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Be With You Dramacool Full HD All Ep
Be With You Dramacool: This post contains a brief plot summary and explanation about the ending of the movie Be With You / Jijium Mannario Gabmida (2018). Beware of spoilers.
2018 Korean Movies Be With You Dramacool
Directed by Lee Jang-hun, the 2018 South Korean fantasy drama is based on the 2003 novel by Takuji Ichikawa. The film stars So Ji-sub as Woo-jin and Son Ye-jin as Soo-ah. Today’s post is not entirely based on the novel but on the movie.
Be With You (2018) – Plot Summary
Woo-jin is recently widowed, and before his wife (Soo-ah) dies, he makes a strange promise to her. Soo-ah tells her husband that she will return after a year during the rainy season. To Woo-jin’s surprise, he reunites with his wife a year after her death. However, the woman does not remember who Woo-jin (her husband) and Ji-ho (her son) are.
Part Two After High School Graduation. To help Soo-ah remember her past, Woo-jin tells his wife how they met. Both met in high school. Even though Woo-jin always had a crush on Soo-ah, she always seemed reluctant to accept his words. Soo-ah moved to Seoul for college, while Woo-jin stayed in his hometown to pursue his career as a competitive swimmer. One day, Woo-jin gathers the courage to call Soo-ah under the pretense of getting his pen back. After the call, Soo-ah makes an appointment to see Woo-jin.
Despite their awkward meeting, Soo-ah and Woo-jin start seeing each other more often. While they are dating, Woo-jin learns that he will no longer be able to compete as a swimmer. He has a health condition that prevents him from doing strenuous activities. Out of fear, Woo-jin breaks up with Soo-ah because he doesn’t want to be a “burden” to her. As a result, the man lies to push Soo-ah away: Woo-jin tells Soo-ah that he doesn’t love her anymore. That said, Woo-jin never tells Soo-ah the real reason for their breakup. Due to Woo-jin’s harsh words, a heartbroken Soo-ah stops seeing him. Then, out of nowhere, Soo-ah reaches out to Woo-jin to rekindle their romance.
After reading her diary, Soo-ah begins teaching Ji-ho some basic household chores. Meanwhile, Soo-ah reaches out to Hong-goo (Woo-jin’s best friend) to ask him for help. Afterward, she goes back home to celebrate Ji-ho’s birthday.
During a school play, Ji-ho is momentarily frozen by the absence of his parents in the audience. Soo-ah arrives at the last minute, and Ji-ho regains his confidence. Woo-jin doesn’t make it in time, as he falls unconscious while saving his boss from drowning in the pool. Recovering from the blackout, Soo-ah’s husband runs towards the tunnel. The sky is clear, and the sun is out. In other words, the rainy season is over. It’s time for Soo-ah to return to where she came from. After an emotional goodbye, Soo-ah disappears.
Father and son return to their everyday lives. While reaching for his medicine, Woo-jin finds a note and a key (presumably from Soo-ah). He goes to the annex and finds Soo-ah’s diary. In high school, soo-ah also had feelings for Woo-jin, but the timing was always off. Woo-jin can never explain why Soo-ah suddenly returned, but the diary reveals why she reached out to him. Soo-ah has an accident and loses her memory. While she is unconscious in the hospital, Soo-ah time travels to the future and meets Woo-jin and Ji-ho in the tunnel. When they split up, Soo-ah returns to the present day. From then on, she has to make a difficult decision: live a long life without Woo-jin and Ji-ho, or live a happy but short life with them. Soo-ah chose the latter.
The film ends with an older Ji-ho on their first date. It seems that Woo-jin never remarried. Hong-goo keeps his promise to Soo-ah: every year, he sends his son a birthday cake (via Hong-goo) with a personal note.
Be With You [DVD] (2018)
Be With You (2018) – Ending Explained
By the movie’s end, it’s clear that Soo-ah knew what would happen to her when she ended up with Woo-jin. However, was Soo-ah being selfish with Woo-jin? Before we delve into that question, let’s first discuss that unexpected ending.
Be With You 2018 Korean Movie has ended.
When Woo-jin arrives in Seoul looking for Soo-ah, she sees him and runs after him. While Soo-ah is looking for Woo-jin, a car accidentally hits her. She was 25 when this happened.
After the accident, Soo-ah was unconscious for six weeks. While in a coma, he traveled to the future (leaping eight years). So, Soo-ah was technically 33 when she met her son and her husband in the tunnel.
