Red, Blue, and Green

The social circumstances the married South Korean women in their thirties faced in 1990 was very tumultuous due to gender inequality. Despite the fact that they were the first female generation to go to school and learn about the democracy and equality, the gender equality existed merely as a theory (Lee 143). Lee points out that because the Korean mothers taught their daughters to live differently from themselves while teaching their sons to live like their fathers, the married women encountered enormous conflict between the real and the ideal (Lee 143). In My Sassy Girl, on the contrary, I felt that the film depicts an equal gender relationship through the color motif of blue, red, and green.

I noticed that colors play a very important role in the film in terms of the gender role. There are five instances in the film when phrases appear on screen. First, the title of the film is introduced in the beginning both in blue and red. Second, the text “First Half” appears in blue. Third, “The Second Half” appears in red. Finally, “The Over time” appears in green.

The Girl in My Sassy Girl is introduced as a figure who is very masculine and very outspoken about her likes and dislikes. For instance, when she sees a guy throwing a cigarette butt on the street, she goes up to him and tells him to pick it up. Furthermore, she confronts the men at the restaurant who seem to be in an inappropriate relationship with underage students and tells them what they are doing is shameful. Thus, even though red is usually associated with women, she embodies the color blue as well due to her masculine side.

On the other hand, Gyeon-Woo is presented as a character who seems to be radically different from the Girl. He is very sentimental and leads a very quiet life. In fact, unlike the girl, he is initially introduced as a figure who is neither sportive nor following his dream. Therefore, he represents blue, because of his sex, and red, because of his personality.

However, I think the film blurs the gender line. For instance, Gyeon-Woo goes on a blind date and meets a girl who he later finds out to be a guy. Moreover, Gyeon-woo’s parents raise him as a girl until the age of seven, forcing him to go to women’s bathhouse. In fact, the division of genders is removed most evidently when Gyeon-Woo and the Girl become similar, wearing green clothes. The Girl wears a green shirt and Gyeon-Woo a green sweater when she goes on a date with Cha Seok Won. Furthermore, nearing the end, Gyeon-Woo develops his masculine side by becoming a scriptwriter and a better sports player and the Girl her feminine side by revealing her pain of losing her lover in the past.