If the Sun Rises in the West 1998

Beom-soo, Im Chang-jung, is a traffic control officer who dreams of stepping behind the plate as a baseball umpire. During a routine shift, he meets Hyun-joo, Ko So-young, a theatre major who loses control of her car and crashes into a tree. Rather than issuing a ticket, Beom-soo offers her driving lessons, and what begins as a helpful gesture slowly grows into a genuine friendship. They start exchanging letters when Hyun-joo returns to university, using the distance to share thoughts, hopes, and small joys. When their paths cross again, Beom-soo musters the courage to confess his love, only to hear Hyun-joo explain that she plans to study overseas, leaving their budding romance unresolved for the moment.

Three years pass, and Beom-soo has taken a big step into a new world: professional baseball umpiring. His dedication to the sport is matched by a renewed sense of longing, because he discovers that the woman who captured his heart is now an emerging name in the world of film and television — Yoo Ha-rin, Ko So-young — who is in fact Hyun-joo. The revelation returns them to each other, and they reconnect on the very field where Beom-soo makes his mark. Their reunion rekindles a relationship that had once been put on hold by distance, but it now faces the attention of Ji-min, Cha Seung-won, the president of an advertising company for which Hyun-joo has appeared in commercials. Ji-min’s pursuit introduces a new layer of tension, testing Hyun-joo’s loyalty and her willingness to balance romance with her rising career.

As the story moves toward its emotional centerpiece, Hyun-joo ultimately rejects Ji-min, choosing a moment of public connection over a quiet romance. She returns to the stadium for a bold gesture at the opening game of the Korean Series: she throws the ceremonial first ball and, in a decisive moment on the field, shares a kiss with Beom-soo in the middle of the arena. That kiss becomes a symbol of their renewed bond, a culmination of years of longing, career ambitions, and the delicate pull of love that can endure through changes in life and work. In this blend of sport, stage, and personal growth, the film portrays how a relationship can survive, adapt, and finally flourish when two people choose to meet again under brighter lights.