There isn’t a shortage of South Korean romantic comedies, but once in a while, we end up getting a movie that manages to stay on our minds days after watching it. Lee Gye-byeok’s Sweet And Sour is a great example, that stars Jang Ki-Yong and Chae Soo-bin in the lead roles.
Sweet And Sour revolves around Da-eun and Jang-hyuk, a couple that ends up drifting apart while trying to make long distance relationship work. From overworking and losing interest in each other to falling for co-workers, this 101-minute-long film perfectly captures the effects of work fatigue on romance and partnership.
After nurse Da-eun runs into Lee Jang Hyuk, a patient, both of them fall for each other and start spending more time together. Jang Hyuk soon shifts to another place and the love no longer seems to be powerful enough to hold Da-eun and him together anymore.
Besides Jang Ki Yong as Jang Hyuk and Chae Soo Bin in the role of Da-run, the cast of Sweet And Sour consists of Krystal Jung in the role of Han Bo Yeong, Choi Hwan Yi plays Jo Yeon Hwan, and Park Chul Min plays Jang hyuk’s boss. Guest appearances from Lee Geung Young, Ahn Gil Kang, and Kim Mi Kyung can be spotted throughout the movie.
Sweet And Sour: What Happens In The Film?
Lee Jang Hyuk is in for the best time of his life after ending up at the hospital to treat his jaundice. There he meets Da-eun, a nurse who’s assigned to take care of him. Despite other patients and his parents wanting to stay away from Lee Jang Hyuk, nurse Da-eun does not care about it at all and makes sure that he has everything he needs to recover well.
Da-eun’s caring nature makes Lee Jang Hyuk fall for her, and they start having a fun time together at the hospital. Now all is well, Lee Jang Hyuk has to be sadly discharged. The obsessed Lee Jang Hyuk even visits Da-eun at her house, where they sleep together and enjoy each other’s company.
Later, Da-eun asks Lee Jang Hyuk if he would like to go on a trip with her to Jeju, as one of her friends had two tickets for them. This excites Jang Hyuk, and they start preparing for the trip.
“Jang Hyuk” then loses weight gets a job in Seoul and has to travel long distances to be with Da-eun. Although reluctant to transfer at first, Jang Hyuk makes a new friend named Han Bo Yeong at work and starts hanging out with her while working together.
All the traveling back and forth exhausted Jang Hyuk and Da-eun getting pregnant only made it worse. At a point, Da-eun would try to meet up with Jang Hyuk only for him to spend the whole night at work. Da-eun also asks Jang Hyuk to change the bulbs and throw the garbage out, but he’s so tired that he just ignores her.
Eventually, Da-eun and Jang Hyuk go out together and shop for their upcoming Jeju trip. Jang Hyuk accidentally calls Da-eun “Bo Yeong” (his female employee at work). This leads Da-eun to assume that Jang Hyuk is cheating on her, and she starts to distance herself from him.
Jang Hyuk truly ends up cheating on Da-eun with Bo-Yeong but on his final day at the Seoul office, he realizes that he has true feelings for Da-eun and comes back to the airport to leave for Jeju
Ending Explained
Jang Hyuk hurriedly arrives at the airport just in time but sees that Da-eun is anxiously waiting for someone. In his delusional mind, Jang Hyuk thought it was himself. It’s when he’s knocked down by Lee Jang Hyuk, that Jang Hyuk finds out that she wasn’t going to Jeju with him.
For almost all of Sweet And Sour, we assume Lee Jang Hyuk and Jang Hyuk are the same person since the scene switches between them while both of them are wearing the same shoes. This leads us to believe that Jang Hyuk probably lost some weight for Da-eun and was now all set to start a fun life with her.
The biggest twist in Sweet And Sour comes when we realize that Jang Hyuk and Lee Jang Hyuk are completely different people whom Da-eun was dating at the same time. What happened was, that Da-eun and Jang Hyuk were a couple for a while but ever since he had to leave to work at the big corporate office, their relationship took a turn for the worse.
Da-eun was pregnant and in need of rest and care, which Lee Jang Hyuk offered to her without asking for anything in return. This Jang Hyuk also changed her broken bulbs, threw the garbage out, and did everything that the corporate Jang Hyuk was too tired to do for her.
This leads Da-eun to fall for Lee Jang Hyuk and eventually leave her old boyfriend to be with someone who cares for her. The true loser in Sweet And Sour’s story is Jang Hyuk, who couldn’t maintain a loyal relationship with Da-eun and put work over her even when she was expecting their child.
Sweet And Sour is a funny yet realistic portrayal of what long-distance relationships look like in modern times. Despite some common plot styles, this Lee Gye Byeok film has everything that makes a movie fun and interesting enough to watch over and over again.
