“It was filmed in the peak of summer, but to be released on the most beautiful day of winter feels like an honor,” actor Choo Young-woo said, summing up the quiet emotional journey behind ‘Even If This Love Disappears from the World Tonight’.
Actors Choo Young-woo and Shin Si-ah are set to deliver a gentle yet resonant love story this Christmas Eve. Subtle in tone but rich in emotion, the film embraces youth, love, and loss leaving behind a lingering warmth suited for the year’s end.
A Love That Resets Every Day
Based on the bestselling novel by Ichijo Misaki, the Korean adaptation reimagines the story through a distinctly local emotional lens. The film follows Seo-yoon (Shin Si-ah), a girl who loses her memories every day, and Jae-won (Choo Young-woo), the boy who chooses to remember everything for her. It is a pure melodrama that confronts fragile emotions head-on, leaving a quiet but lasting aftertaste.
On December 22, the film held its press screening and press conference at CGV Yongsan I’Park Mall in Seoul, attended by director Kim Hye-young alongside the two lead actors.
Rebuilding the Story with Korean Sensibility
‘Even If This Love Disappears from the World Tonight’ is a youth romance that depicts love not as something extraordinary, but as something deeply familiar. While the original novel sold over 1.3 million copies and its Japanese film adaptation received widespread acclaim, the Korean version seeks resonance through everyday realism.
Director Kim explained her approach: “I kept asking myself what ‘Korean sensibility’ really means. I realized that if we place ordinary students in beautiful Korean settings and let their emotions unfold naturally, that itself becomes something very Korean.” She added that the film builds the relationship step by step, focusing on the gradual closeness between the two characters. Compared to the original, the overall tone is brighter, allowing tenderness to surface more clearly.
Ordinary Dates, Honest Emotions
Rather than emphasizing spectacle, the film leans into familiar spaces arcades, karaoke rooms, and seaside walks—to evoke shared memories of first love. Many of the dating scenes were intentionally left dialogue-free. Shin Si-ah recalled, “Most of the date scenes didn’t have lines. We improvised based on how we felt in the moment and filmed them like real dates.”
The adaptation also shifts its focus away from certain subplots in the original novel, narrowing in on youth, love, and friendship. Director Kim explained that conflicts surrounding dreams were reduced to strengthen the central romance, while themes of loss were symbolically reframed through family dynamics.
Casting Against Expectations
Shin Si-ah, known for her intense and bold performances, takes on the delicate role of Seo-yoon. Director Kim said she was drawn to Shin’s willingness to challenge herself emotionally. “She had to portray confusion after memory loss and the process of falling in love again. It wasn’t easy, but she endured and grew through constant communication.” Shin described her approach by saying she treated memory loss as a narrative setting rather than a defining trait, focusing instead on Seo-yoon’s optimism and warmth toward the world.
Choo Young-woo’s First Big Screen Debut
Choo Young-woo plays Jae-won, the devoted boyfriend who fills in Seo-yoon’s missing memories each day. A longtime fan of both the original novel and its Japanese film, Choo said joining the project felt surreal. “It was a story I truly loved. Seeing my face on the big screen was a dream come true, but it also came with pressure,” he admitted. Director Kim praised Choo’s natural rhythm and emotional range, noting his ability to balance youthful innocence with the quiet emptiness of loving someone who forgets him every day. She even joked that he felt like a “second director” on set due to his attentiveness.
For the role, Choo underwent a physical transformation, losing around 14 kilograms to portray a fragile high school student with a heart condition. He also studied teenagers closely drawing from memories, conversations with younger relatives, and even chatting with students who visited the set.
A Chemistry Built on Trust
The synergy between the two leads was a recurring highlight. Shin shared that Choo accepted every improvisation with ease, creating a sense of stability that allowed her to experiment freely. That trust translated naturally onto the screen. As the film prepares to meet audiences on December 24, director Kim expressed her hope that viewers would leave feeling embraced by love, much like the spirit of Christmas itself. Choo described the film as one filled with love, youth, and quiet lessons, while Shin concluded, “It’s calm and gentle, but it leaves a deep echo. I hope audiences walk away with lingering memories of their own.”
‘Even If This Love Disappears from the World Tonight’ opens in theaters on December 24.