Daddy Long-legs
Encyclopedia
Daddy-Long-Legs is a 2005 South Korea
n romance film. It features a cameo by Hyun Bin
. It was one of four Korean movies screened at the 2006 International Fajr Film Festival in Iran
. The story is loosely inspired by the novel Daddy-Long-Legs
by Jean Webster
.
After completing her studies and initially struggling for work, Young-mi eventually obtains her dream job as a program writer in a nationally-syndicated radio station. On top of this, it has been arranged for her to stay rent-free in a nice house that the owner vacated due to health reasons. Young-mi believes that her good fortune is the work of her “Daddy-Long-Legs”.
One day, Young-mi receives an email from the owner of the house. The email was date-stamped to arrive at the house's computer on that specific day, though it was written and sent a year earlier.
The email details a love story written by the unseen owner of the house. The writer confesses that she has secretly been in love with a guy since her school days. In order to be near him, she worked hard to obtain a place in the same course at the institution he was studying in. Although she didn't have the courage to introduce herself, she was happy to see him every day. The writer explains that when he got a job at a radio station, she followed him there. But then she was diagnosed with a terminal disease which would cause her to lose her memory and then die. The writer's greatest fear is not of dying, but of losing her memory, which is why she wrote the email to be sent to herself in the future.
Young-mi is deeply touched by the story and decides to air its contents via the national radio program to locate the young man with whom the owner of the house was in love. The story is serialized and dramatized on the air, quickly becoming an audience favorite.
Meanwhile, Young-mi meets Kim Jun Ho (Yeon Jung Hoon), who works as a librarian in the radio station. They spend time together and Young-mi begins to fall in love with him. Young-mi then discovers that Jun Ho is the love interest mentioned in the email. Young-mi decides to end their relationship, guilty with the knowledge that someone somewhere out there has been in love with him for years.
Young-mi also investigates her “Daddy-Long-Legs”, eventually learning that her current job and accommodations were the decisions of the radio station's director. She confronts him, but it turns out that the director was only acting on behalf of his younger brother, who chose to provide Young-mi with her school fees and asked that she be given her current job and his house to live in. It turns out the director's brother is Jun Ho, who is also the writer of the email. Jun Ho had switched genders when writing the email, and lost all of his earlier memories of Young-mi when they were students together and he loved her from afar; when they met in the radio station's library, it was the first time for both.
Young-mi is devastated by this news. She reconnects with Jun Ho and they spend as much time together before his illness relapses and he dies.
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n romance film. It features a cameo by Hyun Bin
Hyun Bin
Hyun Bin is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his lead roles in the dramas My Name is Kim Sam Soon in 2005, and Secret Garden in 2010.-Career:...
. It was one of four Korean movies screened at the 2006 International Fajr Film Festival in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. The story is loosely inspired by the novel Daddy-Long-Legs
Daddy-Long-Legs (novel)
Daddy Long-Legs is a 1912 epistolary novel by the American writer Jean Webster. It follows the protagonist, a young girl named Jerusha "Judy" Abbott, through her college years. She writes the letters to her benefactor, a rich man whom she has never seen....
by Jean Webster
Jean Webster
Jean Webster was an American writer and author of many books including Daddy-Long-Legs and Dear Enemy...
.
Plot
Young-mi (Ha Ji Won), is a young woman who has lost her parents and struggling to fend for herself. She receives the assistance of a stranger who pays her university fees and sends her gifts. She affectionately nicknames her benefactor “Daddy-Long-Legs”.After completing her studies and initially struggling for work, Young-mi eventually obtains her dream job as a program writer in a nationally-syndicated radio station. On top of this, it has been arranged for her to stay rent-free in a nice house that the owner vacated due to health reasons. Young-mi believes that her good fortune is the work of her “Daddy-Long-Legs”.
One day, Young-mi receives an email from the owner of the house. The email was date-stamped to arrive at the house's computer on that specific day, though it was written and sent a year earlier.
The email details a love story written by the unseen owner of the house. The writer confesses that she has secretly been in love with a guy since her school days. In order to be near him, she worked hard to obtain a place in the same course at the institution he was studying in. Although she didn't have the courage to introduce herself, she was happy to see him every day. The writer explains that when he got a job at a radio station, she followed him there. But then she was diagnosed with a terminal disease which would cause her to lose her memory and then die. The writer's greatest fear is not of dying, but of losing her memory, which is why she wrote the email to be sent to herself in the future.
Young-mi is deeply touched by the story and decides to air its contents via the national radio program to locate the young man with whom the owner of the house was in love. The story is serialized and dramatized on the air, quickly becoming an audience favorite.
Meanwhile, Young-mi meets Kim Jun Ho (Yeon Jung Hoon), who works as a librarian in the radio station. They spend time together and Young-mi begins to fall in love with him. Young-mi then discovers that Jun Ho is the love interest mentioned in the email. Young-mi decides to end their relationship, guilty with the knowledge that someone somewhere out there has been in love with him for years.
Young-mi also investigates her “Daddy-Long-Legs”, eventually learning that her current job and accommodations were the decisions of the radio station's director. She confronts him, but it turns out that the director was only acting on behalf of his younger brother, who chose to provide Young-mi with her school fees and asked that she be given her current job and his house to live in. It turns out the director's brother is Jun Ho, who is also the writer of the email. Jun Ho had switched genders when writing the email, and lost all of his earlier memories of Young-mi when they were students together and he loved her from afar; when they met in the radio station's library, it was the first time for both.
Young-mi is devastated by this news. She reconnects with Jun Ho and they spend as much time together before his illness relapses and he dies.
Cast
- Yun Jung HoonYun Jung HoonYun Jung Hoon is a Korean actor, best known for his role in East of Eden and Vampire Prosecutor . He is married to fellow actor Han Ga In.-Television series:* Vampire Prosecutor *Jejoongwon...
as Kim Joon-ho - Ha Ji Won as Cha Young-mi
- Park Eun HyePark Eun-hyePark Eun-hye is a South Korean actress. She starred in the famous drama, Dae Jang Geum in 2003, as Jang-Geum's best friend, Lee Yeon-seng.In Dae Jang Geum, Park's character eventually wins the favor of the king and becomes pregnant with his child...
as girl in flashbacks - Hyun BinHyun BinHyun Bin is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his lead roles in the dramas My Name is Kim Sam Soon in 2005, and Secret Garden in 2010.-Career:...
as guy in flashbacks - Shin-ee as Kang Jong Jong / Jjong
See also
Other versions of the Jean Webster novel:- Daddy-Long-Legs (1919 film)Daddy-Long-Legs (1919 film)Daddy-Long-Legs is a 1919 silent comedy-drama film directed by Marshall Neilan, and based on Jean Webster's novel of the same name. The film stars Mary Pickford.-Plot:A police officer finds a baby in a trash can, and Mrs...
with Mary PickfordMary PickfordMary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences... - Daddy Long Legs (1931 film)Daddy Long Legs (1931 film)Daddy Long Legs is a film about an orphan who is taken under the wing of a wealthy benefactor. The original story, written in 1912 by Jean Webster, took in the social aspects of the wealthy compared with the upbringing optained in an orphanage...
with Janet GaynorJanet GaynorJanet Gaynor was an American actress and painter.One of the most popular actresses of the silent film era, in 1928 Gaynor became the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in three films: Seventh Heaven , Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans and Street Angel... - Curly Top (film), 1935 film with Shirley TempleShirley TempleShirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
based on the novel - Daddy Long Legs (1938 film)Daddy Long Legs (1938 film)Daddy Long Legs or Vadertje Langbeen is a 1938 Dutch romantic comedy film directed by Frederic Zelnik, based on Jean Webster's novel of the same name - one of several adaptations of that book .-Cast:...
Dutch film - Daddy Long Legs (1955 film) with Leslie CaronLeslie CaronLeslie Claire Margaret Caron is a French film actress and dancer, who appeared in 45 films between 1951 and 2003. In 2006, her performance in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit won her an Emmy for guest actress in a drama series...
- My Daddy Long LegsMy Daddy Long Legsis a 1990 Japanese anime television series based on the novel Daddy-Long-Legs written by Jean Webster. The show was part of the container World Masterpiece Theater produced by Nippon Animation studios and was awarded the Excellent Movie Award for Television by the Japanese Agency of Cultural...
(1990) Japanese animeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
TV series