To date, I’ve been watching this kdrama without needing to bring up the political upheaval in South Korea in 1987. However, it’s time now for a historical check.

I looked around for brief overview of South Korea’s modern history to share with you and found this one from the BBC site.

Source: bbc.com

A chronology of key events:

1945 – After World War II, Japanese occupation ends with Soviet troops occupying area north of the 38th parallel, and US troops in the south.
1948 – Republic of Korea proclaimed.
1950 – South declares independence, sparking North Korean invasion.
1953 – Armistice ends Korean War, which has cost two million lives.
1950s – South sustained by crucial US military, economic and political support.
1960 – President Syngman Ree steps down after student protests against electoral fraud. New constitution forms Second Republic, but political freedom remains limited.
Coup
1961 – Military coup puts General Park Chung-hee in power.

My short notes: Though Gen Park began an almost 20-year authoritarian dictatorship, the US supported his regime. Why? Because it was important for the US that Soviet Union be stopped from expanding communism down to the whole Korean peninsula, and from there, Japan and possibly the rest of Asia. The domino effect had to be prevented at all costs. It’s ironic that Koreans had to sacrifice their dreams for democracy so communism wouldn’t spread.

1963 – General Park restores some political freedom and proclaims Third Republic. Major programme of industrial development begins.
1972 – Martial law. Park increases his powers with constitutional changes.
After secret North-South talks, both sides seek to develop dialogue aimed at unification.
1979 – Park assassinated. General Chun Doo-hwan seizes power the following year.
1980 – Martial law declared after student demonstrations. In the city of Gwangju army kills at least 200 people. Fifth republic and new constitution.

My short notes: When former Gen. Park was assassinated, another general took his place, Gen Chun. He launched a coup d’etat against the interim president, then declared martial law. As to be expected, his usurpation of power triggered massive protests, of which the bloodiest occurred in the city of Gwangju from May 18 to 27, 1980. At first, the protestors had the upper hand. They believed that the US would side with their cause because they were pro-democracy and Gen Chun’s troops had killed many civilians. Sadly, they were wrong.

1981 – Chun indirectly elected to a seven-year term. Martial law ends, but government continues to have strong powers to prevent dissent.
1986 – Constitution is changed to allow direct election of the president.
Return to democracy
1980s – Increasing shift towards high-tech and computer industry.
1987 – President Chun pushed out of office by student unrest and international pressure in the build-up to the Sixth Constitution. General Roh Tae-woo succeeds President Chun, grants greater degree of political liberalisation and launches anti-corruption drive.
1988 – Olympic games in Seoul. First free parliamentary elections.

Addendum from wikipedia: Demonstrations were led mostly by student activists and labor movement, and supported by the Roman Catholic clergy. In January 14, 1987, a Seoul National University student named Park Jong Chol was detained and tortured by the police. He died while in their custody. Though the police initially covered up their brutality, the truth soon came out. Then, a few months later, on July 9, 1987, a Yonsei University student named Lee HanYeol died from an injury he sustained during a June demonstration when a shrapnel from a tear gas grenade penetrated his skull. The deaths of these two students became indelibly linked to the struggles of the country to gain democracy.

There you go! That’s the context of this drama we need to know for Episodes 5 & 6.

According to the principal, the student teacher, Ms. Lee Joo Young, was a senior at the Seoul National University’s Korean language and literature department. Interestingly enough, the murdered student leader, Park Jong Chol, was also a senior at the SNU and he was in the linguistic department.

Here are my theories.

1. Ms Lee was embroiled somehow in the student protest movement.

I doubt she was a killer although her reaction was rather suspicious when HaeJoon and Yoon Young hiding in the dark. She cried out, “No, it’s not! It’s not me!”

HaeJoon pointed this out to her.

HJ: For someone who didn’t know, wasn’t that a very specific reaction? Don’t you remember? You yelled out earlier that it wasn’t you. What’s not you? Has anyone questioned you about anything? The one who escaped? Do you know who that was?
Ms Lee: I’m not sure what you’re talking about.
HJ: Ms Lee Joo Young, I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m trying to help you right now. We can only prevent what’s to come if you tell me honestly. If you’re being chased or threatened by anyone, you have to share everything, whatever it is.
Ms. Lee: Thank you. Thank you very much but you have misunderstood. I was not chased or threatened by anyone ever.

She was afraid that she’d be picked up by the police again and, possibly, tortured while in their custody. She was hiding in Woojeong Village, thinking she’d be anonymous there. But the chief of the police already had advance warning of her arrival.

Det. Baek: There’s a new student teacher at Woojeong High, but her situation is a little strange. I’ll go check it out.
Chief: Yah! What’s strange?
Another colleague: You didn’t who she was, Hyungnim?
Another colleague: That student teacher has three prior convictions. We were all pretending not to know. But she’s no ordinary person.

