Reasons to watch Sunset in My Hometown starring Goblin’s Kim Go Eun

Is first love unforgettable? It probably was to Sun Mi, actress Kim Go Eun’s character in Sunset in My Hometown, who reunites with hers. If you liked Kim Go Eun on Goblin or Cheese in the Trap, just keep reading.

Sunset in My Hometown came out just last month in Korea and was reviewed pretty well. It stars Park Jung Min (Hot Young Bloods, You Are All Surrounded) and Kim Go Eun (Goblin), and is directed by Lee Joon Ik, who made Lee Joon Ki a star quite literally overnight after his 2005 film King and the Clown. Without further ado, here are 5 reasons this lighthearted film should be on your watchlist.

1. A coming-of-age story meets Show Me the Money

This coming of age story shares the format of Show Me the Money, a popular rap battle show that started the music careers of Loco, Iron, and Dean. (It also stars Verbal Jint, San E, Zico, Simon Dominic, Gray, and more.) In Sunset in My Hometown, Hak Soo (Park Jung Min) is a hustling underground rapper. After he fails an audition in Seoul, he returns to his hometown of Byeonsan in Jeolla province, where meets Sun Mi (Kim Go Eun), his classmate from elementary school.

2. Imagine reuniting with your first love

Sun Mi and Hak Soo were each other’s first love, which is a cute setup for a love story. It’s not only romantic like Architecture 101 but inspirational.

3. Kim Go Eun loved filming this

Kim Go Eun says filming this movie was one of the happiest moments of life.

She joined the cast of this romantic comedy right after Goblin. She might have wanted to rest a bit after such a big project but she decided to join because she’d wanted to film with director Lee Joon Ik for a long time. “Everyone who’d worked with him said they loved it. I was curious what he’d be like on set. I also didn’t want to miss the chance to film with actor Park Jung Min,” the actress said.

4. The cast produced a music video together

Park Jung Min wrote lyrics for hip-hop track ‘Hero,’ and produced the music video that stars the entire cast of Sunset in My Hometown including director Lee Joon Ik.

5. Listen in for Kim Go Eun’s accent

If you happen to know Korean, you might pick up on her accent. Kim Go Eun was concerned about having to speak in the Jeolla dialect for her character. “I worked with a dialect coach, and got a good amount of advice from the Byeonsan residents as well,” she recalled.

5. Kim Go Eun gained 18 pounds for the role

Her character Sun Mi is a suburban, super down-to-earth girl with a Jeolla accent and always no makeup. Kim Go Eun wanted to gain weight to play Sun Mi and took it to director Lee Joon Ik. She said, “Director Lee happily agreed with me [gaining weight for the role], so I went for it … The process of gaining weight was exhilarating. I usually don’t eat anything the night before filming, because my face gets bloated. For this film though, it was good to show up with a swollen face, so I would go to a convenience store the night before and eat cup noodles and whatever I was in the mood for.” She lost all the weight in just two months, as you can see in the photo below from the film’s press conference.

If you know Korean, listen for her accent. Kim Go Eun was more concerned about having to speak in the Jeolla dialect than gaining weight to play her character. “I worked with a dialect coach, and got a good amount of advice from the Byeonsan residents as well,” she recalled.

Kim Go Eun turned 28 on July 2.

Happy belated birthday!