Enemies conquer poverty to rekindle love

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 Jung-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 [angie@joongang.co.kr]