Shin Eun-soo
Park Se-ri
Love Untangled
“Straighten my hair, straight to your heart!”
2025
2h 1m
Director: Namkoong Sun
Overview
A lovestruck teen plans to win the school heartthrob by going from curly to straight hair — until a new transfer student changes everything.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
2 min read AI-generated editorial review
The Geometry of Teenage Longing
At nineteen, a mirror can feel like an enemy. Love Untangled understands that humiliating intensity and builds an entire coming-of-age romance around it. Set in 1998 Busan, the film follows Park Se-ri (Shin Eun-soo), who has decided her frizzy, uncooperative hair is the one thing standing between her and her crush, Kim Hyun (Cha Woo-min). It is a tiny premise, almost flimsy if you describe it too plainly, but the movie treats that panic with the seriousness it deserves. For Se-ri, this is not vanity. It is survival.
Director Namkoong Sun gets that difference. From the outside, Se-ri's obsession with tracking down a "Seoul magical straightening treatment" could play as a cute joke. From the inside, it feels like a full-body crisis, and the film stays close to that perspective. Anyone who lived through the beauty pressures of the late nineties will probably feel a little phantom pain watching it. Namkoong told TIME magazine that Korean film leaves less room for the "shamelessly fussy romanticism" of TV dramas, and the movie mostly honors that. The imagery is warm without becoming glossy. School uniforms still look stiff. Salons still look cramped. My main hesitation is the runtime: two hours is a lot to ask from a story this delicate, and you can feel the script stretching small misunderstandings until they start to sag.
At nineteen, a mirror can feel like an enemy. Love Untangled understands that humiliating intensity and builds an entire coming-of-age romance around it. Set in 1998 Busan, the film follows Park Se-ri (Shin Eun-soo), who has decided her frizzy, uncooperative hair is the one thing standing between her and her crush, Kim Hyun (Cha Woo-min). It is a tiny premise, almost flimsy if you describe it too plainly, but the movie treats that panic with the seriousness it deserves. For Se-ri, this is not vanity. It is survival.
Director Namkoong Sun gets that difference. From the outside, Se-ri's obsession with tracking down a "Seoul magical straightening treatment" could play as a cute joke. From the inside, it feels like a full-body crisis, and the film stays close to that perspective. Anyone who lived through the beauty pressures of the late nineties will probably feel a little phantom pain watching it. Namkoong told TIME magazine that Korean film leaves less room for the "shamelessly fussy romanticism" of TV dramas, and the movie mostly honors that. The imagery is warm without becoming glossy. School uniforms still look stiff. Salons still look cramped. My main hesitation is the runtime: two hours is a lot to ask from a story this delicate, and you can feel the script stretching small misunderstandings until they start to sag.
Audience Opinions
AI summary of viewer review patterns
Audience 7.5/10 AI
"A cozy, nostalgic teen romance about curls and first love that charms with its leads and self-acceptance message more than with originality."
Warm performances, especially from Shin Eun-soo, the 1990s Busan setting, and a gentle focus on self-worth and first love make the story feel comforting and sweet. The straightforward plot, familiar high-school-rom-com beats, and some rushed or shallow subplots keep it from hitting harder emotionally, but many still come away touched and satisfied.
What viewers praise
- Endearing lead chemistry The dynamic between the central couple feels sweet and believable, giving the romance a soft, comforting pull even when the story feels familiar.
- Nostalgic 90s setting The late-90s backdrop, from school life to music and visuals, creates a warm, throwback mood that many find relaxing and fun.
- Relatable self-acceptance arc The curly-hair storyline works as an accessible metaphor for insecurity, with the narrative ultimately landing on a clear message about being loved as you are.
- Light, feel-good tone Despite touches of heavier subject matter, the movie largely stays cute, bright, and low-angst, making it an easy comfort watch.
- Supportive friendships The heroine’s friend group is consistently kind and encouraging, adding warmth and a sense of safe community around the central romance.
Common complaints
- Very predictable story Romance beats and the love triangle unfold almost exactly as expected, with little suspense or surprise for genre veterans.
- Uneven use of subplots Threads like the domestic-violence angle, the twin sister, and the second love interest feel underdeveloped or abruptly handled compared with the main romance.
- Mixed views on casting and chemistry While some praise the pairing, others feel the male lead is miscast and that the central couple’s spark does not fully match the script’s intentions.
- Pacing and runtime bloat The nearly two-hour length can feel stretched, with a saggy middle and a final stretch that rushes through important emotional turns.
- Hair message can feel clumsy Portraying curly hair as a ‘problem’ before embracing it works for some, but comes off uncomfortable or simplistic for others.
Recommended for
90s high-school rom-com fans Comfort-movie seekers Coming-of-age romance lovers Korean teen film enthusiasts Self-acceptance story fans Shin Eun-soo and Gong Myoung fans
Full Plot (Spoilers)
AI-generated full plot summary Loading…
Buzz & Rumors
Public reports AI-researched entertainment notes
Curls, Confessions & Chaos: The Messy Real-Life Drama Behind Love Untangled
When Netflix sold Love Untangled as a cozy ‘90s teen romance, they forgot to mention the real drama would be happening off screen. From beauty-standard backlash to dating-roulette revelations and a cameo coup that broke K‑drama TikTok, this Busan love story brought baggage.
Scandals & Controversies: The Curly-Hair Backlash
- Before the movie even dropped, Love Untangled was already trending for the wrong reasons. Korean and international viewers slammed the film’s premise—Se-ri blaming her frizzy curls for all her romantic failures—as “backwards” and “outdated” in 2025
. - Social media tore into the trope of curly or wavy hair being framed as “messy, dirty, difficult to handle and an unlovable feature,” with that exact phrasing getting widely quoted and dragged across platforms [1][2].
- Others pushed back, arguing the film is set in 1998 Busan: no Google, humid seaside weather, a country where that hair type is rare—so Se-ri’s obsession with straight hair is, they say, a period-accurate insecurity, not a 2025 message [1].
- The debate turned into a full-on discourse about K‑beauty norms and Korean media’s obsession with pin-straight, shiny hair as the “ideal,” with Love Untangled becoming a talking point for how Korean content still handles (or mishandles) beauty diversity [1].
- Netflix? Completely silent so far, letting fans and critics duke it out in the quote-tweets [1][2].
Romance Rumors: Shipping Chaos & a Plot-Twist Couple
YTYouTube·Shin Eun‑soo and Gong Myung (Love Untangled) Rea… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H49EA5Sroz8- The moment the trailer dropped, fans clocked the crackling chemistry between leads Gong Myung and Shin Eun-soo. YouTube drama channels rushed in with videos asking if they’re “a REAL LIFE couple,” slowing down eye contact and behind-the-scenes giggles like it was the Zapruder film [3].
- One YouTube channel went full-in, labeling them “real life partners (2025)” in the title, feeding months of shipping and compilation edits of press-conference glances and “accidental” touches [3].
- But the real plot twist came in early 2026: Shin Eun-soo was confirmed to be dating someone else entirely. Her agency Management SOOP announced she’s in a relationship with actor Yoo Seon-ho, and they’ve reportedly been together since December 2025 after meeting through friends .
- Multiple outlets and socials carried the news, cementing Shin–Yoo as an official K‑couple—leaving Love Untangled shippers to quietly close their Gong‑Myung moodboards [4].
Health Scares & Industry Worries: Gong Myung’s Sudden Hospitalization
- Just as Love Untangled buzz was fading into cozy comfort-watch territory, headlines hit: “Love Untangled star Gong Myung hospitalised with sudden hearing loss” .
- In late December 2025, he was rushed to the hospital with sudden sensorineural hearing loss and dizziness while filming tvN drama Secret Audit, forcing production to pause [5].
- Fans, already aware he’d been juggling the film’s promo, photo shoots and another drama, worried about overwork. Articles and comment sections alike framed it as yet another example of brutal K‑industry schedules catching up with actors [5].
- His agency confirmed he halted filming to focus on treatment and recovery, but for a moment, the wholesome Love Untangled male lead became the center of a very real, very unromantic health scare [5].
Cameos, Easter Eggs & Wild Fan Theories
- The biggest secrecy win of the production? The star-studded cameo. Gong Yoo and Jung Yu Mi pop up as a married couple running a local pub where Se-ri and her friends hang out—and they casually dole out “confession tips” like seasoned romance coaches .
- It’s their second time playing spouses after Kim Ji Young, Born 1982, and fans absolutely lost it when the scene hit: TikTok edits of Gong Yoo’s surprise appearance and comedic timing quickly flooded feeds [6].
- Fan theories then went into overdrive:
- Hair as healing: TikTok creators spun entire “hair theory” essays, arguing that while the marketing leaned into “fix your curls for love,” the movie itself actually flips it—Yun-seok loves Se-ri’s natural hair from the start, making her straightening arc more about her own insecurity than any real requirement for love
. - Second lead feelings watch: On Reddit, viewers dissected Kim Hyeon’s every smile and wave. One popular spoiler thread debated whether he secretly liked Se-ri all along, reading his friendliness as low-key pining rather than just being the campus golden boy
. - Busan dialect flex: Coverage noted how the director stuffed the cast with Busan-born actors to saturate the film in authentic regional accent and rhythm, something that Korean viewers picked up on and meme‑ified as “Busan Cinematic Universe” energy .
Surprisingly Wholesome: Cast Vibes & Zero Feud Energy
- In an era when one weird like/unfollow can trigger “secret feud” threads, the Love Untangled main squad have been… annoyingly drama-free.
- TikTok and Instagram are littered with clips of Shin Eun-soo, Gong Myung, Cha Woo-min, and Yoon Sang-hyeon doing dance challenges, laughing through promo games, and generally looking like a functioning friend group, not a PR arrangement .
- Instead of cold shoulders and viral side-eye, the only recurring “conflict” anyone could spot was who could be the goofiest in cast challenges—hardly the scandal fans were hoping for, but arguably the serotonin they needed [10].
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
Movies
Similar Movies
Related titles ranked by rating and popularity.
Blood Diamond
2006 • Movie
Notting Hill
1999 • Movie
50 First Dates
2004 • Movie
Big
1988 • Movie
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
1992 • Movie
There's Something About Mary
1998 • Movie
Monster
2003 • Movie
While You Were Sleeping
1995 • Movie
The Perfect Storm
2000 • Movie
Chasing Amy
1997 • Movie
Two Weeks Notice
2002 • Movie
Uncle Buck
1989 • Movie