Rules of Dating (Korean연애의 목적; lit. “The Purpose of Love”) is a 2005 South Korean film starring Park Hae-il and Kang Hye-jung, and is the directorial debut of filmmaker Han Jae-rim.[1][2][3][4]

Rules of Dating
Theatrical poster
Korean name
Hangul
연애의 목적
Hanja
Revised RomanizationYeonaeui Mokjeok
McCune–ReischauerYŏnaeŭi Mokchŏk
Directed byHan Jae-rim
Written byGo Yoon-hee
Produced byCha Seung-jae
Im Choong-ryul
Yoon Sang-oh
StarringPark Hae-il
Kang Hye-jung
Lee Dae-yeon
Greena Park
Seo Yeong-hwa
CinematographyPark Yong-su
Edited byPark Gok-ji
Jeong Jin-hee
Music byLee Byung-woo
Distributed byCJ Entertainment
Release date
  • June 10, 2005 (2005-06-10)
Running time
121 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$11 million

Plot edit

Lee Yu-rim,a high school English teacher, is interested in dating Choi Hong, a student teacher, even though she is one year older than Yu-rim. Choi is cynical and always plays hard-to-get when Yurim shows interest in her because she has a boyfriend. While going out for drinks one night, Yu-rim suddenly tells Hong that he wants to have sex with her. Hong is hardly impressed. Although the sexual advances are pretty one sided from Yurim to Hong, both Yu-rim and Hong begin to be unsure of what each other wants and what they want themselves, as Hong's boyfriend is disinterested in her .Choi is later revealed to have some kind of trauma from being framed as a stalker by her former lover who was a married person, which led to her being fired from her previous school and rejecting any kind of love and seek stability over love.Based on common ground that was formed through their encounters ever since they first met, they begin to understand each other, however,because of bad rumors spreading on the school website about the traumatizing event which was framed as a promiscuity issue on Hong's part, Hong sues Yu-rim to save her image as well as confessing all of Yurim's inappropriate behavior and Yu-rim is fired from his job for inappropriate sexual behavior in the work place with Hong.The film ends with Hong and Yurim reuniting as a couple, as Hong thanks Yurim for ending her insomnia due to her traumatic event.

Awards and nominations edit

2005 Busan Film Critics Awards[5]

  • Best Film – Rules of Dating
  • Best Leading Actress – Kang Hye-jung
  • Best Screenplay – Go Yoon-hee
  • Best New Director – Han Jae-rim

2005 Blue Dragon Film Awards[6]

2005 Korean Film Awards

  • Nomination – Best Film – Rules of Dating
  • Nomination – Best Leading Actor – Park Hae-il
  • Nomination – Best Leading Actress – Kang Hye-jung
  • Nomination – Best Screenplay – Go Yoon-hee and Han Jae-rim
  • Nomination – Best Music – Lee Byung-woo
  • Nomination – Best New Director – Han Jae-rim

2006 Baeksang Arts Awards

  • Best Screenplay – Go Yoon-hee
  • Nomination – Best Leading Actor – Park Hae-il
  • Nomination – Best Leading Actress – Kang Hye-jung

2006 Grand Bell Awards[7]

Reception edit

Cho jung bin, writing for the youth magazine Cultura in the year 2023, thought the film did not age well because of how the film deals with the matter of consent, and discusses how the film tells only the men's side of the story, when it clearly depicts sexual harassment and rape by the male protagonist yet minimizes its impact.[8]

References edit

  1. ^ Lee, Min-a (8 June 2005). "Flirting teachers spice their job with romance". Korea Joongang Daily. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  2. ^ Kim, Tae-jong (9 June 2005). "Dating Shows It's the Journey That Matters". The Korea Times via Hancinema. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  3. ^ Kim, Kyu Hyun. "Rules of Dating". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  4. ^ Elley, Derek (28 August 2005). "Review: Rules of Dating". Variety. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  5. ^ "Rules of Dating – Awards". Cinemasie. Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  6. ^ "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance wins Best Picture Award". KBS Global. 30 November 2005. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  7. ^ D'Sa, Nigel (26 July 2006). "43rd Crowns King and the Clown". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  8. ^ "청년문화비평- 오늘날, 다소 찝찝한 연애의 목적". cultura. 3 January 2023.

External links edit