The movie focused on the team preparation before the Olympic Games. The movie is directed by Lim Soon-rye and starred Moon So-ri, Kim Jung-eun, Uhm Tae-woong, Kim Ji-young and Jo Eun-ji etc.

The movie is also known as “The Best Moment”, “The Happiest Moment of Our Life”, “The Glorious Moment of Our Life” or “Forever the Moment”. I am not sure of official title yet.

The Synopsis

South Korea women handball team was once elite in the sport, but their reputation was fading away and was considered one of the weakest competitors in the Olympics. The Korean public didn’t give their team much attention as well.

The Best Moment

Former national team player Hae-kyung (Kim Jung-eun) returns to Korea to become the coach for the national team, which was made up of mostly young players. Hae-kyung invited some of her former teammates, including Mi-sook (Moon So-ri), to join the team in order to regain their past glory.

Hae-kyung’s old school training didn’t work well with the younger players, and led to physical confrontation which resulted in Hae-kyung being replaced as the national coach by Seung-phil (Uhm Tae-woong). With encouragement from Mi-sook, Hae-kyung swallowed her pride and rejoined the team as a player.

Seung-phil was formally a famous handball player and was coaching in Europe. He implemented a more scientific and European style training program, which in turn led to resistance from the senior players… [Reference]

The story plot is probably easily predictable because it’s based on a real life story. The team would off course work out their indifference in the end and to achieve a proud result.

I am eager to watch the movie when the making was announced in 2006/2007. I watched the real game when it was played in Athens, and it is one of the most memorable games of all sports that I have ever watched. I am not a fan for both the Danish and the South Koreans, but I love underdogs… so it was heartbreaking when the Koreans lost in the end.

When the Korean players were interviewed after winning the silver medal, one of the players was quoted saying “nobody will remember 2nd place”… well, the movie proves her wrong.

It was not a gold medal, but they could really live proud for the rest of their lives for their effort. Most of us won’t even have the chance to participate in Olympic Games… taking part is already something to be proud of.

The 12th edition of the film festival features a total of 275 films from 64 countries, 193 of which are world, international or Asia premieres.

Opening Ceremony – Red Carpet (Part 1)

Celebrity couple director Jang Jun-hwan and actress Moon So-ri hosted the event

Kim Tae-hee (bio) and Lee Kyu-han

Kim Ok-bin and Lee Tae-sung

Park Si-yeon and Joo Jin-mo

Lee So-yeon and Lee Jung-jin

Uhm Jung-hwa and Lee Dong-gun

Daniel Dae Kim and Jang Hyuk

Jung Il-woo and fashion designer Andre Kim

(Image credits as labeled, with reference from K-popped, Shenyue and Popseoul)

The first 3 episodes shared the story of the king when he was young, and featured some young Korean actors. Bae Yong-joon and other main cast (Moon So-ri and Lee Ji-ah etc.) were introduced in the 4th episode, and the ratings soared up to 31.7%.

Actor Bae Yong-joon in The Legend

With the popularity of Bae, the drama is also highly anticipated in Japan. Japanese TV station NHK has announced that the drama will start showing on its channel from December 3.

“Legend of the First King’s Four Gods” (or simply “The Legend”; 태왕사신기) is a Korean TV drama set to premiere on September 10, 2007.

Legend of the First King’s Four Gods

The Legend is a historical fantasy drama based on the epic story of the 19th king of Goguryeo in ancient Korean era. It is actor Bae Yong-joon’s first TV drama since the highly acclaimed series “Winter Sonata” in 2002.

The co-stars of Legend include Moon So-ri, Lee Ji-ah and Choi Min-soo etc.

I don’t really like Winter Sonata, but the melodrama still remains one of the most popular Korean dramas ever… a recent Japanese poll has chosen Bae (nickname Yon-sama by his fans) and his Sonata’s co-star Choi Ji-woo as the most popular Korean artists in Japan.