Riya Choudhary, Delhi

Tune in for Love, formerly known as Yoo Yeol’s Music Album, is a South Korean romantic movie, released in 2019, that portrays how love matures over the years as the couple meets, parts, and meets again owing to their circumstances. The movie has Jung Hae-in and Kim Go-eun starring as the leads and is directed by Jung Ji-Woo. This movie is a beautiful ode to the era of the 1990s, as the story is set in that period.

The movie revolves around the diligent Mi-soo, played by Kim Go-eun, and carefree Cha Hyun-woo, played by Jung Hae-in, whose paths cross multiple times, but life gets in the way of their blossoming relationship. This film explores their experiences during the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997. The storyline develops on the base of how the music has changed throughout the years and over a radio program that both Mi-soo and Hyun-woo love since the very first day of its airing. This movie is different from the other classic Korean rom-com movies because the focus of the story does not entirely revolve around the theme of love but also explores the hardships and the problems in life and the difficult moments that everyone faces. My takeaway from this movie is about finding the silver linings in life with patience and faith. This kind of movie may not be the cup of tea of all, but I’m sure it will take you through an emotional journey where you shed tears as the realistic portrayal by the actors moves your heart.

As for the story, Cha Hyun-woo visits a bakery where Mi-Soo works. Later, Hyun-Woo joins that same bakery as a part-time worker and gradually falls in love with Mi-Soo. Upon finding out, Hyun-woo’s friends with whom he shares a history, visit the bakery around Christmas and disturb the peaceful environment, so Eun-ja, played by Kim Gook-hee, who also works at that bakery asks them to leave. A series of events fall into place one by one after that causing Hyun-woo and Mi-soo to meet, only to be separated due to circumstances beyond their control.

The character played by Jung Hae-in is quite sensible, romantic, dreamy, and sweet. On the other hand, Kim Mi-soo is a hard-working part-time worker at a bakery. She is joined by another employee Eun-ja. While working with Hyun-woo and Eun-ja, Mi-soo gets to spend a lot of time with them. Mi-Soo considers Eun-ja as her family as she relies on her after her mother passed away. I loved Go-eun’s acting as it appeared real and believable. She went from having a haggard face and gloomy eyes when she was stuck with jobs that she wasn’t passionate about, to having a blooming aura when she finally gets the job she’s passionate about.

Since South Korea is famous for its rom-com movies, it becomes difficult to make a choice since there are just too many. I like the movies with a realistic feel that brings out the magic in a story. The chemistry between Kim Go-eun and Jung Hae-in was worth my time. Overall, the story is what keeps you hooked till the end as the two are torn apart time and again, but coincidentally meet each other, before finally accepting their feelings.

These two characters will make you realise that no matter how hard life may become or how challenging the times are, all you need is patience and faith in your love and let go of all the fears that stop you from achieving your happiness. Though there were a few weak points in the back story of the characters, they do not impact the story at large. With both the actors doing justice to their roles and the depth of emotions that this movie delivered, the viewers could connect to the story at a deeper level.

Another aspect that sets this movie apart is the depiction of the love stories that bloomed decades ago. They used to be courageous and more persuasive as compared to the modern love. Watching this movie made me realise that it was quite hard for people at that time to connect and reach out to their loved ones, which is convenient in today’s time, given the presence of social media. People back then would go extra miles to see someone and would express their true feelings to each other in an old-school way unlike now, where you can see or talk to someone every other day, and often, people do not reciprocate true emotions to someone they just met online.

This movie has beautifully intertwined music and cinematography together to present the story in an intricate manner. Fans of Jung Yoo-jin can also enjoy the movie as she stars as Hyun-joo and does a commendable job.

If you want to watch a simple, old-school, innocent romance amidst struggles and hardships, then this one is worth a watch. The movie is also available on Netflix. Watch the trailer here:

Have you seen the movie? What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comment section.