True Taste Korea

Korean History

  • The Scandal Makes Joseon Look Brutal for Women — But Their Rights Were Actually Better Centuries Earlier

    Netflix’s The Scandal takes viewers into a Joseon society where an elite woman can possess wealth, intelligence and influence — but still live inside strict boundaries simply because she is a woman.

    For modern viewers, the conclusion seems obvious:

    Women in Joseon Korea must have always lived like this.

    But Korean history contains a surprising twist.

    Go back several centuries, and women in Korea could inherit family property alongside their brothers, maintain strong connections to their birth families and exercise economic rights that would later become much more restricted.

    In other words:

    For some Joseon women, history actually moved backward.

    And that makes The Scandal much more interesting.

    Joseon Daughters Once Inherited Property With Their Brothers

    One of the biggest surprises involves inheritance.

    During the earlier Joseon period, family property was often divided relatively equally among sons and daughters.

    Marriage did not automatically remove a daughter from her birth family’s inheritance.

    Women could own inherited property, and that property did not simply become their husband’s because they married.

    This matters because property means more than money.

    Property can mean bargaining power inside a family.

    It can mean security after a husband dies.

    And it can mean that a daughter remains an economically important member of her own family even after marriage.

    That is very different from the stereotypical image many people have of Joseon women.

    Even Marriage Looked Different

    Early Joseon marriage customs could also surprise modern viewers.

    The familiar image is of a bride leaving her family and becoming absorbed into her husband’s household.

    But historically, Korea retained older marriage traditions in which husbands could spend substantial periods living with or near their wives’ families.

    That meant married women often maintained stronger relationships with their parents and relatives than the later Confucian family system would encourage.

    So what happened?

    The Strange Part: Women Lost Ground as Joseon Developed

    From roughly the 17th century onward, Neo-Confucian family principles became increasingly embedded in everyday social life.

    Families became more strongly organized around the male line.

    Ancestor rites increasingly centered on sons.

    Patrilocal residence became more important.

    Genealogies increasingly emphasized male descendants.

    And inheritance practices gradually shifted away from relatively equal division toward preferential treatment for sons — particularly eldest sons.

    By the 18th century, the world of elite Joseon women looked considerably different from that of women several centuries earlier.

    That is the world that helps us understand The Scandal.

    Lady Cho’s Power Suddenly Makes More Sense

    Son Ye-jin’s Lady Cho is not powerless.

    That is precisely what makes her interesting.

    She has status.

    She has intelligence.

    She understands people.

    She knows how to manipulate the rules around her.

    But there are freedoms available to elite men that are not equally available to her.

    Ji Chang-wook’s Jo Won can openly build a reputation as a notorious playboy.

    For a woman of Lady Cho’s position, sexual desire carries very different consequences.

    So she exercises power indirectly.

    Through information.

    Through relationships.

    Through temptation.

    Through other people.

    That makes her more than simply a “dangerous woman.”

    She is a powerful woman operating inside a society that places boundaries around how female power can be expressed.

    But Was Europe Really So Different?

    Here is where the story gets even more interesting.

    The Scandal is adapted from Dangerous Liaisons, the famous French novel published in 1782.

    And 18th-century European women were hardly living in a modern feminist paradise.

    In England, the legal doctrine known as coverture meant that a married woman’s independent legal identity was severely constrained by marriage. Her husband gained extensive control over property and legal affairs.

    France was different in important ways, and women’s experiences varied enormously according to region, class and marital status.

    But European women also faced major restrictions involving marriage, property, political participation and sexual behavior.

    And just like in Joseon, there was a glaring double standard.

    A sexually adventurous aristocratic man could gain a reputation as a libertine.

    A woman behaving similarly risked social destruction.

    Suddenly, adapting Dangerous Liaisons to Joseon does not seem so strange.

    Two Different Societies, One Familiar Problem

    18th-century France and Joseon Korea were obviously not the same society.

    Their laws, religions, family systems and cultures were very different.

