Secret Love (2010 Film)

Secret Love (Korean: 비밀애; RR: Bimilae) is a 2010 South Korean romantic melodrama directed by Kwon Ji-yeon and Ryu Hoon. The film explores themes of identity and forbidden attraction within a complex family dynamic.

Secret Love promotional poster — Promotional poster for the 2010 film Secret Love.

Plot

The story follows Yeon-yi (Yoon Jin-seo), whose life is upended when her husband, Jin-woo (Yoo Ji-tae), falls into a coma following an accident shortly after their wedding. While struggling to cope with her husband's condition, Yeon-yi meets Jin-woo's twin brother, Jin-ho (also played by Yoo Ji-tae). The discovery that the brothers are identical leads to a volatile and complicated emotional entanglement between Yeon-yi and Jin-ho, which intensifies when Jin-woo unexpectedly awakens from his coma.

Production

Principal photography for Secret Love commenced on May 16, 2009, at Incheon International Airport. The production concluded on September 15, 2009, in Incheon. The final scene filmed featured the characters Jin-ho and Yeon-yi in a hospital setting, incorporating symbolic elements such as tarot cards to foreshadow the narrative's central conflict.

Actor Yoo Ji-tae — Yoo Ji-tae, who portrays the twin brothers Jin-woo and Jin-ho.

Actress Yoon Jin-seo — Yoon Jin-seo, who portrays the lead character Yeon-yi.

Cast

Yoo Ji-tae as Jin-woo / Jin-ho
Yoon Jin-seo as Yeon-yi
Lim Ye-jin as Yeon-yi's mother
Jung In-gi as Father Choi
Sung Ji-ru as breakfast house owner
Lim Ho as hair stylist

Actress Lim Ye-jin — Lim Ye-jin, cast as Yeon-yi's mother.

Actor Jung In-gi — Jung In-gi, cast as Father Choi.

Actor Sung Ji-ru — Sung Ji-ru, cast as the breakfast house owner.

Actor Lim Ho — Lim Ho, cast as the hair stylist.

Film scene still — A scene from the film production.

Release and Reception

The film was released in South Korea on March 25, 2010. It was later featured at the 11th New York Asian Film Festival in 2012, where it held its international premiere.