What's in a name? That which we call a rose-
- by any other name would smell as sweet. Romeo and Juliet.
Race, homeland, nation-
- uniflcation, patriotlsm-
- Integration, compatriots, goodwill...
It all makes me sick. Rulers, repression-
- slaves, no, subjects?
Aggression, discrimination, exclusion, chosen ones-
- blood, mixed, pure, union...
I was born In Japan-
- as a so-called Korean- Japanese.
Don't think I'm any different.
- They call me... ...Zainichi!
I've had enough.
No.
This Is my love story.
Three years ago
- Don't chicken out. - No.
Tawake, how many have made it?
One who made it ten years ago died on a Yakuza job.
I'm the only one alive.
It's called "Super Great Chicken Race".
A train Is approaching platform 2. Please stand behind the line.
- Maniac! - It's coming!
Run!
Go!
Hey!
Stop!
- Won-su! - I'm a legend!
- Not bad! - The pigs are coming.
- Faster, you idiot! - Another!
Come on, asshole!
- You're under arrest! - Let go!
Are you his father? Hello...
What? You're not?
That's his father, right?
He'll kill him.
Ma'am.
Hey...
Please...
You didn't have to go to family court. Be happy about that.
Say "thank you".
I'll kill you.
I didn't mean it.
I'll say It agaln. This Is my love story.
SUGIHARA
Here we are In Hawaii.
Beautiful blue sea, blue sky...
And then...
Here.
You can't beat your father. He ranked 7th in Japan.
- Let me do it myself. - No, I'm better at it.
- Let me do it. - I'll do it better.
Hawaii...
- Hawaii. - Yes!
What? Do you want to go there?
Where?
To the "symbol of corrupt capitalism".
Ideologies go out of fashion. The Soviets lost the Cold War.
The cold freezes your nose. It's the same with ideologies.
- Where are you going? - Hawaii.
- Let's go to Hawaii. - He's senile.
I don't need these anymore.
I want a passport.
You can go as a North Korean these days, you know?
Hey, I'm a true Marxist.
A spy, maybe I'm a spy.
God, you're stubborn. It doesn't matter. Go if you want to.
- You can't talk any sense into them. - I just want to go to Hawaii.
Let's switch. Anything could happen.
Switch it.
He gave up his North Korean cltlzenshlp to go to Hawaii-
- and became a South Korean.
That stupid picture Is still at the front door.
And now I'm supposed to call them Mom and Dad.
- Stop the car, Mom. - What?
Pull over.
Get out.
Sit down.
Look around.
- What'll you do? - What?
It's easy to change your nationality.
You can become American or Russian if you have enough money.
I wish the view was nicer.
See the world...
...and decide for yourself.
The ocean was staring at me-
- and I stared right back at it.
So I thought about it.
I thought hard about my futureless existence.
Hey, you scum. What are you up to?
Causing a disturbance? Move aiong.
What the hell? We're just looking.
What the fuck?
Japanese eventually mix Into soclety-
- but as for me...
The fool of the North Korean school...
...is me.
Looking for work after college...
...this Is what happens.
You work hard to become a doctor or a lawyer.
My nickname Is "Stupid", so forget it.
I hated marches, classical music, and raisin curry.
Stupid.
But I had the right to choose.
Where are you going?
North or South Korean?
It was a tough choice.
But I felt like a person for the first time.
Decision made.
- I'm going to become South Korean. - Right.
But I'm not going to Hawaii.
- I'll go to a Japanese school. - So sudden?
- I want to see the world. - Suit yourself.
I gave up smoking and fighting, and enrolled In a Japanese school.
This Is me today.
But people don't change easily.
Thanks to this, I got my break.
- Where's Sugihara? Is that you? - No.
- What about you, asshole? - No.
Who is it?
After leaving basketball, the challengers lined up.
I'm 24 and 0 now.
- I'll make you famous. - What the hell does that mean?
That's what Billy the Kid said.
- I know Captain Kidd. - Buried treasure?
- Hardy, har, har... - Right.
- Hardy, har, har... ...har...
Hey! Sugihara!
Malcolm X said something that was really cool.
"Self-defense Isn't vlolence. It's Intelligence."
That's so true.
I hate vlolence, but sometimes I don't have a choice.
I hate hitting people, but I hate getting hit more.
It's as simple as that.
I knew it.
The Revolutionary History. A North Korean textbook.
What I'm doing Is revolutionary, so It might come In handy.
Did you hit that guy with an iron dumbbell?
- It was an ashtray. - I only heard the rumor.
Kato was the first one to challenge me.
What?
It's bubbling.
Kato was the only son of a Yakuza boss.
He should have told me.
Dad.
Looking good.
- Really? - Looking good...
Like that guy... Keanu Reeves.
- Better than before. - And eyes like Brad Pitt.
The eyes are fine the way they are.
