Like a Virgin

Like a Virgin (; literally Strong Man Under Heaven Madonna) is a 2006 South Korean comedy-drama film written and directed by Lee Hae-jun and Lee Hae-young. Ryu Deok-hwan stars in the lead role as transgender teenager Oh Dong-ku, and won several domestic awards for his performance, as well as a nomination for the Asia Pacific Screen Award Best Performance by an Actor. The film's English title is a reference to a Madonna song of the same name. Plot Chubby high school student and Madonna-devotee Oh Dong-ku is a trans woman living with her abusive, alcoholic father. Dong-ku works part-time to save money for the sex reassignment surgery she craves. Despite being told that she has the perfect physique for ssireum, Dong-ku has no interest in taking up sports—but when she finds out about an upcoming ssireum tournament with a large cash prize going to the winner, she changes her mind and signs up for the team. Cast Ryu Deok-hwan as Oh Dong-ku Baek Yoon-sik as Coach Lee Sang-ah as Dong-ku's mother Lee Eon as Park Joon-woo Moon Se-yun as Big guy 1 Kim Yong-hoon as Big guy 2 Yoon Won-seok as Big guy 3 Park Young-seo as Jong-man Tsuyoshi Kusanagi as Japanese teacher Kim Yoon-seok as Dong-ku's father Kim Kyeong-ik as Jin-chul Oh Yoon-hong as Company president's wife Choi Jung-woo as Company president Kwak Min-seok as Priest Kim Do-yeon as Large female employee Kim Won-sik as Oh Dong-chul Kwon Oh-jin as Worker Jang Nam-yeol as Homeroom teacher Lee Jae-gu as Employee at labor office Kim Tae-joon as Choir member at concert hall Kwon Jae-won as Lawyer Awards and nominations