Snowdrop EP01 – Lost in Translation

We’re back with another deep-dive into a new series, JTBC/Disney+’s Snowdrop (2021). As dramas go, it’s about as different as you can get from TotNT in terms of genre, setting, tone, premise, etc. but requires just as much cultural contextualisation, if for entirely different reasons.

That being said, none of this info is necessary in order to enjoy the show, which is (by our estimation) extremely well written, acted, and produced. However, there’s so much attention to detail and so much history behind it that subtitles really can’t hope to capture it all. Consider this your guide to all the easter eggs, historical context, and cultural/linguistic subtext you may have missed in Snowdrop EP01.

By now, if you’ve heard of Snowdrop, you’ve likely also heard about the controversy surrounding it. Suffice it to say, none of the accusations hold water. You can find a full explanation of what and why here.

This first episode covers a lot of ground, so buckle up and get comfy. We’re writing this after the series has wrapped, so we’ll occasionally call attention to things that will become relevant later on, but will hide anything too spoiler-y behind spoiler tags.

Finally, in addition to our own commentary, this time, we’ve included comments made by Korean fans, taken from the show’s DC mini gallery. There are a couple of reasons for this: one, because they’re often funny and/or insightful; and two, because–particularly given the false accusations aimed at the show–we think it’s helpful for overseas viewers to see how things were interpreted by a domestic audience.

azeria | eulie | korean fans

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※Contains spoilers

Opening Credits

♪ I think perhaps because your smile is a bit sad / [My] heart seems to have emptied for being unable to know all [of you] / With our two hands clasped, leaving somber footsteps behind / In that place I dreamt of every night, I’ll meet / With you, my friend ♪

• ♬Friend♬~ I don’t know if I’ve ever met an opening sequence that I at once so can’t bear to watch and yet equally can’t bear to skip. Gets me every single time ㅠㅠ
  • My heart... ㅠㅠ

Spring 1987

• We open at Hosu Women’s University (or, as it says on the gate, HOSU WOMANS UNIVERSITY). This is a re-imagining of Ewha Womans University, founded in 1886. The hanja for Hosu (好・秀) mean ‘good/like’ and ‘outstanding/remarkable.’
• The BGM here is (appropriately) ♬HOSU WOMANS UNIVERSITY♬.
• We get our first glimpse of Go Hye Ryeong [Jung Shin Hye] practicing the song ♬Bimok♬, which features throughout the drama. We’ll come to know her as a fourth year in HSWU’s vocal music department and one of the main quartet of girls staying in Room 207.
• Our female protagonist, Eun Young Ro [Jisoo], makes her first appearance as she looks up, surprised to hear her name being called over the dorm’s PA system.
• Ahhhh this sequence: Young Ro’s mad dash for the phone. Korean fans started referring to this as one of Young Ro’s ‘ddallang ddoong-ddang’ (딸랑뚱땅) scenes after Jisoo spontaneously coined the term while filming EP11, saying it ‘was Young Ro.’ No such word exists, but the feeling it gives off is spazzy and loveable.

• We’re also introduced to Gye Bun Ok [Kim Hye Yoon], the dorm’s telephone operator, as she pages Young Ro over the PA system and starts her 30-second countdown.
• As Young Ro sprints through the hall, we see her nearly run into Shin Gyeong Ja [Jung Yi Seo]. Young Ro clocks the yellow armband identifying Gyeong Ja as the student representative, moving carefully past her before breaking into a run again once she’s in the clear.
• Heh When Young Ro pelts up to the front office, her momentum propels her straight through the pass window, both hands outstretched for the phone. The sequence does a nice job of showcasing the dorm and its occupants while underlining the fact that we’re firmly in the 80s: no mobile (or even cordless) phones here.
• On a linguistic note, Young Ro calls Bun Ok ‘eonni,’ meaning ‘older sister,’ but it’s used more generally on older girls one is close with, or even as a polite-but-friendly way to address a girl who fits the right age bracket when you don’t know her name. In this case, it’s a sign the two are friendly.

