The film is the fourth remake of the 1966 Lee Man-hee melodrama of the same title, whose original version is now considered a lost film.

It was a co-production between South Korea, China, Hong Kong and the United States, and was shot as an English-language film.

Hyun Bin and Tang Wei were cast in the lead roles on November 5, 2009.

Filming began on January 12, 2010 and wrapped after 37 shooting days on March 1, 2010, with the final scenes shot on Whidbey Island near Seattle.

The film premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival before also screening at the Busan International Film Festival, the Berlin International Film Festival, and the Fribourg International Film Festival.

Upon its 2012 release in China, the film became the highest-grossing Korean film ever released there, earning over 60 million yuan at the box office.

Tang Wei won Best Actress at multiple Korean award ceremonies for her performance, including the Baeksang Arts Awards and the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards.