"Saekjeuk shigong" (aka "Sex is Zero") is the South Korean equivalent of "American Pie" in my ways, for better or worse. I must admit that I found "Saekjeuk shigong" to be far more enjoyable than the aforementioned American movie.I watched "Saekjeuk shigong" for the first time during the mid-2000's, and I remember enjoying it back then. So when I got a chance to return to it in 2017, I did not hesitate."Saekjeuk shigong" is very much still an enjoyable movie, one that still has good appeal and still proves to be funny in many aspects.The scene where the law student spontaneously break out in song still cracks me up to the brink of tears. It is just so oddly out of place and hilarious, and the actor looks so amazingly funny while doing that scene. And the scene with the vomiting and kissing is a timeless classic, it is one of those scenes that makes you go "aawwww no, that just didn't happen!"There is an abundance of funny situations, hilarious characters and awkward dialogue in the movie, which all works out well together for a great movie. Some of the scenes and situations will have you curling your toes in disbelief, while others will have you laying flat down from laughing hard.The cast ensemble is good, and they managed to get a group of greatly talented actors and actresses on board for this project. I initially got around to find the movie because I like the talent of Ji-won Ha. And if you are familiar with South Korean movies, then you will see a handful of familiar faces in the movie, in bigger or smaller roles."Saekjeuk shigong" and its sequel stands out in the South Korean comedy scene, because of the sexual tones and concept of the story. And it was refreshing to see a South Korean director branch out to embrace this. And I must say that director and writer JK Youn accomplished this task with perfection.If you enjoy a good comedy that thrives on below-the-belt comedy and delivers hilarious situations with sexual tones, then you definitely have to watch "Saekjeuk shigong". This is a very entertaining comedy that can be watched multiple times.

Having watched a number of Korean films over the years, I got hold of this film assuming that in spite of its raunchy title and subject matter there would be little sex, nudity and grossness. Boy was I wrong! This makes American Pie look like children's TV. Sperm sandwiches, masturbating burglars and anal intercourse slapstick mean that the first half of the film is actually very funny. But like other Asian comedies, a light-hearted beginning leads to a serious second half designed to make the conclusion cathartic.The film begins with Lim Chang-Jung as a student returning to university after completing his military service. Upon his return he falls in love with one of the cute girls in the university, but she only has eyes for the rich boy who oozes superficiality. Nevertheless Lim Chang-Jung befriends her and tries to help her deal with the difficulties of having a superficial, snobbish boyfriend. It is those scenes where he tries to be there for her that totally change the tone of the film. The serious issue of an unwanted pregnancy is dealt with in a way which is very touching and believable, even if there are certain scenes which are over exaggerated (Lim Chang-Jung getting hit over the head with a hammer in the aerobics competition is ridiculous).There is an element of fantasy in this film, but perhaps it is more from the female perspective. The man who dedicates his life to make a woman happy and is willing to make extreme sacrifices for her sake seems like the type of ideal man in Sex and the City.

Eun-shik seems like a decent, if a bit odd, sort of guy. A 28-year-old freshman, Eun-shik had to delay his entrance into college because of the obligatory military service that all Korean males have to serve and other difficulties. However, with his younger roommates, Eun-shik is able to enjoy the pleasures of college which in this film seem to be limited to smacking the head of the martial arts club with various implements, gawking at pretty girls, and masturbating to his and his roommates large stash of pornography.Similar to Jason Biggs character in American Pie, Eun-shik is a bit hapless when it comes to striking up conversations with members of the opposite sex. Yet it must be said that he does not aid his cause very well because he tends to find himself in some awkward situations such as standing on a windowsill in his tighty whities, after drinking a medicine that will supposedly give one an erection for three days, with a couple of perverts who seem to enjoy molesting girls on subways and jerking off at any given opportunity, while hiding in closets watching people have sex and at gymnastic events.The main object of Eun-shik's affection, or lust, is the gorgeous Lee Eunhyo, played by Ha Ji-won, who seems to acquire a bit of affection for Eun-shik after she kicks him in the balls and sends him to the hospital. This incident also leads to Eun-shik's martial arts club being able to share a room with the gymnastics club where the sultry Kim Ji-won rules the roost. Eventually Eun-shik and three of his friends take out Eunhyo and three of her friends, but while his three friends make "progress" with their dates, Eun-shik seems to be losing Eunhyo to Sung-OK, the university's big man on campus and Ji-won's boyfriend. However, for Eunhyo, even though Eun-shik leaves a lot to be desired, maybe in the long run he would have been the better choice.Similar to Jung Cho-sin's Wet Dreams 1 and 2, Sex is Zero is filled with some very low brow humor, such as the consumption of semen in soup and fried form and a very sloppy kiss that starts before a drunk girl has finished emptying the contents of her stomach, but unlike the two films above there is quite a bit more skin. With the exception of Ha Ji-won each supporting actress bares her breasts with the actress showing a bit more. While some of these bits can be quite humorous such as when one girl gets stuck in "the wrong hole" there is one scene in which the guy unbuttons the top of a passed out drunk girl feels her up amongst other things. While meant to be humorous this scene was a bit uncomfortable especially after the girl wakes up and the guy blames her for coming on to him. They stopped at a hotel because she had a bad headache from drinking too much.In addition to the scatological humor which is so gross at points that it is not amusing, Sex is Zero falls into the trap of many other comedies and tries to take itself too seriously in the last third of the film. If it had been left as a sex comedy the film might have been more tolerable, but the last third of the film divulges too much from its beginning to be taken seriously.If one is looking for eye candy one will find it in abundance in this film, but if one is looking solely for a light, if a bit raunchy, comedy then there are better ones to be found.

SEX IS ZERO (2002): Raunchy comedy/drama starring pop idol Lim Chang-jung (see JAKARTA) as a hapless college schlub who falls for Miss Popularity, who conveniently happens to be dating the biggest prick on campus and is therefore blind to Lim's hopeless overtures until she gets knocked up and beaten silly by her embarrassed mother. Often feels like an idealized male-centric filmization of the director's unrequited college romance, except that here the dream girl is made to suffer unspeakable anguish before she wises up to the man who really cares about her (a made-for-the-movies conceit if ever there was one). The dramatic scenes are uncommonly powerful, but they seem almost too heavy in places for a comedy that tries so hard to be base. You may never look at bread or frying pans the same way, though. UNBELIEVABLE FACT: if you watch the making of doc on the Korean DVD, you'll learn that the scene where a secondary female character throws up on her date WAS NOT FAKED. Man, talk about suffering for your craft: the girl downs two full 1.5 Litre bottles of water, mixed with one cup instant noodle soup and voila! Real barf! Which the actor then has to enjoy while he kisser her in the same take. Probably the most f'd-up thing I've ever seen in all my years of movie watching.