It’s most likely she was convicted for her past membership and participation in a pro-democracy student organization and protest movement. The police was waiting for her next move.

2. “Someone is watching you.”

Ms. Lee was talking on the phone to a friend.

Ms. Lee: (on the phone) I’m so scared. How can I report it? I cannot get involved with the police! I don’t think I can stay here long, either. Yeah. Who could it be that knows who I am? Oh, okay.

She put down the phone. The camera zoomed in on her table. There was the red rose from Beom-ryong, and a note saying, “someone is watching you.”

Our hero, HaeJoon, was the one watching her. He was keeping an eye on her because he didn’t want her to be the first victim of the serial killer.

3. Baek Yoo Seop, the uncle

In the original timeline, he was the one who met Ms. Lee in the Bong Bong Café. I think he was the one who warned Ms. Lee that someone was watching her. He was likely a student from Seoul, too.

In Episode 1, Hee Seop was waiting for his bus from Seoul to arrive. Then, when he arrived, he looked like a college student with his messenger bag.

In Ep 6, Hee Seop mentioned that he saw his brother only on weekends.

To me. he came down early because of Ms. Lee’s arrival in his hometown. They probably got into an argument because he was concerned about Ms. Lee’s safety.

For now, I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt based on YY’s statement about him. Although I find YY silly most of the time, I trust her when she said she didn’t believe her uncle was a killer.

YY: I did hate him but…I didn’t ever think he was that kind of person. He’s someone my dad thinks of dearly. Even more than us.

Here, YY was remembering her mom shout at her father for taking care of “him.”

HJ: What did you say?
YY: Huh?
HJ: Who are you talking about right now?
YY: Weren’t you talking about the one with the blue cap?
HJ: Yes. That’s right. So why would Baek Hee Seop think so dearly of himself?
YY: Are you saying the one with the blue cap is my dad?
HJ: Who did you see then?
YY: I saw my uncle, my dad’s older brother. Baek Yoo Seop.
HJ: Baek Yoo Seop wasn’t even a suspect at the time. And he wasn’t even in the vicinity last night…

And then, he remembered that he saw a man walking with HS with his arm on HS’ shoulder. He realized it was Yoo Seop.

HJ: Now it makes sense.

4. What makes sense?

I think he understood then why Det Baek went AWOL after he couldn’t solve the serial murder cases.

From Ep 2.

HJ: …Right after two murder cases and one missing case, he suddenly quits his job after having worked diligently. He’s someone who will leave this town and go off the grid. He goes off the grid for 30 years.

But when HJ dropped in on him in 2021 when he was personally investigating the serial murders, he discovered that the old Det. Baek was living in the area again. Det. Baek looked troubled when he opened the door to HJ.

Det Baek quit his job because he suspected his nephew, Baek Yoo Seop, of committing the crimes. He probably couldn’t turn his nephew in so he left town taking his Baek Yoo Seop with him.

5. Is Baek Yoo Seop the serial murderer?

No, I don’t think so. I still think the Go siblings are involved, although in the Epilogue of Episode 5, Baek Yoo Seop was thrown under the bus to deflect attention from the siblings.

Note: The dramacool and viki subs gave slightly different translation of the Adult SoonAe’s last words.

a. This is the sub from dramacool. In it, SoonAe specifically mentioned deception.

Adult SoonAe: No way. How could you…How…how could you deceive everyone after doing such a thing? Don’t come near me. Don’t come near me!

There are three ways to interpret this.

One, she was talking to her brother-in-law. Her words implied that this was the first time she was seeing him after a very long interval, that is, she was confronting him for the first time ever. To me, she sounded more upset about the deception than the actual serial murders.

Two, she was talking to Go MinSoo. She didn’t understand how he could insist that he was innocent after doing the heinous crime.

Three, she was talking to Go MiSook. She could be referring to her story that Go MiSook claimed as her own.

b. This is the sub from viki. Here, SoonAe was more vague in her accusation.

Adult SoonAe: No way. How could this be…How could you do something like that and just…(walking back into the river) Don’t come near me! Don’t come any closer!

There are three ways to interpret this, too.

One – and this is the common interpretation – SoonAe was expressing shock that her brother-in-law, Baek Yoo Seop, was so shameless as to show his face to her after killing people in cold blood.

Two, she was horrified to see that Go MinSoo was released from prison so soon and was already back in town after having killed people there.

Three, she was stunned to see Go Misook there.

Do you see what I mean? SoonAe’s words can be twisted to fit the murderer.

Oh well. Let’s wait and see.