    But Dangerous Liaisons depends on something both worlds understood very well:

    Sex, marriage and reputation can become forms of power when men and women are not allowed to play by the same rules.

    That may be why The Scandal works so naturally in a Korean historical setting.

    The costumes changed.

    The language changed.

    The social rules changed.

    But the dangerous game underneath remained recognizable.

    And there is one final historical irony.

    When we look at Lady Cho and think,

    “Joseon women had so few freedoms,”

    we should remember that women living in Korea several centuries before her could, in some respects, possess stronger property and family rights.

    So perhaps the most surprising question raised by The Scandal isn’t how restricted Joseon women were.

    It is this:

    How did some Korean women lose rights their own ancestors had already possessed?

  • Could a Married Woman Really Have a Secret Lover in Joseon Korea? The Real History Behind Netflix’s The Scandal

    Netflix’s The Scandal asks viewers to accept a provocative idea.

    In Joseon Korea — a society famous for strict Confucian morality — Lady Cho, a talented noblewoman trapped by the limitations placed on women, secretly plays a dangerous game of love and seduction.

    It makes great television.

    But could a noblewoman in the real Joseon Dynasty actually have a secret lover?

    And if she were discovered, what would happen?

    The answer is more interesting than simply “no.”

    Why The Scandal Chose Joseon Korea

    The Scandal, starring Son Ye-jin, Ji Chang-wook and NANA, premieres globally on Netflix on September 18, 2026.

    Netflix describes Lady Cho as an exceptionally talented woman who refuses to be confined by the expectations placed on women of her era.

    She proposes a secret romantic wager to Cho Won, a notorious playboy, eventually drawing another woman, Hui-yeon, into their dangerous game.

    That premise deliberately creates a contradiction:

    The stricter the society, the more dangerous the desire becomes.

    And Joseon Korea provides an almost perfect setting for that conflict.

    Could a Married Joseon Woman Have a Lover?

    Physically?

    Of course.

    Legally and socially?

    That was another matter entirely.

    Joseon society increasingly organized marriage and family life around Neo-Confucian ideas of lineage, chastity and proper relations between men and women.

    For an elite woman in particular, sexual behavior was not considered purely private.

    Her reputation could affect her husband, children and extended family.

    This is one reason Lady Cho’s behavior in The Scandal would have been genuinely dangerous rather than simply embarrassing.

    A secret affair was possible.

    Getting caught could destroy far more than a romance.

    Women and Men Did Not Play by the Same Rules

    This is one of the most important things international viewers should understand about the setting.

    Joseon marriage was not sexually equal.

    The dynasty developed a formal distinction between a man’s principal wife and concubines.

    A man could therefore have relationships with women other than his principal wife within socially recognized structures.

    Women had no equivalent system.

    For a wife, sexual fidelity was closely connected to Confucian ideals of female virtue.

    Even the traditional grounds on which a husband could seek to remove a wife included sexual misconduct among the so-called “Seven Grounds” associated with Joseon marital norms.

    So when The Scandal gives Lady Cho desires comparable to those of Cho Won, it is doing something deliberately provocative.

    The same desire did not carry the same consequences for a man and a woman.

    What If a Noblewoman Was Caught?

    The consequences depended on the period, social status and circumstances, so there is no single punishment that describes every case across five centuries of Joseon history.

    But for an elite woman, the danger was substantial.

    Sexual misconduct could damage her standing inside the household and provide grounds for marital separation.

    And the social consequences could extend beyond the woman herself.

    Joseon society cared intensely about legitimate family lines.

    A scandal involving a principal wife could therefore become a question not only of morality, but also of family legitimacy, inheritance and status.

    For a yangban family concerned with reputation and government careers, that could be devastating.

    This helps explain why secrecy matters so much in a story like The Scandal.

    The danger is not merely:

    “What if my husband finds out?”

    It is:

    “What happens to my entire place in society if people find out?”

    Could Joseon Women Divorce Their Husbands?

    Not on equal terms with men.

    Joseon divorce practices developed within a patriarchal legal and family structure.

    Historical sources describe legal divorce largely through state-enforced separation or a husband’s grounds for dismissing his wife.

    There were also restrictions on when a husband could remove a wife, so husbands did not possess completely unlimited power.

    Still, this was very different from modern divorce based on equal individual rights.

    A married noblewoman dissatisfied with her life could not simply obtain a modern-style divorce and begin again.

    That makes Lady Cho’s frustration much easier to understand.

    A talented woman might possess intelligence, wealth and influence —

    yet still have remarkably little freedom over the most personal parts of her life.

    What About Widows Like Hui-yeon?

    This is where The Scandal becomes even more interesting.

    NANA’s character Hui-yeon is a widow who intends to remain chaste after her husband’s death.

    To a modern viewer, that might seem like a personal choice.

    In Joseon Korea, widow chastity became a powerful social ideal.

    The government increasingly encouraged elite widows to remain faithful to deceased husbands, and restrictions on remarriage became particularly strong during the dynasty.

    In 1477, during the reign of King Seongjong, restrictions were introduced against remarriage among widows of the elite sajok class.

    A widow’s remarriage could even have consequences for her descendants.

    That changes the way we see Hui-yeon.

    When Cho Won attempts to seduce her, he is not merely challenging her romantic resistance.

    He is challenging an entire moral identity society has constructed around her.

    Was Widow Remarriage Always Forbidden in Korea?

    No.

    And this is a fascinating detail.

    Before Joseon, particularly during the Goryeo period, widow remarriage was much more accepted.

    The increasingly strict attitude toward widows developed alongside Joseon’s growing Neo-Confucian social order.

    Even within Joseon, attitudes and regulations evolved over time.

    That is important because historical Korea was not one unchanging society.

    A rule or custom associated strongly with late Joseon should not automatically be projected onto every Korean woman living centuries earlier.

    Could Noblewomen Meet Men Privately?

    Elite women’s lives could be heavily restricted by expectations surrounding gender separation and propriety.

    But “restricted” does not mean women literally never encountered unrelated men.

    Households were complicated spaces containing relatives, servants, visitors and social networks.

    Human beings also found ways around social rules.

    That is true in almost every historical society.

    So a secret relationship was certainly imaginable.

    The unrealistic part would be treating it as casual and consequence-free.

    For a noblewoman, secrecy would be essential precisely because discovery could carry enormous social consequences.

    Then Were Joseon Women Completely Powerless?

    No — and this is where historical dramas can oversimplify things in the opposite direction.

    Joseon women were not identical, and their circumstances changed according to period, class, wealth, family structure and personality.

    Elite women could manage households, control resources in certain circumstances, influence relatives and participate indirectly in family decisions.

    Earlier Joseon customs could also differ significantly from the stricter gender order commonly associated with later centuries.

    So the choice is not between:

    “Joseon women were free”

    and

    “Joseon women had absolutely no agency.”

    Reality was more complicated.

    They could possess influence while simultaneously living inside legal and social structures that severely limited their choices.

    That contradiction is exactly what makes Lady Cho an interesting character.

    Why Could Men Like Cho Won Be Playboy Characters?

    Cho Won represents the opposite side of this system.

    Netflix describes him as Joseon’s greatest playboy — a man who chooses pleasure over conventional ambition.

    A wealthy elite man had far more room for sexual behavior than a respectable married woman.

    That does not mean Joseon society approved of unlimited male promiscuity.

    Family reputation, hierarchy and proper conduct still mattered.

    But the consequences and expectations were clearly unequal.

    That inequality gives The Scandal its central irony:

    Cho Won can become famous for seduction.

    Lady Cho must hide desire itself.

    So Is The Scandal Historically Accurate?

    We should probably separate historical setting from historical probability.

    The series is not presenting itself as a documentary.

    It reimagines Dangerous Liaisons, the 1782 French novel that has inspired numerous adaptations, through Joseon Korea. Netflix also connects the new series to the 2003 Korean film Untold Scandal.

    So the extraordinary romantic game at the center of the story is intentionally dramatic.

