Sa Woo is about to shoot Hyun Jun but is interrupted by the Hungarian police. While Hyun Jun escapes, the NSS brands him as a traitor who is guilty of espionage and removes all evidence of him ever existing. He tries to run away with Seung Hee but the car she was in explodes, leading him to assume that she died. With one last attempt to escape Hungary, Hyun Jun flies a plane but it is shot down by Sa Woo, who believes that Hyun Jun died in the crash.
Through the first five episodes, the close friendship between Sa-woo and Hyun-jin has been closely monitored. They are shown to be best friends since joining the special forces. In episode 5, their friendship is tested as Sa-woo is ordered to kill Hyun-jin to cover up the tracks of the NSS and South Korea. Sa-woo finds Hyun-jin and puts his friend at gunpoint. However, Sa-woo is unable to pull the trigger and the hesitation allows Hyun-jin to escape, due to the cops’ arrival. Sa-woo confronts their boss and explains that he cannot kill him friend despite not knowing anything about his friend’s past. No matter what the file, the NSS has on Hyun-jin, Sa-woo refuses to betray his friendship. He even assists Seung-hee in searching for his best friend. The companionship between the two agents has always been strong and it has been tested through the first few episodes. Although they share the same woman of interest, Sa-woo does not bring it up as it may damage his relationship with Hyun-jin. So far, Sa-woo has shown that he values his friend and is unwilling to backstab him. Would you go against your best friend if ordered by your employer or someone with a higher ranking?
ReplyDeleteokay. a bit descriptive, though.
DeleteAnd no, but I'm pretty strong-willed.
Military Service and Obligation
ReplyDeleteFor episode one, I previously discussed how one of the duties of a Korean man was to do their military service. Since then, concepts of obligation (especially to the country) have recurred and was especially highlighted in this episode. Obligation adds pressure onto these service men to question their loyalty to their country and their masculinity even when they say that they have a choice and are not obligated to. I will be recounting the moments when these situations occurred as an example. In episode two, Hyun Joon and Sa Woo were faced with the decision to join the NSS. Baek San had iterated to them that they didn’t have to join the NSS and they could easily just walk out. Back in episode one and then as a recap in episode 4, Baek San gives Hyun Joon a mission to assassinate Minister Yoon. Although, he does not state that Hyun Joon has the option to back out he says that: “If he succeeds, his actions could have a large influence in bringing about Korea’s own unification.” Now in episode 5 we have Baek San ordering Sa Woo to shoot Hyun Joon and if he does not do it he is going against the NSS. Additionally, there are the two North Korean agents: Chul Young, who informs Sun Hwa how she will be the one to lead after they get home, implying of his punishment if he fails capturing Hyun Joon.
From these recurring examples, we can see how the character’s masculinity and service to their country is constantly questioned. How can you say “no” to: the orders of your superior, servicing your country, and the reunification of the two Koreas? Despite the reassurance that they can opt out, the pressure and tension remains probably stemming from deeply rooted societal values. Which can be another discussion in itself…
Nice, Karen. And yes, I agree that this is what we're seeing with Sa-u, Hyunjun, Cheolyeong, Seonhwa, all of them. Not much free will on display
DeleteEpisode 5 was a little bit repetitive for me. It was constantly about Hyun Joon running away, but almost getting caught over and over again. It added a lot more emotions as well as he almost got caught each time. He started off at wanting to make it out alive as a promise to Seung Hee, to wanting to make it out alive to figure out why he was abandoned. He couldn't believe that Sa Woo would turn on him just to not go against NSS, but the audience knows that Sa Woo only agreed to this mission so Seung Hee doesn't have to know about it. Therefore, in Seung Hee's dream, it was fairly believable that Hyun Joon would go for revenge and shoot Sa Woo. Opposite to Donny's point, I think that Sa Woo is pretending to assist Seung Hee in the search of Hyun Joon, because Seung Hee would probably look on her own, so it's better to keep her closer in case she does have any communication with Hyun Joon. When Hyun Joon escapes with Seung Hee, Sa Woo is seen following them, neither harming them or helping them. Sa Woo waits until Hyun Joon escapes from the North Korean agents to a private airfield, and Sa Woo finally shows himself. He stops his car in front of Hyun Joon's plane, and aims a sniper rifle at it. Then the camera zooms into Hyun Joon's face, and his emotions clearly showed that he just lost his girlfriend, and his best friend. The feeling of betrayal was shown on his face, but he was determined to make it out alive, despite all his losses.
ReplyDeletesummary.
DeleteI found that in this episode, there are many details that can be interpreted as “foreshadowing” what will happen later on in the drama. After Hyun Joon was framed for being a spy, we see that his files and personal belongings are seized from the NSS by unnamed agents and later burned. The act of burning Hyun Joon’s belongings may be a reflection of a greater effort to wipe him out of existence. As the camera zooms into a photo of Hyun Joon’s face slowly being incinerated, audiences get a sense that this may entail his demise in later episodes. In that same scene, a photo of Hyun Joon and Sa Woo together in the military is also seen burning in the pile of Hyun Joon’s belongings. The burning of that photo may imply that the two’s friendship will continue to be challenged, and may even fall apart later on. When Hyun Joon was being pursued by the North Korean agents, he breaks into a pickup truck in efforts to escape. While driving away, he unintentionally drives past Seung Hee, who was looking for him. The camera then zooms to the truck’s side view mirror, reflecting a worried Seung Hee. We see Seung Hee getting smaller in the mirror as Hyun Joon drives further away from her. This can be interpreted as Hyun Joon being forced to stray away from Seung Hee later on as he tries to survive in an environment where everyone seems to want him dead. In Seung Hee’s nightmare, Hyun Joon and Sa Woo is seen shooting each other, while herself is confused and stuck in the middle. This suggests that Hyun Joon may fight back at Sa Woo for “betraying” him. It might also suggest that Seung Hee will be stuck between the two men, although she seems to be on Hyun Joon’s side so far; which makes me wonder what can cause her to stray from him.
