Kimsamsoom

The original plot is to frame opposition party. But since the opposition had evidence that prof han was kidnapped and coerced, they made a new plan.

The new plan is to distract the population with the hostage crisis. They also want to create anti communism sentiment that will make the population clamor for a protectionist state, which the current ruling party is.

Nam Tae il and eun Chang su belong to the ruling party which is the same as the current president.

Kang moo belongs to ansp which is essentially the FBI of south Korea. He is offering Cheong ya a chance to defect to ansp.

Cheong ya said, "only if the opposition win" because of nam Tae il is still in power, once he finds out about her betrayal, he will not allow her to live.

If the opposition party wins the ansp will be under the opposition party, and will then be renamed the NIS. Because the opposition will hire different people to run the ansp. Kang moo will probably keep his job.

If opposition wins, it's implied nam Tae il and eun Chang su will go to jail

Yeah, might as well finish it.

Wow, that's pretty crazy!

Globally, Korea has risen pretty fast in terms of their economy and global standings. Things made in Korea are starting to gain traction. Not to the level of Japan of course, but it's certainly getting better. I've always felt so much of Korean culture is so similar to Japan, and so I was actually quite surprised to hear such corruption scandals happening in Korea.

I am more used hearing corrupt government in SEA countries.

I have not seen that drama.

There have been many disappointing twist, what is another one right :)

NK Spy or NK sympathetic.

And she no longer is, but she used to be.

I am leaning more towards big sacrifice to redeem her character. It seems that is is going that way.

I will be sad when that happens.

What has Boon Ok done that is truly evil? What has she done that is irredeemable? I am curious.

Boon Ok isn't an angel, but she is far from the devil as well. Given the situation I don't see much wrong doing. In fact funnily enough, because of her, no one died when the bombs blew up. But no one brings this up as a point for her? Because of her Young Ro didn't get expelled earlier, since she covered up for RM 207.

The only act she has done that can be considered bad, is she actually pulled the trigger on Ms. Pi. But if you've read my discussion topic, you would know I explain why she did this.

Keep in mind Soo Ho has literally killed people. Do we defend it because they "deserved it".

Boon Ok hasn't had a real friend in the show. And Young Ro doesn't count. I explained this also in my discussion topic.

A Theory on Ms. Pi and a Few Others

Ok, I am going to need everyone to follow my thought process. A few things just didn’t sit well with me, and so I compiled all the things shown so far that bothers me, to create this one encompassing theory. This may be a long read, I hope you read until the end.

After watching Snowdrop, the main plot seems to revolve around Project Phoenix and how NK and SK are involve in a collusion that revolves around the upcoming SK democratic elections, but that is not actually the overarching plot, I feel it is actually a red herring. The true plot of Snowdrop lies in the tiny details, let me explain my theory.

I first wanted to quickly dive into the characterization of Ms. Pi. I had my suspicions about her, but EP. 11 confirmed my theory in my mind. Ms. Pi is a North Korean Spy. Why do I think this? After watching the full scene of her torture from Chief An, and recalling her conversation of Boon Ok, I realize that Ms. Pi was doing a combination of gas lighting and projection to Boon Ok. When she said “Do you want to ruin another family”, and “Your sister is a NK Spy”, I realize that Ms. Pi is actually talking about herself. She is making Boon Ok doubt herself, but the words Ms. Pi are actually speaking talks about herself.

Seeing as Taedong River 1 went to Germany to study, it seems to be that NK has a base of operations in NK which is later confirmed in Ep. 11 as well. I believe that when Ms. Pi went to Germany after Hosu Dorm, she was convinced by someone and indoctrinated. It is during this time as well that she meets Boon Ok’s sister, who she later becomes very close with. Later, they are caught by Chief An, and here is the sad part. We know that the party values their secret identities over life, as we later see in the drama, so I believe that when Chief An captured the two of them, Boon Ok’s sister being loyal to Ms. Pi, denied everything, but Ms. Pi being afraid of her cover being blown, sang like a canary and sold her friend down the river, which led to her eventual death. Ironically, Chief an still tried to frame Ms. Pi, not knowing she really has NK ties. Chief an then decides to turn Ms. Pi into an ANSP informant, not knowing that Ms. Pi is actually a double agent. We assumed that Ms. Pi is listening in to the students because ANSP asked her to, but that didn’t make any sense. The show does its best to make us believe that is the case, but the truth is something else which I will explain later.