    But the social danger surrounding it is grounded in something very real.

    A noblewoman’s sexuality was constrained.

    Widow chastity mattered.

    Marriage was tied to family and lineage.

    Men and women faced different expectations.

    And reputation could affect much more than one individual’s private life.

    In that sense, the historical restrictions don’t weaken The Scandal’s premise.

    They make the scandal possible.

    The Most Interesting Question Isn’t “Could She Do It?”

    Of course Lady Cho could secretly desire someone.

    Joseon women were human beings, not Confucian symbols.

    The better question is:

    How much would she risk by acting on that desire?

    For a modern woman, a forbidden affair can destroy a marriage.

    For a noblewoman living under Joseon’s strict social order, discovery could threaten her reputation, her position within the family and potentially the standing of people around her.

    That makes the title The Scandal unusually appropriate.

    The shocking part isn’t that a woman could desire another man.

    The shocking part is what her society demanded she sacrifice in order to act like a person with desires of her own.

    Quick Answers

    Could a married woman have a secret lover in Joseon Korea?
    Yes, affairs were humanly possible, but an elite woman faced serious legal, familial and social consequences if discovered.

    Were men allowed to have other women?
    Joseon developed a recognized concubinage system for men, while wives had no comparable sexual freedom.

    Could a widow remarry?
    Attitudes changed over time, but Joseon increasingly restricted elite widow remarriage and strongly promoted widow chastity.

    Were all Joseon women confined and powerless?
    No. Women’s experiences varied by period, class and family, and some exercised considerable household or economic influence despite major structural restrictions.

    Is Lady Cho a historically typical Joseon woman?
    No. She is an intentionally extraordinary fictional character. The interesting historical element is how dangerous her behavior would have been within the society surrounding her.

  • Is Hwang Dae-sik Chun Doo-hwan? The Real History Behind Made in Korea Season 2

    If you are watching Made in Korea Season 2, one new character may immediately raise a question:

    Is Hwang Dae-sik supposed to be Chun Doo-hwan?

    Hwang Dae-sik, played by Heo Jung-do, is the commander of the Defense Security Command and quickly emerges as one of the most important military power players after the assassination of President Park Chung-hee.

    That sounds very familiar to anyone who knows South Korean history.

    In real life, the commander of the Defense Security Command in 1979 was Chun Doo-hwan, the general who would soon seize control of the military and eventually become president of South Korea.

    So is Hwang Dae-sik simply Chun Doo-hwan with a different name?

    The answer is more complicated.

    Hwang Dae-sik is a fictional character, and the drama has not officially identified him as Chun Doo-hwan.

    However, his position and the historical moment surrounding him create obvious parallels with the real general.

    Understanding those parallels makes Season 2 much easier — and much more interesting — to follow.

    Who Is Hwang Dae-sik in Made in Korea Season 2?

    Hwang Dae-sik is played by actor Heo Jung-do.

    He is introduced as a major general and commander of the Defense Security Command, a powerful military intelligence organization.

    Before President Park’s death, Hwang is already positioned close to political power.

    But after the president is assassinated, the balance of power suddenly changes.

    Instead of simply reacting to the crisis, Hwang begins calculating how the new political situation can work in his favor.

    This is important.

    Season 2 is no longer only about Baek Ki-tae’s personal ambition.

    A new source of power is emerging.

    The military.

    And Hwang Dae-sik stands at its center.

    Why Do Viewers Think Hwang Dae-sik Is Chun Doo-hwan?

    The biggest reason is his job.

    Season 2 begins its main historical story on October 26, 1979, when President Park Chung-hee was assassinated.

    At that time in real Korean history, Chun Doo-hwan was commander of the Defense Security Command.

    Hwang Dae-sik holds essentially that same position within the fictional story.

    That alone creates a very strong historical association.

    But there is more.

    After Park’s assassination, the investigation became one of the most important sources of political power in South Korea.

    In the real history, Chun Doo-hwan became chief of the Joint Investigation Headquarters investigating the assassination.

