VIRGIN SNOW
What a view!
I'm here!
It's spring of 2004. I was born in
Seoul and lived there ever since.
But I suddenly went to Japan
to follow my father who is a potter.
Well, I can't speak
Japanese at all.
But that's actually good.
Now I've got
an excuse not to study.
God...
Oh yeah, my name is Kim Min.
You're bleeding.
I fell off my bike.
Are you Korean?
Yes.
What's that?
That.
Omikuji.
Omikoji?
Fortune teller.
Fortune tell...
Right! Fortune telling!
You can buy one there.
It's all in Japanese.
What does it mean?
It's Daikichi.
Daikichi?
Lucky. Very lucky.
Very lucky.
I think so, too.
You may tie only
bad luck omikuji' here.
Just the bad ones only here.
Your omikuji is good.
Please keep.
Oh, keep?
Nanae, come here!
Okay.
Please keep.
With lucky.
Lee Jun-ki
Miyazaki Aoi
VIRGIN SNOW
Min, let's have breakfast.
Help yourself.
No kimchi?
In Rome do as the Romans do.
Anyway, why is this soup bowl
so small?
And don't we need something
like a spoon for this?
They don't use
a spoon in Japan.
Since you'll be here for a year,
try to take some interest in Japan.
Not bad.
What is this?
Beating Japan with 365 words
For picking up girls?
Thank you.
'Otosu'.
To tempt and succeed.
I love this word.
Yes!
What a great day.
Aren't you...?
Huh?
Do monks go
grocery shopping, too?
Move!
Move! Move!
Move! Move! Move!
Class, this is Kim Min.
He came here with his father,
an exchange-professor in Japan.
He doesn't know
Japanese too well,
so please help him.
Yes!
Well, Min's seat is...
Ma'am, here.
Hello.
Oh, you can speak Korean.
Quality Guaranteed
Quality Guaranteed.
My name is Assa Kaori.
Nice to meet you.
Assa Kaori.
Yeah, Assa Kaori.
Her name wasn't the only thing
that was funny.
Let's go and eat something.
- Okay, let's go.
- Let's go.
Okay.
What's he doing?
Hey, what are you doing?
Hey!
You can't hear us?
- Huh?
- Yeah, you.
I mean,
where are you from?
You're stealing this bike, huh?
Give it back.
Sometimes feet are
faster than words.
Black Belt in Taekwondo,
Kim Min
Who is this girl?
Bastard still knows
how to break the mood.
You've already picked up a girl?
You just got to Japan.
First say 'hi' at least?
How's Japan? Bet it's tough
because of the language barrier.
That's why I told you
to learn music like me.
Yeah, so how's
the drumming going?
Just playing, that's all.
And don't forget to eat.
Okay. Take care of yourself.
Where are they?
Min! Min,
why are you so late?
The first class is gym.
Huh?
Don't you have a gym suit yet?
Gym suit.
Gym suit?
Here we are.
Min, the guys go there.
Hurry up.
Ippon!
Coach,
he used to be
a fencing champion in Korea.
Really?
I want to have a match with him.
Hey!
I heard that you used to be
a fencing champion in Korea.
Why don't you take this chance
to show us what you got?
What's he saying?
Oh, a welcoming ceremony!
Now you notice who I am!
Good to see you!
I look great, don't I?
Huh?
- Fight!
- Wait!
I said wait!
Give it to me.
Damn it.
Come here!
This sucks.
Fine, you're going down.
Here I go!
Min! Min!
Min! Min!
Bring him some water.
Okay.
I'm sorry.
It was my fault yesterday.
I thought that you
were stealing the bike.
What's he saying?
Is he apologizing to me?
Where are you going?
Min!
Min!
What's wrong?
Forget it!
Wait!
Min!
- What's the matter?
- Wait, Min!
Nanae!
Ohm no!
Nanae cherishes that.
What are you going to do now?
Oh, no!
The stream's too shallow!
Mom, you're drinking again?
Whatever...
You'll kill yourself like this.
Shut up!
You got something to say?
If you do, tell me now.
Hi, Yuri.
What's with you?
You got something to
say too, Yuri?
Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
See you again!
Kojima!
What is it?
You...
help me...