Room 207

• At breakfast, we get our first proper introduction to Yoon Seol Hee [Choi Hee Jin], another of Young Ro’s roommates and fellow first year, as she and Young Ro make their way through the refectory chatting happily together.
• When questioned as to who the phone call was from, Young Ro literally responds, ‘I’m telling you, it’s over with that Terrius.’ This is a reference to a love interest in the Japanese manga ‘Candy Candy,’ who leaves the heroine to wind up with someone else. First published in 1975, the series became as iconic in Korea as in Japan. So, when Young Ro refers to the guy as ‘Terrius,’ she’s using a contemporary (to the 80s) reference to say he wasn’t ‘the one.’
  • Terrius, you jwerk
  • Idiot
  • Yep, that Terrius is a crazy nom (미친놈)
• In the subs, this has become: “I told you, that long-haired guy and I are done. | He didn’t even call me after that day.” But what Young Ro actually says is that it ‘ended cleanly, without a request for a second date,’ not specifying who turned whom down. Given her delivery, I kind of got the sense she wasn’t interested in seeing him either.
• On a linguistic note, as fellow first years, Seol Hee and Young Ro use banmal (casual speech) when speaking to one another. They also address each other familiarly and affectionately as ‘Young Ro-ya’ and ‘Seol Hee-ya,’ respectively.
• ㅋㅋㅋ Seol Hee’s face when Young Ro points out Hye Ryeong behind her. Just when you think Hye Ryeong is going to be a b*tch to the younger girls, it turns out she’s just a diva heh
• Aww I find Young Ro’s positivity so endearing. Her comment about the phone situation improving their running abilities establishes something about her personality and her role in the Room 207 dynamic right off the bat.

• Finally, we get our first proper introduction to Yeo Jeong Min [Kim Mi Soo], the final member of Room 207. Like Hye Ryeong, she’s in year four. Though she appears to be completely absorbed in her book, she speaks up in defense of Bun Ok. The writing here really does a wonderful job of showcasing all four girls’ personalities in the space of a short exchange. Point to the writer.
• Agreed. I couldn’t help but like Jeong Min right away. In a sense, she’s an embodiment of the generation of student activists who risked their lives to take a stand against the South Korean regime. And just a really cool eonni.
  • Jeong Min-ie is definitely a fan favourite. Kim Mi Soo put a lot of effort into researching the history of the movement and the era in preparation for the role.
• Again, on a linguistic note, Young Ro and Seol Hee use jondaetmal (polite speech) with their eonnies, since they’re older. Young Ro is very polite in general, often using honorific language on older characters and favouring the humble first person pronoun ‘jeo/je’ (저/제) over the more neutral ‘na/nae’ (나/내)–though she will use the latter occasionally.
• This foursome — Young Ro, Jeong Min, Hye Ryeong, Seol Hee — is collectively referred to by Korean fans as ‘Room 207z’ (207호즈).

• In the Disney+ subs, Hye Ryeong’s nickname for Bun Ok has become “Gizzard,” which isn’t a bad option, though what she literally calls her is ‘Chicken Poop House.’ This is because her name, Gye Bun Ok, is written with the hanja (桂芬玉), where ‘Gye’ (桂) means ‘laurel,’ ‘Bun’ (芬) means ‘fragrant,’ and ‘Ok’ (玉) means ‘jade.’ However, ‘gye’ is also how you pronounce the hanja (鶏) ‘chicken,’ ‘bun’ is also the pronunciation for (糞) ‘poop,’ and ‘ok’ is also the pronunciation for (屋) ‘house.’ Translated into spoken Korean, this becomes ‘talk-ddong-jip’ (닭똥집), i.e. ‘chicken-poop-house.’
• Hye Ryeong included, a lot of the students in the dorm speak in dialect. This is due to the assumption that it would mainly be students from the countryside who would need to live in a dorm (as opposed to those already residing in Seoul). In Hye Ryeong’s case, the dialect comes out strongest when she’s angry or upset.
• Jeong Min sets Hye Ryeong off here by calling her ‘Hye Ja-ya.’ Hye Ja is Hye Ryeong’s birth name, which she’s since changed — likely because it has a bit of a dated or even bumpkin-y sound to it. Not exactly the name of a future world-famous opera star. Jeong Min and Bun Ok will sometimes call her this when they want to knock her down a peg.
• Okay, I have to say, I think the subs way overuse the term ‘wench,’ especially considering I’ve never heard an English speaker use the word in earnest (not in real life, anyway). When the subs have Hye Ryeong calling Jeong Min a ‘wench’ here, what she literally says is something like ‘you leprous girl’ (이 문디 가시나). The terms are both Gyeongsang-do dialect in addition to being outdated, and the former is (understandably) considered both offensive and politically incorrect. On Hye Ryeong’s character quotes page, I have this as ‘you diseased bimbette.’

• The book Jeong Min has allegedly been reading is volume two of the baseball manhwa The Outsider Team of Terror (공포의 외인구단) by Lee Hyun Se. The subs have it as ‘The Terrifying Mercenary Baseball Team’ and–even funnier–Wikipedia has it as ‘Alien Baseball Team’ but as far as I can tell there’s no official English title. Given that the story is about a team of underdog/misfit players, though, I think ‘outsiders’ is probably what the author was going for. The series was adapted into a movie–Lee Jang Ho’s Baseball Team (이장호의 외인구단)–in 1986 and the song that starts to play when Young Ro finishes her recitation is ♬I, to You♬ (난 너에게) by Jung Soo Ra from the movie soundtrack. (Eomji, who gets mentioned, is the series’ female lead).
• Side note, but Young Ro’s dramatic delivery complete with the character voice and facial expressions (not to mention the bravery of the gesture) totally won me over. How do you not love this character?
  • This is where I fell for Young Ro, check her out, helping
  • Me too!! ( three~)
  • A righteous woman
    • This is a reference to how Jung Hae In (Im Soo Ho) described the character in an interview. Fans were tickled by the description since it was just such a Jung Hae In-thing to say.
  • You can really see Young Ro’s strength of character
• The book Jeong Min has been concealing inside of her manhwa is The Truth About Socialism (1950) by the American socialist economist Leo Huberman. In Korean, the title has become ‘What is Socialism?’ (사회주의란 무엇인가). This is one of the banned reading materials mentioned in Jeong-min’s character profile, so Young Ro took quite a risk covering for her. (Also, did she just have that line from the manhwa memorised? haha)

The Dongshim Society

• Time to meet more of our extended cast, Nam Tae Il [Park Sung Woong] and Kang Cheong Ya [Yoo In Na], as she helps him dress at her apartment (which also doubles as their love nest).
• On a linguistic note, when the two are alone, they speak to each other in banmal and Cheong Ya addresses him as ‘dangshin’ (당신) which, in this context, could be translated as ‘dear.’
• It’s worth noting here that Nam Tae Il is keeping tabs on ANSP Director Eun Chang Soo, who we’ll meet shortly. As noted in his character profile, Tae Il is looking for the opportunity to off the other man.
• The Revolution that Cheong Ya mentions is a reference to the 12.12 Military Insurrection of 1979, in which Army Major General Chun Doo Hwan, acting without authorization from then-President Choi Kyu Ha, ordered the arrest of the ROKA Chief of Staff on allegations of involvement in the assassination of former President Park Chung Hee. A series of conflicts broke out in the capital and, by the next morning, the Ministry of Defense and Army HQ had been overtaken. This and the Coup d’état of May Seventeenth effectively ended the Fourth Republic. According to their character profiles, in this dramaverse, Nam Tae Il participated while Eun Chang Soo did not, and those decisions still dog them.
• The chyron here reads ‘Secretary General of the Aemin Party, Nam Tae Il (Ruling Party Second-in-Command).’ No such political party exists, but I’m inclined to interpret the name to mean ‘love for the people’ (ae = love/affection; min = the people). The irony is fully intentional.
• Nam Tae Il’s pet name for Cheong Ya is ‘yomul danji’ (요물단지), which is a bit hard to translate. A ‘yomul’ (妖物) is a strange, treacherous, or wily entity while ‘danji’ (단지) is a small pot or jar. So he’s calling her something like, ‘a bottle of wiles’ or ‘bottled trouble.’ In the Disney+ subs, this became “you wicked little fox.”
  • Tae-il’s ‘Yo-yo-yo-yo-yomul danji’ is one of the show’s iconic refrains.
• ‘Code One’(in English) here is the fictional counterpart of Chun Doo Hwan (the sitting ‘president’ at the time, who was not so much a democratically elected leader as he was a military dictator) within the Snowdrop dramaverse.

• Next, we’re introduced to Eun Chang Soo [Heo Jun Ho], whom the chyron identifies as the Director of the Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP) and third-ranked person in the ruling party.
• In flashback, we also get our first glimpse of his wife, Hong Ae Ra [Kim Jeong Nan]. She’s his second wife, as we’ll soon learn. Also, that necktie looked like a noose the way she tied it. Yikes.
  • The contrast between these two and Nam Tae Il and Cheong Ya probably isn’t an accident ㅋㅋ
• Again, right off the bat, we’re informed of one of the main sources of tension between Eun Chang Soo and Nam Tae Il: Tae Il is four* years younger than Chang Soo, making him Chang Soo’s hubae (junior) at the Korea Military Academy, but Tae Il also previously had Chang Soo’s current job, making him more ‘senior’ in that respect. So Chang Soo is older, but Tae Il outranks him. Because of this, there are rumours that Chang Soo goes around offering bows to Tae Il on holidays (명절이면 세배를 간다). On New Years in Korea, it’s traditional to go around calling on family, friends, etc., offering greetings and New Years bows (세배・歲拜). However, the person going around doing the calling is typically of a lower station than the person doing the receiving — since they have to do all the leg work. So, for Chang Soo to call on Tae Il, who is four years his junior, would be an embarrassment to Chang Soo. I like how the Disney+ subs handled this: “I know he’s your predecessor as director, | but he’s four years your junior. | We can’t let people think that you bow to Nam Tae-il, can we?” It gets at the gist while mostly skirting the part that requires cultural contextualisation.
  _{*n.b. In the dialogue it’s stated that Tae Il is four years Chang Soo’s junior, but the official JTBC website has their respective ages as 54 and 56, so there’s a discrepancy. I’m inclined to go with what’s in the script.}
• Appropriately, the BGM here is ♬Power Game♬

The Gathering

• When Chang Soo arrives at the gathering, he exchanges greetings with Park Mu Yeol [Kang Moon Kyung], whom the chyron informs us is the head of the Aemin Party (Majority Party First-in-command). He’s also their candidate in the upcoming election. Chang Soo ignores the seat Mu Yeol attempts to usher him to, causing the other man to throw him an anxious look.
• The chyron, translating the text on the blue and gold pennant, informs us that this is the Dongshim Society (동심회・同心会・‘same-heart/mind-society’), a reimagining of the historical Hanahoe (하나회・‘one-society’), an unofficial private group of military officers who formed the core of the group that took control of the South Korean government in 1979.
• There’s a brief, silent power struggle here as Eun Chang Soo arrives and makes a point of taking his seat to Code One’s immediate right (the seat meant for the second most powerful person), directly across from Park Mu Yeol, rather than his usual seat to Mu Yeol’s left (meant for the third-in-command). Korean etiquette includes a complicated set of rules dictating who sits where in what situation. In any case, that’s why everyone is exchanging uneasy looks and why Nam Tae Il is so affronted when he arrives to find Chang Soo in ‘his’ seat. It’s also what prompts Tae Il’s stunt with the blood when Code One doesn’t comment on the change.
• The BGM playing when Code One makes his entrance appears to be an unreleased track. As the scene progresses, it transitions to ♬Under Work♬

Operation Phoenix

• Eun Chang Soo and Nam Tae Il pretty much sum up half the show’s premise in this next scene but I don’t think the subs did a very clear job of capturing it. I’ll translate the exchange here, since it’s key:

Code One: What of Operation Phoenix?
Eun Chang Soo: Yes, we’ve arranged to run an op in which the North will kidnap the opposition party candidate’s ‘brain,’ Professor Han Yi Seop, and make it look as though their party is carrying out the election with the North’s funding.
Nam Tae Il: If it gets out that they received money from the reds for the election, it’s obvious those opposition party bastards will lose.
Code One: It mustn’t go awry.
Eun Chang Soo: Yes, it’s progressing smoothly. I took measures so that a peaceful transition of power will be possible.
Code One: ‘Possible’?
Nam Tae Il: For the sake of Your Esteemed Excellency and our Aemin Party, I shall stake this life of mine and see to it that the regime maintains* power at all costs, Your Excellency!

_{*Literally: ‘the recreation of the the regime succeeds’ but since they are currently in power, what he means is that they maintain/renew their hold on it.}

• In case anyone was wondering, Korean fans found this scene as hard to watch as we did.
  • Ugh fml They included the Dongshim Society to knock the Hanahoe, right? They really drag them good ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
  • ㅇㅇ You can immediately tell they’re dragging the Hanahoe. They’re like yakuza.
  • Whenever I watch, I always skip over this partㅠ It’s so gross I can’t bear to watch Ack the bloodㅠ
  • Oof No matter how many times I see it I can’t get used to it

The Three Wives

• We move to Myeongdong next to meet more of our extended cast, and wow, it looks nothing like the Myeongdong I know today. A lot has changed in the last 30 years.
• All in white, we have Choi Mi Hye [Baek Ji Won], owner of Charmant, a Myeongdong fashion boutique-cum-café frequented by women of the ruling class. She supposedly studied abroad in France and likes to pepper her speech with French to play that up. Her ‘Très, très, très, très bien!’ just became “How amazing!” in the subs, though.
• We also get Hong Ae Ra’s chyron at this point, identifying her as Eun Chang Soo’s wife.
• Currently, both women are playing court to Jo Seong Shim [Jung Hye Young], whom another chyron informs us is Nam Tae Il’s wife. Seong Shim is the clear leader here, talking to the other women in banmal while acting superior in every way. Despite the smiles, you can immediately tell they all hate each other.
• The BGM here is ♬Lovely♬. It’s funny, when I first saw the track title on the OST, I just assumed it would be used in relation to Young Ro ㅋㅋ
• Not exactly a Korean culture note, but contributing to the French salon vibe we have Chopin’s ♬Nocturne op. 9 No. 2♬ playing in the background here.
• ㅋㅋㅋ Like Nam Tae Il’s ‘Yo-yo-yo-yo-yomul danji,’ Seong Shim’s ‘No, no, no~’ (‘ani-ji, ani-ji, ani-ji~’) is another character catchphrase you’ll hear again and again.
  • ㅋㅋㅋㅋ It’s addictive ㅋㅋ

• Jo Seong Shim’s use of banmal towards Hong Ae Ra is a thrown gauntlet — She’s just waiting for the older woman to object. It’s a blatant (and obnoxious) power play. The same goes for addressing Ae Ra as ‘janeh’ (자네), which is only used towards people of lower rank/seniority. Her question, ‘You’re (‘janeh’) 3 years older than me, was it?’ — posed in banmal — is the epitome of this. But as long as Nam Tae Il remains Code One’s favorite, the other two have no choice but to kiss up to her.
• I really felt this when I was gathering character quotes, but so much of the communication that happens between characters or what gets communicated to us as viewers happens entirely non-verbally. This scene is a prime example of that. In this one interaction we learn all we need to know about how these women are in relationship to each other. Point to the writer, point to the actors.
  • Seriously the adult cast lineup is killer. You can count on them to dish a large portion of the ‘black comedy’ the show is billed for.
• The other thing that caught my attention in this scene is the directing. There are a number of really clever shots. I’ve noticed that the director (Jo Hyun Tak) has a habit of capturing a character through a pane of glass when they’re in a moment of cognitive or emotional dissonance. The resulting refraction is a really cool way to illustrate this visually. Having Mi Hye behind her only adds to the effect in this case.

The ANSP

• At the airport, we meet ANSP Team Leader Lee Gang Mu [Jang Seung Jo] as he arrives back in Korea on a flight from Frankfurt after a number of years spent operating in Europe. He appears uncomfortable with the welcome he receives from his hubae (junior colleague), glancing back reluctantly before continuing on ahead.
• This is also our introduction to ANSP agent Oh Dong Jae [Choi Gyeong Hoon], who’s holding a sign that reads: ‘WELCOME TO KOREA Lee Gang Mu sunbae-nim, [we] welcome your return.’ He’s so psyched to be meeting the ‘legendary Black Tiger’ but, yeah, Gang Mu looks like he would sooner unhitch the welcome wagon altogether.
• In the car as well, Gang Mu appears uncomfortable with Dong Jae’s adoration, avoiding both his eyes and conversation. He comes off as aloof, but there’s more to his story.
• In the script, Dong Jae gushes a bit more about his legendary sunbae (giving us some additional backstory on Gang Mu up front) but the scene was pared down.
• As an aside, Gang Mu’s code name ‘Black Tiger’ is in English (‘beul-laek ta-i-geo’).

• Also in shades, we have Jang Han Na [Jung Yoo Jin] who shows up at ANSP HQ in her jeep and 80s powersuit and strides in like she owns the place.
• Quick history note: The ANSP, or Agency for National Security Planning (1981-1999) was the enforcer arm of the authoritarian regime that held power at the time. On paper, they were Korea’s preeminent intelligence organisation, charged with ‘the collection, compilation, and distribution of foreign and domestic information regarding public safety against communists and plots to overthrow the government.’ In practice, they carried out a brutal communist witch hunt against anyone who opposed the regime. They’ve gone down in history as villains, and a lot of the controversy directed at the show stems from how they’re (allegedly) portrayed.
• We get the chyron for COSMOS TOYS (the ANSP HQ front) here, even though the text on the side of the building isn’t visible in this shot.
• No chyron, but the plaque on his desk (局長 安京熙) informs us that the man combing his office for listening devices is Bureau Chief An Gyeong Hui [Lee Hwa Ryong]. Check out how big that bug detector is ㅋㅋ I kept finding myself surprised and amused by the tech in this show, since it’s set in the relatively recent past, but predates me.
• One thing I really appreciate about this series is that there are no throw-away lines or sequences. Everything happening on screen comes into play at some point. Pay attention to both the wire-tapping and the darkroom/photography here – both will be relevant later on.
  • Chekhov’s gun in action. Point to the writer.
  • No such thing as ‘just because’
  • Seriously, the foreshadowing and callbacks kill
  • For real, when I saw that come back into play later I got chills
• On a linguistic note, the man in the darkroom addresses Han Na as ‘Jang jooim’ where ‘jooim’ is her professional title. This would be something like a section chief or department head depending on the agency’s parlance.

