Soulmate · reception & legacy
2023 · Min Yong-keun
How Soulmate has been received, argued over, and remembered.
The arc
A modest theatrical run at home in March 2023, but it found its real audience on streaming — and got a second wind in 2024 when Byeon Woo-seok's Lovely Runner stardom sent fans back through his filmography.
What's debated
The double debate: does it justify remaking Derek Tsang's beloved 2016 original, and is 'friendship' really the right word for what Mi-so and Ha-eun have — the 'just say they're in love' reading dominates the reviews.
Its footprint
Its hyperrealistic pencil portraits became the film's signature image, and on Letterboxd it circulates as certified tearjerker material — a 'watch with tissues' recommendation passed between fans of female-friendship cinema.
Where it stands
A growing favourite in the sapphic-adjacent / female-friendship canon on Letterboxd, usually mentioned in the same breath as the Chinese original.