The death of Ms. Pi’s dear friend causes Ms. Pi a lot of stress as she really loved her friend. And that is why she feels indebted to take care of Boon Ok, but she cannot tell the truth to Boon Ok that she is actually the person who ruined the family of Boon Ok by getting the sister killed. We see the guilt of this slowly grow throughout the drama, and it culminates in an amazing scene where Ms. Pi goes to Boon Ok, and grabs the gun and points it at her chest. You see, it’s very hard to live with this type of guilt, and this type of lie for so long. I feel that at that point, Ms. Pi’s mental had broken, she became reckless, put her life in danger, maybe in her mind, she had even hoped that Boon Ok would be the one to kill her so that she can be free from her guilt. This type of madness that Ms. Pi showed is reminiscent of movies like Lethal Weapon, where Mel Gibson’s character does very similar actions due to his desire to die. This was the first thing I thought about when I saw the scene. It becomes ironic then when you realize that Chief An is trying to frame her for being a spy, when she actually is already one. Further evidence is hinted when Kang Moo asks Ms. Pi about her being a NK spy, and she angrily denies it. You would think that a person who has been tortured by a military regime like the ANSP would do the opposite to her students. If Ms. Pi is really a bastion of the democratic process, she would not run the dorm the same way as a NK internment camp. Notice the way the dorm is run, the limited phone calls, the doors with bars on the glass, the overly strict curfew. I believe these are some symbolism left by the writer to show Ms. Pi’s true ideologies.

But guilt has a way of creeping up to you. I believe the reason Ms. Pi disappears once a month, and comes back all exhausted has something to do with self-harm. She most likely inflicts on herself some sort of pain, or some type of self-flagellation to dumb the pain of her crimes against Boon Ok’s sister. She does this as a way of alleviating some of the guilt she feels. But then we have to ask, what is Ms. Pi doing in the dorm, and why is she there, and why do the ANSP want to know what the girls are talking about? The answer lies with Man Dong.

You see, I believe that Man Dong is the mole in the dorm. Man dong is a utility man in the dorm, and he is in a small basement workshop repairing things. I found it interesting then, that the man who is acting as radio operator for the NK’s, is also similarly garbed and aged as Man Dong, and also does utility repair. I was thinking that this old man and Man Dong, may be comrades who infiltrated South Korea a long time ago as repairmen. I also thought about Man Dong’s limp and diabetes, I feel these are fake illness Man Dong has come up with to hide his identity. Now somewhere in Man Dong’s life, he had a son, the gambler. Now I thought to myself, of all the things, he could have been a drunk or whatever, but why a gambler, and why was he so excited to see the bag of money? And why is the money in USD? I will come back to him and the importance of his son as a character.

Here is my theory, we know that the CIA has people in Germany. It is my belief that the US was trying to create a shadow government within the opposition, and they were using Professor Han to achieve these purposes. We know Han is the advisor of the opposition party leader, and the US would have been able to easily control the opposition party though Han. I believe the US was paying Professor Han bribes in USD. But then NK eventually learned about this money and we see that is actually the true mission of Soo Ho, given to him by his father. I believe in conjunction with Project Phoenix, Soo Ho actually had a separate mission to retrieve the bag of money near Hosu Dorm for the personal uses of Lim Ji Rok. Because we later found out that the 300 Million USD isn’t’ going to Lim Ji Rok, but the supreme leader and NK government. We actually don’t know how much money is in the bag, but those are hundred dollar bills stacks, so it must be a decent amount of USD.

Now I can see this is getting a bit more complex, so let me quickly talk about Soo Ho.

You see, I believe that Lim Ji Rok, actually really loves Soo Ho. Yes he cares about not getting in trouble, and seeing Project Phoenix become successful, but he also cares if his son dies or not. Similarly, don’t you think it’s weird that Soo Ho seems to have so much faith in his father not wanting him dead? I believe this is on purpose, as I believe Soo Ho and his dad has a good relationship. Think about it, if Lim Ji Rok is a monster, why would his sister, who loves him, tell him “make sure to come back OK”. If both Soo Ho and his sister are in bad situation, she would tell him to defect or flee. Its shown that due to misdirection from the writer, and miscommunication between Soo Ho and his dad, caused a temporary rift. In fact, the only time that Soo Ho and his dad had a clear line of communications is when Lim Ji Rok told Soo Ho not to fail the mission, because of how important it is. I believe that the mission Lim Ji Rok is talking about is the missing money bag. Why do I think this? Because Gyeok Chan keeps thinking they have failed the mission, but Soo Ho doesn’t seem to act like it. I believe that Soo Ho knows his secret mission is to return to NK with the money bag. Keep in mind Kang Moo and Soo Ho both don’t know the actual value of the money involved between the two countries. Only recently did Soo Ho find out it’s a lot of money from Nam Tae il. Soo Ho may have mistakenly thought that the mission for the money bag has been discarded for a new deal offering a lot more money than is in the money bag.

Now how does Chief An fit into all of this? I believe the reason he asked Ms. Pi to spy within the dorm, is because they are trying to find the person that is hiding the secret money. They never suspect Man Dong, and the only thing that is bugged are the dorm rooms. So Ms. Pi has been spying for the ANSP, trying to find the mole for the ANSP, but not to turn the mole in, but rather to shake him/her up to find the location of the money bag. Keep in mind that the ANSP had bugged the dorm previously, and they intercepted a message about someone being trapped.

