Once in a Summer 2006

A young assistant producer, hoping to redeem a faltering reputation, pursues a bold plan: land a revered professor on their television series. The show’s concept centers on locating the long-lost loved ones of participants from their pasts, a premise that blends nostalgia, mystery, and human connection. Although hesitant at first, the professor agrees to take part. His decision sends the assistant back in time, unveiling a story that stretches back half a century—specifically to 1969, a year when the world feels unsettled and change is in the air.

Within that historical frame, the country is under a dictatorship led by Park Chung Hee, and student unrest simmers across campuses. Suk-young [Lee Byung-hun] and a small band of classmates travel to the countryside to help a village become up-to-date with a newly invented technology. Their mission is practical at first, but it becomes a gateway to something larger: a test of loyalty, ambition, and the pull of progress on a community facing upheaval.

There, Suk-young encounters Jung-in, the cheerful custodian of the village library Soo Ae. He first hears Jung-in singing as she hangs laundry, a moment that plants a quiet spark between them. As days in the village pass, their connection deepens; Jung-in is open and warm, yet she remains hesitant about romance. Her reluctance gives way slowly, and the two begin to learn more about each other against the backdrop of a landscape that feels both intimate and uneasy.

Their budding relationship is tested by dark secrets about Jung-in’s family and the village’s hidden history—secrets that threaten to shadow their growing bond just as the volatile political climate closes in. The romance unfolds under the pressure of looming change, forcing them to confront not only personal truth but the larger currents of a nation in turmoil.

Placed within the framework of a television program that seeks to reunite people with loved ones, the story becomes a meditation on memory, longing, and the cost of truth. It contrasts tender, human moments—the small joys of a song, a shared smile, a quiet conversation—with the weighty forces of history and power that shape every life it touches. The result is a carefully balanced tapestry of personal connection and public upheaval, where hope and heartache coexist in equal measure.