What?
I need a lot of money,
so...
I need a job...
Help me!
Please come!
Please come!
Please come!
Please come!
Please come!
Please come!
Nanae?
Nanae.
Thank you.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Here you are.
For me?
'Me' dropped it like this, so...
I can't accept this.
I mean...
'Me' dropped yours like this,
so I bought this for you...
I can use mine.
They're still good.
Rain.
Hey.
You did the show to
buy that for me.
What?
Ching Ching Dong Dong
What?
Ching Ching Dong Dong
You saw me?
How embarrassing.
Rain.
Rain.
Rain.
Rain?
Rain!
Thank you.
Past. Sorry. This.
Take. Please.
Min.
For me?
Gratitude for the painting tools.
Thank you.
To Min, With all my thanks.
From Nanae
Why? Want to learn pottery?
No, I don't want to touch
that poop stuff.
Poop?
What you're saying is poop.
What does the card say?
Does it say that she likes me?
What kind of girl would like you?
It says, cut your hair.
Forget it.
Better off
you don't say anything.
It says, 'With all my thanks.'
Whoever she is,
she thanks you with all her heart.
Yeah?
Then what does 'Ookini' mean?
It's the Kyoto dialect
for 'Thank you.'
Thank you.
Dad!
Ookini
Let's hurry.
- Hi.
- Hi.
What the hell...?
Let go of me!
Let go of me, man.
Are all Koreans like you?
Push. Push.
Push?
Yeah, that's not the way.
Japanese girls,
especially Kyoto girls...
They are 'okuyukashii.'
- 'Okuyukashii?'
- Understand?
'Hazukashi gariya.'
'Hazukashi.'
Oh, shy?
Yeah, right.
Don't hurry.
Slow please.
Slow...
Slow...
- Slow...
- Slow...
You bastard.
So, this could be
a good weapon for you.
Brand new phone? 0 yen
Okay!
Look out the window.
The heads of5 Southern Asia
countries are...
Now it's the capital city of
Sri Lanka
And after the prime ministers of
China and India have a meeting...
The five principles of peace...
Teacher.
Yesterday...
Present...
Thank you...
So
I...
will show you around Kyoto.
I think...
I should guide you.
No.
I will
guide you.
Good?
Okay.
Pottery shop.
My father makes pottery.
Pardon?
My father makes pottery.
He's a 'potter'.
Your father is a potter?
Yes.
'Kiyomiz Jagi'.
'Kiyomiz' what?
For Kiyomizu porcelain,
its potter is different
from its painter.
The potter makes the porcelain,
and the painter paints on it
separately.
So there's a porcelain maker,
and then a painter.
- Separately.
- Separately.
Separately.
Okay, I got it.
How about this?
Later,
'me' make the porcelain...
And Nanae paints
on the porcelain I make, okay?
Promise?
- Promise?
- Yeah, 'yakusoku.'
'Yakusoku' in Japanese, too.
'Yakusoku.'
Dad,
teach me
how to make porcelain.
I thought you
didn't want to touch poop.
Please teach me how to make it.
You have to beat it hard
to make it easy to work with..
I know that part.
So teach me how to make porcelain,
not how to beat mud.
I have to make a big dish.
That's why
I'm teaching you this.
Want to know
more about her, right?
Well, it's not that...
Try it.
- Like this?
- Yeah.
Give it to me.
There is much air in the mud.
So if you don't press it
out of the mud,
It'll crack when you bake it.
The beginning for anything
is the most important.
Okay.
Now, let's do it.
'Hello'.
Konnichiwa
'Hello.'
'I'm Yamada Keiko.'
'I'm Yamada Keiko.'
'I'm Nanae.'
'It's nice to meet you.'
'It's nice to meet you.'
It's nice to meet you.
'It's nice to meet you.'
'It's a great day.'
A promise made with
fingers seems
much stronger than
with words.
I didn't want to study for myself,
but now I'm studying for Nanae.
I study Japanese and pottery.
Nanae studies
Korean and painting.
It was the beginning
of our beautiful summer.
'Tsuyu' is over.
'Tsuyu?'
What is 'tsuyu?'
'Tsuyu' is
rain much much.
- Rain much much.
