The story begins at the end. We first meet the protagonist, Yong-ho, in 1999 as a desperate, broken man who stands before an oncoming train, crying out, "I want to go back!" From this haunting opening, the film moves backward through seven distinct chapters of his life. Each segment peels away a layer of his hardened exterior, revealing how the trajectory of modern Korean history—from the 1980 Gwangju Uprising to the 1997 Asian financial crisis—systematically destroyed a once-innocent soul.
Visually, the film uses light and color to signify the passage of time. The 1999 segments are harsh, overexposed, and uncomfortable. The past is bathed in warmer, nostalgic tones, culminating in the bright, sun-drenched fields of 1980. The title itself— Peppermint Candy —serves as a recurring motif for purity and first love, a sweetness that Yong-ho can no longer taste. peppermint candy lee chang dong vost fr eng dvdrip saoc
In the 1999 opening, when asked if he remembers peppermint candy, Yong-ho writhes in agony. The candy has transformed into a symbol of everything he lost: his honesty, his hope, and his humanity. The story begins at the end
Then, he climbs onto the train tracks, raises his arms toward the oncoming locomotive, and screams: Visually, the film uses light and color to
★★★★★ (5/5) – essential viewing for anyone interested in Korean cinema, narrative experimentation, or films that explore the intersection of personal trauma and national history.
The film is famously structured , beginning on a sunset at the Han River bridge where Yong‑ho (Sol Kyung‑gu) is about to jump into the water, and then moving chronologically in reverse, each new segment stepping one year earlier into his life.