“Pavane” (Original title: Pabanneu, 2026) is a surreal coming-of-age film about three friends who cross paths in a department store. Gyeong-Rok has had a difficult childhood. His father left him and his mother to pursue an acting career. After becoming popular, Gyeong-Rok’s father married another woman and had a child with her. Yo-han’s father owns the department store where the trio works.
However, Yo-han is battling depression and trauma as Yo-han’s father had an affair with a woman working in the department store. Mi-Jeong is a timid but clever girl. Throughout her childhood, she kept to herself because she didn’t want to be bullied. Sadly, in the department store, Mi-Jeong is hidden in the basement because she is considered ugly and weird. The three outcasts become the best of friends. Soon, Gyeong-Rok and Mi-Jeong start dating thanks to Yo-han’s interference.
This article contains spoilers.
Pavane (2026) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
The film opens in a restaurant, where the owner eagerly awaits a customer. The customer is Lee Dong-cheol, who loves the owner. They get married, time passes, and they have a son, Gyeong-Rok. The mother-son duo watches television as Dong-cheol, after becoming an actor, marries someone else, abandoning and hiding his first family. We see a young Gyeong-Rok watching his mom, sad in the house.
The same situation continues as Gyeong-Rok grows up. However, Gyeong-Rok hopes his mother does not hold on to anything for Gyeong-Rok’s sake. Now, Gyeong-Rok works part-time in a department store. There, Gyeong-Rok befriends Yo-han. Since Gyeong-Rok is new to the place, Yo-han introduces Gyeong-Rok to the women who work in the branded stores. Later, Yo-han realises Gyeong-Rok has a poker face all the time, so Yo-han requests him to show emotions.
How does Gyeong-Rok get close to Mi-Jeong?
After the chat, Gyeong-Rok borrows Yo-han’s skateboard to move around the building. In the basement, Gyeong-Rok runs into Mi-Jeong, who is as expressionless as Gyeong-Rok. When Gyeong-Rok greets Mi-Jeong, she ignores him. Curious, he enquires about Mi-Jeong with Yo-han, who reveals Mi-Jeong got the top scores for the job. However, people didn’t want to keep Mi-Jeong around because she was considered ugly and weird, so she ended up working in the basement.
Soon after that, Gyeong-Rok started helping Mi-Jeong at work. After the shift, Gyeong-Rok and Yo-han go to their favourite bar for drinks. Over drinks, Yo-han warns Gyeong-Rok not to hurt Mi-Jeong’s feelings, as life has already been hard on her. Furthermore, Mi-Jeong does not need pity from anyone.
The next day, Gyeong-Rok watches the Iceland aurora videos. At this time, Gyeong-Rok notices the other workers teasing Mi-Jeong as she carries many bags to the store. Soon, Gyeong-Rok helps Mi-Jeong. In the lift, Mi-Jeong tells Gyeong-Rok that he does not have to help her. Gyeong-Rok says he knows but continues to help.
There is an event in the building, and a pianist plays Pavane. Outside, Gyeong-Rok sees Mi-Jeong playing an invisible piano and joins in. Now, Mi-Jeong says she loves jazz and other classical music, and Pavane is her favourite. Later, Gyeong-Rok and Mi-Jeong take a walk. Suddenly, Se-ra, one of the girls who works in the department store, joins them. Uncomfortable, Mi-Jeong runs away from them.
How does Yo-han keep people from gossiping about Gyeong-Rok and Mi-Jeong?
The group goes out clubbing, and Gyeong-Rok is lost while the others learn that Yo-han’s father owns the department store. The next day, Mi-Jeong tells Gyeong-Rok that she loves listening to the 93.1 radio station as they play good music and don’t have many ads. That night, Gyeong-Rok listens to that station and dances to his heart’s content.
The next day at lunch, Gyeong-Rok decides to sit with Mi-Jeong. The whole cafeteria stares at them, so Mi-Jeong packs her food and runs away. Meanwhile, Yo-han tells his co-workers that Gyeong-Rok and Mi-Jeong are cousins. That night, Yo-han brings Mi-Jeong to his favourite bar where Gyeong-Rok is already drinking. As Mi-Jeong goes to the washroom, Yo-han gives tips to Gyeong-Rok on how to win over Mi-Jeong.
Now, Gyeong-Rok and Mi-Jeong converse. Gyeong-Rok says it’s his dream to visit Iceland, so he is working part-time. However, at times, Gyeong-Rok does not know what he is doing. So, Mi-Jeong gives an analogy of the Native Americans who rode horses. After riding a horse for a while, they would stop not to rest but to look at how far they have come and let their soul catch up with them.
So, Mi-Jeong asks Gyeong-Rok to treat his journey the same way. Later, Gyeong-Rok, Yo-han, and Mi-Jeong go to karaoke, where Yo-han sings his favourite song, Only Love (with the lyrics’ love is an illusion’). The next morning, Mi-Jeong falls while running to catch the bus. At work, Gyeong-Rok notices the wound. In the lift, Mi-Jeong runs into Se-ra, who asks if Gyeong-Rok is Mi-Jeong’s cousin. Since Yo-han has said that lie, Mi-Jeong plays along.
