Someone Special

Someone Special

Year: 2004

Runtime: 107 mins

Language: Korean

RomanceComedy

A baseball player learns he has three months to live and drowns his sorrows at a bar, where the female bartender turns out to be a longtime admirer.

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen Someone Special yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline & Setting – Someone Special (2004)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Someone Special (2004). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Present-day

Set in the present, the story unfolds in a September leading toward the New Year. The plot intertwines contemporary urban life with a terminal illness that accelerates decisions and feelings. Public media, through radio confessions and a cinema outing, frames private moments as moments of reckoning.

Location

Bar, Hotel, Radio studio, Theater

Set in contemporary Korea, the film unfolds across intimate urban spaces. The bar where Yi-yeon works becomes a crossroads for chance encounters and whispered confessions. A hotel room collapses time as characters wake up far from where they started, while the radio studio and cinema theater provide public frames to private longing.

🍸 Bar 🏨 Hotel 🎙️ Radio studio 🎭 Theater

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:20

Main Characters – Someone Special (2004)

Meet the key characters of Someone Special (2004), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Han Yi-yeon (Lee Na-young)

Works part-time in a bar and at a coffee shop; a listener of radio confessions; long-held crush on a baseball player; becomes entwined with Chi-sung after helping him when he passes out; shy, persistent, and emotionally complex.

💬 Quiet 💗 Longing 🗝️ Hidden feelings

Dong Chi-sung (Jung Jae-young)

A professional baseball player with a malignant tumor and only three months to live; experienced and emotionally guarded; struggles with feeling of being unwanted or unrelatable; his life is upended by the bars and radio confessions; seeks meaning and connection in fleeting moments.

🏅 Former athlete 💔 Illness 🧭 Self-reflection

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:20

Major Themes – Someone Special (2004)

Explore the central themes of Someone Special (2004), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

❤️ Love, Mortality

Love in Someone Special arrives under the shadow of a terminal diagnosis, forcing characters to seize moments and redefine what counts as 'special.' Chi-sung's fear of losing love creates urgency, while Yi-yeon's quiet devotion reveals the cost of unspoken feelings. The film treats love as a catalyst for honesty rather than comfort, pushing both into vulnerable choices.

🎭 Confession, Performance

The radio confessional 'Writing Princess' broadcasts become a mirror for the characters, blurring lines between real feelings and performed stories. Yi-yeon uses the airwaves to reach out; Chi-sung's vulnerability in the hotel room turns private doubt into a shared narrative. The film explores how storytelling shapes relationships and self-perception.

🤝 Connection, Loneliness

Both leads seek connection across distance and fear—Chi-sung with his past relationships and looming death, Yi-yeon with a long-ago crush that never spoke. Their encounters in bars, hotels, and cinemas create moments of authentic contact amid isolation. The story suggests that small, tentative connections can redefine life's meaning.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:20

Mobile App Preview

Coming soon on iOS and Android

The Plot Explained Mobile App

From blockbusters to hidden gems — dive into movie stories anytime, anywhere. Save your favorites, discover plots faster, and never miss a twist again.

Sign up to be the first to know when we launch. Your email stays private — always.

Unlock the Full Story of Someone Special

Don't stop at just watching — explore Someone Special in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Someone Special is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Someone Special Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Someone Special, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Someone Special Summary

Someone Special Timeline

Track the full timeline of Someone Special with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Someone Special Timeline

Someone Special Spoiler-Free Summary

Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of Someone Special that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.

Someone Special Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Someone Special

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Someone Special: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About Someone Special

Similar Movies to Someone Special

Discover movies like Someone Special that share similar genres, themes, and storytelling elements. Whether you’re drawn to the atmosphere, character arcs, or plot structure, these curated recommendations will help you explore more films you’ll love.