    That gave him enormous influence.

    And only weeks later, on December 12, 1979, Chun and allied military officers would move against the existing military leadership and seize control of key military forces.

    Made in Korea Season 2 takes place precisely during the period leading toward that moment.

    So when viewers see Hwang Dae-sik gaining power after October 26, the historical parallel is difficult to ignore.

    But Hwang Dae-sik Is Not Officially Chun Doo-hwan

    This distinction is important.

    Director Woo Min-ho has explained that Made in Korea Season 2 approaches real historical events through fictional characters around those events.

    That is different from making a direct biographical drama.

    The series uses real history as its framework.

    President Park Chung-hee’s assassination is real.

    The KCIA is real.

    The Defense Security Command is real.

    The political chaos following October 26 is real.

    The coming December 12 military insurrection is real.

    But characters such as Baek Ki-tae and Hwang Dae-sik are allowed to operate inside that history as fictional players.

    That gives the drama freedom to change alliances, create confrontations and imagine events that were never recorded in actual history.

    So it would be misleading to say:

    “Hwang Dae-sik is Chun Doo-hwan.”

    A better way to describe him is:

    Hwang Dae-sik is a fictional military figure occupying a historical position that strongly evokes Chun Doo-hwan.

    Who Was Chun Doo-hwan in 1979?

    For international viewers unfamiliar with modern Korean history, this part is essential.

    Chun Doo-hwan was a South Korean Army major general in 1979.

    He commanded the Defense Security Command.

    After President Park Chung-hee was assassinated on October 26, Chun became deeply involved in the investigation through the Joint Investigation Headquarters.

    That placed him in an extraordinarily powerful position.

    South Korea suddenly had a political vacuum.

    Park Chung-hee, who had dominated the country for nearly two decades, was dead.

    The KCIA had been thrown into crisis because its own director, Kim Jae-gyu, had assassinated the president.

    Political leaders were uncertain.

    The military leadership was divided.

    And different institutions began competing over what would happen next.

    Chun Doo-hwan emerged from this chaos as one of the most powerful figures.

    Then came December 12, 1979.

    What Happened on December 12?

    On December 12, Chun Doo-hwan and military officers aligned with him moved against the established military leadership.

    The event is commonly known as the December 12 military insurrection.

    Chun’s faction seized key military positions and dramatically increased its control over the armed forces.

    It became a crucial step in Chun’s rise to national power.

    This is why the timeline of Made in Korea Season 2 matters so much.

    Director Woo Min-ho has explained that the season’s central story begins on October 26 and runs until just before December 12.

    In other words:

    The audience knows where real history is heading.

    The fictional characters do not.

    And Hwang Dae-sik is standing exactly where one of the most consequential figures in that real history once stood.

    Why Doesn’t the Drama Just Call Him Chun Doo-hwan?

    Because Made in Korea is doing something different from a straightforward historical drama.

    If Hwang Dae-sik were literally Chun Doo-hwan, the writers would be heavily constrained by historical records.

    They would have to consider:

    What did Chun actually do?

    Where was he on a particular date?

    Who did he meet?

    What orders did he give?

    What could reasonably be attributed to him?

    A fictional character removes many of those restrictions.

    Hwang Dae-sik can fight Baek Ki-tae.

    He can make fictional deals.

    He can betray fictional characters.

    He can participate in conversations that never happened.

    And most importantly, the writers can change his personal motivations while still placing him inside a recognizable historical power structure.

    The viewer gets the tension of real history without requiring every character to be a direct recreation of a real person.

    This Is Also Why Baek Ki-tae Can Exist

    The same storytelling method applies to Hyun Bin’s character.

    Baek Ki-tae is not presented as a literal historical KCIA official whose biography the series is recreating.

    He is a fictional intelligence operative inserted into real events.

    Director Woo Min-ho has explained the basic historical imagination behind Season 2.

    After the KCIA director assassinated the president, power in actual history shifted toward the Joint Investigation Headquarters.

    Woo asked a fascinating question:

    Would the KCIA really have simply done nothing?

