It has been 20 years since director Andrew Lau (of Infernal Affairs fame) gifted us with Daisy , a Korean melodrama that felt more like a watercolor painting than a conventional film. Released in 2006, the movie starring Jeon Ji-hyun (Jun Ji-hyun), Jung Woo-sung, and Lee Sung-jae didn’t just tell a love triangle story—it etched one into the rainy streets of Amsterdam.
What unfolds is a “wrong timing” tragedy of Shakespearian proportions.
For much of the film, the characters are in a state of waiting—waiting for the rain to stop, waiting for a confession, or waiting for a chance to start over.
Unbeknownst to her, the flowers actually come from Park Yi (), a hitman who has been watching her from afar and protecting her in silence. The tragedy unfolds as Park Yi watches Jeong-woo inadvertently take credit for his gestures of love, while all three characters become entangled in a violent confrontation between the police and a criminal syndicate. Key Cinematic Elements Daisy 2006 Korean Movie 20
A stoic, enigmatic professional hitman who operates in the shadows of the city. Having secretly observed Hye-young from afar, he is deeply in love with her from a distance. Park Yi builds a wooden bridge just so she can cross to her favorite daisy fields without getting her shoes wet—all without revealing his identity.
The film’s emotional core is built upon the motif of the daisy flower, from which the title derives. Daisies symbolize innocence, loyal love, and the ability to keep a secret. For the hitman, Park Yi (Jung Woo-sung), the daisy is his calling card and his confession. Having fallen in love from afar with the carefree artist Hye-young (Jeon Ji-hyun), he creates a bridge of flowers for her over a canal and adopts the daisy as his silent signature. The flower represents a love that is pure yet cannot speak—a secret he can only express through gifts, watching her from the shadows of his sniper’s scope. In a cruel twist, this same symbol of secret love is co-opted by the detective, Jeong Woo (Lee Sung-jae), who buys the same flowers to win Hye-young’s affection. The daisy thus becomes an agent of tragic confusion, a beautiful lie that leads Hye-young to pour her heart into the wrong man.
A naive, pure-hearted street artist dreaming of hosting her own gallery exhibition. She spends her weekends painting portraits for tourists in Amsterdam's public squares. It has been 20 years since director Andrew
The film also explores the theme of love and loss, as Min-soo's obsession with Daisy ultimately leads to tragic consequences. Through Min-soo's story, the film highlights the bittersweet nature of love and memory, and how these experiences can both enrich and haunt us.
The film was a South Korean-Hong Kong co-production, shot entirely on location in the Netherlands. The iconic musical score was composed by Shigeru Umebayashi, the renowned Japanese composer known for his work on Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love . The soundtrack, which includes 22 tracks, is a key component of the film's melancholic mood.
The story centers on , a talented but naive street artist who spends her weekends sketching portraits of tourists on the city square. Unbeknownst to her, she has a secret admirer: Park Yi (Jung Woo-sung) , a quiet, introspective hitman working for a local Chinese crime syndicate. After first seeing her painting in a field, he is captivated by her innocence, a stark contrast to his violent world. He begins leaving her a pot of her favorite flower, the daisy, every day, and even builds a small wooden bridge to help her cross a stream. However, he keeps his identity hidden, believing his profession makes him unworthy of her. For much of the film, the characters are
The key opens a train station locker in Utrecht. Inside: a second sketchbook, filled with drawings of two men—one in shadow (Park Yi), one in light (Jeong Woo). But the final page is a confession:
(Hye-young): A pure-hearted artist caught between two men.
The film serves as a poignant reminder of the power of unspoken love. It explores the idea that sometimes, the purest form of love is the one that demands nothing in return—not even recognition.
: The movie is a notable collaboration between top-tier Korean talent and Hong Kong direction. Jun Ji-hyun delivers a poignant performance as a woman caught between a love she thinks she knows and a love that is literally life-saving but invisible. International Versions There are two primary cuts of the film: