Snowdrop is set against the backdrop of the 1987 Democracy Movement, which was a mass protest movement with the purpose of forcing the then-current authoritarian government in South Korea to hold fair elections. As a result of mass protests, democratic elections were held in December 1987, which would later lead to the end of authoritarian rule in South Korea and the establishment of democratic rule in the Sixth Republic of Korea.
Im Soo Ho (Jung Hae In) plays a graduate student who, after participating in a pro-democracy protest, is discovered covered in blood by Eun Young Ro (Jisoo), a female university student. The girl hides him from the government in her dorm room at her women’s university. However, it is revealed that Soo-ho is not who he appears to be. Against the backdrop of political upheaval, the pair’s story unfolds and the two develop a romantic relationship.