MovieChat Forums > Keulraesik (2003) Discussion > Can somebody explain the end!!!!!

Can somebody explain the end!!!!!

posted 17 years ago by Bobby121
21 replies | jump to latest

I usually have no problem to understand any movies, but this one confused me like crap, i dont know if i was too tired the day i watched it but what i understood is that joon-ha went to war and became blind and than came back ,got married with some girl and got a boy(the main caracther in the present parts) than (how many years later) meets joo-hee at the restaurant(this is when he says he got married) and after that they split and she gets married with tae-soo, they got a girl(the main caracther in the present parts) than joon-ha died and we learn that in fact he got married AFTER joo-hee did??? and what happened to tae-soo??

it kind of confused me.

Can somebody correct me?

and btw I didnt understand the part when tae-soo in the begening asks joon-ha to write some letters for him.. in the first scene he has only the middle of the head shaved, than the second he has the entire head shaved, than the third he has again only the middle.

[–] itsuki77 17 years ago

my take is that, joon ha's intention all along is to make joo hee forget about him and possibly that would make her get married to tae soo. Its the ultimate sacrifice on joon ha's part so that his best bro and the girl he loves will be happy. For that to happen, joon ha has to convince joo hee that he has moved on and forgotten about her. So he enlists himself into the army. He tries to conceal his blindness from her and most probably, spreaded some rumor that he has gotten married after he came back from the war.

The truth was that joon ha only got married a few days after joo hee and tae soo's marriage. I guess that even as much as he wanted joo hee to move on, he couldnt bring himself to marry another girl until it was certain that there was no hope left. Of course, joo hee only realised that at the river when she was asked to scatter joon ha's ashes. Hence, her sadness was multiplied. Sigh, how the heart can shatter.

[–] charmec 16 years ago

I don't find the story touching. It seemed that Joon Ha could have married Joo Hee anyway, the obstacles have never been clearly stated in the movie. He knew very well she would always be in love with him, and marrying Tae Soo would not make her happy. Moreover, isn't it pretty cruel to the real wife Joon Ha married in the end that he left instructions for his ashes to be sent to Joo Hee instead to her(assuming that this wife outlived him)?

[–] blacklola 14 years ago

I was moved and amazed with the story...till the restaurant scene near the end. It really bothered and frustrated me, and I kept thinking: "Why, WHY can't they just be together?". It completely broke the spell of the movie for me. There were no *real* obstacles for them to be together, yet they kept running from each other. Some people actually like this kind of ending, saying "ooh, it's better than the American-happy-end-thingy, it's like real feelings and that kind of stuff". How is THAT better? I'm sorry, but having complicated circumstances that are in the way of the happiness is one thing, but being stupid is another. She was waiting for him, and he lied to make sure she marries the man she didn't love? So that they all may live in misery for the rest of their short lives? Oh yeah, that is SO much better. After the movie the only person I felt sorry for was Tae-Su.
And really, how many times did they have to swap that damned necklace?

P.S. I still liked the movie, but really...ah whatever.

[–] overseer-3 14 years ago

You totally miss the point of the soldier's decision. He had made up his mind long before the restaurant scene to give her up because he knew his friend loved her and would probably try to commit suicide again if the marriage didn't go through. It was arranged from the beginning and you didn't back talk against your parents in those days or there would be severe consequences.

The world was different 40-50 years ago. Men were more CHIVALROUS than they are today. You speak as a selfish man in 2010 -- the soldier gave almost the ultimate sacrifice, not his life, but the love of his life, because he felt he had no right to her. He also didn't want to saddle her with a blind man for a husband. That was chivalrous too.

Do you know the meaning of the word chivalry? look it up. Then you will understand this movie.

The modern couple didn't have to make any sacrifices to be together. There was no war. The parents were not around to intefere. It was easy for them. Not easy for the couple from the 1960's.

[–] blacklola 14 years ago

*The world was different 40-50 years ago. Men were more CHIVALROUS than they are today. You speak as a selfish man in 2010 -- the soldier gave almost the ultimate sacrifice, not his life, but the love of his life, because he felt he had no right to her.*

Saying people 40/50/60 years ago were more kind/chivalrous/well-brought-up is bull****. That what people always think that times were better when they had it better. People didn't change that much, the same flaws - only better masked and tucked further away.

*He also didn't want to saddle her with a blind man for a husband. That was chivalrous too.*

So it was chivalrous to do that to another woman? That poor woman had to take care of her blind husband and a baby. And she probably knew that Jun-ho didn’t love her (not that he hated her, but who knows).

*The modern couple didn't have to make any sacrifices to be together. There was no war. The parents were not around to intefere. It was easy for them. Not easy for the couple from the 1960's.*

Don't say that, there are always sacrifices (as are wars and catastrophes) just not everyone of them gets its own screen time. And as I said, I saw no real obstacles for them to be together after the war.

*You totally miss the point of the soldier's decision. He had made up his mind long before the restaurant scene to give her up because he knew his friend loved her and would probably try to commit suicide again if the marriage didn't go through.*

Okay, did Tae-su needed that kind of sacrifice? Did Ju-hie? And I did not miss the point of his decision. I don't see it as chivalry, but as a decision of an egoistic man, to sacrifice everything for his own sake and principles. But it seems “chivalrous” men fail to ask their loved one's opinion on such matters and have very strange idea of happiness (Ju-hie didn't look happy at all). It’s the same when Tae-su tried to commit suicide. Was that chivalrous? Did that sacrifice make Ju-hie and Jun-ho happy? Nope, it didn't. But it would have been easier for everyone, and I guess that’s the answer to my question: life and people aren't that easy.

[–] overseer-3 14 years ago

No it's not "bull". How old are you, 15, 20? I'm almost a senior citizen and I remember. The world was different then, people were more conservative in their worldviews. In the Asian world there were still arranged marriages.

Stop living in the selfish and stupid and crass pop culture world of today and do some research on the past. Educate yourself.

[–] ankmiike 13 years ago

Have u ever seen a 15 year old and a 60 year old fighting like 5 year olds? LOL

AFC to PUA. That's the dream.

[–] overseer-3 13 years ago

60? I'm not THAT old yet. lol

The truth is the truth. The world WAS different back in the 1960's. Ask people who lived through that era.

[–] ankmiike 10 years ago

Of course, it was different. Everything changes, constantly. It ain't better, or worse. Just different. Human needs and emotions remain the same. Just the way of showing it changes.

Seek to understand, not judge.

[–] vicky_lc2001-1 12 years ago

I agree with a lot on your 1st post. I thought that if these 2 were still willing to overcome the arranged marriage & parent's wrath, every other so-called obstacle seemed pretty flighty to me. 3 things that was apparent to me was when:

1. Ju-hie decided to stop seeing both guys (if she could easily decide to break off with Tae-su, why break it off with Jun-ho?),

2. Tae-su & Jun-hie meeting years later (when were the parents planning on having these 2 married? In their 20s? Are they still broken up? If she's not with Tae-su anymore, then what's the obstacle preventing her from seeing Jun-ho? Tae-su seems well, hasn't suicide yet & I believe he only made such an attempt because of his father's beatings.),

3. Why would Jun-ho make Ju-hie wait for him for so long, only to break up with her by false pretense? (Didn't Ju-hie find his marriage suspicious, didn't she ven suspect that he may have lied after she found out that he was blind & attempting to save her from himself? If he thought burdening a woman with his blindness was too much, why then did he marry another girl? Why burden her? How is that chivalrous?)

PS. But I have to counter your supposition that the past was not different today, nor are other cultures different from your's. 1 thing I know is that my country's values/culture is very different from other countries to an extent. & that the past tends to be more conservative which in some countries like the US, promoted the concept of chivalry/self-sacrifice much more than they do today. You only have to look at literature, films, or study socio-cultural history to see it very blatantly.

Global Warming, it's a personal decision innit? - Nigel Tufnel

[–] AironicTonic 13 years ago

Until the scene at the restaurant, like blackola, I thought the film was worthy of being a favourite. It had gotten a little overly melodramatic with Joon-ha going to war and risking his life in order to bring back the locket, but I was fine with all of that as long as the movie rewarded the viewers'/characters' suffering by ending satisfyingly. Instead, it ended in a needlessly unhappy manner with regards to the REAL story, and then ending for real in a contrived manner: the children of the two JUST HAPPENING to meet and do what their parents wanted.

It wasn't a bad film; it living up to its obvious full title ('The Classic Love Triangle'). But the two marrying other people - even after that suicide charge for the locket - made no sense and seemed to only occur just to avoid happiness. It wasn't rewarding at all to see their children end up together when the love triangle drama involving them had no depth/development whatsoever.

