Forever the Moment

Forever the Moment (Korean: 우리 생애 최고의 순간) is a 2008 South Korean drama film. It is a fictionalized account of the South Korean women's handball team which competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics. The Korean title translates as "The Best Moment in Our Lives," and it is believed to be the first film that revolves around the sport of handball.^[2]

Forever the Moment
South Korean theatrical release poster
Korean name
Hangul	우리 생애 최고의 순간
Hanja	우리 生涯 最高의 瞬間
Revised Romanization	Uri saengae choegoui sungan
McCune–Reischauer	Uri saengae ch'oegoŭi sun'gan
Directed by	Yim Soon-rye
Written by	Na Hyun
Produced by	Shim Jae-myung Kim Hyeon-cheol Kim Kyun-hee
Starring	Moon So-ri Kim Jung-eun Uhm Tae-woong
Cinematography	Hwang Ki-seok
Edited by	Moon In-dae
Music by	Yoon Min-hwa
Production companies	Myung Films MK Pictures KD Media Pancinema OCN
Distributed by	Sidus FNH
Release date	January 10, 2008 (2008-01-10)
Running time	124 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Box office	US$27.3 million[1]

Plot

Kim Hye-kyeong is a retired handball player who has been successfully coaching in the Japan Handball League. When the coach of South Korea's women's national team suddenly quits, she is asked to fill in but is faced with an undisciplined squad of players. Hye-kyeong tries to improve the team by recruiting some of her old teammates, including two-time Olympic gold medalist Han Mi-sook. However, Hye-kyeong's aggressiveness causes friction amongst the players, and she is replaced by former men's handball star Ahn Seung-pil, though she decides to stay with the team as a player. Seung-pil introduces modern European training methods which bring him into conflict with the older players, and things get worse when they lose a game against a high school boys' team.

Cast

• Moon So-ri as Han Mi-sook
• Kim Jung-eun as Kim Hye-kyeong
• Uhm Tae-woong as Ahn Seung-pil
• Kim Ji-young as Song Jeong-ran
• Jo Eun-ji as Oh Soo-hee
• Cha Min-ji as Jang Bo-ram
• Namgoong Eun-sook as Jin-joo
• Lee Mi-do as Hyeon-ja
• Jo Yeong-jin as Director Song
• Lee Bong-gyoo as Chairman
• Jeong Seok-yong as Choong-sik, the office chief
• Ha Jung-woo as Blind date man
• Choi Wook as Coach Kang
• Jeong Se-hyeong as Trainer Jeong
• Kim Kang-mi as Dong-yoon
• Kim Jong-eon as Kim Goon
• Park Hyeong-jae as Myeong-seok
• Jo Deok-jae as Boss Bae
• Oh Chang-kyeong as Sang-yeol
• Kim Do-yeon as Jong-mi
• Woo Yong as Nutritionist
• Na Hyun as Director Hakiboo
• Kim Jin-hyeok as Real estate poker man
• Sung Ji-ru as Jin-gook, Jeong-ran's husband (cameo)
• Park Won-sang as Gyu-cheol, Mi-sook's husband (cameo)
• Ryu Seung-soo as Supermarket manager (cameo)

Danish and French team

• The Danish and French team players were played by real players from Danish women's handball club SK Aarhus.
• Miles Meili as Danish coach 1
• Tore Hogas as Danish coach 2
• Martin Lord Cayce as French coach
• Iwona Niedźwiedź-Cecotka as French player #3 (V. Pons)
• Mária Tóth as French player #20 (A. Olivier)

Background

See also: Handball at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Women's handball

South Korea won the silver medal in women's handball at the 2004 Summer Olympics, following a close game against Denmark that was decided by a penalty shootout. The Koreans had lost a three-point lead in the second half,^[3] and at the end of normal time both sides were level at 25–25, taking the game into overtime. After the first overtime the score was still locked at 29–29,^[4] but South Korea was leading 34–33 in the second overtime until a late equaliser by Katrine Fruelund in the final ten seconds forced the game into a shootout, which Denmark won 4–2.^[5] In a poll conducted by Gallup Korea, 50.2% of respondents said that the women's handball finals was their favourite event of the 2004 Summer Olympics.^[6]

Reception

Forever the Moment was released in South Korea on January 10, 2008.^[7] It topped the box office on its opening weekend, grossing $4,407,643,^[8] and remained at the top for a further two weeks, ahead of Hollywood films Enchanted, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Cloverfield, all released during the same period.^[9] By March 23 the film had grossed a total of $27,258,370,^[1] and as of July 13 the total number of admissions was 4,043,293.^[7]

Awards and nominations

Award	Category	Recipient	Result
3rd Asian Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Kim Ji-young	Nominated
44th Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Film	Forever the Moment	Won
	Best Director (film)	Yim Soon-rye	Nominated
	Best Actress (film)	Kim Jung-eun	Nominated
	Best Screenplay (film)	Na Hyun	Nominated
	Most Popular Actress (film)	Kim Jung-eun	Won
29th Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best Film	Forever the Moment	Won
	Best Director	Yim Soon-rye	Nominated
	Best Actress	Moon So-ri	Nominated
	Best Supporting Actor	Uhm Tae-woong	Nominated
	Best Supporting Actress	Kim Ji-young	Won
	Best Screenplay	Na Hyun	Nominated
17th Buil Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Kim Ji-young	Nominated
	Best Screenplay	Na Hyun	Nominated
	Buil Readers' Jury Award	Forever the Moment	Nominated
9th Busan Film Critics Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Kim Ji-young	Won
	Special Jury Prize	Yim Soon-rye	Won
16th Chunsa Film Art Awards	Best Actress	Moon So-ri	Nominated
	Best Supporting Actress	Kim Ji-young	Won
	Best New Actress	Jo Eun-ji	Won
45th Grand Bell Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Kim Ji-young	Nominated
	Best Editing	Moon In-dae	Nominated
	Best Planning	Shim Jae-myung, Kim Hyeon-cheol and Kim Kyun-hee	Nominated
7th Korean Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Kim Ji-young	Won
2008 Seoul International Women's Film Festival	Park Namok Award	Forever the Moment	Won
2008 Women in Film Korea Festival	Woman in Film of the Year	Yim Soon-rye	Won
	PR and Marketing Award	Forever the Moment	Won