Song of the Bandits Ending Explained: What Happened to Lee Yoon and His Gang?

Song of the Bandits is Netflix’s latest Korean series, and it’s safe to say that the show is notably different from the run-of-the-mill Asian content we’re used to seeing on the platform. Essentially, it is a fictional tale set in the context of real history, featuring a former Japanese soldier, Lee Yoon, and his attempt to fight for Korean independence in the Gando region. In addition to the references to geopolitics and ethnic tensions of the time, Song of the Bandits also features a Western visual style, making it an exciting series to watch. After years tormented by what happened in Gurye, Lee Yoon, a former indentured slave and soldier in the Japanese army, decides to abandon his former owner and superior, Major Lee Gwang-Il. Although he tries to prevent it.

Yoon travels to the north of Gando in search of a man from his past: Choi Choong-Soo. Before confessing to Choi Choong-Soo that he was responsible for the death of his family and community, Lee Yoon confronts Eon-nyeoni, a hired assassin who lets him live alone because the protagonist of Song of the Bandits He assures him that that night he will die at the hands of Choong-Soo. After hearing his confession, Choong-Soo seems determined to kill Yoon but is interrupted by the Nodeoksang gang’s attack. Seeing so many deaths, Lee Yoon goes after those men kills them one by one, and rescues the young woman from the community. From that moment on, helping the Joseon people fight against the Japanese became his life’s purpose.

Song of the Bandits: The Story Plot

We are in the early twenties of the twentieth century, the period is that of the Korean occupation by Japan. A man, Lee Yoon (Kim Nam-Gil), was forced by the dramatic circumstances of his life to fight for the Japanese army, where he rose through the ranks thanks to his incredible skills as a strategist and fighter. After many years, however, he is worn out by remorse: the atrocities committed in the war, against his country, make him want to put an end to it. The sword chosen to die is that of Choi Choons Soo (Yoo Jae-myung), a father who lost his entire family because of him. When he finally finds him and reaches him, however, something hinders his plans: in the isolated region where the man lives, Gando, bandits dominate, aided by the Japanese army and his supporters.

Song of the Bandits Ending Explained: What Happened to Lee Yoon and His Gang?

Five years later, Lee Yoon is the leader of a group of bandits, made up of Choong-soo, Kang San-gun, Choraeng-yi, and Geumsu, and fights against the Japanese army to protect the Joseon people. Meanwhile, Lee Gwang-Il continues hunting for independence supporters and proposes to Nam Hee-shin without imagining that behind the head of the Railway Office of the General Government lies an activist. When one of his group members is caught by her fiancé, Hee-shin decides to hire Eon-nyeoni to steal funds for the construction of Gando’s railway. Something Lee Yoon planned to do with the help of her gang and her old friend Seon-Bok, as well as other bandits since her hired assassin was in charge of spreading the rumor.

But they are not the only ones who obtain that information. After capturing and torturing his uncle, Gwang-Il discovers the plan and heads to Myeongjeong to avoid the coup and protect Hee-shin, who attends the train’s opening ceremony. When Eon-nyeoni sees Yoon again, she tries to kill him, the confrontation ends with both of them imprisoned. After being freed, Yoon reunites with his team to put his plan into action, as do the bandits Jang Ki-Ryong and Eon-Nyeoni, who ultimately keep the money. When the protagonist of Song of the Bandits tracks down the loot he meets Hee-Shin again, whom he accompanies to the meeting place. Upon discovering that Lee Yoon is still alive, Gwang-Il orders Eon-nyeoni to complete her job to avoid the consequences. The young assassin tries more than once without success, so eventually Gwang-Il must confront his old friend. For her part, Eon-nyeoni escapes from prison and still does not discover that Choong-soo is responsible for the death of her parents.

What Does The End Of Song of the Bandits Mean?

While Choong-soo and his bandits fight against Jang Ki-ryong and his men for the safety of their village, Yoon faces off against Gwang-il in an intense duel. The soldier also known as Miura Shohei tries to kill his former slave, but Yoon blows off two fingers on his right hand. Meanwhile, the Independence Army prevails. Lee Yoo returns to free his bandits from Ki-Ryong’s gang. So that the rest can hide in a safe place, one of the team members sacrifices himself. But the problems are not over yet, since General Katayama has the perfect pretext to attack Gando.

Although Yoon allowed Gwang-il to live so that he would leave the Miura Shohei name behind, the soldier remains loyal to the Emperor, and with the help of his father, who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he obtains parole and returns to Gyeongseong to continue his marriage plans with Hee-Shin. At the end of Song of the Bandits Hee-Shin marries Gwang-il without imagining that he already knows her secret. After the man he sent to investigate his girlfriend confirms that she is the transporter, Gwang-il threatens him to prevent him from sharing the information, however, his partner Jae-Tu hears everything.

