The Story of Soulmate
When Mi-so and Ha-eun first meet at age 13, they don't know they're meeting the person who'll shape the next 14 years of their lives. That initial spark—the kind only childhood friends can ignite—sets everything in motion. What begins as pure, uncomplicated companionship gradually transforms as both women grow into adulthood, each carrying their own wounds, ambitions, and emotional baggage. The film spans more than a decade of their connection, charting the moments when they're closest and the seasons when they drift apart, all while wrestling with questions neither of them can quite articulate. Sadness, anger, grief, growth, and love don't arrive in neat packages. They collide, overlap, and sometimes contradict each other entirely—and that's the real story Soulmate tells.
Behind the Making of Soulmate
Directed by Min Yong-geun, Soulmate arrived in Korean cinemas on March 15, 2023, before premiering at the 28th Busan International Film Festival later that October. The film is an adaptation of a Chinese film with the same name, which means it's working from proven emotional material—but the Korean version charts its own course, especially in how it resolves the central relationship. The ensemble cast includes Kim Da-mi, Jeon So-nee, and Byeon Woo-seok, all of whom bring considerable star power to their roles. The production involved Studio & New, Climax Studios, ANDMARQ Studio, and KEYEAST, a lineup suggesting both artistic ambition and commercial backing. While Soulmate didn't dominate box office headlines or rack up major international awards (it earned one nomination), it found its audience among viewers who prize emotional authenticity over spectacle. On IMDb, the film holds a respectable 7.4 rating from over 2,200 voters, indicating solid word-of-mouth appreciation among streaming audiences.
What Makes Soulmate Stand Out
Here's what's striking about Soulmate: it doesn't shy away from the messiness of female friendship. Critics and audience reviews alike point to the film's willingness to show how two people can love each other deeply while simultaneously hurting each other, competing with each other, even resenting each other at times. The friendship between Mi-so and Ha-eun isn't a fairy tale—it's something far more interesting because it's grounded in real conflict. What's particularly notable is how the Korean adaptation reportedly handles the friendship dynamic more thoroughly than its source material, giving both women equal weight and complexity rather than centering one perspective. The performances anchor everything; there's a specificity to how these actors portray the small moments—a glance held too long, a laugh that doesn't quite reach the eyes, the way someone's voice changes when they're lying about being fine. The film also carries an emotional twist ending that reviewers describe as "emotionally jarring," suggesting the filmmakers weren't interested in tying everything up with a neat bow. On Movie OTT, you can find current streaming availability across major platforms, but what you'll discover once you press play is a film that trusts its audience to sit with discomfort and ambiguity.
Where to Stream Soulmate Online
Soulmate is currently available on major OTT services, making it accessible whether you're a subscriber to Netflix, Prime Video, or other streaming platforms in your region. Movie OTT tracks current streaming availability across these services, so you can check the "Where to Watch" widget at the top of this page to see exactly which platform has it in your country right now. Streaming rights vary by location and change frequently, so that widget is your most reliable source. The 124-minute runtime means you can carve out a solid evening to watch it without committing to a multi-week series, though honestly, you'll want to sit with this one for a while afterward.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Is Soulmate based on a true story?
No, but it's adapted from a Chinese film of the same name. The Korean version takes that source material and reimagines key elements, particularly how the friendship develops and how the story concludes, making it feel fresh even for viewers familiar with the original.
Q: Who directed Soulmate and what's their background?
Min Yong-geun directed this 2023 film. While Soulmate may be his highest-profile work to reach international streaming audiences, the film's emotional sophistication suggests a director comfortable working with intimate character studies and complex relationship dynamics.
Q: What's the age difference between the characters?
Mi-so and Ha-eun meet when they're 13 years old, and the film follows them across 14 years, so by the end they're in their late twenties. This timeline allows the story to explore how friendship and love shift as people move through early adulthood.
Q: How does the Korean version differ from the Chinese original?
Viewers who've seen both versions note that the Korean adaptation develops the friendship between the two women more thoroughly, while the Chinese version arguably gives more individual depth to each character in isolation. More significantly, the endings diverge—both are emotionally powerful, but in different ways.
Q: What genres does Soulmate blend?
It's primarily a romantic drama, but "romantic" here doesn't mean traditional romance-film beats. It's romance in the broader sense of exploring love, longing, jealousy, and connection between two people whose relationship defies easy categorization.
Final Thoughts on Soulmate
Soulmate won't be for everyone—its Rotten Tomatoes score of 17% suggests critics were divided, and that's partly because the film refuses to be comforting. It asks difficult questions about whether some bonds can survive the pressures of adulthood, ambition, and unspoken feelings. But if you're drawn to character-driven stories where the real drama happens in the spaces between dialogue, where a glance can mean everything, this is exactly the kind of film that rewards your attention. The tagline says it all: "You were always beside me." Sometimes that's enough. Sometimes it's everything. Sometimes it's not enough at all.
