South Korean film “Single in Seoul” is a romantic comedy which turns out to be more distinctive and intelligent than expected. Right from when its Meet Cute moment, you can clearly see through where it is going along with its two main characters, but what is happening between them is fairly engaging because of not only the growing romantic vibe between them (Is this a spoiler?) but also a number of interesting realistic details on how they work together as a writer and an editor.

At first, we are introduced to Hyeon-jin (Lim Soo-jung), a young plucky woman who works as an editor of one modest publishing company in Seoul. She and her several colleagues have worked on a special publishing event, and they need two different writers willing to write an essay book about living as a single in Seoul and Barcelona, respectively. While they managed to recruit some popular female writer who is going to write the Barceolna book, they are still looking for any suitable writer for the Seoul book, and then Hyeong-in’s boss suggests that they should approach to an old college junior of his.

That person in question is Yeong-ho (Lee Dong-wook), a young single writer who has not published anything yet but has earned his living via teaching at some private academy. Although the movie does not tell much about how much he gets paid for his teaching job every year, it seems that he is affluent enough to live in a wide and decent one-room flat which has not only a bunch of fancy stuffs but also a crisp view of the Han River. To be frank with you, it is no wonder that he seems quite content with living there alone with a pet cat, whose undeniable cuteness incidentally steals the show whenever it appears on the screen.

At first, Yeong-ho is not particularly willing to join the event, but he eventually agrees to write the Seoul book after being persuaded by Hyeon-jin, who was incidentally his junior at the college where they studied. Fortunately, he is quite knowledgeable about how to live as a single in Seoul, so he does not have much trouble with writing the Seoul book day by day. In addition, he also gives some helpful tips to Hyeon-jin, who seriously needs some advice as another single living in Seoul.

It does not take much time for both of them to sense something mutual between them, but, of course, Yeong-ho still prefers to be a single just like Hyeon-jin, and he tells her about how he miserably failed in romantic relationship in one way or another before eventually deciding to become a lifelong bachelor. Via one extended flashback part, the movie shows us how his first romantic relationship was painfully ended many years ago, and it is apparent to us that he still feels hurt about that even at present.

As Hyeon-jin and Yeong-ho tentatively revolve around each other along the story, the movie also pays considerable attention to how they work together as two professionals. While Yeong-ho continues to write, Hyeon-jin and her colleagues diligently prepare for the upcoming publication, and we also get some laughs thanks to the colorful personalities of Hyeong-jin’s colleagues. In case of one bumbling young intern, he is frequently more awkward and clueless than I have been throughout my whole life, and I certainly felt some pity and sympathy toward him even when quite tickled by his social ineptitude.

During its third act, the movie throws a big conflict between its two main characters as expected, but there is some unexpected surprise for us. I will not go into details here for not spoiling your entertainment at all, but I can tell you instead that the story becomes more serious and interesting as Yeong-ho turns out to be not totally honest even to himself about a certain thing in his past. This surely causes a big trouble for Hyeon-jin and her colleagues, and her conflict with Yeong-ho will probably make you reflect a bit on that big responsibility in writing and publishing.

Like many other romantic comedy films, the movie depends a lot on the comic chemistry between its two lead performers, who ably complement each other throughout the story. Lee Dong-wook, who has been mostly known via several popular South Korean TV drama series, is convincing as revealing more vulnerability behind his character’s seemingly confident façade, and Lim Soo-jung, whom you may remember for Kim Ji-woon’s “A Tale of Two Sisters” (2003) and Park Chan-wook’s “I’m a Cyborg, But That`s OK” (2006), is effortless with her natural charm and presence. In case of several other main cast members in the film, Jang Hyun-sung, Kim Ji-young, Lee Mi-do, Lee Sang-yi, and Ji E-suu deliver each own juicy supporting performance to enjoy, and Esom, who was unforgettable in Jeon Go-woon’s exceptional first feature film “Microhabitat” (2017), plays a certain crucial character later in the story.

Overall, “Single in Seoul”, directed by Park Beom-soo, is an entertaining product which fills its story and characters with enough mood and substance for us, and it actually made me appreciate more the diligent professional efforts in the publishing business. Sure, it sometimes looks like people read less and less than before these days, but there are still many hard-working professionals who do care a lot about publishing books for any possible reader out there, and you may want to drop by a nearby bookstore after watching this surprisingly delightful movie.