“I always thought I had to change for someone to like me. Like I needed to be better and prettier. But, I don’t think about any of that when I’m with him.” – Park Se-Ri
Beauty standards in South Korea are in a realm of their own and have been across the majority of Asia for a long time. Set in 1998, during a time when shiny and silky straight hair had become the norm and the epitome of beauty standards, ‘Love Untangled’ (2025), in a tangled tale of love, confronts the beauty standards of an era when curly hair was widely recognized and deemed undesirable.
Starring Shin Eun Soo, Gong Myoung, and Cha Woo Min, it’s a story of youth, falling in love, healing, finding acceptance, and realizing that self-love is, in fact, the key to being beautiful.
Movie: Love Untangled
Where to Watch: Netflix
Cast: Shin Eun Soo, Gong Myoung and Cha Woo Min
Director: Namkoong Sun
The Plot
Park Se-Ri (Shin Eun Soo) is a 19-year-old high school senior with untamable, frizzy, curly hair and two unsuccessful love confessions behind her. She vows never to confess her love to anyone ever again.
Perpetually struggling to straighten her hair, she comes across her school’s resident heartthrob, Kim Hyun (Cha Woo Min), during one of her swimming escapades at the beach and falls in love at first sight. Hoping to see him again, she returns to the same beach. However, instead of finding Hyun, she comes across a drowning boy and rescues him.
The next day, her class receives a new transfer student, and it is none other than the boy she rescued the day before, Han Yun Seok (Gong Myoung). She and her friends befriend him, and she decides to let go of her original vow. With her friends’ persuasion, she decides to confess to Kim Hyun. Wanting to make her confession a success, she devises a foolproof plan with her friends and Yun Seok—Operation Love—to confess her feelings to Hyun.
In a bid to make herself ‘better’ and ‘prettier’ for Kim Hyun, she decides to get a hair-straightening treatment at a salon, which she later learns is run by Yun Seok’s mother. As she and her friends help Yun Seok adjust to his new life in Busan, they form an unbreakable bond.
When the time for her confession finally comes, the one she and her friends had planned and worked on for so long, the one for which she had her hair straightened and become ‘prettier’, she realizes that her feelings for Kim Hyun have long since changed. She recognizes her self-worth and understands that while she once felt the need to change herself for Hyun to feel worthy of him, she can simply be herself with Yun Seok. This self-realization brings her peace, helping her accept both her once-hated frizzy hair and her feelings for Yun Seok.
Through all these ordeals, she not only manages to gain a better understanding of herself but also helps Yun Seok out of the dark waters that had been dragging him down. With the love and support of their friends, both Se-Ri and Yun Seok heal, grow, and graduate while living their final year as high schoolers.
The Lead Characters
Park Se-Ri (Played by Shin Eun Soo)
A 19-year-old high school senior living in Busan. She has frizzy, curly hair which she inherited from her father. She’s a fraternal twin and has a twin sister called Park Hye-ri, who has ‘perfect’ straight hair and is the complete antithesis of Se-Ri. Due to her hair, she has developed a slight inferiority complex when it comes to her looks.
Han Yun Seok (Played by Gong Myoung)
A 20-year-old transfer student from Seoul. He moves to Busan with his mother to escape his abusive father. While trying to put an end to the constant negativity in his life, he is rescued by Se-Ri. From then on, he goes on to meet and become friends with Se-Ri and her friends, and later falls in love with her.
Kim Hyun (Played by Cha Woo Min)
The resident heartthrob and every girl’s crush at Se-Ri’s high school. He’s an athletic, handsome, and kind young man who isn’t afraid to express his feelings. While swimming at a beach he believes only he knows the location of, he meets Se-Ri. He is shown to have a very outgoing yet well-mannered personality, which gains him widespread love and support.
Other Characters
Baek Seong Rae (Played by Yoon Sang Hyun)
One of Se-Ri’s friends. He’s an energetic and mischievous young man with lots of energy and a fun-loving personality.
Ma Sol Ji (Played by Choi Gyu Ri)
Se-Ri’s friends who help her with planning the confession. She’s shown as a supportive, cheerful, and bubbly character who’s always ready to lend a hand to a friend in need.
Go In Jeong (Played Kang Mi Na)
Another girl at Se-Ri’s high school with frizzy hair like hers. She is nicknamed ‘Flintstone’ (Go In-Dol) due to her uncharacteristic and ‘prehistoric’ hairstyle. While both girls used to straighten their hair in solidarity, it is Go In-Jeong’s magical straight perm that makes Se-Ri want to give it a try as well.
Why You Should Watch ‘Love Untangled’
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Nostalgic Story: The simple story set in 1998 evokes a strong sense of nostalgia. It takes viewers back to a time when screens weren’t a big part of life and life was more about living in the present than recording for the future. It also sheds light on the innovative ways of fulfilling and organizing acts of service for loved ones, in a way very different from the present.
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Relatable Struggles: The struggles of the main characters provide a relatable and amusing backdrop. It also shows the ways in which problems were dealt with in a time when convenience wasn’t just one call away and community made up for immediacy.
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Charming Cinematography: The movie weaves impeccable and beautiful cinematic backdrops. It does a very well-rounded job of capturing late-90s Busan and its environment. Though set in 1998, the filmed countenances make the movie feel like something that happened just yesterday, rather than over two decades ago.
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Self Acceptance: The movie shows how numerous social and beauty standards can often drain one’s life. It reflects the harsh and unchanging reality of the pressure teenagers and young adults face when it comes to keeping up with norms and fitting in. Through themes of love, the movie imparts an important message: true love comes from accepting and practicing self-love by being your authentic self, instead of changing yourself to fit someone else’s checklist.
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Expressive Characters: Being a high school rom-com, the characters all portray a sense of free spirit unique to high schoolers. Each character is given their own potential backstory and motivation, making viewers feel included in the story.
‘Love Untangled’ isn’t just a story of a frizzy-haired girl falling in love, it is a tale of perseverance, learning, and growth showcased through the story of a teenager living, loving, learning, and leading her life during a time when the world was a closed box of societal standards.
Through ordeals of friendship, love, and youth, it emphasizes the importance of having a strong and supportive community. In between laughs and tangles, this movie teaches the subtle art of living and loving through the troubles, untangling one knot at a time.
Written by – N.V.S. Akanksha
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