- Rain much much.
Rain much much is
'Jangma' in Korean.
How do you pronounce it?
- Pronounce?
- Pronounce.
- It's pronounced 'Jang'.
- 'Jang'.
- 'Ma'.
- 'Ma'.
- 'Jang'.
- 'Jang'.
- 'Ma'.
- 'Jangma'.
Okay.
Excuse me.
Hello?
Nanae.
Yuri, what's wrong?
Come home quickly.
What happened?
I'm scared.
That man is beating mom.
Okay,
I'll be there in a minute.
I'm sorry... I home...
'Kaeru.'
'Kaeru?'
I'm sorry. I have to go.
Nanae!
Nanae!
Nanae,
hurry!
Stop it! Please stop!
Stop it!
What are you doing?
Stop it.
I'll kill you!
Why didn't you listen to me!
Stop it, please!
Get off of me!
Yuri.
Stop it.
You bitches!
I'll call the police!
Stop it.
I'm sorry. It was my fault.
Let's go outside, huh?
Come on.
Nothing could compare
to Nanae's smile.
But I felt the loneliness
behind her smile.
I should've...
asked her then the reason
for her loneliness.
Do you want to go on that?
That boat.
They break up.
I mean in the legend.
If a couple takes a ride in the boat,
they will break up.
So if a couple rides on the boat,
they will break up?
There's something like that
in Seoul, too.
'Doldam' street.
'Doldam' street by Deoksu Palace.
'Dorudam' street.
If a couple walks on Doldam street,
they will break up.
If they go on a date on the first
snowfall, the couple will be happy.
First snowfall? Date?
First snowfall and date,
then happiness.
'Shiawase?'
Yes, 'Haengbok.'
'Haengboku.'
The boat is minus.
And the Doldam street is
minus, too.
Minus and minus is plus.
So let's walk on Doldam street
on the first snowfall.
Promise.
Promise.
In Korean style, we stamp...
Sign like this and copy...
Copy.
Let's go.
This is my favorite place
in Kyoto.
Your favorite?
Memory note.
People write down
what they want on the note.
I wish
that time would stop now.
Yuri!
No! No!
Let go of me!
What are you doing?
Please get out of here.
Please get out.
I beg you! Please get out!
You didn't press the air
out of the mud.
Still don't get it?
It's because I have no time!
Start again with the kneading.
Hello?
Where were you?
I've called you many times.
Why? What's wrong?
I'm at Incheon Airport now.
Incheon Airport? Why?
Your grandmother
suddenly fainted.
Grandmother? Why?
Is she okay?
She's over the critical stage.
She wants to see you
very much.
Okay. Dad,
tell her that I'm coming
to see her very soon.
Okay, come as soon as
possible.
Alright.
Hello.
You look pretty.
Kimono?
Yukata.
Yukata.
Present for
the 100th day anniversary.
It's my first work of porcelain.
You made this?
Charm.
Don't open it yet.
Not now.
Min.
What's wrong?
Nanae!
Nanae!
Min!
Nanae!
Min,
you gave me courage.
You gave me laughter.
And I want to be
with you forever.
But I can't see you any more.
What?
My promise to paint
on your porcelain...
I want to keep that promise.
I can't hear you!
Along with
the promise that we will walk
on Doldam street together.
But...
Good-bye.
Don't open it now.
- Here you are.
- Thank you.
You're welcome.
Thank you.
Grandma,
are you all right?
You came
all the way from Japan?
Of course, to see you.
You didn't have to do this.
Come on, mom.
You were dying to see him.
Was I?
Anyway, what's that there?
What?
Oh, you bought this for me
from Japan?
Oh, yes.
Thank you so much.
- It's pretty, isn't it?
- Yes, so lovely.
One, two, three, four.
- Hey.
- Hey, what's up?
Been a long time.
Practicing hard, I see.
- Here you are.
- Thanks.
By the way,
how's your grandmother?
She's gotten much better.
Can you wait for me a bit
until I finish practicing?
We have a lot to catch up on.
Of course, I will.
Go and finish.
- Okay, wait for me.
- Sure.
The number you have dialed is
not in service.
Please check the number
and call again.
Hello?
Min?
Kojima.
