Review of Endless Love (1981) by Cherishtan K — 05 Apr 2009

After blood tests were carried out by the doctor on Mr. and Mrs. Yun for Eun Suh's transfusion, the Yuns find out that Eun-suh belongs to a Mrs. Choi, and Choi Shin-ae (played by Lee Ae-Jeong), is the Yun's biological daughter. At first, only the parents of Shin-ae and Eun-suh knew about this, but eventually, Shin-ae discovered the truth after she got into a fierce argument with her non-biological mother over a teddy bear she received from her biological father. Eun-suh only discovered the truth after Shin-ae wants her biological parents to take her in. In the end, the two daughters were returned to their rightful parents. Eun-suh now lives with the Choi family, where her biological father is dead and her widowed mother operates a small restaurant living in abject poverty.

Years went by, and in the duration, the Yun family went to the United States, where Jun-suh (now played by Song Seung Heon) returns to South Korea as a successful artist. He went back to the town he lived in, where he encountered his old friend, Han Tae-seok (played by Won Bin). They both stay at the hotel where Eun-suh (now played by Song Hye Kyo) works as a telephone receptionist. Tae-seok (who doesn't know about the entire brother and sister mixup that happened earlier) fell in love with Eun-suh and played games with her until she was fired from her job. One day Eun-suh saw Joon-suh and followed him to the beach where he was with Yumi (his fiancee) and Tae-sok and the two "siblings" finally meet after ten years.

Both Eun-suh and Joon-suh pretended to have a sibling relationship in front of the others at first but Shin-ae (now played by Han Chae Young) - angry at Eun-suh for taking away Tae-sok - exposed the two after she found a love letter Eun-suh had written to Joon-suh.

As a fight between Jun-suh and Tae-seok grows over their professed love for Eun-suh, she discovers she has leukemia (the same illness that took her biological father's life). She didn't tell anyone until the disease was at a terminal stage. All hope was lost by now, and Eun-suh died as Jun-suh was carrying her around the beach where they spent her birthday as teenagers.

Before Eun-suh died, she told Jun-seo not to follow her in death, and to continue living. However, Jun-suh, grief-stricken by the death of his lover and "sister", allowed himself to be struck by a truck (ironically the story starts with Eun-suh being struck by a truck), and he died shortly after wards.