What Did Lee Yoon Do in the Past?

When Lee Yoon finally meets Chung-soo, he opens up about the past actions that have tormented him for so long. After being orphaned in childhood, Lee Yoon and his brother were adopted by a wealthy Korean family of high social status. The family kept the boys and treated them like slaves, and even the family’s boy, Lee Kwang-il, looked down on Lee Yoon. Years later, after growing up, both Lee Yoon and Lee Kwang-il joined the Japanese army when the Japanese invaders came looking for Koreans to fight for their cause. Despite having to fight against those of his origin, Yoon accepted the offer and worked for the Japanese army, as he had no other option. The man still believed that the stories of atrocities faced by Koreans at the hands of the invaders were false and made up. However, six years before the present, Yoon’s perception completely changed when he was assigned as the leader of a Japanese army unit in a place called Gurye.

There were reports of Korean militant activity in the region, and Yoon was tasked with finding out more about these rebels.  Chung-soo had been one of the leaders of the rebellion in that village as well, which is why Lee Yoon remembers his name. During this time, Yoon witnessed the vile and inhumane attacks that the Japanese army unleashed on defenseless Koreans, brutally torturing and killing them without any remorse. As the village and rebel movement were destroyed, Lee Yoon decided to fight for his countrymen and not just be a puppet for the invaders. He turned against his army unit, killing most of them when confronting the major and his Korean master, Lee Kwang-il. The two men had a confrontation in which Yoon chose not to shoot and was shot in the arm by Kwang-il. Since then, Yoon carried the guilt of still serving his oppressors but was secretly looking for Chung-soo.

Now, when he encounters the rebel activist, Yoon leaves his post in the army, much to Kwang-il’s anger, and travels to Gando to admit all of this. The man apologizes for his actions towards Chung-soo and hopes the latter kills him in anger. However, Chung-soo is too smart to lose such a skilled former soldier, and the two now take an oath to start their group to fight for Korean independence. Three other men will also join this group soon: Kang San-gun, a fearless sniper; Choraeng-yi, an exceptional martial artist; and Geumsu, a towering executioner whose fury is his greatest strength. As the Japanese government maintains strict control over Korean liberation groups, Lee Yoon and his gang of mercenaries call themselves a bandit group in the lawless wildlands of Gando.

How Does the Theft of the Railway Fund Become Central to the Plot?

Right at the beginning of Song of the Bandits, the biggest robbery attempted by the outlaws occurs, when a robbery of the railway fund becomes central, with more important characters being introduced. A major railway line was being planned by the Japanese government to connect Gando to other, more accessible parts of Korea. Although this rail route meant that the Japanese army could arrive faster and wreak more havoc in the Gando region, the current situation before its construction offers a different opportunity. Since construction of this kind requires a lot of money, a large sum of 200,000 won was to be transferred to the region by a railway official.

The information about this large amount of money reaches Kim Seon-bok, who informs his friend Lee Yoon about it. As Yoon and his group are now quite successful as fighters for Korean independence, they are also constantly in need of funds for their plans. A reserve of 200,000 won would be extremely useful to them, and Yoon and Chung-soo decide to carry out a robbery to steal the money. But information about this railway fund also spreads around the place, reaching a rival group of bandits led by Jang Ki-Ryong, a ruthless mercenary who kills anyone for money. Ki-Ryong and his group also have a reputation for working with Japanese authorities, who pay them to kill the Joseon, or Korean, people in the Gando region. Like Yoon, Ki-Ryong also plans to steal the railroad’s money.

However, an even more complex robbery plan was already underway, planned by the very railroad officer who was supposed to bring the money. This officer, a woman named Nam Hee-Shin, was a secret supporter of the Korean Independence Army and all rebel movements in the country. Hee-Shin had helped the rebels with information and plans, and now she and another rebel leader make one final plan – steal the railroad funds and turn them over to the Independence Army. Since Hee-Shin would be sent to Gando alone with the money and couldn’t steal it directly, they hire another woman to do the job, and that’s the hired assassin, Eon Nyeoni. Hee-Shin had led a double life until now, as she had joined the government job just to find ways to help the Independence Army.

Hee-Shin also has ties to other characters, as she is engaged to Army Major Lee Kwang-il. She had met the protagonist, Lee Yoon, in the past, when he had not yet been sent away from the capital as part of the Japanese army. Lee Yoon and Hee-Shin fell in love with each other but were separated by their radically different lives. Kwang-il discovers this planned robbery and remains steadfast in his servitude to the Japanese. He tortures his uncle for more information but is unable to discover that his fiancée is the real thief. As he prepares an army unit and moves to Gando to stop the crime, a much more complex plan is revealed.