The accident erases Soo-ah’s memories, so she doesn’t remember who Woo-jin is. That said, when Soo-ah rediscovered her past, she was doing her 33-year-old self at age 25 (while in a coma). During those six weeks, Soo-ah was able to glimpse what her life would be like as Ji-ho’s mother and Woo-jin’s wife. The end of the rainy season coincides with Soo-ah’s coma, so she is separated from her future son and husband.
After waking up from her coma, Soo-ah realizes that the experience isn’t just a dream. So, she rushes to reconcile with Woo-jin. Until this revelation, Woo-jin never explained why Soo-ah (suddenly) visited him after their breakup. Now, it’s clear that Soo-ah decides to stay with Woo-jin and take Ji-ho, even if it means dying at a young age.
Let me remind you that To Be With You is a fictional drama; in other words, anything is possible. This is how the film explains its ending to the audience. However, there is a missing piece in this explanation. Now, let’s revisit that ending and make some sense of it.
There are essentially two timelines going on in the film. There are present Soo-ah (age 25) and future Soo-ah (age 33). When Soo-ah meets Woo-jin and Ji-ho in the tunnel, she is in a coma in the hospital. If Soo-ah ends up with Woo-jin, she will die (eventually) no matter what. The only thing that bothers the audience is the reasoning behind their “return.” Why did Soo-ah promise her husband to come back after a year?
Time Travel – Theory Explained
It’s a given that Soo-ah dies at age 32 because she chooses to be with Woo-jin. At 25, she traveled to the future and jumped eight years. So, in that universe, Soo-ah is 33 when she meets her future son and husband in the tunnel. The entire plot of that parallel story revolves around the idea that Soo-ah died and returned a year later.
How could Soo-ah make such a strange promise to her husband and son? First, 25-year-old Soo-ah time travels into the future. She then returns to the present and chooses to be with Woo-jin. Everything is happening as predicted. Although Soo-ah dies at 32, she knows that in that other universe, her husband and son will be waiting for her in the tunnel. In other words, Woo-jin and Ji-ho don’t meet the dying Soo-ah. They are meeting 25-year-old Soo-ah, who has jumped eight years forward.
Now that we’ve closed this story gap let’s talk about Soo-ah and her decision to stay with Woo-jin.
Was Soo-ah selfish in marrying Woo-jin?
Here’s the thing, Soo-ah knew Woo-jin had a severe illness, yet she chose to stay with him. However, when Soo-ah seems to sacrifice herself to build a future with Woo-jin and Ji-ho, she also devastates them.
Su-ah died young but had a happy life. That was the trade-off: a shorter life span in exchange for happiness. Things are great for Soo-ah, but Woo-jin and Ji-ho don’t get much out of this “deal.” When Soo-ah passed away, she left behind a son and a husband.
Without the support of his wife, Woo-jin becomes Ji-ho’s sole caregiver. The man had a chronic illness that prevented him from doing strenuous physical activity. A simple task like running would be difficult for someone like Woo-jin. That said, what if Soo-ah’s husband also passes away? Who will take care of the child? Hong-goo? That is a possibility. However, it doesn’t go well for Woo-jin’s best friend and Ji-ho. He didn’t ask for that life.
As one can see, Soo-ah’s death affects not only her but also others around her. So, the decision to stay with Woo-jin was selfish because Soo-ah didn’t think about what would happen to them.
Final thoughts
The film Be With You grows on you. The movie’s first half doesn’t do it justice. It’s a bit boring and cheesy. However, things improve in the second half of the film. Be With You gets better as the story unfolds. The film’s climax is a plot twist: Soo-ah knows her fate if she decides to spend her life with Woo-jin.
One of the most touching scenes in the movie was Ji-ho’s lines for the school play. Ji-ho lists his household chores to show how much he’s grown (emotionally) during his visit with his mother, that he’s no longer the boy who just lost his mother. Sarah’s son slowly realizes that he needs to learn to pick himself up because no one knows what the future holds.
The ending of Be With You is bittersweet. One could say that the story has a happy ending as Ji-ho sees his mother for the last time. Still, it’s sad to see Soo-ah say goodbye to her family. Like Ji-ho, we (as viewers) wanted to see a last-minute miracle for Soo-ah to live longer. However, it did not happen.
The story may have some plot holes. The concept of time travel in the film is difficult to convey without making it completely clear. However, Be With You is not a science fiction film but a fantasy drama. It’s okay to have something lacking in the time travel department. Despite some minor flaws, this movie has a lot of heart. That alone makes Be With You a great watch. By the way, that tip requires some tissue because it’s an absolute tear.
