乔（汤姆?汉克斯 Tom Hanks 饰）和凯瑟琳（梅格?瑞安 Meg Ryan 饰）是生意上的竞争对手。凯瑟琳经营着母亲留下来的小书店，那里温馨宜人，已有40年历史，为街坊所熟知。乔却是同街一间大书店的老板，凭着自身优势，一开业就搞低折扣、服务佳的策略。凯瑟琳十分排斥他的入侵，白天二人展开斗法。不料晚上却在互联网的虚拟时间中结为挚友，不知道彼此身份的夜谈，让他们感情迅速升温。虽然他们都有自己的情侣，但网络中倾心的交往令他们决定要出来见见面。然而就在此时，乔却意外知道了这个网上知己的真实身份，从此对凯瑟琳有了全新的认识，暗暗忖度该如何接近佳人……

繁华都市一隅，单身女子贞雅（孔升妍 饰）独自生活。她在一家公司担任接线员，日常处理客户的问询和投诉，无论对方情绪是否激动，她都不能有半点个人感情的流露。下班后她独自还家，虽然租住一间公寓，平日里却和房东和邻居鲜少交流，彼此保持着莫大的距离感。不知从哪天开始，贞雅死水一般的生活轻起波澜。平时只有点头之交的邻居被发现死在屋中多日，这让贞雅仿佛看到了自己的结局。与此同时，公司领导安排她带一名实习生。实习生初出茅庐，对一切充满好奇。而习惯了独来独往的贞雅则刻意与其保持距离，甚至对这个外来者表现出明显的抵触和厌恶。恍如机器一般的生活，让都市的人们忘记了心中渴求……

Sang-hui和Yu-na都是一家夜总会的舞女，她们成为了生死与共的好友。这时，出现了一个男人，他与Yu-na是天生的一对，但是在他的心中却迟迟忘不了自己以前的恋人。为了得到幸福，Sang-hui和Yu-na决定一路追杀并最后铲除情敌...

Byeong-tae (Yoon Mun-seob), a philosophy major at Y University, goes to a group blind date and meets Young-ja (Lee Young-ok), who studies French literature at H University. The young men and women of the 1970s, who have grown up under the influence of a rapid influx of Western culture, agonize over college issues, family conflicts, and their future paths in life. But such struggles are self-derisive, and they can see no tomorrow waiting for them. Between Byeong-tae and Young-ja, there is no promise of love, of any kind. They simply meet, and exchange meaningless conversation. Meanwhile, Yeong-cheol (Ha Jae-young), who always rides a bike and declares every time he drinks that he will set off in search of a whale, has feelings for another girl he met on the blind date, named Sun-ja (Kim Young-suk). But Sun-ja rejects Yeong-cheol, who stammers, has no prospects, and was even turned down for military duty due to health reasons, and he falls into despair. With nothing to look forward to, Byeong-tae and Yeong-cheol head to the sea. Yeong-cheol, who boasted that he would catch a beautiful whale in the East Sea, commits suicide, and Byeong-tae enlists with the military. Young-ja comes to see him off, even though she said she wouldn't see him any more, and the two of them kiss through the open window of the train that will carry Byeong-tae away.