Hee-Shin and Nyeoni convinced the manager of the bank branch, where the money would be transferred, to send empty trunks in the designated carriage and collect the money. The manager agrees but seems to have his plan to steal the money for himself, which is quickly stopped by Nyeoni, who kills him. When the wagon with the empty trunks is attacked by Lee Yoon and then Ki-Ryong, they both find the empty trunks. Instead, it is Hee-Shin who carries the briefcase full of money, and she eventually takes a train with Nyeoni to escape the scene. Lee Yoon and his gang rob the train, and at the same time, the Japanese army led by Kwang-il stops the train. A massive sandstorm hits, and in the ensuing chaos, Hee-Shin manages to escape with the money. She and Lee Yoon meet later, as the latter recognizes her as her lover, but he does not reveal his identity to her. Eventually, Hee-Shin manages to deliver the money to the Independence Army with Yoon’s help. The two also share a kiss after the man reveals who he is, but desperate times do not allow for any relationship between them.

Why Does Eon Nyeoni Join Lee Yoon?

Professional assassin Eon Nyeoni also has an unhappy life story that leads her to the blind violence she wants to be her life ambition. When she was a child, Nyeoni’s parents were cruelly stoned and killed by the inhabitants of the same Korean village, and she was attacked and humiliated. After escaping from the place, she was taken in by Chung-soo, who raised her almost like a daughter, and later Nyeoni became a hired assassin. She originally started with the plan to find her parents’ killers and get revenge and also doesn’t mind killing Koreans, as her compatriots had murdered her. During the sandstorm at the train station, Nyeoni is shot and captured by Kwang-il. The army major threatens to kill her unless the assassin works for him. It was Kwang-il who ordered the first attack on Lee Yoon five years ago, and he now wants the woman to kill him, along with the perpetrator of the railway fund robbery.

Kwang-il still doesn’t know who the perpetrator of this robbery is, but he has the idea that the person is being helped by Lee Yoon. Nyeoni works according to this plan for a while until she is captured by law enforcement authorities in the Gando region. The treacherous police officer, Ooka, wants to execute Nyeoni and to save herself, she tells the man to talk to the army major. Nyeoni is confident that Kwang-il will order the police to release her, but the major completely betrays her, refusing to recognize her to save himself. Although Ooka attempts to execute Nyeoni, the woman somehow escapes this fate, and once free, her only plan is to kill Kwang-il as revenge for his betrayal. As she and Yoon’s group now share the same target, they decide to work together, and eventually, Nyeoni becomes part of the gang, fighting for the cause of Korean independence.

What Was the Plan Made by the Japanese in the End?

At the end of Song of the Bandits, Lee Yoon and his gang have to escape from prison in the city of Myeongjyeong, and to do so, they kill a large number of Japanese soldiers. Not only is this a huge loss of men for the army, but it is also a huge disrespect since the Joseon people, whom they considered inferior, killed so many of their men. This enrages the army superior, Katayama, and he is seen making a plan to retaliate against the Koreans. This plan, to eradicate and massacre all Koreans in the Gando region, is found by Kwang-il, and the man decides to take it with him. This plan to persecute Koreans cannot be carried out directly as the region is under Chinese ownership. Therefore, the Japanese army cannot simply march into the region and carry out any operations. Katayama now hires bandit leader Jang Ki-Ryong to go to the region and mercilessly kill Japanese police and army officers. This attack is reported by Katayama to his reporters as an evil act by the Koreans. In response, the Japanese government tells the Chinese administration that Korean rebel groups hiding in the area need to be hunted down, and Katayama’s plan is approved.

Meanwhile, Kwang-il returns to the capital with documents from this attack and visits his fiancée, Hee-Shin. That night, as Kwang-il pretends to be asleep, he sees the woman go through her files and remove the document about the Joseon persecution. He also appoints a spy to follow Hee-Shin the next day, and through him, he discovers that she is a secret supporter of the Korean Independence Army. However, Kwang-il does not make this information public and instead marries Hee-Shin, as if he does not already know her true identity. On the other hand, Lee Yoon had gone to the capital to see his lover again, but instead, it is the leader of the rebel army who meets with him and informs him about the terrible persecution of the Joseon people that will soon take place in Gando. Lee Yoon immediately takes a train back to the location, and Song of the Bandits ends without a certain outcome, perhaps intending to return for a second season. The only certainty, shown in the last scene of the series, is that Chung-soo and the group of bandits continue fighting the Japanese army for as long as they can.