• Lol When An Gyeong Hui cranks up the radio to cover his conversation with Han Na, the song playing is ♬Wind Wind Wind♬ (바람 바람 바람) by Kim Beom Ryong (1985). The lyrics describe someone waiting for the return of his lover, who brushed past, departing like the wind. This is a reference to Gang Mu and Han Na’s relationship, which we’ll learn more about later. Point to the music director.
  • Also, in Korean, ‘to be met with wind’ (바람을 맞다) is an idiomatic phrase meaning ‘to be rejected or stood up’ [by a romantic partner]. Seriously, the way this show uses music is subtle but genius ㅋㅋㅋ
  • Really, ‘Wind Wind Wind’~ is playing here, huh? They use the BGM so well, seriously ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
• When Han Na hands over her photos, the Disney+ subs have her saying, “You must know the man’s the Crown Prince,” which is an accurate translation, though it’s misleading since the House of Yi was deposed when Japan occupied Korea in 1910 and never reinstated. The man in question is Park Jun Pyo [Lee Joo An], Code One’s son and tabloid disaster waiting to happen. So she’s not using the title literally here. Needless to say, there is no Crown Prince of Korea.
• Just as Han Na moves to leave, An Gyeong Hui informs her in a seemingly offhand manner that Gang Mu is back, making her pause. The news very obviously means something to her, though she makes an effort not to react.

Daedong-gang 1

• After mentally preparing herself, Han Na re-enters the main floor to find Gang Mu leading a briefing on Daedong-gang 1:

“Though we’re in the dark about his face, his name, and his age — next. (‘Daedong-gang 1’ appears on the screen) This is the bastard’s code name. We obtained intel that he entered Seoul under the radar. (…) If a guy who’s been operating covertly all across East and West Germany suddenly entered Seoul under the radar, it means he either has a target to suborn in Seoul or he’s been given a mission the domestic spy network can’t handle. In any case, we have to catch the bastard at all costs before he accomplishes his mission.”

• A note about this code name: the Daedong-gang (大同江)–or  Taedong River–is the second largest river in North Korea and runs through the heart of Pyongyang. It’s iconic the way the Thames or the Seine are iconic. In fact, there are several old trot songs with this river’s name in their titles: The Daedong-gang I Dreamt Of (꿈에 본 대동강), Embittered Daedong-gang (한 많은 대동강), Daedong-gang Letter (대동강 편지), etc. The songs’ lyrics express longing for places in the North, since Korea had been one nation up until the US and the Soviets divided it into two occupational zones following Japan’s surrender in WWII (1945-1948).

• We get a flashback to two years previously in Germany (as the chyron informs us) to a train speeding its way through a mountain pass. I can’t say I’m a fan of the different screen dimensions, but alas.
  • All filming was done domestically but they still produced that quality? Daebak
• In flashback, Gang Mu and a subordinate canvas a train for Daedong-gang 1, who narrowly escapes them by leaping from the moving train (dang). Gang Mu and his hubae follow, with disastrous results, as the latter is impaled on an iron rod and dies.
• This scene was a bit longer in the script: the last bit got reshuffled into another flashback that occurs in EP05. (Gang Mu pursuing Soo Ho until he vanishes over a cliff.)
• In the flashback sequence, we hear Gang Mu call his hubae ‘Jin Seong-ah’ and then ‘inma’ (인마), meaning something like ‘kid/punk,’ both of which serve to tell us that Gang Mu was fond of him. So I get why he’s so dogged in his pursuit of Daedong-gang 1, but...it’s hard to say that Soo Ho killed the guy.
  • Even seeing it again, that wasn’t Daedong-gang 1’s fault. Gang Mu-ya, that really wasn’t Soo Ho’s fault...

• Gang Mu finally notices Han Na, but, after a brief pause, continues his briefing without acknowledging her gesture of greeting (the raised hand, not the bullet heh).
• Lol Han Na is such a loose cannon. Before you go thinking she’s the only crazy one, though, consider the fact that, when everyone else hit the deck, Gang Mu just stood there. We finally see some emotion enter his face though.
  • Lol #2 Why is Dong Jae so slow on the draw here? It’s possible he has some hero-worship for Han Na as well.
• The subs have Gyeong Hui saying “Gang Mu” here when he asks for volunteers,