    He imagined that people within the intelligence agency might have attempted to fight back.

    And then he imagined Baek Ki-tae leading that counterattack.

    That fictional premise creates the central power struggle of Season 2.

    Baek Ki-tae vs. Hwang Dae-sik Is Bigger Than Two Men

    This is why their conflict matters.

    On the surface, it can look like another confrontation between two ambitious men.

    But underneath it lies something much larger:

    KCIA vs. military power.

    Baek Ki-tae represents an intelligence establishment fighting to preserve and expand its influence.

    Hwang Dae-sik represents a military power structure becoming increasingly important after the president’s death.

    The audience already knows which institution gained the upper hand in real history.

    That creates dramatic irony.

    Baek Ki-tae may believe he can defeat Hwang Dae-sik.

    He may believe he can manipulate the chaos.

    But viewers who know what happened on December 12 understand that history is moving toward military domination.

    That makes every confrontation between the two more dangerous.

    Hwang Dae-sik’s Appearance May Be Deliberate Too

    Actor Heo Jung-do underwent a striking physical transformation for the role.

    His shaved head and military appearance immediately distinguish Hwang from many of the other characters.

    But the important thing is not whether the actor physically resembles Chun Doo-hwan.

    The stronger connection comes from position, timing and power.

    Hwang is a major general.

    He commands military intelligence.

    The president is assassinated.

    He gains influence through the investigation.

    And the story is moving toward December 12.

    Those narrative choices matter far more than physical resemblance.

    The Connection to 12.12: The Day

    There is another reason international viewers may recognize this history.

    The Korean film 12.12: The Day dramatized the military confrontation surrounding December 12, 1979.

    That movie also used fictionalized names for characters inspired by historical figures.

    Its character Chun Doo-gwang, played by Hwang Jung-min, clearly represents Chun Doo-hwan.

    Made in Korea Season 2 takes a somewhat different approach.

    Hwang Dae-sik’s name is not an obvious variation of Chun Doo-hwan’s name.

    That creates more distance between the fictional character and the historical figure.

    Still, both works occupy connected historical territory.

    Director Woo Min-ho himself has recommended 12.12: The Day to viewers interested in what historically happens around the point where Season 2’s story approaches its end.

    So there is an interesting way to think about the two works:

    Made in Korea Season 2 shows the political chaos moving toward December 12.

    12.12: The Day shows the military confrontation that erupts on December 12.

    They are separate fictional works, but understanding one can make the historical background of the other easier to follow.

    Woo Min-ho Has Explored This Period Before

    This is also not the first time director Woo Min-ho has explored the final days of the Park Chung-hee era.

    He directed The Man Standing Next, which focused on the political world surrounding Park Chung-hee and the events leading to his assassination.

    But Made in Korea Season 2 approaches the same historical era differently.

    Woo has explained that works such as The Man Standing Next focused more directly on people deeply involved in historical events.

    Made in Korea, by contrast, looks at those events through fictional characters positioned around them.

    That distinction explains characters like Hwang Dae-sik.

    He can resemble a real historical power player without being restricted to becoming that person.

    So, Is Hwang Dae-sik Really Chun Doo-hwan?

    The most accurate answer is:

    No — not officially.

    There is no confirmed statement identifying Hwang Dae-sik as a direct portrayal of Chun Doo-hwan.

    But the historical parallels are unmistakable.

    Both occupy the position of Defense Security Command chief during the political chaos of 1979.

    Both stand at the center of growing military power after President Park Chung-hee’s assassination.

    And Season 2 is deliberately moving toward December 12 — the historical event that transformed Chun Doo-hwan’s position.

    So rather than asking whether Hwang Dae-sik is Chun Doo-hwan, the more interesting question may be:

    How much of Chun Doo-hwan’s historical role has been built into Hwang Dae-sik?

    That question could become increasingly important as Season 2 continues.

    Because viewers already know what happens in real history.

    The military rises.

    The KCIA loses its former dominance.

    And December 12 changes everything.