Yeah, the eyes are fine.
Sugihara.
I thought I'd have you cut off a finger...
...but it's okay.
Thanks.
After that we oddly enough became friends.
- It's my birthday, Sugihara. - I'll buy you a coffee.
No need, but I'm having a party tonight.
There'll be lots of cute girls there.
5,000 yen won't get you anywhere.
Don't feel bad just because a counter went under.
That's not it. It hurts that two went under at once-
- but I still have two left.
Then what is it?
Mom's left the house.
You reap what you sow.
He can buy a new car, but I can't learn flamenco.
What is it?
Same uniform - but different.
Shut up.
- Hey! - I'm going to the bathroom.
Waitress, dessert! A whole pineapple.
Hey, it's Stupid.
- Hey. - What's with the hair?
A real capitalist symbol.
It had been two and a half years since we met, In the North Korean school.
We had "self-criticism time".
Speaking Japanese was forbidden.
Seong-Mi.
Won-su spoke Japanese today.
The teacher, mr Kim, really loved self-criticism time.
His nickname was "Kim Satan".
Come forward, Won-su.
- What did you say? - That I had to take a dump.
I had to take a dump.
What's wrong with saying "have to take a dump"?
How else should I say it?
I have to defecate.
That doesn't sound right, so I said "dump" in Japanese.
And how many times have you said it now?
One, two, three...
Six and a half times.
Stand up!
Did anyone else speak Japanese?
He did it, too. He said: "Go to Japanese school."
Stand up.
What is it?
Race traitor!
- Get up! - I'm up.
Are you fucking with me?
I was marked as a traitor after that.
Rumor has it you wearjeans and listen to Mariah Carey.
And you "laborers" order dessert.
Are you still a fighter, Stupid?
- It's a holiday tomorrow, so... - I told you it's Mariah's concert.
Fucking pussy! Asshole!
- Shut up. - Hey, lady... Lady...
Don't be smart. No Korea or Japan when you're young.
You're just kids.
Shut up and eat.
Look at all this meat you left, and you ordered dessert.
You're too young for beer, too. Boys should stick to milk.
Milk!
He hit me hard, but I managed to hit him back.
Sugihara, you came.
A gift.
Cool.
We have acid and weed.
You don't want? Okay. Have fun.
When I told my friend I was moving back home-
- he said: "Go to Yoshiwara. You have to see the geishas."
I had heard that you could catch a deadly dlsease-
- and should stay away. I told him I wasn't Interested.
He said I could just watch. "There's no harm In watching."
So he brought me there.
It was the first time I saw a geisha. They were so beautiful.
The exquisite Takao was more beautiful than anyone I'd seen.
She was more elegant than a painting, not at all like a human being.
I said I wanted her to serve me, and my friends all laughed at me.
They said she was for the upper class, and that I should stop dreaming.
I bought a painting of her. From then on, she was always before my eyes.
I saw Takao when I picked up my brush and In the rice I ate.
I saw Takao In everything.
Even as I stand here...
Mister, you're acting like a fool.
Does that bald guy over there look like her?
That's when I remembered.
This Is my love story.
I'll set you up with her.
What are you reading?
The C-c...
- Catcher In the Rye? - Something like that.
It doesn't suit you.
Have you heard of psychometry?
Sugihara, right?
- How...? - I read it.
- You're a strong fighter, right? - I don't know.
- Basketball. - What? How did you know?
I'll tell you later.
Later?
Let's go. It's crowded, noisy, and boring here, right?
Hey...
You read that, too?
I don't know you.
- Should I? - You're too polite.
Hey...
What's that?
Cool.
Thanks.
I hadn't been there since we had marching practlce.
What are you listening to?
Rap.
- Japanese? - Maybe.
- What kind of music do you like? - All kinds of stuff...
...but not Japanese music.
- Why? - I don't know.
I don't like it, either.
- Why? - I don't know.
- We're the same. Do you like movies? - Yeah, action movies.
I like Fellini's La Strada, The Shining-
- As Good As It Gets, Magnolla...
...Enter the Dragon and... - I saw that one three times!
- Did you see Flsts of Fury? - No.
- It's cool. Borrow it next time. - Next time?
- What do you want to be? - A doctor or a lawyer.
- Cool. - But that's not gonna happen...
...so maybe I'll end up doing something completely different.
- Guys I know say they'll be famous. - They're just trying to impress you.
How about you?
- I'll be Jean-Claude Van Damme. - Your pronunciation sucks.
I'm sorry.
- Tell me your name. - Who cares about names?
Sakurai.
I won't tell you my first name. I hate it.
Miss Sakurai.
- I'm Sugihara. - I know. I read it...
...but I couldn't make out your first name.
- I won't tell you. I hate it. - Yeah, who cares?
- No way. - Huh?
- Did you see that? - A shooting star?
