# Perhaps Love (장르만 로맨스) (2021 film)
**Perhaps Love** (장르만 로맨스, literally "Only Romance as a Genre") is a 2021 South Korean romantic comedy-drama directed by Cho Eun-ji in her feature directorial debut, starring [Ryu Seung-ryong](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryu-seung-ryong) as a blocked novelist whose tangled personal life entangles his ex-wife, his best friend, his son, and a gifted student.[1](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/perhaps-love/) • [2](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/newfilm.jsp?mode=VIEW&pageIndex=1&seq=446) It was released in South Korea on November 17, 2021, runs 113 minutes, and opened at the top of the domestic box office.[3](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=54743) • [4](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/films/20211118/quirky-comedy-film-perhaps-love-opens-at-top-of-box-offices)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title / director | 장르만 로맨스, directed by Cho Eun-ji (조은지), her feature debut[1](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/perhaps-love/) |
| Release | November 17, 2021, South Korea; 113 minutes; rated 15 and over[3](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=54743) |
| Genre | Comedy, drama; described by Film at Lincoln Center as a screwball comedy with slapstick offset by scenes of poignancy[3](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=54743) • [1](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/perhaps-love/) |
| Main cast | Ryu Seung-ryong (Kim Hyun), Oh Na-ra (Mi-ae), Kim Hee-won (Soon-mo), Lee Yoo-young (Jung-won), Sung Yoo-bin (Sung-kyung), Mu Jin-sung (Yoo-jin)[2](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/newfilm.jsp?mode=VIEW&pageIndex=1&seq=446) • [3](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=54743) |
| Box office | Opened No. 1 with about 43,000 tickets and about 404 million won ($343,000); cumulative admissions about 518,000[4](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/films/20211118/quirky-comedy-film-perhaps-love-opens-at-top-of-box-offices) • [3](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=54743) |
| Notable production | Filmed in Vilnius, Lithuania, to recreate the Republic of Užupis, an artist-declared micronation that exists for one day a year[5](https://www.koreafilm.co.kr/movie/genreromance/genreromance_2-1.htm) • [6](https://www.nyaff.org/blog/its-ordinary-its-extraordinary-its-perhaps-love) |
| Streaming | Available on Netflix in South Korea, where it is tagged as an LGBTQ+ and romantic comedy title and a Blue Dragon Film Awards nominee[7](https://www.netflix.com/kr/title/81580568) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and characters
The story centers on Kim Hyun (Ryu Seung-ryong), a professor and best-selling author who has struggled with writer's block for seven years following his divorce from Mi-ae (Oh Na-ra).[2](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/newfilm.jsp?mode=VIEW&pageIndex=1&seq=446) Hyun does not know that Mi-ae is secretly in a relationship with Soonmo (Kim Hee-won), who is both Hyun's best friend and his publisher.[2](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/newfilm.jsp?mode=VIEW&pageIndex=1&seq=446) Hyun has remarried, but his new wife and young daughter live abroad, and he has a testy relationship with his 19-year-old son Sung-kyung (Sung Yoo-bin).[2](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/newfilm.jsp?mode=VIEW&pageIndex=1&seq=446)
To restart his career, Hyun begins working on a new novel with Yoo-jin ([Mu Jin-sung](https://www.edgepedia.org/mu-jin-sung)), an aspiring writer and his student whose writing impresses him; the situation grows more complicated when Yoo-jin comes out as gay and confesses his love for him.[2](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/newfilm.jsp?mode=VIEW&pageIndex=1&seq=446) • [4](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/films/20211118/quirky-comedy-film-perhaps-love-opens-at-top-of-box-offices) A further thread involves the neighbor Jung-won ([Lee Yoo-young](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-yoo-young)) and Sung-kyung, whose attraction the New York Asian Film Festival synopsis leaves deliberately ambiguous: the novelist's son is wooed by an older, married neighbor, "or is it the other way around?"[3](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=54743) • [1](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/perhaps-love/) Sung-kyung is also going through his first breakup after being dumped by his high school girlfriend.[8](https://windowsonworlds.com/2022/05/02/perhaps-love-%EC%9E%A5%EB%A5%B4%EB%A7%8C-%EB%A1%9C%EB%A7%A8%EC%8A%A4-cho-eun-ji-2021/)
The Korean Film Council's synopsis frames the film as weaving together nearly every relationship type the romance genre handles, around the novelist at the center.[9](https://dgk.or.kr/home/download/%EB%B2%A1%EB%8D%B8%EB%8D%B0%EC%9D%B4%202022%20%EC%9E%90%EB%A3%8C%EC%A7%91.pdf) Film at [Lincoln Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/lincoln-center)'s program note adds that as the characters each go on a journey of creative self-discovery, the film "deftly transcends the heteronormative conditioning that is de rigueur in most romantic dramedies."[1](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/perhaps-love/)
## Production and the Lithuania shoot
**Director.** Perhaps Love marks the directorial debut of the veteran character actress Cho Eun-ji, who debuted as a performer in Im Sang-soo's *Tears* (2001) and is known for *My Scary Girl* (2005), *Forever the Moment* (2008), and *[The Villainess](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-villainess)* (2017).[2](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/newfilm.jsp?mode=VIEW&pageIndex=1&seq=446) In interviews she described the film as a romance that is by no means a light story, noting that the relationships and character setups in the film are not ordinary.[10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFPl-aQGygM)
**Location.** To recreate the Republic of Užupis, a self-declared artist's republic in Vilnius that exists for one day a year on April 1st, the production filmed on location in Vilnius, Lithuania, pairing Korean staff one-to-one with local crew; Korean film industry coverage describes it as the first Korean film to secure a Lithuanian location shoot.[5](https://www.koreafilm.co.kr/movie/genreromance/genreromance_2-1.htm) • [6](https://www.nyaff.org/blog/its-ordinary-its-extraordinary-its-perhaps-love) In the film, Yoo-jin and Kim Hyun find themselves in Užupis as a side plot.[6](https://www.nyaff.org/blog/its-ordinary-its-extraordinary-its-perhaps-love)
**Music.** Cho actively proposed the song "Saseol Nanbong-ga" in the voice of the band SSing SSing during the screenplay adaptation stage, an example of the director's hand in the film's music.[5](https://www.koreafilm.co.kr/movie/genreromance/genreromance_2-1.htm)
## Release and reception
The film opened on November 17, 2021, and took the top spot at the Korean box office the next day, ending the run of Marvel's *Eternals*, which had held first place since November 3.[4](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/films/20211118/quirky-comedy-film-perhaps-love-opens-at-top-of-box-offices) Its opening-day sales of about 43,000 tickets (about 404 million won, roughly $343,000) compared with 34,000 tickets for the second-placed *Eternals* that day.[4](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/films/20211118/quirky-comedy-film-perhaps-love-opens-at-top-of-box-offices) Cumulative admissions were reported as 518,269 by Cine21 and 518,491 by Cinemaboard, a small discrepancy between the two trackers.[3](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=54743) • [11](https://cinemaboard.co.kr/movies/%EC%9E%A5%EB%A5%B4%EB%A7%8C-%EB%A1%9C%EB%A7%A8%EC%8A%A4--m_7430c88ff3e6) Cinemaboard characterized the run as front-loaded, with high early concentration and a comparatively steep daily decline over a 50-day initial release, peaking at 93,371 admissions on a single day.[11](https://cinemaboard.co.kr/movies/%EC%9E%A5%EB%A5%B4%EB%A7%8C-%EB%A1%9C%EB%A7%A8%EC%8A%A4--m_7430c88ff3e6)
Cine21's three professional critics averaged 6.33 out of 10 against an audience score of 7.00, with reviews crediting the debut director for juggling the ensemble's characters and putting the cast to full use.[3](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=54743) A Wikitree review argued that without prior information a viewer would hardly guess the film was anyone's feature debut.[12](https://www.wikitree.co.kr/articles/704450)
## Festival circuit and recognition
Perhaps Love screened at the New York Asian Film Festival (July 15–31, 2022), where Film at Lincoln Center co-presented it with a Q&A featuring Ryu Seung-ryong and Cho Eun-ji, and at the Udine Far East Film Festival.[1](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/perhaps-love/) • [8](https://windowsonworlds.com/2022/05/02/perhaps-love-%EC%9E%A5%EB%A5%B4%EB%A7%8C-%EB%A1%9C%EB%A7%A8%EC%8A%A4-cho-eun-ji-2021/) AsianWiki lists it at the 58th Daejong Film Awards (December 9, 2022), and Netflix's Korean listing tags it as a Blue Dragon Film Awards nominee.[13](https://asianwiki.com/Perhaps_Love_%28Korean_Movie%29) • [7](https://www.netflix.com/kr/title/81580568)
The Korean Directors' Guild's 2022 catalog placed the film in its Bechdel Choice 10 selection. The Bechdel Day criteria, launched in 2020 by the guild with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, extend the three [Bechdel test](https://www.edgepedia.org/bechdel-test) criteria with four more, including at least one woman among the director, producer, screenwriter, or cinematographer, and the absence of hateful or discriminatory portrayals of minorities; the catalog notes that the film satisfied all seven criteria, with women leading production across the board, from director Cho to rookie screenwriter Kim Nadal and veteran producer Baek Kyung-sook.[9](https://dgk.or.kr/home/download/%EB%B2%A1%EB%8D%B8%EB%8D%B0%EC%9D%B4%202022%20%EC%9E%90%EB%A3%8C%EC%A7%91.pdf)
## Cast background
Ryu Seung-ryong is described by the Korean Film Council as one of the industry's most bankable stars, having appeared in four films that crossed the ten million viewer mark, including the two most successful Korean films of all time at the time of writing, *Roaring Currents* (2014) and *Extreme Job* (2019).[2](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/newfilm.jsp?mode=VIEW&pageIndex=1&seq=446) Oh Na-ra was part of the hit drama *SKY Castle*, and Kim Hee-won is a veteran character actor seen in *[The Merciless](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-merciless)* (2017) and *Pawn* (2020).[2](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/newfilm.jsp?mode=VIEW&pageIndex=1&seq=446) The film was produced by Bi-rip Co., Ltd., distributed and presented by NEW, with Library Pictures International as co-presenter.[3](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=54743)
## References
1. [Perhaps Love, Film at Lincoln Center (New York Asian Film Festival 2022)](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/perhaps-love/)
2. [PERHAPS LOVE, Korean Film Council (KOFIC), New Films, November 16, 2021](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/newfilm.jsp?mode=VIEW&pageIndex=1&seq=446)
3. [장르만 로맨스 (Perhaps Love) 상세정보, Cine21](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=54743)
4. [Quirky comedy film 'Perhaps Love' opens at top of box offices, The Korea Times, November 18, 2021](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/films/20211118/quirky-comedy-film-perhaps-love-opens-at-top-of-box-offices)
5. [평범하지 않은 로맨스로 얽힌 이들과 만나 일도 인생도 꼬여가는 베스트셀러 작가의 버라이어티한 사생활을 그린 영화 [장르만 로맨스], KoreaFilm.co.kr](https://www.koreafilm.co.kr/movie/genreromance/genreromance_2-1.htm)
6. [It's Ordinary, It's Extraordinary, It's Perhaps Love, New York Asian Film Festival](https://www.nyaff.org/blog/its-ordinary-its-extraordinary-its-perhaps-love)
7. [장르만 로맨스, Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/kr/title/81580568)
8. [Perhaps Love (장르만 로맨스, Cho Eun-ji, 2021), Windows on Worlds, May 2, 2022](https://windowsonworlds.com/2022/05/02/perhaps-love-%EC%9E%A5%EB%A5%B4%EB%A7%8C-%EB%A1%9C%EB%A7%A8%EC%8A%A4-cho-eun-ji-2021/)
9. [벡델데이 2022 자료집, Korean Directors' Guild (DGK)](https://dgk.or.kr/home/download/%EB%B2%A1%EB%8D%B8%EB%8D%B0%EC%9D%B4%202022%20%EC%9E%90%EB%A3%8C%EC%A7%91.pdf)
10. ["취미로 글쓰다 보니" 첫 장편 영화 연출한 배우 조은지, 연합뉴스TV (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFPl-aQGygM)
11. [장르만 로맨스 영화 정보·출연진·관객수·흥행 추이, CinemaBoard](https://cinemaboard.co.kr/movies/%EC%9E%A5%EB%A5%B4%EB%A7%8C-%EB%A1%9C%EB%A7%A8%EC%8A%A4--m_7430c88ff3e6)
12. ['장르만 로맨스' 생각없이 웃다 뒤통수 맞는다… 아, 얄궂은 관계여! (리뷰), Wikitree, November 6, 2021](https://www.wikitree.co.kr/articles/704450)
13. [Perhaps Love (Korean Movie), AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/Perhaps_Love_%28Korean_Movie%29)
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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 2021 to 2022*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license