    But Baek Ki-tae does not know that yet.

    He still believes history is something he can control.

    And Hwang Dae-sik may be the man standing directly between Baek Ki-tae and that illusion.

  • Is Baek Ki-tae a Real Person? The True History Behind Made in Korea Season 2

    If you started watching Made in Korea Season 2, you may have wondered:

    Was Baek Ki-tae a real person?

    It is an understandable question.

    Season 2 places Hyun Bin’s character directly inside one of the most dramatic periods in modern South Korean history.

    President Park Chung-hee is assassinated.

    The Korean Central Intelligence Agency, or KCIA, is thrown into crisis.

    The military begins competing for power.

    And the story moves toward the events of December 12, 1979 — a turning point that would eventually help Chun Doo-hwan rise to power.

    Many of these events really happened.

    But what about Baek Ki-tae?

    The short answer is:

    Baek Ki-tae is a fictional character placed inside real Korean history.

    And understanding that distinction makes Made in Korea Season 2 much more interesting.

    Is Baek Ki-tae Based on a Real Person?

    There is no official confirmation that Baek Ki-tae is a direct portrayal of one specific historical figure.

    He should therefore not be treated as a real KCIA official whose life the drama is recreating.

    Instead, Made in Korea uses fictional characters to explore real institutions, political struggles and historical events.

    That gives the writers much more freedom.

    Baek Ki-tae can enter places where real history happened.

    He can interact with characters who resemble historical power figures.

    And his fictional ambitions can collide with events that Korean viewers already know happened.

    This creates an unusual combination:

    The history is real.
    The protagonist is fictional.
    The collision between them is the drama.

    Why Is 1979 So Important in Korean History?

    To understand Season 2, international viewers need to understand the year 1979.

    Park Chung-hee had ruled South Korea for nearly two decades.

    His presidency was associated with rapid economic development, but also authoritarian rule, political repression and the powerful national security apparatus surrounding his government.

    Then everything changed on October 26, 1979.

    Park Chung-hee was assassinated by Kim Jae-gyu, the director of the KCIA.

    It was an extraordinary event.

    The head of South Korea’s intelligence agency had killed the president.

    Suddenly, the political system that had existed for years was thrown into uncertainty.

    Who would control the government?

    Who would control the military?

    What would happen to the KCIA?

    And who would take advantage of the power vacuum?

    That uncertainty is exactly where Made in Korea Season 2 begins.

    Season 2 Begins on October 26, 1979

    Director Woo Min-ho has explained that the main story of Season 2 begins on October 26, the day Park Chung-hee was assassinated.

    It then moves through the chaotic weeks that followed.

    The season approaches another enormously important date:

    December 12, 1979.

    That date is crucial because Major General Chun Doo-hwan and allied military officers launched what is widely known as the December 12 military insurrection.

    The event dramatically changed the balance of military power and helped create the conditions for Chun’s eventual rise to the presidency.

    So Season 2 is not simply “set sometime in the 1970s.”

    It is positioned inside a remarkably narrow and explosive historical window.

    Between October 26 and December 12, South Korea’s old power structure had collapsed — but the new one had not yet fully taken its place.

    That gap is where Baek Ki-tae operates.

    The Director Asked One Fascinating Question

    Woo Min-ho has explained the creative idea behind Season 2.

    After the KCIA director assassinated President Park, power increasingly moved toward the military’s Joint Investigation Headquarters.

    But Woo wondered:

    Would the KCIA really have done nothing?

    The director imagined that even if history did not record such a counterattack, people inside the intelligence agency might have fought to preserve their power.

    And then he asked another question:

    What if Baek Ki-tae led that counterattack?

    That idea became one of the foundations of Season 2.

    This is important because it tells us exactly how viewers should approach the series.

    Made in Korea is not a documentary.

    It is not claiming that Baek Ki-tae secretly controlled the events of 1979.

    Instead, it inserts a fictional power player into a real historical vacuum and asks:

    What could someone like Baek Ki-tae have tried to do?

    So Who Is Baek Ki-tae?

