Romantic comedy “Penny Pinchers” is a tale of a budding romance between an unemployed young man who, with very little money, can’t afford to date with his girlfriend and a woman who is too stingy to have a relationship with any man.

Cheon Ji-woong is a pathetic jobless man who fails to get a job at every opportunity. He can’t have a fling with his girlfriend because he doesn’t have enough money to buy a condom. Worse yet, he is about to be kicked out of his house as he can’t afford to pay the rent. In his neighborhood, there lives a young woman, Gu Hong-sil. The penny pincher steals sugar at a coffee shop, walks long distances to save money and collects empty bottles for money. This skinflint declares that she can never accept three things in her life—dating, religion and disease—because they cost money. Hong-sil happens to see penniless Ji-woong and suggests to him that she help him earn five million won in just two months. Ji-woong, feeling desperate, eagerly accepts the tempting proposal. But there’s no free lunch. He has to do whatever she says. They do everything possible to earn money—collecting trash at deserted houses, posing as guests at wedding ceremonies of total strangers and volunteering to donate blood for a single meal. While the two keep fighting for every single thing they do, Ji-woong’s bank balance is increasing little by little. But Hong-sil has her own secret scheme to make money by using him. Will their bizarre partnership prove successful? For the initial purpose of financial success, the answer is no. For the unexpected romance that blossoms between the two young people, the answer is yes.

The Korean title of this movie is something like “Many a little Makes a Romance,” an apparent adaptation of an old saying “Many a little makes a mickle.” But the movie focuses more on “a little” than on “romance.” Many hilarious scenes keep the viewers amused throughout the movie, but it isn’t just about laughter or entertainment. The first scene of the movie, in which Hong-sil asks Ji-woong to give her his empty beer bottles and explains that three 50-won bottles a day can make 54,750 won a year, reveals her extreme penny-pinching lifestyle. Despite its comic elements on the surface, the film reminds the audiences of the sad reality of the younger generation faces, which is represented by the terms, “baeksu” and “88 Generation.” Ji-woong, the main character in the movie, is described as baeksu, a derogatory word indicating the unemployed. “88 Generation” refers to young, hardscrabble people struggling with part-time jobs and salaries of 880-thousand won, or 810 US dollars, a month. In the face of some criticism that the movie is exaggerated overall and takes the serious social subject of youth unemployment too lightly, the film greatly appeals to the younger generation with its realistic theme. This is well reflected in the fact that young viewers in their 20s and 30s account for more than 60 percent of the total audience members of this movie.

Many viewers say they are also impressed by the lead characters’ touching dialogue. Hong-sil tells Ji-woong that antelopes must run faster than other antelopes, not than a cheetah, in order not to be eaten by the cheetah. Feeling sorry for tightfisted Hong-sil, Ji-woong says, “People do two things in life—the thing they should do and the thing they want to do. Hong-sil, you’re only doing the thing you should do.”