South Korea · Film · 2023
Single in Seoul
Binge Brief
- Runs 103 minutes and is rated 13+ (Teens 13 or older).
- TMDB id 717088; an original screenplay by Lee Ji-min, not adapted from a book or webtoon.
- Premiered in South Korean theaters on November 29, 2023.
- Directed by Park Beom-soo.
- Principal photography reportedly began around November 2020, roughly three years before its release.
Synopsis
Single in Seoul (싱글 인 서울) follows Young-ho (Lee Dong-wook), a book editor who has chosen to stay single and hosts a low-key podcast about it, and Hyun-jin (Im Soo-jung), a magazine writer whose fiance broke off their engagement shortly before the wedding. When Hyun-jin is assigned to profile Young-ho for a piece on people who live alone by choice, the two end up paired on a larger project: co-writing an essay collection about singlehood.
The assignment forces them to keep meeting and comparing notes, even though they start from opposite premises. Young-ho treats being single as a deliberate, settled choice; Hyun-jin, freshly out of a broken engagement, is uneasy being alone and keeps looking for reasons the arrangement should feel temporary. Their research trips into other people's single lives repeatedly turn into arguments about whose version of the book's thesis is right.
As the project stretches on, old wounds surface on both sides, Hyun-jin's canceled wedding and whatever left Young-ho so committed to solitude, and the two start letting each other past the positions they opened the film with. The book itself becomes a kind of pretext, a reason for two people who would not otherwise cross paths to keep showing up for each other.
Set in present-day Seoul, the film uses its two leads' opposing attitudes to needle at a broader question raised around its release: whether staying single is really a free choice or something people settle into by default. Single in Seoul premiered in South Korean theaters on November 29, 2023.
Single in Seoul cast
Billing not confirmed for these names.
Visual design and costumes
- Critics described the film's visual style as understated rather than distinctive. The Korea Herald's review said some scenes "feel rather like a documentary on how a book is published," and criticized the reliance on generic commercial background music instead of memorable visual storytelling.
- The Review Geek's review said the cinematography leaned on dark colors and a slow pace, creating what it called an "unrelenting chilly" atmosphere that worked against the film's billing as a romantic comedy.
Themes and messages
- The premise sets up two contrasting attitudes toward being single: Park Young-ho treats solitude as a deliberate choice, while Joo Hyun-jin is uncomfortable being alone; the essay project they co-write forces both to confront old wounds from past relationships.
- The Review Geek's review reads the story as questioning whether singlehood is really "a choice," tying the theme to South Korea's declining birth rate and shifting attitudes toward marriage and partnership.
Interesting facts
- Filming began around November 2020, but the film was not released until November 29, 2023 — a roughly three-year gap that drew fan speculation about the delay.
- Lee Dong-wook and Im Soo-jung had previously co-starred in the 2019 drama "Search: WWW" before reuniting for this film.
- The Korea Herald's review noted that director Park Beom-soo worked with members of the creative team behind the 2012 film "Architecture 101."
- The film opened at No. 1 at the South Korean box office and had reached roughly 400,000 admissions (about $2.7 million gross) by mid-2025, per the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).
- Reception was mixed: the Korea Herald called it "bland overall," and the Review Geek rated it 5.5/10, writing that it "achieves the opposite of a romantic comedy" despite its cast.
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