''200 Pounds Beauty'' (; "Beauty is painful") is a 2006 South Korean

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film written and directed by Kim Yong-hwa. It is based on the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

by Yumiko Suzuki about an overweight ghost singer who undergoes intensive plastic surgery to become a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

sensation Sensation (psychology) refers to the processing of the senses by the sensory system. Sensation or sensations may also refer to: In arts and entertainment In literature * Sensation (fiction), a fiction writing mode * Sensation novel, a Briti ...

. The film was a critical and commercial success. It was the third best-selling domestic film of 2006 with 6,619,498 admissions nationwide, grossing . ''200 Pounds Beauty'' also received several awards and nominations, including Best Actress for

Kim Ah-joong Kim Ah-joong (born October 16, 1982) is a South Korean actress, model and singer. She is best known for playing the main character in the romantic comedy '' 200 Pounds Beauty''. Education Kim graduated from Korea University with a master's degr ...

at the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

Grand Bell Awards The Grand Bell Awards (), also known as the Daejong Film Awards, is an awards ceremony presented annually by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea for excellence in film in South Korea. The Grand Bell Awards retains prestige as the oldest co ...

Plot

Hanna Kang is an overweight

phone sex Phone sex is a conversation between two or more people by means of the telephone which is sexually explicit and is intended to provoke sexual arousal in one or more participants. All parties participate voluntarily; it is typically accompanied ...

part-timer and a ghost singer for Ammy, a famous pop singer who actually

lip sync Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...

s her songs instead of singing live. Hanna has a crush on Sang-jun, a director whose arrogant father owns the record company Ammy is signed to. One day, Hanna receives an outfit from Sang-jun with a note to wear it to his birthday party. However, it actually came from Ammy, who wears the same outfit just to humiliate Hanna. While crying in the restroom, Hanna overhears Sang-jun telling Ammy that even though they are just using Hanna for her voice, they must be kind to her so she will not abandon them. Heartbroken, Hanna attempts suicide but is interrupted by a phone call from one of her phone sex regulars, a top plastic surgeon, and persuades him to perform extensive plastic surgery on her. After a year of seclusion while recovering from the surgery and weight loss, Hanna is so incredibly beautiful and slender that even her best friend Jung-min cannot recognize her at first. With Jung-min's help, Hanna creates a new identity for herself as a Korean-American from California named Jenny. After re-auditioning to be Ammy's secret vocalist, she earns her own recording contract instead. Meanwhile, Ammy fears her own secret in being unable to sing will be exposed if the release of her second album is delayed. She desperately tries to find Hanna by spending time with Hanna's father who is in hospital due to

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...

, but Sang-jun orders her to give up her search, threatening to terminate her contract if she does not stop. After many encounters with Jenny, they both realize that Jenny is actually Hanna. Jenny's debut single " Maria" becomes a hit and at the release party, Ammy brings Hanna's father in an attempt to blow her cover. Desperate to keep her true identity a secret, Hanna ignores her father, infuriating Jung-min with her indifference. After the party, Sang-jun tells Hanna he knows her true identity. He cannot forgive her for lying to him but says he will conduct her concert scheduled the next day. Hanna confesses her love for him and reveals she got plastic surgery in order to make him love her back. After realizing how worthless she was to him even as Jenny, Hanna tearfully refuses to have anything to do with him. Before the concert, Ammy threatens to reveal Hanna's deception unless Sang-jun cancels the concert. Though his father agrees, Sang-jun stands up to them and refuses, and encourages a distraught Hanna to do this concert, not for her fans or the record company but for herself. Before performing, Hanna apologizes to Jung-min for her earlier behavior. She coldly rejects her apology, rebuking Hanna for the way she treated her own father. At the concert, Hanna tearfully confesses to the large crowd her story of being a ghost singer to an ungrateful Ammy while she was overweight, going into a year of seclusion to heal from the changes from the surgery and abandoning everything that is dear to her, including her best friend and father, for her career. Sang-jun plays a tape of the old, obese Hanna, singing. Hanna remarks that the person on the video is the real her. The crowd are moved by her sincere confession and praise her for showing her true identity. Hanna reconciles with her father and Jung-min. She drops the stage-name Jenny and re-releases a CD with her own name, Hanna, and becomes a highly successful music artist. Sang-jun realizes the very thing about her that had always drawn him to her was Hanna's innocence, and continues to promote her in hopes of pursuing a relationship with her. During the post-credits, Jung-min also asks to get extensive plastic surgery from the surgeon.

