‘20th Century Girl’: Han Hyo-joo Filmed the Tear-Jerking Finale Without Watching the Tape
The popular Netflix Korean movie 20th Century Girl has fans in a chokehold with its emotional storyline. A 17-year-old high school teenager is on a mission to discover everything about her best friend’s crush. But along the way, she experiences her first love and future heartbreak. But part of the tearful finale of 20th Century Girl is about an adult Bo-ra, played by Han Hyo-joo, watching her first love’s video to her from 1999. Fans will be surprised to learn how actor Han filmed the scene.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for 20th Century Girl.]
Bo-ra learns the truth about why Woon-ho never wrote back to her
20th Century Girl will tug at the heart as Bo-ra (Kim Yoo-jung) learns everything about Baek Hyun-jin (Park Jung-woo), a classmate her best friend Yeon-du (Roh Yoon-seo) has a crush on. She learns everything from his favorite soda, his interests, and more. She gets closer to his best friend, Poong Woon-ho (Byeon Woo-seok), to get more info. Along the way, she develops feelings for him.
But part of the movie’s tragic twist is when Yeond-du returns and reveals the boy she fell for was Woon-ho. He was wearing Hyun-jin’s jacket when he met her. Because of this, Bo-ra decides to end her blossoming love with Woon-ho for the sake of her friend. In the end, Yeon-du learns the truth and tells her to pursue Woon-ho before he leaves for New Zealand.
Audiences prepare for more heartbreak as Bo-ra goes through college and Woon-ho no longer writes back or returns her calls. Bo-ra goes on with her life, trying to forget him. As an adult, she receives a package at the video store her parents are selling. There is a ticket to an art gallery.
While attending, she learns the exhibit is in honor of Woon-ho, who died in 2001. His brother, Joseph, expresses his gratitude toward her for giving Wonn-ho his happiest memories. At the store, Bo-ra sees the VHS box she once stole for Woon-ho. Inside is a different video by Woon-ho. The video is clips of their time as teens and of Woon-ho in New Zealand promising to meet Bo-ra of the 21st Century. All the while, Bo-ra is sobbing at what could have been.
Actor Han Hyo-joo filmed the finale for ’20th Century Girl’ only based on her emotions
In a Netflix commentary featurette for the movie, the main cast and the director break down what happened behind the camera. While going over the finale, actor Kim explains how Han filmed the scene for 20th Century Girl.
“When she shot that scene, she hadn’t watched the video at all,” explained Kim. “She solely focused on her feelings.” The movie direct Bang Woo-ri added, “I filmed her emotions on the first try.” Actor Kim explains Han’s natural emotional response gave her “chills,” and the cast showed their amazement at their senior’s abilities.
When asked how Bo-ra would respond to watching the video, Kim explains it would have been hard for the character but also a relief. Actor Roh Yoon-seo explains that Bo-ra finally knows why Woon-ho never answered back. Kim says Bo-ra would have moved on.
But the featurette revealed another tidbit about Han and her connection to Kim. The actor explains Han played the adult version of Bo-ra as a favor. “I was grateful. She said she wanted to return the favor for playing her younger self when I was little,” explained Kim.
Han Hyo-joo has made her career on the big and small-screen since 2005
Han Ho-joo made a cameo appearance as an adult Bo-ra in 20th Century Girl, but she is one of Korea’s most formidable actors, having started her career in 2005. She has appeared in movies from Always, Love 911, Beauty Inside, Illang: The Wolf Brigade, and Cold Eyes. For the 2013 movie, she won Best Actress at the 34th Blue Dragon Film Awards.
Regarding the small-screen, Han became well-known for her role in the family drama Heaven & Earth as Suk Ji-soo and Iljimae. In 2016, she starred in one of the romance genre’s most acclaimed series, W. She played the leading role as Oh Yeon-joo, the daughter of a webtoon artist who finds herself learning the made-up world exists in a parallel world.
In 2019, Han would play her first role in an American series as Soyun Park in Treadstone. Shortly after, she gained fame for starring alongside Park Hyung-sik in the zombie K-drama Happiness as Yoon Sae-bom. Han would then have a role in the emotionally driven Netflix K-drama, Moving as Lee Mi-yeon.
20th Century Girl is available on Netflix.
