Editor’s note: Since Snowdrop’s beginning, the show has not been without controversy. The most notable of which is the backlash over what many claim to be the drama’s alleged revisionist approach to South Korea’s democratic uprising in the 1980s, a movement against dictatorship marked by blood and loss. Following its premiere on December 18, a petition to stop the broadcast of the drama has gathered upwards of 300,000 signatures. Anyone going into Snowdrop should, therefore, watch it with a grain of salt.
Starting the countdown on the three-episode finale of Snowdrop is a decision: the Hosu Women’s Dorm is to be blown up at midnight. Inside the dorm, as the standoff between Soo-ho (Jung Hae-in) and Kang-moo (Jang Seung-jo) is pacified, Soo-ho finds himself backed into a corner. He has no option but to trust Chung-ya (Yoo In-na) to do her job, thanks to orders he’s received from the North: he is to blow himself and the dorm up by midnight, or his sister back in the North will be executed.
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Devastated at the turn of events, he goes to the chapel where Yeong-ro (BLACKPINK’s Jisoo) sits praying. As she asks him what’s wrong, he apologises to her for all that he’s put her through. “If you and I were ordinary people, what would it have been like?” she asks him, and they sit imagining a parallel universe where Soo-ho works as a singer, and Yeong-ro visits his cafe everyday to hear him.
Elsewhere, Chung-ya successfully intercepts the money that the South was to send to the North and promises Soo-ho that she’ll be back – even if she is a bit offended at Kang-moo’s mistrust of her.
As Kang-moo and Ms. Pi (Yoon Se-ah) are talking about Chung-ya’s imminent return, they are overheard by Gye Boon-ok (Kim Hye-yoon), who soon stumbles upon Ms. Pi’s elaborate wiretapping system in the dorm and reveals Chung-ya’s real identity to ANSP Chief Ahn Kyung-hee (Lee Hwa-ryong). Spotting an opportunity to benefit himself, Ahn rushes to intercept Chung-ya, who successfully escapes thanks to Han-na’s intervention, but not before Ahn discovers proof of Chung-ya’s affair with Nam Tae-il (Park Sung-woong).
In the dorm, Boon-ok and Sang-beom (Kim Jeong-hoon) let slip who Yeong-ro really is. Upon finding out that her father was was the Director of ANSP, the dorm – including her own friends – ostracise her, not just because of the hostage situation but also in part due to the ANSP’s history of framing and torturing innocent people.
When Han-na (Jung Yoo-jin) informs Soo-ho and Kang-moo of Chung-ya getting busted, the former enlists a reluctant Gyeok-chan (Kim Min-kyu) to save everyone in the dorm. His plan is to let the North know of the status of the money, thereby souring trust between the two nations and buying them some time. They’re still not in the clear, however: Chung-ya seems to have absconded with the money, and even if the North retracts their orders, the ANSP forces still have standing instructions to blow up the dorm.
Seeing no way out, Han-na approaches a recuperating Eun Chang-soo (Heo Joon-ho) for help. Chang-soo assures Soo-ho and Kang-moo that if they can get all the hostages out, he’ll personally assure their safety and help the spies escape to another country, despite knowing this might cost the ruling party the election and his political career. Yeong-ro tightens the noose further: she demands to stay with Soo-ho even after the hostages have been released so she can confirm his safe escape.
Chang-soo, however, is not happy with Yeong-ro’s vehement support of Soo-ho, and his wife – Yeong-ro’s stepmother –fuels the fire. Moreover, thanks to Nam Tae-il, the ruling party director now knows that the students in the dorm are aware of the election scheme. His instructions are clear: to blow the dorm up right away. On the other hand, Soo-ho and Gyeok-chan find out that despite the deal hanging in the balance, the North’s orders to kill Soo-ho stand.
In the dorm, Gye Boon-ok – ever the snitch – lets ANSP know of the spies’ plan to release the hostages. Now in hot water, Tae-il – who had been captured for his affair with Chung-ya and needs to save his skin – and Ahn Kyung-hee – who was in-charge of the money – decide to waste no time in blowing up the dorm.
Back at the dorm, Yeong-ro and Soo-ho spot forces outside retreating and start panicking. Before they can formulate a plan, Gyeok-chan shows up, fully intending to kill Soo-ho until he’s shot in the leg by the prodigal return Chung-ya. Chung-ya’s return throws a wrench in the ANSP’s plans, since she wastes no time in revealing all the sordid details of her and Tae-il’s relationship, before threatening that if she dies, the money dies with her.
As they’re treating Gyeok-chan’s injuries, Soo-ho makes another devastating discovery: the person who had been ordering Gyeok-chan to kill him all this time was Choi Su-ryeon (Jeon Ae-ri) – Deputy Director of the Ministry of State Security, DPRK, and Soo-ho’s birth mother who had abandoned him to climb up the political ladder. Contrary to what Soo-ho believes, however, Su-ryeon does not know of Soo-ho’s true identity. It makes no difference to her, however – she still powers through with the order to remove Lim Soo-ho.
As Soo-ho is coming to terms with everything going on, Chung-ya slips him an escape key: a certificate giving him rights to withdraw the money she had intercepted and news of a ship that would stow all the spies to safety. As everyone is getting ready to leave the dorm, she suggests to Soo-ho that they use the ₩300million as leverage.
Chang-soo agrees on the condition that Yeong-ro be released with the rest of the hostages, following which the spies were to use an emergency exit at the back of the dorm to meet the ANSP at midnight. Unable to trust him, the spies decide to leave immediately – shortly before the hostages leave through the front gate, Soo-ho bids Kang-moo a respectful goodbye and escapes with his team and Chung-ya.