Cast

as Kang Han-na / Jenny * Joo Jin-mo as Han Sang-jun *

Sung Dong-il Sung Dong-il (born April 27, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Sung made his acting debut in theater in 1987, then was recruited at the 1991 SBS open talent auditions. He rose to fame as the comic, Jeolla dialect-speaking character "Red Socks" in ...

as Record company executive *

Kim Hyun-sook Kim Hyun-sook (born October 16, 1978) is a South Korean actress and comedian. She is best known for playing the title character in ''Ugly Miss Young-ae'', a long-running sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational com ...

as Park Jung-min *

Im Hyun-sik Im Hyun-sik (born December 31, 1945) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading role in the family drama ''Three Families Under One Roof'' (1986-1993), and supporting roles in the period epics '' Hur Jun'' (1999) and ''Dae Jang G ...

as Han-na's father *

Lee Han-wi Lee Han-wi (born June 17, 1961) is a South Korean actor. Since his acting debut in 1983, Lee has become a prolific supporting actor A supporting actor is an actor who performs a role in a play or film below that of the leading actor(s), and ...

as Plastic surgeon Lee Kong-hak * Ji Seo-yun as Ammy *Park No-shik 박노식 as Jenny's fan *

Lee Beom-soo Lee Beom-soo (born January 3, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He is well known for his role in ''Singles'', ''Giant'', '' On Air'', ''Surgeon Bong Dal-hee, ''as well as in'' History of a Salaryman.'' Lee enrolled in the Department of Theater at ...

as Taxi driver ( cameo) *

Kim Yong-gun Kim Yong-gun (; born May 8, 1946) is a South Korean actor. His sons Ha Jung-woo Kim Sung-hoon (born March 11, 1978), better known as Ha Jung-woo (), is a South Korean actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. One of the highest gr ...

as Record company CEO (cameo) *

Lee Won-jong Lee Won-jong (born January 1, 1966) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Variety shows Theater *''Blind'' (2010) *''The Masked Hut Murder Case'' (2022) - Nobuhiko Awards *2002 SBS Drama Awards: Best Supporting Act ...

as Fortune teller (cameo) * Ryu Seung-soo as Traffic officer (cameo)

Awards and nominations

;2007

Chunsa Film Art Awards The Chunsa Film Art Awards (also known as the Icheon Chunsa Film Festival) have been presented in South Korea since the founding of the prize by the Korea Film Directors' Society in 1990. The awards take their name from the pen name of the early ...

* Best Actress -

* Best Cinematography - Park Hyun-cheol * Best Editing -

Park Gok-ji Park Gok-ji (born 28 February 1965) is a South Korean film editor. She is married to film director Park Heung-sik, with whom she has several children, and she used her influence within the local industry to aid the production of his second film, ...

* Technical Award - Lee Seung-chul (Sound) ;

* Best Actress -

* Best Cinematography - Park Hyun-cheol * Best Music - Lee Jae-hak * Nomination - Best Film * Nomination - Best Director - Kim Yong-hwa * Nomination - Best Editing -

* Nomination - Best Art Direction - Jang Geun-young * Nomination - Best Costume Design - Jo Sang-gyeong * Nomination - Best Visual Effects - Jeong Seong-jin * Nomination - Best Sound - Jeon Sang-jun, Lee Seung-chul ;2007 Korea Movie Star Awards * Best New Actress -

* Best Couple Award -

and Joo Jin-mo * Best Special Appearance -

;

Blue Dragon Film Awards The Blue Dragon Film Awards () is an annual awards ceremony that is presented by '' Sports Chosun'' (a sister brand of the ''Chosun Ilbo'') for excellence in film in South Korea. The Blue Dragon Film Awards considers only blockbusters and popu ...

* Nomination - Best Film * Nomination - Best Director - Kim Yong-hwa * Nomination - Best Actress -

* Nomination - Best Screenplay - Kim Yong-hwa * Nomination - Best Music - Lee Jae-hak ;2007

Korean Film Awards The Korean Film Awards was a South Korean film awards ceremony hosted by the broadcasting network MBC from 2002 to 2010. History Originally named the MBC Film Awards, the ceremony was first established in 2002. It was renamed the Korean Film Aw ...

* Nomination - Best Actress -

* Nomination - Best Supporting Actress -

* Nomination - Best Editing -

* Nomination - Best Music - Lee Jae-hak * Nomination - Best Visual Effects - Jeong Seong-jin

Soundtrack

The

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

album was released by KM Culture and

SBS Contents Hub SBS Contents Hub (former SBSi) is the digital window of SBS Media Group. Its headquarters are located in Seoul, South Korea. SBSi is also affiliated with SIREN Entertainment. The current CEO of SBS Contents Hub is Lee, Nam-Ki. Productions Gam ...

on December 13, 2006. The title track is a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

of the Blondie song " Maria," sung in Korean by the film's star,

. Director Kim Yong-hwa has been friends with

music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the di ...

Lee Jae-hak since their college days. Lee is a member of the

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

band

Loveholic Loveholics (Hangul: 러브홀릭스; previously known as Loveholic (Hangul: 러브홀릭)) was a South Korean modern rock group founded in April 2002 who released their first album in 2003. The band successfully released six albums, including a s ...

, which is also featured in the soundtrack.

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control 2006 films 2000s Korean-language films 2006 romantic comedy films South Korean romantic comedy films Films about music and musicians Films about obesity Live-action films based on manga Showbox films Films directed by Kim Yong-hwa 2000s South Korean films ja:カンナさん大成功です!#映画（韓国版）