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As of February 9, Keys to the Heart has surpassed 3 million moviegoers just 24 days after its release. The comedy drama had a slow start, passing the 1-million viewer mark two weeks after its opening and the 2-million viewer mark in three weeks. However, the film unexpectedly climbed the box office chart, beating its rivals two times. Keys to the Heart has won favorable comments, often being referred to as the Korean version of Rain Man (1989), while showing a new side of actor PARK Jung-min. Like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, PARK played a man suffering from savant syndrome, and his excellent performance rivals that of his co-star, the great actor LEE Byung-hun.  

Savant syndrome is a condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates a high aptitude, often far in excess of the average, in certain abilities such mathematics, map making or music. In Keys to the Heart, PARK Jung-min’s character Jin-tae, who has savant syndrome, possess an extraordinary talent for playing the piano. Most films with characters suffering from this syndrome have done well in Korea, with the most popular movie being Marathon (2005). Based on the true story of autistic child KIM Hyeong-jin, this human drama attracted more than 5 million moviegoers when it was released in 2005. In addition, SPLIT (2016), which is about an autistic man who is a natural at bowling, drew about 760,000 moviegoers.