Jeon Do-yeon Movies
- 2008
A former couple is reunited for a day under less than ideal circumstances in this character-driven comedy-drama from South Korean writer and director Lee Yoon-ki. Byeong-woon (Ha Jeong-woo) is enjoying an afternoon betting on the ponies at the racetrack when he's confronted by his former girlfriend Heui-su (Jeon Do-yeon). While Heui-su seems cool and confident on the surface, it becomes clear that she wants the 3.5 million won Byeong-woon borrowed from her while they were together, and she needs it now. Byeong-woon doesn't have that kind of cash on him, so they drive to the house of a woman he knows who is able to front him part of the money. Heui-su is grateful, but she makes it clear that only the full amount will do, and she and her former beau spend the rest of the day driving around town as Byeong-woon visits one friend after another (ranging from another one-time girlfriend to a handful of bikers) and tries to come up with some way to raise the cash. Meotjin Haru (aka My Dear Enemy) was an official selection at the 2008 Pusan Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeon Do-yeon, Ha Jeong-woo, (more)
- 2007
In this somber Korean drama, a young mother and widow, Shin-ae, moves with her young son, Jun, from Seoul to a small town called Miryang following her husband's death. Having given up on her career as a concert pianist when she married her husband, she starts up a piano school, but soon it begins to feel like the polite people who inhabit her new home aren't as friendly as they seem on the surface. Judgmental whispers and disapproving gossip begin to reach Shin-ae's ears, and pressure to join the Christian cult that thrives in the town begins to mount. She's hesitant until an unimaginable tragedy alters her life forever, setting Shin-ae on a dark path of withdrawal from society as a whole. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeon Do-yeon, Song Kang-ho, (more)
- 2005
A call girl changes her life for love, only to discover she did so too late in this drama from South Korean writer and director Park Jin-pyo. Eun-ha (Jeon Do-yeon) grew up in a farming community and came to the big city to make something of herself. Sadly, her dreams have led her to a coffee bar that's a front for a prostitution ring, where she turns tricks under the guise of making deliveries. Seok-jung (Hwang Jeong-min) is a sweet but slightly dim guy who falls in love with Eun-ha, not realizing what she does for a living. Seok-jung follows Eun-ha everywhere she goes, and while she seems him as an easy mark at first, in time she grows tired of his wide-eyed attentions. However, when a beating from a client puts Eun-ha in the hospital, Seok-jung loyally stays by her side; touched by his devotion, Eun-ha decides to give up prostitution and wed Seok-jung. At first Eun-ha is perfectly happy to look after Seok-jung and be a housewife, but when a former client pays her a visit, Eun-ha makes a shocking discovery -- she's HIV Positive, and she's probably passed the virus on to her husband. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeon Do-yeon, Hwang Jeong-min, (more)
Writer/director E J-Yong transposes Choderlos de Laclo's novel Dangerous Liaisons to Korea during the repressive 18th century Chosun Dynasty for his costume drama, Untold Scandal. Lady Cho (Lee Mi-Suk, who also starred in Yong's debut, An Affair) decides to get revenge on her husband when he procures the services of a young, virginal concubine, Lee Soh-ok (Lee So-yeong). She asks her womanizing cousin, Jo-won (Korean television superstar Bae Yong-Jun, in his first starring role in a feature film), to seduce the girl and impregnate her. Cho-won doesn't see this as enough of a challenge. He has his sights set on an honorable young widow, Lady Sook (Jeon Do-Yeon), nicknamed "The Gate of Chastity." Lady Cho makes a wager with Jo-won, offering herself to him if he provides proof that he has succeeded in seducing the widow. While Jo-won struggles to ingratiate himself to Lady Sook, manipulating her handmaiden, and donating money to her Catholic church, Lady Cho works to get the innocent Soh-ok in trouble. But things take an unexpected turn when Lord Jo-won begins to develop genuine feelings for his prey. Untold Scandal was a huge box-office success in Korea, and it was shown at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art as part of the 2004 edition of New Directors/New Films. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bae Yong-jun, Lee Mi-suk, (more)
- 2001
Two ordinary people looking for love may have found it with one another in this low-key romantic drama. Jung Won-ju (Jeon Do-yeon) is a bookish-looking schoolteacher with a habit of daydreaming, and Kim Bong-soo (Seol Kyeong-gyu) is a bank teller with a habit of confessing his deepest secrets to the surveillance camera near his window when he thinks no one is looking. Jung and Kim have one important thing in common -- they're both lonely and looking for someone with whom they can spend their lives. Jung is a regular customer at the bank where Kim works, and they have a habit of bumping into each other around town; one day while doing her banking, Jung sees Kim talking on the security monitor about how he wishes he had a wife, and she wonders if maybe the man she's been looking for is the man who has been in front of her all along. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Seol Kyeong-gyu, Jeon Do-yeon, (more)
One of the most popular homegrown films in South Korea in 1999, the extramarital drama Haepi Endeu presents a subtle, character-based approach to the time-honored tradition of the love triangle. The movie opens with an illicit encounter between Bo-ra (Jeon Do-yean) and her lover Il-beom (Joo Jin-mo), an ex-boyfriend who has recently shown up to re-ignite their romance. Meanwhile, Bo-ra's husband, Min-ki (Choi Min-sik), is content to play the homemaker in their marriage, caring for their baby daughter and reading mystery novels. He eventually confronts Bo-ra with evidence of the affair. Instead of strengthening their bond, she continues to meet Il-Beom, and Min-ki quietly comes up with a scheme for putting an end to the situation. Haepi Endeu is the first full-length film from writer-director Jung Ji-woo -- and marks a mature turn from Do-yean, who was last seen playing a naive schoolgirl in The Harmonium of My Memory. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joo Jin Mo
Set in 1963, Nae Maeumeui Pungguem/The Harmonium in My Memory tells the tale of Kang Su-ha (Lee Byung-heon), a 21-year-old novice schoolteacher who lands a job in the very small town of Sanri, mostly populated by illiterate families stuck in poverty, and with little interest in education. Add to this the fact that Kang is very nervous and clumsy in the extreme, and it's no wonder he has a hard time keeping his class in order. Kang makes the acquaintance of Yang Eun-hee (Lee Mi-yeon), a lovely young woman who is also on the school's faculty, and, though it takes a while, Kang eventually works up the courage to actually talk to her. However, Kang has an unexpected obstacle in this potential romance. One of his students, 17-year-old Yun Hong-yeon (Jeon Do-yeon), has a furious crush on Kang, and she isn't about to make it easy for him to him to pursue the woman of his dreams. The film was cited in the press for the fine performances of the three leads and the accurate recreation of Korea on the cusp of modernization. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Byung-hun, Jeon Do-yeon, (more)
- 1997
The Contact is a modern-day romance which depicts youthful love in solitude using urban images. The main characters live alone and do not do well with close, personal relationships. They rather prefer the virtual experiences and e-mail. With gentle satire, the film exposes the fast evolvement of South Korea into a digital society. Twists and turns of a digital love affair are particularly interesting. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Han Seok-gyu, Jeon Do-yeon, (more)
