Directed by: Jeong Yoon-soo (정윤수) Starring: Son Ye-jin (손예진), Kim Joo-hyuk (김주혁), Joo Sang-wook (주상욱) Release Date: October 23rd, 2008
Actress Son Ye-jin (The Classic, 2003; The Negotiation, 2018) is one of South Korea’s most popular actresses. Mostly know for her beauty and pure image, she’s been an established movie and drama star for nearly two decades without having any major scandal to her name. Recently, the mega success of her latest drama Crash Landing On You has both fans and critics giving her body of work a second look. Thus, there’s a sense locally that some of her past “misfires” are even being seen in a new light. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to take a second look at one such case with the film with My Wife Got Married (2008).
A chance encounter on a subway train sends Duk-hoon (Kim Joo-hyuck) head over heels in love with his former crush and coworker Ina (Son Ye-Jin). After a few drinks and bonding over their love for soccer (although rival teams), the two hit it off and become lovers. Their relationship progresses without a hitch until one romantic walk takes an awkward turn after Duk-hoon sweetly whispers “you’re mine” in Ina’s ear. Ina makes it clear that she is not so easily locked down, and that she may have more room in her heart for loving more than just one man.
Shaken, Duk-hoon learns to see past Ina’s unusual outlook on love until he confirms on night that she casually cheated on him. Unable to stand the perceived betrayal, Duk-hoon breaks off the relationship. Being unable to forget her, Duk-hoon becomes convinced that marriage is the only way to get a woman like Ina to be faithful. With some conditions in place, Ina accepts Duk-hoon’s proposal. And although he is willing to look past her indulgences for late night drinking with other men, Ina takes one step too far when she asks Duk-hoon to allow her to marry another man…
This plot summary will most likely sound ludicrous, as it should in theory. Many viewers will be beyond frustrated by Ina’s (Son Ye-Jin) behavior in My Wife Got Married. They will site that a character like Ina deserves zero sympathy or simply just doesn’t exist in the real world. Also, viewers wonder how a sensible and emotional man like Duk-hoon (Kim Joo-hyuck) could put up with her? Well, it may be best to view the film, adapted from the novel by Park Hyun-woo, as more of a thought experiment. The film poses several hypothetical scenarios that question the accepted interpretation of what it means to love someone, as well as human’s capacity to both accept and receive it. So if able to take a big step backwards, one can find a lot to enjoy in My Wife Got Married.
Let’s look at how Ina is portrayed in the film. She’s sweet, intelligent, diligent, and loving to Duk-hoon and his family. She’s playful and has career aspirations that she’s willing to sacrifice. Duk-hoon is more than happy for her to be a housewife but she wants more for herself. She does has her vices, too. Ina loves alcohol and spending late nights out socializing with men and women. Oh, and one more thing. Her view on love is so all-encompassing that she can share her heart with more than one man. She knows her idea of love is hard for others to accept, but her intentions are pure in her mind.
I found this characterization of Ina to be fascinating. We’re left to judge her solely on the basis that she wants two lovers. Is she a despicable person? Perhaps she is judged unfairly for her alternative perspective on how one can fill their life with love?
The couple’s back-and-forth as they argue and compromise about Ina’s desire to maintain two husbands will be either amusing or enraging for viewers. While couples on their periphery fight and divorce over a single incident of emotionless infidelity, Duk-hoon and Ina fight tooth and nail to keep their relationship from falling apart.
During these scenes, I couldn’t help but think how interesting human nature is. The urge to possess what we love seems like a built in feature of human psychology. Hard coded into us. When it comes to loving a life-partner, permitting them to maintain another physically loving relationship is unthinkable for most. And what is Ina’s profession in the film? She’s a computer programmer. So as if she’s working within the operating system of the human heart and mind, she’s rewriting the code for love.
My Wife Got Married playfully toys with these ideas and is less of an appeal for polygamy or a polyamorus lifestyle. Although if you can stick with the film to the end, you may feel otherwise. The introduction of Ina’s second lover Jae-gyeong (Joo Sang-wook) will test the limits of most viewers sense of realism with his all too accommodating mindset.
Set during the 2002 World Cup in Korea, there are a lot of fun soccer analogies in My Wife Got Married and the sport is used as a metaphor for the competing love ideologies presented in the film. Soccer players and the varying dynamics of team formation and positions are discussed at length by the characters. As die-hard fans of rival club teams Real Madrid and Barcelona, Duk-hoon and Ina strategize and analyze their feelings of love as if they were seasoned football managers. So for soccer fans, this dialogue is loads of fun.
Both actors have a lot of charm as well. Son Ye-jin’s (The Classic, 2003) character Ina may come across as the most selfish and unreasonable character ever, but she brings a convincing amount of sweet innocence and idealism to the role which makes it hard not to find her cute and at least somewhat respectable for having such a strong sense of identity. And once you’re over feeling sorry for Kim Joo-hyuk’s (Believer, 2018) character Duk-hoon, you’re never left feeling like he’s a pathetic loser. The optimism and sense of humor the character develops while trying to learn to cope with Ina’s wishes brings a lot of comedy to the film too. Also, I can’t overstate just how much I miss actor Kim Joo-hyuck after watching this film. What a loss for the industry and movie fans in general after his untimely death. RIP.
I consider My Wife Got Married to be an underrated little gem when looking back on it today. It requires some patience and a little forgiveness for its unabashed approach but it is undeniably unique in how it presents the love triangle. The film has a unique energy and sound that it owns. And although more cute and for younger audiences, if you’ve seen the Korean film My Little Bride (2004) which also requires some letting go of reality to enjoy, you’ll know the kind of stepping-back-to-appreciate caution I’m giving My Wife Got Married. Score: 7/10
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