Critics called My Dear Desperado a "likeably offbeat" character-driven romance and "one of the discoveries of Korean cinema in 2010," praising it for Kim's "enjoyably unaffected" direction and "fluid handling" of his own script, the strong acting and chemistry between its two leads, the smooth transition from comedy to pathos, and a casual realism of setting and style that's evocative of ordinary, real people (despite fitting within the conventions of a romantic comedy).
But it gradually built up positive word of mouth, and managed to sell close to a modest 700,000 tickets, enough to ensure the filmmakers a healthy profit (it was produced by Yoon Je-kyoon).
[5] The crime thriller begins with the apparent suicide of a promising actress due to false, malicious rumors, and as her manager risks his life by seeking the truth behind them, he uncovers a vast conspiracy of power, money and sex, where faceless people from every field of society, such as financial firms, public relations agencies, and government organizations, are authors of jjirasi (from the Japanese word chirashi, meaning "leaflet").
[6] Jjirasi are secretive online newsletters that navigate the sketchy underbellies of politics, business and showbiz, read voraciously by stock investors and tabloid journalists who pay for them; fact and fiction are selectively picked, processed and published to shape public opinion and further particular agendas.
[8] Reviews praised Kim for the slow-building intensity in his directorial approach, his "deft" rendering of fight and chase scenes, and for "convincingly dramatizing" the ruthless competition between jjirasi writers and the destructive nature of their information.