ReplyDeleteyep
DeleteIn episode 5, there is a lot of fight and action scenes. There are also many car chase scenes, especially in the very end of this episode, San woo drove a Korean branded vehicle to chase Hyoon joon, who tries to escape by his stolen plane. Korean car manufacturing is a large sector in their economy, in fact, now the automotive industry in South Korea is the fifth-largest in the world measured by automobile unit production and the fifth-largest by automobile export volume. They started the industry in early 50s by modifying and assembling parts. In 1962, Korean government announced, “Automobile Industry Promotion Policy” to protect and develop their automobile manufacturing. After a quarter of a century of hardworking, the output of the whole industry finally exceeds over 1 milion units.
ReplyDeleteShengjie, these are good details, but if you brought them back together at the end-- talking about which makes and models of car have appeared in the drama, even finding out if that make exists in Hungary, and if that company is sponsoring the drama-- then you'd have an amazing comment. As is, it seems like at the end of the second line you've just switched to google copy and paste.
DeleteIn this episode, I noticed the camera was very shaky and incorporated quick zoom ins and outs, which is uncommon in most Korean dramas that usually have a still, smooth shot. I wondered what the purpose of this was and did some research. The shaky effect is used to give the viewers a more realistic feeling, as if they were there themselves or used to show the point of view from a character watching from afar. We can see this in the scenes where the Hyun Jun is hiding in the warehouse and when the Hungarian police and North Korean security team attempt to ambush him. The fast zooming in and out creates a sense of urgency and intensifies a scene, as shown when the NSS confiscate all of Hyun Jun’s possessions on his desk and when Seung Hee finds out that he’s been suspected of espionage. Since Iris is an action type of drama, the director not only skillfully uses these camera techniques to depict an authentic setting but also provides a captivating viewing experience for the audience.
ReplyDeletenice observations.
DeleteIt wasn't until episode 6 that I started to wonder why the director of IRIS chose Hungary to be the foreign setting for his drama. Often times, movie/drama directors pick foreign countries to film some of their scenes for various reasons. So, why did the story play out with Hyun Joon being sent to Hungary and end up being chased by North Korean agents there? and why are Hungarian Police so quick to release and cooperate with Park Cheol Young when they realized he's a North Korean agent? It was only after some quick research that I was able to connect some dots together. It just so happens that Hungary and North Korea in reality had a previous relationship during the cold war as communist allies. This makes IRIS a drama with social consciousness of history by using a historical elements in its plot. This is shown in the scenes where Hungarian police stop Park North Korean agents at the sight of their weapons at the train station, but are quick to help them instead in pursuit of Hyunjoon, their target. At first, I thought it was nonsense that the Hungarian Police released North Korean agents when they explained that they were diplomats from North Korea. Then I realized that there were a deeper meaning behind the two countries relationship. In the end, who knows if the director even chose Hungary knowing what I know. I just thought it was interesting.
ReplyDeletethe DPRK's relationship with Hungary is pretty well known-- it appears in other movies and TV shows, too. Like the one about the doctor from the DPRK that was on about 3 years ago. https://www.viki.com/tv/22343c-doctor-stranger?locale=en
DeleteIn this episode I found the female character, Seung Hee, was stereotypically portrayed as the damsel in distress. On the other hand, Hyun Joon as the strong and manly character. This kind of circumstance appears in numerous dramas as the male actor is often the one that does the heroic role and the actress being distant and in the background. One could argue that it is because Seung Hee is suffering as she is unable to help Hyun Joon, however, I find that Sa Woo is going through a much harder time. In one of the scenes, it is Sa Woo that comforts Seung Hee and there are multiple scenes where it shows Seung Hees emotional side in contrast to how she was such a tough character in the beginning of the shows. Towards the end of the episode, I didn't understand why Hyun Joon went to go get the train tickets while everyone was looking for him when it could have been easily Seung Hee that went and got it. As a result, Hyun Joon gets caught and it became a much more difficult situation. Because of all these factors, I found that in this episode, it really showed how Hyun Joon is the "man"of the relationship and the stereotype that the man has to do everything. For example, how it is believed that the man has to do all the work while the woman stays at home and becomes a housewife. This type of situation was and still is very common in South Korea as women are often looked down upon at work places. This episode aired in 2009 which was before the first female president Park Geun-hye was elected in 2013, who made great changes for female equality. She made a lot of positive changes for women but it is still said that women are not treated as equals. There can still be further advances for women. For example, a positive look for women on employment, an increase of representation of women and etc.
ReplyDeleteNo kidding. I felt the same. Totally. At a certain point it's like they said 'ummm, if she's the female lead we need her to be WOMANLY' and suddenly she's not tough as nails.
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