Synopsis (including spoilers):
Han Ji-ah (Kim Jae-kyung) suffered a cancer relapse and had few months to live. She decided to return to her hometown after quitting her job and breaking up with her current boyfriend. There was a small local train station at her hometown, where she had frequently visited with her high school classmate Baek Sung-hyun (Kim Dong-jun) whenever they skipped school together. Sung-hyun had Alzheimer’s disease inherited from his mother, so he was aware he would be losing his memories slowly. Although Ji-ah and Sung-hyun liked each other, they did not contact each other for 7 years after graduating from high school. Sung-hyun became a baker and opened his own confectionary at his hometown.
Sung-hyun rejected Ji-ah previously because of his condition, but upon learning Ji-ah was terminally ill, he decided to propose to her. They lived happily in the beginning, but Sung-hyun’s memory started to show sign of deterioration. He even forgotten where he kept Ji-ah’s medicine, and had a hard time finding while Ji-ah was in immense pain. One day, Sung-hyun went to buy ice-cream upon Ji-ah’s request, but he suddenly could not remember his way home. At the same time, Ji-ah went into serious pain and even lost consciousness. Although Ji-ah’s mother happened to visit their house, and sent Ji-ah to the hospital, it was still too late as Ji-ah passed away at the hospital. Sung-hyun was not able to see Ji-ah at her final moments. However, Ji-ah left a video message for Sung-hyun, encouraging him to remember with his heart so that he would not forget his precious memories. For many years to come, Sung-hyun frequently visited their train station in remembrance of Ji-ah.
Comments:
Perhaps due to the variety show “Son Hyun-joo’s Simple Station“, there is an increase in the awareness of the small local stations in South Korea that may be demolished if there are insufficient passengers, which led me to be interested in this movie. While the movie is basically about a sad and touching romance between a terminally ill female lead and male lead with Alzheimer’s disease struggling to remember the girl he loved, it is also about the story of one such simple train stations. These simple train stations may foster fond memories for the nearby residents, but may be slowly forgotten as the number of passengers dwindle, and even may be demolished eventually. Nevertheless, these simple stations are still an important part of history in South Korea’s public transport, forming a special place for many people nearby these simple stations. I am a bit sad that Sung-hyun was not able to see his beloved Ji-ah for the last time as his memory lapsed at the wrong time, but thankfully they still had precious wonderful memories together to keep Sung-hyun going.
The cat that watches TV 