# Love Untangled (풀려서)
**Love Untangled** (고백의 역사, *Gobaekui Yeoksa*, literally "History of Confession") is a 2025 South Korean romantic comedy film directed by Namkoong Sun and distributed by Netflix, set in 1998 Busan. It follows 19-year-old high school student Park Se-ri, who plans to straighten her perpetually frizzy hair before confessing her feelings to the school's most popular boy, until a transfer student from Seoul changes her plans.[1](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81785333) • [2](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-greenlights-love-untangled)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 고백의 역사 (*Gobaekui Yeoksa*, "History of Confession")[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/love-untangled) |
| Director / writers | Namkoong Sun; screenplay by Ji Chun-hee and Wang Doo-ri[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33549683/fullcredits/) |
| Setting | Busan, South Korea, in 1998[2](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-greenlights-love-untangled) |
| Main cast | Gong Myoung (Han Yun-seok), Shin Eun-soo (Park Se-ri), Cha Woo-min (Kim Hyeon), Youn Sang-hyun (Baek Seong-rae), Kang Mi-na (Ko In-jeong)[5](https://www.netflix.com/title/81785333) |
| Release | Netflix, August 29, 2025[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_untangled) |
| Runtime | 121 minutes (2h 1m); IMDb lists 1h 58m[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_untangled) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33549683/?bypassRefViewPref=1) |
| Reception | IMDb 7.1/10 from about 5.8K users; Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer based on 5 critic reviews[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33549683/?bypassRefViewPref=1) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_untangled) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Park Se-ri ([Shin Eun-soo](https://www.edgepedia.org/shin-eun-soo)) believes her naturally curly hair is the reason for her romantic troubles. If she had sleek hair like her fraternal twin sister Hye-ri, she reasons, she could win over Kim Hyeon ([Cha Woo-min](https://www.edgepedia.org/cha-woo-min)), the most popular boy at school.[8](https://time.com/7313420/love-untangled-ending-netflix/) Her plan gains focus when Han Yun-seok (Gong Myoung), a quiet transfer student from Seoul, arrives; his mother Baek Jang-mi (Hong Eun-hee) runs a hair salon and agrees to give Se-ri a "Seoul magical straightening treatment" for free if Se-ri helps Yun-seok, who has injured his foot, get around. As the two spend time together, they grow closer.[8](https://time.com/7313420/love-untangled-ending-netflix/)
Se-ri does get the straightening treatment and arranges to confess to Kim Hyeon during the class's overnight school trip, a Korean teen rite of passage built around a campfire sing-along. When the moment comes she cannot do it, admitting she has feelings for someone else, and the two part amicably.[8](https://time.com/7313420/love-untangled-ending-netflix/) After a time jump of about a year, in which Se-ri studies for the CSAT college entrance exams and later swims in a college marine sports program, she and Yun-seok reunite, and the film ends with the two together in her father's manhwa hideout.[8](https://time.com/7313420/love-untangled-ending-netflix/)
Director Namkoong Sun told TIME she shortened the original script's time jump, which had the characters meeting as adults, because she wanted to give them "a real chance to be a couple" and the audience "a proper old school ending for once."[8](https://time.com/7313420/love-untangled-ending-netflix/)
## Production
Netflix greenlit the film in September 2024 as a youth romance exploring first love and friendship, produced by Bombaram Film, the studio behind *Kim Ji-young: Born 1982*.[2](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-greenlights-love-untangled) Filming took place in South Korea between September 24 and December 15, 2024.[9](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/love-untangled-netflix-k-drama-romance-film-everything-we-know-so-far-02-2025/)
**The 1998 setting.** Namkoong, who was herself in high school in 1998, said she chose the year for its "strange cultural optimism," when the first generation of K-pop idol singers emerged and new doors were opening for young people.[10](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/films/20250825/gong-myung-shin-eun-soo-lead-nostalgic-romance-love-untangled-set-in-1998-busan) • [11](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10561281) The production committed to period detail, from beepers and bulky camcorders to retro hairstyles and oversized uniforms, and recreated a Busan of old-school locations, including Gwangalli beach before the surrounding skyscrapers, with the [Gwangan Bridge](https://www.edgepedia.org/gwangan-bridge) still under construction.[11](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10561281) • [8](https://time.com/7313420/love-untangled-ending-netflix/)
**Casting and dialect.