Love Untangled (2025)

Netflix’s latest Korean original, Love Untangled, promises to wrap audiences in a soft-focus time capsule of youthful yearning, retro charm, and tangled emotions. Set in Busan, 1998, this nostalgic romantic coming-of-age tale spins a fresh yet familiar story of teenage crushes, identity, and self-acceptance—all knotted up in one girl's relentless mission to tame her curls and win her first love.

The recently released trailer is a delightful whirlwind of vintage visuals and awkward sincerity, setting the tone for a feel-good late summer watch. With a release date set for August 29, 2025, exclusively on Netflix, Love Untangled could very well be this year’s most charming teen romance.

🎀 Plot: Operation Love & the Power of Frizz

Meet Park Se Ri (Shin Eun Soo), a 19-year-old high school senior convinced that her wild, curly hair is the one thing standing between her and happiness—specifically, Kim Hyun (Cha Woo Min), the effortlessly cool heartthrob of her school. In a world of sleek ponytails and K-pop boyband aesthetics, Se Ri feels like a chaotic outlier.

Determined to confess her feelings before graduation, she launches “Operation Love”—a personal quest to straighten her curls and straighten out her romantic fate. But just as her plan starts to take shape, she crosses paths with Han Yoon Seok (Gong Myoung), a soft-spoken, artsy transfer student from Seoul with quiet depth and an unexpected willingness to help.

What follows is not the typical love triangle, but something gentler: a slow-burn friendship-turned-romance, where confessions are whispered through origami cranes and meaning is folded into every shared moment.

📼 Aesthetic: Retro Romance Done Right

Directed by Namkoong Sun (Ten Months, Time to Be Strong), Love Untangled isn’t just a romance—it’s a visual love letter to 90s Korean youth culture. From cassette tapes and film cameras to neon-lit arcades and school jackets, the production design immerses us in a pre-smartphone world, where love notes are handwritten and every glance lingers longer.

The trailer bursts with pastel tones, soft lighting, and carefully curated nostalgic details, yet never feels overly stylized. It captures a specific cultural moment—Busan in the late 90s—without becoming kitsch. For viewers who grew up in that era, it’s a wave of memory. For younger audiences, it’s a glimpse into a gentler time.

💬 Characters & Chemistry: A Curl Above the Rest

Shin Eun Soo carries the film with irresistible charm and comedic timing. Her performance as Se Ri is refreshingly unpolished in the best way—full of awkward bravado, late-night journal scribbles, and genuine teenage emotion. Her narration, hinted at in the trailer, gives the story a playful self-awareness reminiscent of Amélie or To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

Meanwhile, Gong Myoung brings subtlety and softness to Han Yoon Seok—a boy more interested in quiet corners and folding paper than chasing popularity. The chemistry between Se Ri and Yoon Seok simmers slowly, sweetly, subverting genre tropes and delivering something more poignant than expected.

Cha Woo Min, as Kim Hyun, plays his role with just enough charm to make Se Ri’s initial obsession understandable, but the film never over-romanticizes him. Instead, Love Untangled gently nudges its protagonist—and the audience—toward something more meaningful: love that sees beyond appearances.

💞 Themes: Straight Hair, Crooked Feelings

Beyond its retro backdrop and teenage antics, Love Untangled taps into something universal: the anxiety of self-presentation. Se Ri’s curls are not just a style—they’re a metaphor for the parts of ourselves we think we need to “fix” to be lovable. The film explores themes of self-worth, identity, and the quiet courage it takes to be seen as we are, especially during the vulnerable threshold between youth and adulthood.

In a media landscape often saturated with grand gestures and glossy romance, Love Untangled feels refreshingly small, personal, and emotionally honest.

📅 Final Thoughts: A Curl-Centric Coming-of-Age You’ll Want to Rewatch

With its quirky premise, endearing characters, and a tone that balances humor with heart, Love Untangled looks set to be a standout K-romance in Netflix’s 2025 lineup. Whether you grew up during the 90s or just long for love stories that take their time, this film promises to be a comfort watch wrapped in ribbons, tape decks, and tender truths.

First Impression Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Soft, sweet, and sneakily profound. Love Untangled captures the knots of first love—and the joy of letting them stay a little messy.