What happened to Nanae?
Even Kaori doesn't know
what happened to her.
Nothing? Even Kaori?
Yeah, someone visited her home,
But she'd moved...
What?
Move the house...
For sale
Move?
I mean she's gone.
She's gone.
She seems to have
suddenly moved away.
Even her friends
can't reach her.
You're bleeding.
I just fell from the bike.
She's gone.
Two years later, Kobe
Nanae!
Nanae is that really you?
Yes.
- You...
- You go to Kobe University?
No need for that now.
Let's talk about it later.
Why'd you vanish
all of a sudden?
I'm sorry.
My parents used to love
each other so much.
But ever since my father
died in an accident,
my mom started
acting strange.
Hurry up.
She drank out of depression
and loneliness.
Then she met a violent man,
and got hurt by
him even more.
She turned into a totally
different person.
Please get out.
I felt that if we had stayed longer,
someone would die.
That's why.
Are you okay now?
Yes, he's in jail now
because of another crime.
Then...
what about your mom?
She's under medical treatment.
She's gotten much better.
Did you hear about Min?
He went back to Korea
at the start of the second semester.
He said that he had
no more reason to be in Japan.
Thank you.
Good-bye.
Nanae!
Nanae!
Here you are.
Why didn't you
finish the porcelain?
When will you paint on it?
Are you still in bed?
Oh yeah,
your show's today, right?
Where was it?
The City Gallery.
Yeah, Deoksu Palace.
I'll be waiting.
Nanae, this way, please.
- Hello.
- Hello.
Congratulations on
your acceptance.
Thank you.
Nanae, can you speak Korean?
Nanae, can you speak Korean?
- No.
- She said 'no'.
Where are the places
in your paintings?
Where are the places
in your paintings?
It's Kyoto.
It's my favorite place.
Min!
It's been a long time.
How have you been?
Why are you here?
Did you come to see me?
No.
My paintings...
Paintings?
I thought so.
What am I doing here?
Min, Korean is too hard for me.
Can you speak
Japanese for me?
Japanese?
I don't know Japanese at all.
Ever since you left me
without a word,
I don't care to know
any Japanese.
Rain.
Rain.
Very lucky?
I don't believe in this any more.
With all my thanks.
From Nanae.
Who made this?
Me.
I did.
This seems to be yours.
Min,
I can't see you for a while.
But for the times
We've been together,
I've been very happy.
I wish I could stay with
you forever.
But I have to leave
Kyoto today.
Please take care
until the day we meet again.
It's called a camellia.
The flower's meaning is...
'Constant love'.
December 31, 2004.
On the first snowfall of
this year,
I waited for Min on
Doldam street.
But
Min didn't come.
It was the second snowfall
today.
I'm waiting for Min here.
Will he come next year?
December 11, 2005.
Seoul had its first snowfall
on December 3rd.
Kyoto has
its first snowfall today.
Nanae.
It's snowing.
Isn't it the first snowfall?
Yeah, it's so beautiful.
Will he come next year?
Taxi!
If a couple has a date on
the first snowfall, they will be happy.
First snowfall date?
First snowfall and date,
then happiness.
Driver,
- let me off here.
- But we still have a long way to go.
It's okay.
First snowfall, date, promise,
I believe...
You dummy!
What are you doing here
in this cold weather?
How long have you been waiting
for me here, huh?
Min...
Min...
As much as you've been
waiting for me.
I'm sorry.
Thank you.
# I mean,
# if I don't believe in
# the sorrow of god,
# can you smile for me?
# I sigh deeply
# because of my poor love.
# I look at the horoscope
# and predict
what our poor love will be.
# I really want to
# meet you the next life again.
# Oh, the wind blows
# and it's like your smile.
# I'm sending you
# the flower language of
Bougainvillea.
# Oh, I feel so anxious.
# I wrote the lyric poetry for you
# in the windy day's afternoon.
# I mean,
# if I couldn't meet you
# in that place, at that time,
# what would our future be?
# I read the never ending story
for you.
# You pretend to be strong
but actually you're a crybaby.
# Poseidon is running
on the wide sea
# with his cobalt color memory.
# I really want to
# meet you the next life again.
# Oh, the wind blows...