Love and hate, as the saying goes, are two sides of the same coin. This is nowhere more apparent than in
Lee Yoon-ki's "
My Dear Enemy", a story which explores the way love can create hatred and vice versa.
The film's two main characters, Hui-soo (
Jeon Do-yeon) and Byung-un (
Ha Jeong-woo), share a tempestuous relationship.
Hui-soo, single, jobless and poor, is desperate for money. While searching for ways to earn a living, she remembers the 3.5 million won ($3,073) that her ex-boyfriend Byung-un borrowed from her a year ago.
She asks him for the money but he's in equally dire straits. He is also jobless and worn out.
He got married after breaking up with Hui-soo but divorced two months later. His business failed, miring him even deeper in debt. His bad luck forces him out onto the streets.
Despite the breakdowns, Byung-un is optimistic. He still dreams of becoming a jockey and opening a makgeolli, or rice wine, shop in Madrid.
While the two dispute over money, their love for each other begins to blossom once more.
My Dear Enemy, which was released last Thursday, follows a day in the life of the couple, the day their hatred turns back into love.
"The story is simple", said Lee at a press screening two weeks ago at Seoul Cinema in Jongno, central Seoul.
"It [the story] can happen to anyone or anyone around you. Hui-soo and Byung-un are very familiar characters", said Lee, who directed "
Ad-Lib Night" (2006) and "
Love Talk" (2005).
The film took 40 days to shoot at around 58 locations in Seoul, including the back streets of Jongno, Itaewon and a few overpasses and crossroads.
Jeon felt comfortable filming around the capital.
"Making the movie was like going on a long trip all over the city", Jeon said.
Jeon won Best Actress for "
Secret Sunshine" (2006) at the Cannes International Film Festival last year, and she says the Korean public have high expectations of her.
This movie should be an interesting follow-up.
By Lee Eun-joo Staff Reporter
