Ditto (2022) ~ Two Students Communicate Across Time

“Ditto” is a 2022 Korean movie, categorized as Science Fiction (Sci-Fi), Romance, Time Travel, and Fantasy or Supernatural.

SUMMARY: Hello! Nice to meet you. I’m a university student too. What? We attend the same university? Let’s meet in person. Uh oh! There’s a slight problem. We’re 22 years apart. You’re in 1999 and I’m in 2021. Good thing we have a ham radio to communicate.

♦ We Both Attend University But in Different Years

In “Ditto”, Kim Yong is studying mechanical engineering at a university in 1999, and Kim Mu-Nee majors in sociology at a university, but the year is 2021. Through a vintage radio, somehow the two students connect and start communicating. Kim Mu-Nee is given a class assignment. She must interview a stranger. But how does one go about meeting a stranger? She named her assignment “Dreams and Love”.

Kim Mu-Nee’s father has an old radio and a Ham Radio Beginner’s Guide. This guide helps newcomers understand and get started with amateur radio, also known as ham radio. Most importantly, this guide has a section on Making Your First Contact, i.e. how to make your first radio contact with other ham radio operators. Kim Mu-Nee made contact with Kim Yong. They introduce themselves and when they realize they are both attending the same university, they agree to meet up, at a certain place, and at a certain time. They both show up and then return to their rooms, angry at each other.

• Kim Yong says he was at the agreed place and time and waited two hours for her.
• Kim Mu-Nee says she was at the agreed place and time and waited two hours for him, IN THE RAIN!!
• It was not raining, Kim Yong protested and demanded an apology.
• It was too raining, Kim Mu-Nee protested and demanded an apology.

How could this be? Kim Mu-Nee wanted proof that this guy existed. Once again they agreed to meet up, at a certain place, and at a certain time. However, she and he decided to wait for only 30 minutes. Then Kim Yong would sign his name in a certain spot as proof that he was really there. Once again, they did not meet each other in person. But she saw that Kim Yong had signed his name. So the guy is real!

• Kim Yong says he is attending university and the year is 1999.
• Kim Mu-Nee says that’s impossible because she is attending university and the year is 2021.

As impossible as it may seem, they must be communicating across time. They are 22 years apart but the ham radio made it possible for them to become friends. They continued talking to each other, about their love relationships, and their dreams. However, during one conversation, Kim Mu-Nee revealed something to Kim Yong that was even more shocking than their ability to communicate through a time barrier.  What did she say?

Main Characters:

• Kim Yong (played by Yeo Jin Goo, “The Royal Gambler“)
• Kim Mu Nee (played by Cho Yi Hyun, “The Matchmakers”, “My Country: The New Age”)
• Seo Han Sol (played by Kim Hye Yoon, “Lovely Runner”, “The Girl on a Bulldozer”)
• Oh Young-Ji (played by Na In Woo, “Marry My Husband”, “Longing For You”, “River Where The Moon Rises”, “Mr. Queen”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 6.8 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 8 out of 10 stars
• Letterboxd: 3.2 out of 5 stars
• Google users shared a public rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
• Viki viewers rated this movie 9.3 out of 10 stars

My personal rating is the same as the Viki viewers.

This is a remake of a 2000 movie by the same name. I’m a sucker for time-travel K-dramas, even if the people are not physically traveling through time. In this movie, they were communicating with each other across a time barrier by way of a ham radio. Perfect for a K-drama Movie Night!

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Good Ol’ Review: “Ditto” a Wonderfully Nostalgic Film | DryedMangoez.com

Ditto Is An Enjoyable Remake | hallyureviews

Film Review: Ditto (2022) by Seo Eun-young | Asian Movie Pulse

‘Ditto’ presents new image of first love | The Korea Herald

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

Zone, Kdrama. “Ditto (2022) Official Trailer 2 | Yeo Jin Goo, Cho Yi Hyun, Kim Hye Yoon, Na in Woo, Bae in Hyuk |.” YouTube Video. YouTube, October 20, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJjZ8L1He5k.

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