[–] overseer-3 13 years ago

The modern day couple didn't end up together to "do what their parents wanted". They had no idea that if they both had children whether they would meet or not! The young couple were already attracted to one another from the beginning, checking each other out surreptitiously. It's not shown, but at some point the young man must have discovered letters from his own father and figured out that he loved this girl's mother. Then he began to be drawn to her but didn't declare his love openly for quite some time. Who knows if he would have done so at all if the girl hadn't discovered by chance about his leaving the umbrella behind at the shop so he could run out to meet her in the rain and shelter her with his coat.

[–] asjchy1 11 years ago

No newly blind person would want the girl he loves to be with a physically challenged or differently able person. Its so simple to understand. Had he not been blind, he would have got married. And in the first half they could hv never been together because her father was a congressman and he belonged to a very poor family. You need to analyze the details to understand the complexity. The movie had multiple layers. To get each one is difficult. Have watched it 10 times I guess. So that problem of not understanding a part isnt there anymore. Love this film.

[–] devon1009 15 years ago

Tae-soo later dies. I'm not sure how, but the main present girl talks about how her father died when she was young and her mother went abroad when she went to college.

and the reason why tae-soo only has a part of his head shaved in the beginning was because he let his hair grow out too long without a cut, so as a punishment he had to have the middle section of the hair shaved off for a short period of time because it make him look rather odd. and then later on he would get his whole head shaved. It was used in the movie to show that time was passing instead of needing "4 weeks later" every time they jumped a little ahead.

[–] blacklola 13 years ago

I'm not 15 either. Anyways I thought there was no point in continuing discussion at that time, considering it started to take offensive tone. I happen to like a lot of things in this "stupid and crass" pop culture, and I know things were different back then. In 20 years I might be the one yelling at some "selfish" youngster and remembering good ol' times of my youth and glory and giving out advices about his/her education level. Who knows, right...right?

What I still want to say though concerning the movie and why the restaurant scene was a big turn off for me, was that at that the time, nothing stood in the couple's way. They were both adults living their lives. Obviously Ju-Hie's family didn't press the matter of marriage to Tae-Su or anyone else. They could get married, but they didn't. Jun-Ho's double-standard chivalry made it worse D:

[–] overseer-3 13 years ago

He wanted to spare her from caring for a blind man. He did it out of selfLESS love for her. Maybe that's the real difference between young and older: maturity of perspective.

[–] blacklola 13 years ago

Lol, I suppose will just have to agree to disagree on this one:D Because from where I stand he was selfish to himself and dishonest to both women. It's more like he wanted to spare himself from having to be a burden for the woman he loved, yet he married and had a child with the woman he did not love. Was that not selfish?

[–] overseer-3 13 years ago

No, he probably cared for her, in his own way even loved her. There are many different kinds of love. Perhaps she was a nurse who helped him recover in the hospital and she had medical training to help take care of him. It's not stated but it could have been something like that.

[–] samsblood 13 years ago

I just watched the movie like an hour ago. My, it brought back memories. I'm far from a senior citizen, but I grew up partly in S. Korea and I'm old enough to remember the culture back then, and I absolutely agree with much of what you're saying, Overseer. The country's changed so much so fast, just a generation ago it was like a whole different place. When I was about nine or so, one of my older brothers dared to find a girlfriend of his own without permission. When our father found out (through one of the girl's letters, not unlike in the movie), man, I thought the world was coming to an end. Granted, the movie exaggerates some things, but it's really not that far off.

[–] overseer-3 13 years ago

Thanks for the confirmation. :)

[–] fluffset 7 years ago

This is what I understand!

Joonha know that his background is no match with Jihae's background (sort of caste different), and he knows that Taesoo love Jihae too and will commit suicide for her (he did that!). So, in order to keep everything in order, he sacrifice his love. Jihae will not have any problem with his family, Taesoo will not commit suicide again (what a coward move). I think, he still want Jihae after that train scene. But, because he got blind, he give up because he dont want to become a burden to Jihae's life. At least, their children can continue their love for them. Many people said that Jihae got the big impact, her heart break a lot and everything, its not true I guess, both lover, have the same amount of heartbreak. Shattered.

THRILLER IS MY FOOD!