Kim Min-hee's 9-Year-Old Movie Line Resurfaces Amid Comeback with Hong Sang-soo, Sparks Debate

Korean actress Kim Min-hee (김민희) and director Hong Sang-soo (홍상수), 22 years her senior, began an affair after collaborating on the 2015 film Right Now, Wrong Then. Their relationship, which became public, has continued for nearly a decade, and they welcomed a son last year. Kim Min-hee is set to make her official big-screen comeback with Hong Sang-soo's new film, tentatively titled Nowhere To Lay My Eyes, marking her first acting role since giving birth. However, before the film's release, a line from one of her movies nine years ago has been unearthed by Korean netizens, unexpectedly stirring renewed debate.

Hong Sang-soo's 35th feature film, Nowhere To Lay My Eyes, has been selected for the International Competition section of the 79th Locarno Film Festival, which opens on August 5. The film follows the protagonist, Sang-hee, and her younger brother as they travel to Jeju Island in search of their mother, who disappeared 10 years ago. Kim Min-hee stars alongside Choi Myung-gil (최명길), Kwon Hae-hyo (권해효), Shin Seok-ho (신석호), and Park Mi-so (박미소), among others.

This project holds particular significance for Kim Min-hee, as it marks her return to acting after approximately two years and her first appearance on screen since becoming a mother. While she has continued to be involved in Hong Sang-soo's film productions in behind-the-scenes roles, such as production manager, she had not acted herself during this period.

With the new film's impending release, public attention has once again focused on Kim Min-hee and Hong Sang-soo's long-standing collaboration. This has led many Korean netizens to revisit their 2017 film, On the Beach at Night Alone.

In that film, Kim Min-hee played Young-hee, an actress who falls in love with a married director. Due to the striking similarities between the plot and her real-life situation, the film sparked considerable discussion upon its release, with many viewing the character's experiences as a direct reflection of her relationship with Hong Sang-soo.

One particular line from the film has recently gone viral again on Korean online communities. In the scene, Kim Min-hee's character states, "I don't care if a man is handsome anymore. Handsome men all know they're handsome, and I've dated enough of those men already. Before I die, I just want to live my own way."

The strong overlap between this dialogue and Kim Min-hee's romantic history has once again ignited heated discussion. Kim Min-hee has previously been in public relationships with several widely recognized handsome actors, including Lee Jung-jae (이정재), Jo In-sung (조인성), and Lee Soo-hyuk (이수혁). Consequently, many netizens found it difficult not to connect this line to her personal life.

Nine years later, as Kim Min-hee returns with another film directed by Hong Sang-soo, this line has once again become a focal point on Korean online communities. Many netizens have left sarcastic comments, saying things like: "Even if handsome men are narcissistic, isn't that better than an uncharming old man?" "If both handsome and unattractive people are equally self-important, I'd still choose the handsome one." "People aren't concerned about looks at all; it's that she ultimately chose a married man." "All her previous boyfriends are doing very well now, making her final choice the most incomprehensible."

Some have also questioned whether this line was part of the script, or if Hong Sang-soo deliberately wrote it based on Kim Min-hee's real experiences, even speculating if the actress had improvised some of it, further fueling the discussion.

Kim Min-hee and Hong Sang-soo publicly acknowledged their relationship in 2017 and have remained together since. Hong Sang-soo is still legally married to his wife, and their continued collaboration on films has consistently been accompanied by public controversy.

Additionally, Kim Min-hee won the Best Performance Award at the Locarno Film Festival in 2024 for her role in Hong Sang-soo's In Water. With her latest work once again nominated for the International Competition, the festival organizers have praised the film for delicately portraying the meaning, beauty, and complexity of life through its imagery, dialogue, and character encounters. However, as of now, it has not been announced whether Kim Min-hee will personally attend the film festival.