Netflix dropped 11 episodes of the K-drama Dear Hongrang, starring Lee Jae-Wook and Cho Bo-Ah, on Friday, basically giving us no time to actually process what we’ve seen in one day and a half. Jokes aside, though, the show is a great combination of a mystery thriller and romance with a sprinkle of fantasy here and there. Specifically, there are two things that interest us as the viewers: the Snow Man and the painter. In the show, we have a man return to his home 12 years after he first disappeared, but it is eventually revealed that this man isn’t the same boy at all but an impostor planted at the Min Family Guild on purpose.
The convoluted story features 2 revenge plots, one of Kkot-Nim’s revenge and one of Hongrang’s. Of course, here I’m referring to the impostor, who is posing as Hongrang. Now Kkot-Nim is after the Sim family because Sim Yeol-Guk abandoned her so he could stay rich and powerful. This left her with no kid and nothing to her name, but she chose to raise two orphans as her own and take what was Sim’s for herself. But the boys she took in had their own plan. Hongrang and In-Hoe were scarred in their childhood because a man, referred to as just the painter, tattooed heinous paintings on their backs. Throughout the show, we’re left wondering why Hongrang is searching for this painter only for it to be revealed later that he’s been “marked” on his back, and he’s so ashamed of it that he can’t even let Jae-Yi, his lover, look at it. But why does the painter do this to the kids? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
Who Is The Snow Man?
The biggest mystery in Dear Hongrang is who the Snow Man is and why he is haunting Hongrang in his dreams. The Snow Man is a man who has skin as white as porcelain and white eyes, with long white hair, a white outfit, and of a towering stature. Some of the maids believe he is 7ft tall, but we know when we see Hongrang and him fight that he is quite ordinary in height. There are a few theories of who the Snow Man could be. My initial theory was that he could be one of the people that the prince tried to “paint” on, but while he was getting “washed” in alum, he must’ve had some sort of allergic reaction, which burnt off his skin. He does look quite burnt and reddish on closer inspection. But another theory I read said that the Snow Man could be the late king, who might’ve survived so many years through a similar ritual, which is why the prince wants to follow in his footsteps. Or the prince might’ve made his own dad that way to keep him around as a zombie soldier to protect him. What is your theory?
What Is The Spiritual Ascension Ritual?
Near the end of the show, it is revealed that the prince himself is the infamous painter that Hongrang is looking for. The prince is looking to become an immortal being, a god-man, for the sake of his people. We already know that he’s doing this for selfish reasons, but anyway, the prince wants to perform a ritual passed down in the shadows. In this ritual, virgin hair is burnt as incense, and one bathes in the blood of newborn creatures. But this is basically a pre-ritual practice. The real ritual itself includes burning 6 live talismans denoting the different aspects of life: wealth, longevity, fortune, fertility, the balance of yin and yang, and the ability to control nature. But apart from the kids that he tattooed, the prince kept other children with him and constantly took them to the palace. Why? The only reason I can imagine is that he was using these kids for blood transfusions to keep himself younger. If he’s chasing god status, he obviously wants to live a long life, and what better way to do this than by using children?
Anyway, a spiritual ascension ritual basically involves letting go of human consciousness and attaining a higher connection with the divine, in this case, becoming the divine himself. The prince painted, i.e., tattooed, the boys with the 6 images that represent the aspects of life to burn them for his ritual. I think the show is quite grounded in real life and doesn’t really go into the supernatural, even if the people of Joseon believe in spirits and shamanism. So, I would assume if the ritual had been successful, it still wouldn’t have given the prince the god status he was expecting; it would’ve just killed 6 innocent boys, amongst many others.
But the prince would’ve managed to survive some extra time if he had continued using young children to keep himself alive. Often, we see that evil thrives in these strange ways. I suppose he was just a madman who was hungry for power, but interestingly, we never actually see him doing any princely things. So what did he want all this power for, huh? It’s quite interesting to see an artist made the villain of such a show. I quite like this idea, because they’re often considered geniuses, and I think that leads to obsession, which leads to people like the prince. On a side note, though, his art is quite excellent and shocking.
What Happens To Jae-Yi And Hongrang?
Hongrang’s death is a blow to all of us at the end of Dear Hongrang. But the show doesn’t leave us wallowing in utter sadness. It gives us the impression that the two lovers will meet again in the afterlife, where they will be happy together for eternity. I think this is especially poignant because of everything the two people have been through in the real world, so they only deserve a better chance in the afterlife.