Man Dong office is very close to the shrine, which is very close to where the money bag is kept, and I believe Man Dong knows where the money is kept, and so does his son. Doesn’t it make you wonder, how the son of Man Dong is even able to gamble with what appears to be a decent amount of money. It’s not like Man Dong is making a lot of money as a utility worker considering how much Boon Ok is making. It is quite possible that Man Dong has been taking money slowly from the money bag to bail out his son from his gambling debt. But the son, having been bailed out so many times, start taking it for granted, and became more and more greedy, and would keep coming back to Hosu dorm to ask for more of the NK money. This may be what the son meant by saying, “you don’t know what kind of man Man Dong is”.

This could also explain why the son of Man Dong seem so intent on finding the money bag, because he has had previous history with it to fuel his gambling addiction.

I just feel the tone the drama has set, and the lack of emotional tension throughout doesn't pave a path for a bittersweet or sad ending.

To me at least, all signs point to a fake sad ending, but actual happy ending.

Like faking the death.

Well said. I agree with your statement. Sometimes people put too high of a walls, and all we can do is keep scaling if we truly value them.

I think it's shown that Young Ro and his dad have a good relationship. It was just never explored, but it's there, so she would be leaving his dad with a witch of a stepmom.

I expect both Nam Tae il and Eun Chang Su will face jail time.

Time does heal most wounds :)

I just hope Boon Ok makes it out alive, same for Gyeok Chan.

Anyway, like I said in my OP, I don't mind much. I have enough people who enjoy my writing, that I won't let a few posters ruin my MDL experience. I will still continue to write in my own unique style, and write my extra long paragraphs, and over analyze, and theorize.

I will occasionally get someone telling me they dislike me, or will personally attack me, and that's ok. I will just politely ask them to block me.

Just weird, I don't see this in other comment section I've been in. I guess this is what being minority opinion is like. I realize, I must have always been in the majority opinion before. It's a surreal experience for sure.

I guess if I wanted to be popular, I should just make a new account, and claim "Snowdrop Masterpiece", then I would get accolades like crazy.

Your right, it was hypocritical, and I allowed my annoyance to get the better of me, which is why I said, just a one time rant. My frustrations bubbled over, and I do apologize.

with only 5 episodes left, there is just too many plot points that I am sure not everything will be addressed properly.

If there is a sad ending in place, they will probably show an ending scene where they are dancing to one way ticket in their dreams.

If there is a happy ending, then like I said, after a time skip, they will meet in another country.

It would probably need to be both of them in a different country that isn't Korea.

In the discussion portion, I talk about her complex character in detail. If you really value public discourse, then feel free to read it. It may not change your mind, but you may soften your stance on her even slightly.

Similar to Darth Vader in Star Wars, she is a tragic hero. Maybe given an opportunity to be a college student, her life would have drastically changed. Maybe if the girls in the dorm were nicer to her, she would not have needed to seek a shift in the power dynamic elsewhere.

Do I hate Boon Ok... No
Do I support her actions... No
Do I sympathize with her.... Yes
Will I keep a Boon Ok as friend in my real life? I already do...

I pity her, I sympathize with her, and I want to help her. She has shown that given the right situation, she can be fiercely loyal.

Look for example at Hye Roung. When she found out she was going to be able to get free, she had no problem saying "Cya later" to Young Ro. But when Boon Ok finds out her new "Family" is in trouble, her loyalty shines, and she finds a way to help them.

And yet nobody dislikes Hye Roung.

Weird ain't it?

If we support people like Boon Ok with true friendship, she will not do half the things she did in Snowdrop, I believe that.

People who are in higher societal positions may find it difficult to understand the life of someone in a lower position.

To give you an example, someone who has mental health problems, and get triggered easily, being counselled by someone who doesn't.

How often do we hear the speech saying "toughen up", "you'll get over it".

The truth it, unless you have literally walked in their shoes, it's hard to imagine what they are going through.

Pray tell me, has any of the characters actually gone the extra step to understand Boon Ok?

I watch a drama, and I prefer certain characters. I made a ranking post a few post below, where you can see my preferences.

Looks like you've already made your opinion about me, and letting it color this particular post, based on what your writing. Which is exactly the issue I am pointing out. Why do you do this?

You are trying to make your post seem understanding, but aren't you in fact telling me to change to fit the mainstream? Why do you think I should do this? To be more popular with the mainstream views? I already accepted I am in the minority view here, why should I pander? If you could kindly answer that?

So because my theories are wrong, and I over analyzed I should stop?

Pray tell, the plot holes I bring up, are you able to explain them? Or am I too dumb to understand the message in each episode?

You accuse me of having bias towards characters, but I can clearly see you are bias towards me :)

You are basically proving my point in my initial post you know...

I think I read somewhere they had Jung Hae In in mind originally, so they wanted the story to be central to that.

But here's the thing, Snowdrop after 16 episode swill have a run time o f approx 24 hours of viewing time. That is equal to 3.5 seasons of Game of Thrones, a show with really amazing character development.

I just find it hard to believe so many Kdrama have this difficulty developer proper characters given such laborious run times.