There is, however, another problem – that of the other spy, who is revealed to be none other than the well-meaning Man-dong (Kim Jong-soo), who had helped Yeong-ro and her friends hide Soo-ho initially. Man-dong plans for Soo-ho and his companions to be killed as soon as they escape the halls and return to the North with Chung-ya.
Before he can do anything, however, the prickly student president Shin Kyung-ja (Jung Yi-seo) discovers his identity and informs Kang-moo, who rushes to save the spies. Soo-ho and his friends, however, are already gone by then, with Man-dong closely tailing them.
When Chang-soo finds out the spies have escaped, he instructs for inspections at all major checkpoints. Meanwhile, Han-na rescues reporter Gal – the man she had originally sent proof of Tae-il and Chang-soo’s election scheme – from the ANSP. The two hijack a radio station and start broadcasting the truth to all – despite being cut off in the middle, they manage to do significant damage. Parents flock to the dorm demanding for the students to be released, and the students are determined to foil the party’s plans.
In the midst of the furore, Gyeok-chan and Eung-chul (Jang In-sub) reach the rendezvous point to wait for Soo-ho and Chung-ya. As they are talking about what they’ll do after they finally make it out, they’re cruelly shot and killed by Man-dong.
Back at the ANSP quarters, Chang-soo is enraged to find that news of Yeong-ro being one of the hostages has been leaked. Despite assuring the ruling party director that he’ll ensure all the hostages’ safety and silence, the plan to oust him is already underway. Said plan is led by none other than Nam Tae-il, who has jumped at the opportunity of redeeming himself.
Tae-il’s plan is revealed just as Soo-ho and Chung-ya are reaching the rendezvous point – he has framed Yeong-ro for assisting the spies and promised to “eliminate” them by the end of day. Both Soo-ho and Chung-ya know that this is a death knell for the women of the Hosu dorm. Determined to do the right thing, Soo-ho wishes Chung-ya a bittersweet goodbye, wishing that she would “live an ordinary, happy life” as her real self, Kim Eun-hye. He heads back to the dorm, where a deathly silence has fallen.
Inside, Kang-moo begs Chang-soo to save the students, promising that he’ll make false confessions and live quietly if it meant the innocents would be spared. Chang-soo agrees, but is overruled when Chief Ahn disobeys him – telling Kang-moo that any hostage who steps out of the dorm will be killed on sight. Nam Tae-il prepares a full-blown attack.
In a last ditch effort, Chang-soo orders Han-na (who had been captured following the broadcast) to rescue the hostages. As both her and Soo-ho make their way to the dorm, Yeong-ro and her team buy time for the hostages to escape through the back by deflecting some forces to the main door.
As the SWAT team breaks through and makes their way inside, the students head to the emergency escape, where Soo-ho has already taken care of the barebones forces. Han-na makes it just in time with a bus to escort the students to safety, only to be dismayed at finding that some hostages – including Yeong-ro and Ms. Pi – are still inside helping the injured dorm-chef.
Soo-ho and Kang-moo rush inside for the rescue. Just as they reach Yeong-ro and her team, the SWAT forces find them and open fire. As the two are leading the rest of the hostages out, Soo-ho orders Kang-moo to take care of Yeong-ro. Catching on to his plan, an agitated Kang-moo begs him to go with Yeong-ro as he provides cover – Soo-ho, however, is not to be reasoned with. Just as Yeong-ro is forcefully pulled away by Kang-moo, the SWAT team arrives and opens fire on Soo-ho.
Yeong-ro, however, cannot bring herself to leave Soo-ho. She goes back for him and ushers him to the attic where she had first hidden him. Once inside, Soo-ho ensures Yeong-ro’s safety one last time – he gets Nam Tae-il on the line and tells him he has the ₩300million meant for the North. He informs Tae-il of the account number, but leaves the password with Yeong-ro. As the forces break into the attic, he shields Yeong-ro and takes all the fire. A distraught Yeong-ro tries to save him, but it’s too late. As he takes his last breath, he leaves Yeong-ro with a cassette tape, a call-back to their meeting in the record store.
Life moves on – The ruling party remains in power, but Chang-soo, Tae-il and Kyung-hee are jailed for their involvement in the election scheme. By the time the summer of 1988 arrives, Kang-moo and Han-na seem to be leaving everything behind and starting a life of their own. Ms. Pi is back as the Dorm Mother, with Boon-ok assisting her in duties. Things seem to have returned to normal – or a semblance of it – for everyone but Yeong-ro.
As the day draws to a close, Yeong-ro sits in the same cafe she’d first met Soo-ho in. She’s listening to the cassette tape Soo-ho had handed her in his dying moments. In his own voice, she listens as he thanks her for “blooming flowers” inside his cold heart and claims he never regretted meeting her. As she listens to him say “I love you” for perhaps the final time, she breaks down.
We switch to the forest behind the Hosu dormitory, just beyond the emergency exit. There, buried in the snow and stuck on the grills are paper plans – letters that Yeong-ro had written in despair when she’d first discovered Soo-ho’s identity, now a lost, makeshift shrine to their love.
Memorable Moments
- The curtain lifts on the tension between Ms. Pi and Gye Boon-ok, with redemption coming for the latter. Turns out, Ms. Pi, her fiancé and Boon-ok’s sister were fast friends until the now-dorm mother discovered the other two’s illicit affair. Devastated, she returned to South Korea, only to find out that her former fiancé had been framed on charges of being a North Korean supporter. After weeks of being tortured, she sold out both her fiancé and Boon-ok’s sister. The guilt, however, never left her, considering how she employed Boon-ok despite knowing her identity.
- Possibly the best plot twist in the story was the identity of the unknown North Korean spy, who was later revealed as Man-dong. The well-meaning man had not only foiled all of the spies’ plans, but also killed the previous dorm mother after she’d found out who he was.
‘Snowdrop’ is available on Disney+