Will Gyeong-Rok and Mi-Jeong start dating?
That night, it starts raining heavily, so Gyeong-Rok walks with Mi-Jeong. Now, Mi-Jeong reveals people always steal her umbrella, and she has realised it’s easier to get drenched in rain than deal with people. Later, Gyeong-Rok takes Mi-Jeong to a vinyl store where they listen to classical music. In the store, Mi-Jeong reveals that she saw Gyeong-Rok dancing at work and that he was good at it. Furthermore, Mi-Jeong encourages Gyeong-Rok not to give up on dancing.
Later, Gyeong-Rok learns Mi-Jeong does not have a mobile. Subsequently, Gyeong-Rok gives Mi-Jeong a band-aid for her bruise, and she says she does not know how to respond to his kindness. So Gyeong-Rok asks Mi-Jeong to be nice in return. The next day, Mi-Jeong leaves some cherry tomatoes for Gyeong-Rok to eat. Meanwhile, Yo-han gives two walkie-talkies to Gyeokg-Rok and Mi-Jeong so they can talk at work using a particular channel.
That night, the department store girls, Yo-han, Gyeong-Rok, and Mi-Jeong go to a restaurant. There, Gyeong-Rok reveals he is dating someone, and he loves that the girl is smart, grounded, and intriguing. To ensure the girls don’t get suspicious, Yo-han kisses Gyeong-Rok. Embarassed by the situation, Mi-Jeong runs away from Gyeong-Rok. Upset, Mi-Jeong says she can’t afford to lose the job, so she cares what other people think. So, Gyeong-Rok apologises but asks Mi-Jeong to keep her head high at all times.
The next day, Mi-Jeong does not come to work, so Gyeong-Rok is worried. That night, Gyeong-Rok sees his father’s daughter and their love for each other, and he cries. Just then, Mi-Jeong calls. Hearing Gyeong-Rok’s sad voice, Mi-Jeong comes running to meet him. The next day, Gyeong-Rok uses the walkie-talkie to confess his feelings to Mi-Jeong. Now, Mi-Jeong reciprocates the feelings. However, they forgot to switch the channel, so all the workers heard the conversation.
Why did Mi-Jeong disappear from Gyeong-Rok’s life?
Later, Mi-Jeong bumps into Se-ra, who tries to mock Mi-Jeong, but Mi-Jeong puts Se-ra in place by saying she should not think Se-ra is so special. That night, Mi-Jeong reveals that she does not have a mobile because she would only get calls to borrow money. Meanwhile, Yo-han chats with the bar owner, saying there is no such thing as a happy ending. To prove the point, Yo-han quotes Cinderella’s story. Gyeong-Rok applies to a dance school and gets in. It’s Yo-han’s birthday, so Mi-Jeong and Gyeong-Rok visit the bar to surprise him.
As they talk, Yo-han says he will be in a rock band and do world tours. As they head home, Yo-han gives Gyeong-Rok a reality check, saying he won’t be visiting them often once school starts. However, it’s important to cherish what they have. The next day, Yo-han is bothered by his family, as Yo-han’s father thinks Yo-han is causing trouble. However, they hurt Yo-han by asking if Yo-han is taking revenge for his mother.
That night, Yo-han tries to kill himself, fails, and is hospitalised. The gossip in the office is that Yo-han’s father had an affair with someone in the department store. After visiting Yo-han in the hospital, Mi-Jeong cries on the subway. Seeing that, Gyeong-Rok yells at Mi-Jeong to get it together. However, they change trains, and Gyeong-Rok sends an apology message.
The next day, Mi-Jeong visits Gyeong-Rok at school. That night, Gyeong-Rok is drunk. So, Mi-Jeong hopes she can drink in Gyeong-Rok’s place, but it seems like Gyeong-Rok is not interested in inviting Mi-Jeong home. After that, Mi-Jeong disappeared from Gyeong-Rok’s life. So, he takes a break from school to look for Mi-Jeong. One day, Gyeong-Rok receives a letter from Mi-Jeong saying she didn’t abandon him, but before things went downhill, she wanted to leave, wanting only to cherish all the good memories they had together.
Pavane (2026) Movie Ending Explained:
Why Didn’t Gyeong-Rok Show Up on December 31st?
As Se-ra hangs out with Gyeong-Rok, she realizes Gyeong-Rok still loves Mi-Jeong. So, Se-ra finds Mi-Jeong’s address and gives it to Gyeong-Rok. Later, Gyeong-Rok visits Yo-han in the hospital, asking him to show any emotion other than a poker face. Now, Gyeong-Rok writes to Mi-Jeong asking to meet on December 24th at a bus stop.
