Please Teach Me English (2003)

When this movie came out, English was the rage since Asians tend to think the English language to be cool. That is probably the reason why there is random Asian words on shirts and other clothing in Korea, some that don't even make sense. This whole movie when it comes to the humor is driven by mistranslation and mispronunciations. So audiences that know how to speak English and understand Korean culture is going to get a bit of a kick out of this movie. My friend who is Korean couldn't stop smirking most of the way through this movie. The plot revolves around slightly odd people coming together in a class to learn English. But mostly has to do with two of the students in that class. One is a dorky and flirtatious guy that tries to pick up girls using English and is played by the actor Jang Hyuk. This is the reason I like Jang Hyuk, he is cool and charming actor and yet he doesn't mind acting like a bit of a dork and doesn't try overly hard to appear cool and gentleman like all the time. Which makes him seem like a comfortable person to be around because of his appearance of being a honest person with himself. He is basically a Korean heartthrob but it's cool he takes on roles like this. The female lead is a dorky and yet cute girl played by the actress Lee Na-Young who is actually but made herself look nerdy as possible for this role. This is a very low budget Korean romantic comedy that is cute and to some degree charming even when it comes the humor that is delightful to watch.7.2/10

When "Please Teach Me English" begins, you KNOW it is NOT a normal film! Its opening credits are adorable...and done using cute Korean animation. The story is about a very, very strange lady who is like a Korean version of Steve Urkel! To say she is nerdy and awkward is definitely an understatement! She is volunteered to take English language classes, as no one in her department knows English and they feel that SOMEONE should--thus Candy is nominated. Once there, she immediately falls for a cute guy named Elvis, but Elvis is only interested in their cute teacher. In addition, Elvis seems like a player--and what would this sort of guy see in socially awkward Candy?! To see what's next, see this film! There is so much to like about this film. It's strange style is exciting to watch. Some may hate this, some might love this. I would compare it to "Scott Pilgrim Versus the World" or "Happiness of the Katakuris"--two very surreal films with strange interludes and stranger style. So, for example, when characters dream--you see it! The film also benefits from some adorable characters who are easy to like and the film has many funny AND romantic moments. My assumption is that the film would work better for younger audiences as well as those who like very unconventional comedy. If you want your film to be normal or conventional, then keep looking! By the way, there are a couple observations about the English teacher. I was startled when her voice when she spoke Korean was clearly NOT hers--as it was much deeper. Also, early in the film, she had an American accent. However, late in the film she clearly sounded like an Australian. I would love to know from where she actually was born and/or raised.

i completely disagree with the posted review i usually give people the benefit of the doubt but this movie is quite funny and i think the usage of different movie mediums (ie animation, documentary)added a very cute yet thoughtful comedic value. It is a romantic comedy and not much should be weighed upon the realism but there are some pleasant real life twists and communicational misunderstandings and misinterpretations that give the movie a nice personal relevance. Also the underlying theme of the importance of people worldwide learning English as a necessity is mind opening.Especially how it is presented. The movie Isn't very serious or artsy which makes the point of people having trouble worldwide with being forced to learn English that much easier to witness for those of us who grew up in a place where English is the native language. I definitely recommend this film for fun and definitely for anyone who has the experience of being forced to learn English.

This movie tries very hard to insert comedic elements at rather awkward moments throughout its duration, and the end result is intermittent success but a general failure.The movie is especially slow in the beginning and attempts to solicit cheap laughs.However, one of the strangest issues here is how Moon-su and Young-ju got together. Maybe it is just me, I personally felt that it looked kind of forced, and that Moon-su was dating Young-ju out of sympathy, since for most of the movie, Young-ju is portrayed very effectively as the an obnoxious and foppish coquette. Considering Moon-su's personality in the film as being generous and sincere, I guess that has to be the only reason why he started to date her.Above all, this movie definitely ranks about down there with films like Crazy First Love.Sung-su Kim should really stay in the serious-movie genre