青春啊

Synopsis:

The story is mainly about Ki Ho, the son of the family, ‘s relationship or marriage problem. His mom is worried about his marriage because he is already 30, has no girlfriend and seems to only have interest in study. So his mom asks her daughters to find a possible wife for him. However, because her daughters are all athletes and the girls they find are all athletes too, the mom is not satisfied. She doesn’t want a tomboy to be her daughter-in-law. She wants a traditional feminine girl.

Later when Ki Ho went to the Study House, he met Un Gyong, because they are renting the same book. And then they fell in love with each other. Ki Ho mistakenly thought Un Gyong was an embroidering girl because she taught Taekwondo at the Embroidering Institute. Ki Ho’s mom was satisfied with Un Gyong.

Then Un Gyong told them she is actually a Taekwondo player, both Ki Ho and his mom hesitate. But they both changed their minds at last. Ki Ho changed his mind when Un Gyong fought against some bad guy on the street at night and saved both their lives. He was touched by Un Gyong that she fought for justice. The mother changed her mind when she saw Un Gyong won the Championship and brought glory to the fatherland.

Role of Sports:

So as you can see, sports play an important role in the film. That’s because sport is a direct way to promote national identity, national pride, and for athletes to bring glory to the country.

Female role:

Traditionally in Korean culture, women are the “ladies of the house”. Because of the influence of Confucius, females are encouraged to stay at home. However, with the influence of socialism, women are encouraged to participate in revolution as well. So the responsibilities for females actually become tougher because they should be both submissive and revolutionary, they should take care of the family as well as bring glory to the country.

Understanding marriage:

In the beginning of the film, the mother is always in a hurry. She wants Ki Ho to get married as soon as possible. But in the end, she doesn’t want to hurry, and said “Don’t dare think of getting married unless you bring honor to the country.” As well, this is also educating the North Korean audience to put the country in priority, to put the country ahead of their own personal business.