In this generation of dating culture, people have no patience for love. With many options available, people jump from one relationship to another because they fear commitment and are emotionally unavailable. But in “Tune in for Love,” writer Lee Suk Yun and director Jung Ji Woo bring a love story to remind us that true love demands commitment: one person is ready to wait forever just to spend the rest of his or her days with a person they love. The film tells the tale of two people from the 90s who hold onto their love for ten years and is an insight into how the concept and importance of love were and how they have changed over decades.
‘Tune in for Love’ Plot Summary
In the 90s, along with the rest of the world, South Korea was also going through economic development. Back when mobile phones or the internet weren’t a part of people’s daily lives, getting a full-time job was the biggest life goal for many. Mi Su is a high school girl who works part-time in her late mother’s bakery. After her mother passed away, Eun Ja, her mother’s friend, has been taking care of the bakery and Mi Su as well. They are happy with what they do. Making bread is the fondest memory Mi Su has of her mom.
Hyeon Woo is currently on probation after being released from a juvenile detention center. He is serving for a crime he didn’t commit, but he will always have to carry the tag of a criminal, and it is most burdensome to him. Since he can’t go back to his family, he drops out of high school and takes a part-time job at Mi Su’s bakery. Mi Su and Eun Ja do not ask him about his crime because they can see his earnest effort to live a normal life. Without a blood-related family member to support them, three of them develop a special bond. Mi Su and Hyeon Woo engage in a relationship with each other that manages to grow in unexpected circumstances.
Hyeon Woo’s life was never the same after he went to the juvenile center. He was there because of his friends, who were a bad influence on him in every way. After coming off probation, he tried to stay away from them, but they still found him. Once again, he has to go back to the juvenile center because of his friends. With no source to contact, Mi Su and Eun Ja will never know why Hyeon Woo didn’t come back to the bakery. When Hyeon Woo gets out of the juvenile center, Eun Ja has closed down the bakery.
Mi Su is now studying in college, and she encounters Hyeon Woo just the night before his military service starts. They reunite after years apart, only to split up again. For a reason or two, they always miss each other’s timings. Yet they are able to keep their love alive. Finally, when they are back together and have started dating normally, Mi Su finds out about Hyeon Woo’s past, resulting in them breaking up. Will they find their way back into each other’s lives, or will their love of many years die forever?
A Gloomy Tale Of Love
The movie happens in a timeline of 10 years and exhibits the changing lives of the main characters. Once you step out into the real world, you never know how life is going to turn out. The story of the film mainly focuses on Hyeon Woo, who is insecure and embarrassed about his past. He only wants to run away from it, and his happy escape is Mi Su, until she finds out about it. Both the male and female leads have gloomy characteristics, and there isn’t a cheesy or bubbly romance if you are expecting it. For most of the movie’s length, both Hyeon Woo and Mi Su are living their own lives, vibing to their own gloomy tunes. And once in a while, they find each other, like tuning to a radio channel on a different frequency. The characters do not live passionately, and their chemistry isn’t applaudable either.
The cultural references have been inserted well into the scenes, like popular radio shows, the introduction of mobile phones, the popularity of gyms, and the internet. Even if you weren’t there to experience it, the movie will make sure to take you back in time. Radio was a major source of entertainment in the old days and has great importance in the movie, but it could’ve been used better than just as a filler in the plot holes.
Had this story happened at the current time, the main leads would have ended their relationship much earlier, due to a lack of communication, instead of waiting for each other for ten years. Overall, “Tune in for Love” isn’t an exciting watch, but if you want to experience a love story that happened before digital romance attacked us, then this film can be a decent watch.
‘Tune in for Love’ is a 2019 Romantic Drama film directed by Ji-woo Jung.
