''Late Blossom'' (; lit. "I Love You") is a 2011 South Korean film written and directed by

Choo Chang-min Choo Chang-min (; born 1966) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. His 2012 period film '' Masquerade'' became one of the top-grossing Korean films of all time. Career Choo Chang-min began his career as an assistant director on suc ...

about the love story of two elderly couples. After opening quietly to little fanfare, the

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *Independent media, media free of influence by government or corporate interests *Indie art, fine arts made by artists independent of commer ...

slowly gained positive word-of-mouth and critical praise, and eventually became a box office success with over 1,645,505 ticket sales, as well as a cultural darling among industry peers. The film is based on the

manhwa Manhwa () is the general Korean term for comics and print cartoons. Outside Korea, the term usually refers to Korean comics. Modern Manhwa has extended its reach to many other countries. These comics have branched outside of Korea by acce ...

''I Love You'' by

Kang Full Kang Do-yeong (; born December 7, 1974), better known as Kang Full or Kang Pool (), is a South Korean webtoon artist and screenwriter. Kang began his career as a cartoonist in 1997, serializing comic reviews in Yeongseo Newspaper, then in 2002, ...

. It was serialized

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on lin ...

in 2007 and later published in three volumes. In 2008, it was turned into a play and drew audiences of more than 120,000 by 2010.

Plot

The movie revolves around four senior citizens living in a hillside village. Kim Man-seok is a cranky milkman with a short fuse and a foul mouth. He wakes the village early each morning with his noisy, battered motorcycle. He meets Song Ee-peun, who scavenges for scrap paper while roaming around the town at daybreak. As they meet again and again, they slowly develop feelings for each other. Ms. Song parks her handcart at a junkyard and sees Jang Kun-bong, the caretaker of the parking lot next to the scrap yard. One day, Kun-bong wakes up late and forgets to lock his door and asks Ms. Song to fasten it for him. Meanwhile, Jang's

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

-afflicted wife Soon-yi wanders around the town, ending up on the back of Man-seok's motorbike.

Cast

Lee Soon-jae Lee Soon-jae (; born November 16, 1934) is a South Korean actor. He has had a prolific career on the small and big screen spanning over six decades, and was given a second-class Eungwan Order of Cultural Merit for his work as an actor. Lee made ...

- Kim Man-seok *Yoon So-jung - Song Ee-peun *

Song Jae-ho Song Jae-ho (born Song Jae-eon; 10 March 1937 – 7 November 2020) was a South Korean actor. Career He made his acting debut in 1959, and became best known for his work in 1970s and 1980s South Korean cinema, notably '' Yeong-ja's Heydays'' (1 ...

- Jang Kun-bong *

Kim Soo-mi Kim Soo-mi (; born Kim Young-ok (); October 24, 1949 – October 25, 2024) was a South Korean actress who had a prolific career in film and television. Career She debuted in a talent contest in 1970, then shot to fame in ''Country Diaries''. ...

- Jo Soon-yi *

Shin Soo-yeon Shin Soo-yeon (; born 29 November 2004) is a South Korean actress and model. She is known for her roles in dramas such as ''Hi Bye, Mama! ''Hi Bye, Mama!'' () is a 2020 Korean drama, South Korean television series starring Kim Tae-hee, Lee Ky ...

- Hwang Min-ji *

Oh Dal-su Oh Dal-su (; born 15 June 1968) is a South Korean character actor who has appeared on television, film, and stage. His acting career spans over 35 years. Oh is best known for his supporting roles in director Park Chan-wook's films, having appear ...

- Dal-su *

Song Ji-hyo Cheon Soo-yeon (; born Cheon Seong-im, August 15, 1981), better known by the stage name Song Ji-hyo (), is a South Korean actress and model. Song is one of the regular cast members of the South Korean variety show '' Running Man'' since 2010, w ...

- Kim Yeon-ah *

Kim Hyung-jun Kim Hyung-jun (; born August 3, 1987)"Kim Hyung Jun's Official ...

- Jung Min-chae *Lee Sang-hoon - Duk-bae *

Lee Moon-sik Lee Moon-sik (born November 13, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Lee Moon-sik debuted in Jang Jin films of the late 1990s after an illustrious career in Daehak-ro (considered the " Korean Broadway"), where he learned great comic timing, ad-lib ...

- Scratch *

Gil Hae-yeon Gil Hae-yeon (; born April 11, 1964) is a South Korean actress. She is best known to North American audiences for her performance in the film '' In Her Place'', for which she garnered a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actres ...

- Kun-bong's daughter-in-law 1 *

Jo Jae-yoon Jo Jae-yoon (; born October 29, 1974) is a South Korean actor. He made his acting debut in 2003 and has since starred as a supporting actor in numerous films and television series, including '' The Man from Nowhere'' (2010), ''The Chaser'' (20 ...

- Kun-bong's brother-in-law *Kwon Bum-taek - Man-seok's wife's doctor *Lee Chae-eun - young Ee-peun *Kang Hyun-joong - young Sang-tae * Lee Jun-hyeok - photographer *

Ra Mi-ran Ra Mi-ran (; born March 6, 1975) is a South Korean actress and television personality. She is best known for her roles in the television series ''Reply 1988'' (2015–2016), '' Avengers Social Club'' (2017), and '' The Good Bad Mother'' (2023) ...

- nurse *

Lee Bong-ryun Lee Bong-ryun (; born February 7, 1981), birth name Lee Jeong-eun, is a South Korean actress. She has appeared in supporting roles in various films and television dramas, and worked as a stage and musical actress. Early life Lee Bong-ryun was ...

as Dong Office employee *

Jeon Bae-soo Jeon Bae-soo (; born June 2, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his supporting roles in various TV series and films. His better known works are: 2016 TV series ''The K2'', 2019 romantic comedy '' When the Camellia Blooms'', 2020 his ...

- public officer of small neighborhood office *Lee Moon-su - Duk-bae's father *

Kim Hyang-gi Kim Hyang-gi (; born August 9, 2000) is a South Korean actress. She debuted as a child actress and was best known for her role in the television series '' The Queen's Classroom'' (2013), as well as the films '' Along with the Gods: The Two Wor ...

- street light kid

Box office

Initially difficult to finance due to

ageism Ageism, also called agism in American English, is a type of discrimination based on one's age, generally used to refer to age-based discrimination against Old age, elderly people. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe this ...

, the film was shot with a (US$900,000) budget, and then marketed with another (a small amount compared to most Korean mainstream films). The sleeper hit eventually recouped four times its cost in just a few weeks, attracting 1,645,505 admissions and grossing more than domestically.

Spin-off

A same-titled 16-episode television series

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

starring

Kim Hyung-jun Kim Hyung-jun (; born August 3, 1987)"Kim Hyung Jun's Official ...

aired on

SBS Plus SBS Plus is a 24-hour drama and entertainment television channel in South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders No ...

from April to June 2012. Of the movie cast members, only

reprised his role.

Awards

*2011

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 popula ...

: Best Supporting Actress -

*2011 China

Golden Rooster The Golden Rooster Awards () are film awards given in mainland China. The awards were originally given annually, beginning in 1981. The name of the award came from the Rooster (zodiac), year of the Rooster in 1981. Award recipients receive a sta ...

and Hundred Flowers Film Festival: Best Actor, International Film category -

References

External links

* * * * {{Choo Chang-min 2011 films 2011 romantic drama films South Korean romantic drama films Films about suicide Films shot in Incheon Films based on manhwa Films based on works by Kang Full Films directed by Choo Chang-min Next Entertainment World films 2010s Korean-language films Live-action films based on comics 2010s South Korean films