** Shin Eun-soo took on her first Busan dialect role, meeting a dialect coach two to three times a week and marking pitch in her script, with help from Busan natives Cha Woo-min and [Yoon Sang-hyun](https://www.edgepedia.org/yoon-sang-hyun).[10](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/films/20250825/gong-myung-shin-eun-soo-lead-nostalgic-romance-love-untangled-set-in-1998-busan) Gong Myoung, who was 31 during promotion, played a high school student and joked that people said he looked more like a teacher.[11](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10561281) Veteran actors [Gong Yoo](https://www.edgepedia.org/gong-yoo) and Jung Yu-mi, both Busan natives who have played couples on screen before, appear as the owners of the seaside cafe in the final act; Park Jeong-min plays a character credited as the Perm Man.[8](https://time.com/7313420/love-untangled-ending-netflix/) • [3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/love-untangled)
## Themes and style
Namkoong framed the curly hair as more than a plot device: "It's really about that teenage torture over stuff you can't control. Do you actually have to change who you are?"[11](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10561281) She told TIME that Korean school culture places pressure on looking different, and that in the film nobody really cares about Se-ri's hair except Se-ri herself.[8](https://time.com/7313420/love-untangled-ending-netflix/) She cited American teen films such as *The Breakfast Club*, *Clueless*, and *Mean Girls* as influences, along with the arthouse work of [Gus Van Sant](https://www.edgepedia.org/gus-van-sant), Sōmai Shinji, and Edward Yang.[8](https://time.com/7313420/love-untangled-ending-netflix/)
The film belongs to the Korean youth-romance and first-love nostalgia cycle, and its 1998 reconstruction follows the period-production-design standard set by television dramas such as *Reply 1988*.[12](https://sightlines.media/film/1355666/love-untangled-2025) TIME noted that a lighthearted Korean-language film with global distribution is relatively rare, since Korean cinema is better known internationally for revenge dramas and class critiques.[8](https://time.com/7313420/love-untangled-ending-netflix/)
## Reception
The film holds a 7.1/10 rating on IMDb from about 5.8K users.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33549683/?bypassRefViewPref=1) On Rotten Tomatoes the Tomatometer rests on 5 critic reviews; Decider's John Serba called it "far better than expected, a pleasantly watchable confection with a hint of substance," while Common Sense Media gave it 3/5 and recommended it for younger teens and tweens.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_untangled) Common Sense Media rated it appropriate for ages 11 and up, noting references to domestic abuse and bullying within an otherwise tame romantic comedy.[13](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/love-untangled) Some audience reviewers praised the nostalgic tone and lead chemistry while criticizing the film's length.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_untangled)
## References
1. [Love Untangled, Netflix Media Center](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81785333)
2. [Netflix Greenlights 'Love Untangled': A Nostalgic Korean Youth Romance Set in 1998, About Netflix (September 13, 2024)](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-greenlights-love-untangled)
3. [Love Untangled streaming: where to watch online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/love-untangled)
4. [Love Untangled (2025) Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33549683/fullcredits/)
5. [Love Untangled, Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/title/81785333)
6. [Love Untangled, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_untangled)
7. [Love Untangled (2025), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33549683/?bypassRefViewPref=1)
8. [Breaking Down the Sweet Ending of 'Love Untangled', TIME (August 29, 2025)](https://time.com/7313420/love-untangled-ending-netflix/)
9. ['Love Untangled' Netflix K-Drama Romance Film Sets August 2025 Release, What's on Netflix (July 28, 2025)](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/love-untangled-netflix-k-drama-romance-film-everything-we-know-so-far-02-2025/)
10. [Gong Myung, Shin Eun-soo lead nostalgic romance 'Love Untangled,' set in 1998 Busan, The Korea Times (August 25, 2025)](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/films/20250825/gong-myung-shin-eun-soo-lead-nostalgic-romance-love-untangled-set-in-1998-busan)
11. [Netflix banks on '90s nostalgia with 'Love Untangled', The Korea Herald (August 25, 2025)](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10561281)
12. [Love Untangled (2025), dir. Namkoong Sun, Sightlines](https://sightlines.media/film/1355666/love-untangled-2025)
13. [Love Untangled Parents' Guide & Movie Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/love-untangled)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2025 › Titles A to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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