Kwak Jae-young’s “My Sassy Girl,” the 2001 Korean romantic comedy credited as one of the first major international breakthroughs of the Hallyu wave, will reach North American theaters in a new 4K restoration following an acquisition by Film Movement Classics.
The deal was unveiled by Michael Rosenberg, president of Film Movement, and Paul Kim, CEO of Hive Film Works.
The restored print, which Kwak himself oversaw, will have its North American premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival this July. A limited theatrical run will follow, after which the film moves to VOD, digital and streaming platforms, and home entertainment.
Starring Cha Tae-hyun and Jun Ji-hyun, “My Sassy Girl” follows a college student drawn into an increasingly inescapable romance with a headstrong, mercurial young woman he encounters on a subway train. The screenplay was adapted from autobiographical posts that Ho-sik Kim published online about his real-life relationship.
The film was a commercial sensation on its 2001 South Korean release, grossing $26 million locally – at the time placing it among the five highest-grossing films in the country’s history and making it the top-earning Korean comedy of all time. Across East Asia, the total box office surpassed $32 million.
