive.
Wang Su Bok (왕수복) was a real life singer in the 1930s, when Korea was a Japanese colony. She grew up in unfortunate circumstances which led to her life as a gisaeng and was very talented in singing, dancing, and drawing. As record players gained popularity in Korea, she released music and had many hit songs. However, she suffered the stigma of being a gisaeng regardless.
Her career was short lived due to Japan’s policy that restricted the use of the Korean language (hence Korean music) and ended up retiring as a singer in Korea. She moved to Japan to study and pursue a career as an opera singer.
“Love, Lies” Review
The story is a layered portrayal of the deceit that almost can’t be helped sometimes when it comes to romantic relationships. Yoo Yeon Seok’s character, Yoon Woo, finds himself attracted to his love’s best friend, Yun Hee, played by Chun Woo Hee. He tries to stay devote but he can’t win over his feelings in the end. It’s sad and resentful but you can’t bring yourself to dislike him for it somehow as the viewer.
There’s a charm that Yun Hee carries when she sings that both the on-screen and off-screen audience can’t deny. In fact, her singing in the film aka the film’s OST is just beautiful to hear.
Love, Lies dealt very well with the relatable subject matter and themes of self-doubt, insecurity, and very literal imposter syndrome.
Han Hyo Joo’s character, So Yool, portrayed the angst caused by the betrayal she felt to the tee as her character went through several stages of realization throughout the film. There was power in these realizations as they served not only as key character development/arc points but also as major narrative motivators/catalysts, as well.
The film delivered a stellar and compelling performance that had your heart wrench but also helped you relate if you’ve ever personally suffered from imposter syndrome.
What did you think of Love, Lies? Let us know in the comments!