On that day, it was snowing heavily, so Gyeong-Rok got off the bus and ran to the bus stop. They visit a restaurant, catch up with their lives, dance, and bid farewell at the bus stop. After getting on the bus, Gyeong-Rok gets off, runs towards Mi-Jeong, and says he still loves her and they should meet on December 31st and celebrate the New Year together.
The meeting place is their favourite bar. That day, Mi-Jeong arrives at the bar, but Gyeong-Rok does not show up. Five years later, Yo-han is living his dream and has also written a book on Gyeong-Rok and Mi-Jeong’s love story with Yo-han as the lead character. Now, Yo-han sends the book to Mi-Jeong.
Meanwhile, Mi-Jeong has a successful career. As Mi-Jeong reads the book, we learn what happened. The reason Gyeong-Rok didn’t show up on December 31st was that Gyeong-Rok’s bus met with an accident. For a long time, Gyeong-Rok was in rehab, and he had slight memory loss. In Yo-han’s book, Gyeong-Rok and Mi-Jeong meet again and fulfil their dreams of going to Iceland.
After reading the book, Mi-Jeong calls Yo-han to say it has a happy ending. Now we learn that Gyeong-Rok actually passed away. In the last scene, we see Mi-Jeong in front of Gyeong-Rok’s grave. In the post-credits, we see Mi-Jeong attending Yo-han’s performance. In the last shot, we see Gyeong-Rok in Native American attire, in a field, watching two horses approach him.
As Yo-han once predicted, there is no such thing as a happy ending. Despite what Gyeong-Rok and Mi-Jeong went through, they didn’t get a happily ever after. Just as they were getting back together, Gyeong-Rok met with an accident. Since Mi-Jeong didn’t have a mobile phone, she didn’t know of Gyeong-Rok’s death. Instead, for years, Mi-Jeong assumed Gyeong-rok had changed his mind.
A ball of sunshine, Yo-han was in reality going through depression with his past haunting him. However, Yo-han masked that by trying to be cool. In the end, Yo-han did achieve his dreams, but sadly lost a dear friend. Mi-Jeong, after a turbulent life as an outcast, found a place in the world where she is loved and respected. Unfortunately, she lost the love of her life, who helped her get out of her shell.
Pavane (2026) Movie Review:
The film is based on a book, and my review is solely shaped by what I saw on screen. I am unsure how closely the film follows the book or how much its themes differ. “Pavane” tells the story of young adults navigating love and career while confronting personal trauma. It is a deeply relatable premise, since at some point in life most of us have questioned which dreams to pursue, how to understand love, how to deal with bullies, and what it means to feel different.
In the film, Yo-han functions as the narrator of this love story. Because everything unfolds through his perspective, we never fully grasp the emotional depth of Gyeong-Rok or Mi-Jeong. Korean cinema has long reflected rigid beauty standards, so Mi-Jeong being bullied and labeled as ugly follows a familiar pattern seen across Korean films and series.
What makes this narrative slightly more interesting is that we never see Gyeong-Rok verbally reassuring Mi-Jeong by telling her she is beautiful. Instead, his love develops quietly and sincerely, rooted in who she is rather than how she looks. Even so, the film leans into another long-standing trope: Gyeong-Rok is conventionally handsome, echoing the recurring dynamic in Korean storytelling where a good-looking or privileged man becomes emotionally involved with a woman who is portrayed as poor, awkward, or unattractive.
Perhaps this persistence comes from cultural factors, class divisions, and unrealistic beauty standards that still resonate with audiences and allow such stories to endure. The film carries a vintage atmosphere, with slow pacing and an innocent romantic tone. However, I found myself wanting more backstory for each character. While fragments of their pasts are hinted at, they never feel substantial enough to make me fully invest in their struggles or understand their pain.
Even the bar owner’s character seemed full of untapped potential. I kept expecting a meaningful exchange or revealing moment, but the role ultimately felt underwritten, as though included without a clear purpose. This lack of depth contributed to my overall sense of disconnection from the characters’ individual journeys.
That said, the performances were strong across the board. Go Ah-sung, who plays Mi-Jeong, stood out in particular, convincingly capturing the vulnerability and isolation of a timid outcast. I also genuinely enjoyed the chemistry between Mi-Jeong, Gyeong-Rok, and Yo-han. Their interactions felt natural and lived-in, and it was the actors who kept the film engaging.
As the story progressed, I could not help noticing that certain camera angles and Gyeong-Rok’s hairstyle made him resemble Kim Seok-Jin from BTS. I had to double-check a few times to remind myself that the character was played by Moon Sang-min. Overall, “Pavane” is worth watching, even though I consistently felt as if something essential was missing beneath the surface.
![How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast) Netflix Original TV Series [2019] Review](https://79468c92.delivery.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/How-to-Sell-Drugs-Online-Fast-Netflix-high-on-films-768x378.jpg)
![On Body And Soul [2017]: ‘Mumbai Film Festival’ Review](https://79468c92.delivery.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/on-body-and-soul-a-testrol-es-lelekrol.20170817122456-768x325.jpg)
