What Happens at the End of Polaroid?

Deok-jung, a taxi driver who speaks of death as casually as small talk, receives a terminal diagnosis. He buys a worn-out coffee vending machine — a mirror of himself — and sets out to find meaning in whatever time he has left. At a cheap lodging house, he crosses paths with Jeong-suk, a down-on-her-luck karaoke hostess past her prime. Moved by something he can't quite name, he offers her a deal: look after the machine, and he'll call it a relationship. Bound together by hardship and loneliness, the two begin to quietly tend to each other's wounds, and what started as a contract slowly becomes something neither expected. Before he goes, Deok-jung leaves Jeong-suk the vending machine as his final bequest — and in that rusted, weathered thing, she finds a reason to begin again.

Son Byung-jo's narrative builds toward a resolution centered on Park Won-sang's journey. He buys a worn-out coffee vending machine — a mirror of himself — and sets out to find meaning in whatever time he has left.

How Does Park Won-sang's Story End?

• Park Won-sang: Park Won-sang's storyline wraps up in the final act, though some viewers have found the resolution more ambiguous than expected.
• Lee Mi-do: Lee Mi-do's role in the climax proves pivotal to how the central conflict resolves.
• Kim Ki-cheon: Kim Ki-cheon's character undergoes a significant shift in the final act.

What Does the Ending of Polaroid Mean?

The ending of Polaroid brings the narrative to a close, though viewer reception has been mixed. The resolution of Park Won-sang's story may not satisfy all audiences.