- I've never been so embarrassed. - Why?
I can't see a shooting star with a guy.
- Maybe. - It's true.
- What's the harm? - It caught me off-guard.
I could see your panties.
Did you make a wish? Don't tell anyone. It's our secret.
Okay.
- What do you do on Sundays? - I meet my friends.
- Do you have a girlfriend? - No, I don't.
I hate liars.
I'm sorry.
Just like I thought.
This is...
...traditional...
...comedy.
There's a lot I haven't told her, but at least I'm not lying anymore.
- Go ahead of me. - Huh?
- I want to see you jump. - Fine.
You jumped back then, too.
Give me a call.
Shouldn't she wave goodbye?
Come on, let's go.
Really?
It looks like Mom hasn't come back.
My dad started teaching me boxing when I was In the fourth grade.
Extend your left arm, kid.
Now make a circle.
Good.
You're as big a man as the circle you made with your fist.
Got it, kid?
Inside your circle you're pretty much safe-
- as far as you can reach.
What do you think?
Boring.
That's boxing.
Break through with your fist-
- and attack from the outside.
There's lots of tough guys out there.
They come inside your circle.
It hurts to hit or get hit.
Do you still want to box? Safe inside the circle.
I'll box.
Fine.
I told you this wasn't a good idea.
Like rain falling from heaven.
Huh?
I wonder if heaven's a nice place.
All right!
- What's that? - Spanish.
I wanted to be a Spaniard a iong time ago.
- Why? - Figure it out yourself.
Dad.
Go for a run, will you?
Can't you make up with her?
Running like that looks stupid.
Two weeks later they went to Spain, the land of passion.
Thanks.
- How was it? - I like the sick insect story...
...and the one about the rotten tofu.
Vinegar tofu? I thought you might.
This Is Jong-il, the guy I respect the most.
He's the one who got me Into comedy.
I'll kill you, you bastard!
- What's going on? - This guy...
This guy is going to Japanese school.
- Really? - Yeah.
It's a good thing.
You'll know the truth about our native country.
You can be part of Japanese society and be an ambassador-
- for your fellow countrymen...
I'll never forgive you!
Stop it.
Stand up, you race traitor.
- Traitor to your country. - We've never had a country!
I dare you to say that again.
We've never had a country.
I never forgot what Jong-il said and how he saved me.
Are you going to the university?
I'm thinking about it, but I'm not looking for work.
- Why? - I can't be president.
I don't even have a chance.
You just get eaten by the system. It's a nightmare.
Why not think about it at the university?
- It's just a waste of time. - You should live a wasteful life.
You're already off-track.
- Eat up. - Thanks.
What part of the pig is this?
It's a testicle.
A ball.
Fool.
This guy may look like a real geek, but he's the school genius.
- Hey. - Really?
- What was his name again? - Jong-il.
- Jong-il, Jong-il. - His mom's Japanese, his dad's Korean.
- Not Japanese school? - That's what makes him so cool.
He wants to teach at a North Korean school...
...to his future followers. - That's really great.
- Isn't he cool? - It's no big deal.
- My dream is to do comedy. - Yeah, the coolest Zainichi.
- You do comedy? - The master here?
Shut up!
If this guy becomes a teacher, the North Korean school will change.
Like a sudden variation in DNA.
No, like I saw on TV. By tracing Japanese DNA, of a mother-
- grandmother, great grandmother and further-
- many go back to China or Korea.
And if you go way back, we all came from monkeys 200,000 years ago.
- And if you go even further back... - Sorry, what are we talking about?
- It got out of hand. - No, I know what you meant.
My sister wants to go to Japanese school.
- What grade? - Ninth.
- Next year. - I'm worried.
She's not as strong as you.
Can you give me some advice?
Sure.
Oh yeah, read this.
Works of William Shakespeare
- It has traditional comedy characters? - No, but read it anyway. It's cool.
- Why the Parliament? - Why?
It's just a strange place to meet for a date.
Only one so you can't miss it.
- I see. - And it's cool, too.
It is?
Come on, let's go.
1, 2, 3, 4...
...5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
- What are you doing? - Polar bears step back after 9 steps.
No way.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...
...7, 8, 9.
It's true. Why?
So they don't lose control in their small pen.
1, 2, 3, 4...
...5, 6...
- That was just seven. - Any odd number is okay.
- You said nine. - Forget it. Let's go.
I started meeting Sakurai on Saturdays.
That was just one.
Around that time, Kato got suspended from school for doing drugs.
A lady! A lady!
It's a deer! Deer!
Won-su got caught In class.
How do you say: "Get me a porno mag"?
Please buy me an adult magazine.
Itjust doesn't sound right, so I said: "Get me a porno mag."
Mom met a famous actor.
I'm a big fan of yours.
It's really you, Yasu? I love your movies.
- Just private... - Have some milk. It keeps you fit.