Being an international student in US from a modest family background, I like to think a lot about how and where to spend my money, especially when it is coming out of my parents’ pockets and student loan. The movies suggested by various websites to me, it seems, are also related to the topic (given the infamous issue of data collection for the websites visited by users, it comes as no surprise). And hence, I stumbled upon this romantic comedy starring Song Joong Ki and Han Ye Seul.

Plot: Chun Ji Woong (Song Joong Ki) comes from a not so rich family where his mother owns a small diner. Being the pampered child, he has never had a problem with money. He lives off the allowance from his mother and is looking for a job. Not to say, he keeps failing the job interviews on account of his carefree and careless personality.

On the other hand, Gu Hong Sil (Han Ye Seul) is very diligent when it comes to money, having been brought up by a gambler father. She doesn’t shy away from stealing sugar sachets from cafes to save pennies. She even goes and salvages whatever she can from destroyed homes to earn small amounts and lives frugally. Thus, in five years, she has managed to save almost $200,000 which has been her goal since the beginning.

Both of them live in the opposite buildings and the neighborhood happens to have been sold for making a mall or something and every one is being evicted. By chance, Chun Ji Woong’s mother’s diner gets destroyed by a boar. Having flunked another job interview he is now penniless. Gu Hong Sil decides to take him in and teach him her penny pinching secrets. There is a catch though. Chun Ji Woong has to listen to whatever she says without questioning her. Gu Hong Sil manages to recruit him in her plans while using his name to open another account and put her hard earned money into it to evade taxes. However, Chun Ji Woong has life lessons for her too. And she learns to spend that money for her own sake. In the meantime, romance develops between both of them which is a given, of course. But is she successful in reaching her goal? That is something you need to find out.

Comments: Having been released in 2012 and Song Joong Ki being such a popular actor, I am surprised at the dearth of English subbed versions of this movie. Comedy is apt. Acting is outstanding. Song Joong Ki has done awesome job to channel the dorky and nonchalant character of Chun Ji Woong. Han Ye Seul’s acting, I found a bit lacking compared to her counterpart when it came to emotional scenes but otherwise, her portrayal of serious and badass Gu Hong Sil is……. just badass. I don’t remember the songs, so they didn’t have much impact for me. There is story and there is a bit of comedy. And that is enough for a one time watch, I think.

Another subject movie touches is the life of NEETS. There are tons of people like Chun Ji Woong and his friends who are looking or rather pretending to look for jobs to satisfy themselves and those around them that they are putting efforts. The stress of not finding the job pushes them to drink more alcohol and hit gaming arcades etc. all the time. I won’t say much about how Gu Hong Sil actually earns money, because hey, there are all sorts of unconventional ways to do that. Doing a job and earning money does not fit everyone’s style.

Lessons Learnt: Yes yes, it does teach you how to save money, that too subtly, but it goes to extreme ways. The two most important take away from the movie are:
1. Learn to save the money. There are other methods of pinching pennies but yeah, one needs to save money no matter what. It always helps. I personally wouldn’t follow all the ways shown in the movie though.
2. Never trust anyone when it comes to money. If something is too good to be true, it is supposed to be that way only. Learn to read between the lines when investing your money as well.

Other thoughts: People have told me that I keep whining about money all the time. That is what grad studies do to you, when the future is bleak and you have loans and everyone’s expectations behind you. Nonetheless, if you manage well, you can minimize your expenses. This movie will inspire another post from me telling what all I do to save whatever I can without compromising my health and meals. Not that I am the best source for the same. But given that there are so many examples of students who lived their grad lives on ramen noodles due to lack of time and mostly money, I feel like my perspective to keep myself healthy will be refreshing for some. For my parents don’t want anything else from me but good health and happy life for myself. Since they are spending so much money on me, I personally think that I owe them at least this much.

Side Story: Nothing much this time, semester starts next week. The vacations came to an end without me doing anything productive. I tried Wanikani after months and for first three levels, I got only 51% correct. So I have forgotten my Japanese and I am afraid to test myself on Italian now. I will need to start afresh

Today’s song: I have been listening to trance music these days. However, I think I’ll post another song from Black Pink:

(Picture and MV credits go to their respective owners)