Directed by: Ko Bong-soo (고봉수)
Starring: Lee Ho-jeong (이호정), Shin Min-jae (신민재), Gang Ha-ram (강하람), Kim Choong-gil (김충길), Baek Seung-hwan (백승환), Park Won-jin (박원진), Jo Jun-hui (조준희)
The Film: ‘Hello Dayoung’ is yet another highly entertaining and unique ensemble film from director Ko Bong-soo and his amazing crew, and proves beyond all doubt to be one of Korea’s most talented and interesting up and coming filmmakers.
When I saw Hello Dayoung on the schedule for this years Jeonju International Film Festival, it quickly became one of the most anticipated movies for me during the week based on how much I absolutely loved director Ko Bong-soo’s previous film, Loser’s Adventure, which premiered at last year’s festival. Based on the few screenshots from the press kit, all I knew about Hello Dayoung going in was that it looked to feature a similar cast as the director’s previous films and that it was going to be in black and white. After finally getting to see the film, not only did Hello Dayoung surprise me beyond all expectations, but it firmly settled director Ko Bong-soo and his team of talented actors at the top of my favorite new Korean filmmakers list.
For Hello Dayoung, writer/director Ko Bong-soo reassembles his core group of actors along with some new faces to fill out the various roles. According to the director, each one of his collaborative actors will have their chance to play the leading role in one of his films, with Hello Dayoung being actor Shin Min-jae’s turn to shine, who was one of the standout supporting cast members from Loser’s Adventure. Loser’s Adventure featured Kim Choong-gil as the lead, who is one of the supporting characters this time around along with another familiar face in Baek Seung-hwan. It is very cool and energizing to see a crew that collaborates so well together through various film projects.
Hello Dayoung opens with delivery driver Min-jae (Shin Min-jae) whisking around narrow streets on his scooter unable to locate addresses for his packages. Min-jae’s favorite delivery spot is a small office where Dayoung (Lee Ho-jeong) works, who he has developed a crush on. Too shy to speak to her, and keeping within the ethical guidelines of his job, he keeps his motorcycle helmet visor down when delivering. But Min-jae does however get a chance to show his affection for her by giving Dayoung a tangerine each time he drops off a package at the office. This brightens her otherwise miserable work environment where she is treated poorly by her coworkers. One day, Min-jae lands a job inside the office and is able to work near Dayoung every day.
Set largely in an office space representative of a typical small office work environment, there is a clear hierarchy established among the initial six workers in the office with everyone handing off their work to a subordinate. Being the office newbie, Dayoung is given a massive load of the office’s busy-work to do while her seniors lean back in their chairs and go home early. To make matters worse, the four men (Kim Choong-gil, Baek Seung-hwan, Park Won-jin, Jo Jun-hui) in the office bend over backwards to please and impress the young office beauty (Gang Ha-ram) who sits in the cubicle opposite Dayoung, and who also just happens to be the CEO’s daughter. Hello Dayoung bases a lot of its humor off the commonly shared and privately complained about hardships of office life in Korea, making the film very easy to relate to and somewhat of a cathartic treat to laugh at.
What came as the big surprise of Hello Dayoung was its style. Yes it is in black and white, as were many films at this year’s festival, many of whose creators attributed the stylistic choice to budget concerns. However, Hello Dayoung was not one such example of this as it had a broader vision in mind. With the film opening to a classical circus march score and employing a slightly reduced frame rate, one will immediately recognize a comedic style in the vein of a silent film era Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton at work. This is not merely an opening gag however, as the entire 62 minute run time of Hello Dayoung plays out in this silent film style.
With some of the biggest praise of the director’s previous two films having been for the darkly comedic and dialogue heavy script-writing, Hello Dayoung being written without a single line of dialogue might come as a shock to some (it definitely did for me as this was one of the elements I was anticipating most from the film). There aren’t even any intertitles to express plot points or character thoughts. Often very slapstick, everything is expressed through body language and other sight gags. The physical performances, using largely exaggerated eye movements and facial expressions are absolutely brilliant. And the over the top eccentricities of the office staff are very well balanced with Min-jae’s soft sensitivity towards Dayoung as he attempts to alleviate her office misery.
In all practical senses, Hello Dayoung is a modern adaptation of Charley Chaplin’s City Lights (1931), and the brave stylistic choices made to also employ silent film era techniques are clearly not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. But rest be assured, Hello Dayoung is well studied and nails exactly what it sets out to be. The same level of freshness that we saw in director Ko’s previous films also shine through in Hello Dayoung with its carefully scripted and timed to perfection in its comedic pacing. I, for one, absolutely fell in love with Hello Dayoung, and see it as a more than worthy successor of carrying the comedic torch Chaplin ignited so long ago a bit further into the future. 8/10 – thoroughly enjoyable and fresh exercise in comedic style, highly recommended
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