8/10 is my rating. This is a 2011 South Korean romantic comedy also known as “Saving Up for Romance”. Run time is 114 minutes.

Chun Ji-Wong (Song Joong-ki) graduated college and despite going to many job interviews has failed to land a job. His mother has continued to supply him a modest income until a circumstance at her restaurant makes her unable to do so. Jobless and on the verge of being evicted, Ji-Wong meets Gu Hong-sil (Han Ye-Seu) who takes life perhaps a bit too seriously. She saves practically everything she earns unwilling to spend money on even life’s simple pleasures like dating, running heat or having television. She is very good at finding the smallest odd jobs to earn money. Having observed Ji-Wong from the adjacent rooftop apartment, she decides to help him learn the art of earning and saving money. In exchange she wants to deposit some funds in his name since she has reached a cap on her savings. As they each learn aspects of a happy life from the other can two such different people fall in love?

Spoiler 🚨 I liked this movie but did not love it. I wanted to see Ji-Wong find a way to really make it. I wanted Hong-sil to show evidence she had learned that love and enjoyment of life are even more valuable than money. I did not really see that. I was surprised that Joon-ki was the same actor that starred in “Empire of the Sun” because he played such dramatically different roles.