Both movies are slow-burn and atmospheric stories about female office workers who are unsatisfied about their current lives and dream of escaping the confines of their mundane and dull routines. Not only are both movies excellent at conveying a sense of melancholy, depression, and loneliness through cinematography and dialogue (rather than through grand plot developments), they also show the real gendered experience (and misogyny) of corporate culture.
Although both movies have drastically different story lines, they both offer an interesting social commentary on gender in a patriarchal Korean society. Both movies have a (slight) feminist undertone as they zoom in on the female experience of daily life and the struggles that come with it. The theme of mental health functions as a red thread in both stories.