    Baek Ki-tae, played by Hyun Bin, is an intelligence operative driven by enormous ambition.

    By Season 2, nine years have passed since the events of Season 1.

    He has climbed much higher within the KCIA.

    But power has not satisfied him.

    It has only made him want more.

    That makes the timing of 1979 perfect for his character.

    In a stable political system, there are limits to how quickly someone can rise.

    But when a president is suddenly assassinated and the institutions surrounding him begin fighting for survival, the rules change.

    For an ambitious man, chaos can become opportunity.

    That is what makes Baek Ki-tae dangerous.

    He does not simply survive history.

    He tries to use history.

    Is Baek Ki-tae Inspired by Park Seon-ho?

    Some Korean viewers have noticed similarities between Baek Ki-tae and real KCIA figures from the period, including Park Seon-ho.

    Park Seon-ho was a KCIA official who became involved in the October 26 assassination.

    There are biographical details that can make comparisons tempting.

    However, viewers should be careful.

    Unless the filmmakers explicitly identify Baek Ki-tae as a portrayal of Park Seon-ho, it is more accurate to describe these as possible similarities or inspirations rather than say:

    “Baek Ki-tae is Park Seon-ho.”

    The drama’s larger structure suggests that Baek Ki-tae functions as a fictional composite capable of moving freely through historical events.

    That freedom is essential to the story.

    What About Chun Doo-hwan?

    This is where Season 2 becomes even more interesting.

    After Park Chung-hee’s assassination, military power became increasingly important.

    Chun Doo-hwan, then a major general and commander of the Defense Security Command, became one of the most consequential figures in the investigation and the political struggle that followed.

    On December 12, Chun and his allies seized control of key military forces.

    The consequences would reshape South Korea.

    Season 2 moves directly toward this historical moment.

    That means Baek Ki-tae is not simply fighting personal enemies anymore.

    His ambitions are colliding with forces that viewers know will soon transform the country.

    For Korean audiences, this creates dramatic irony.

    We know what history eventually does.

    Baek Ki-tae does not.

    Why December 12 May Feel Familiar to Korean Movie Fans

    International viewers who watched the hit Korean film 12.12: The Day may recognize this historical period.

    That movie dramatized the December 12 military insurrection.

    Interestingly, Made in Korea director Woo Min-ho has even suggested that viewers interested in what happens historically around this period can watch 12.12: The Day.

    The two works are not the same story.

    But they occupy connected historical territory.

    Made in Korea Season 2 explores the unstable period after Park Chung-hee’s assassination and moves toward December 12.

    12.12: The Day focuses directly on the military confrontation surrounding that event.

    Watching both can therefore give international viewers a much clearer picture of why late 1979 is such a dramatic period in Korean history.

    Woo Min-ho Has Visited This History Before

    There is another interesting connection.

    Woo Min-ho previously directed The Man Standing Next, a film centered on the political world surrounding Park Chung-hee and the events leading toward his assassination.

    Now Made in Korea Season 2 returns to October 26 from a very different direction.

    Instead of simply recreating the assassination, the drama asks what fictional characters might do once the existing system suddenly collapses.

    That distinction matters.

    The historical event is not necessarily the destination of the story.

    It is the starting gun.

    Why Fictional Characters Work So Well Here

    There is a major advantage to using fictional characters inside real history.

    If Baek Ki-tae were literally a historical figure, the story would constantly be restricted by what that person actually did.

    But because he is fictional, the writers can ask more provocative questions.

    What would an ambitious intelligence officer do during a power vacuum?

    Would he defend the existing system?

    Would he betray it?

    Would he cooperate with the military?

    Would he fight the military?

    Or would he attempt to build a completely new source of power for himself?

    The audience knows that history is moving toward December 12.

    But Baek Ki-tae is free to fight against that current.

    That creates tension even when we already know the broad historical outcome.

    And What About Jang Geon-young?

    Jang Geon-young, played by Jung Woo-sung, is also part of the drama’s fictional storytelling structure.

    His battle with Baek Ki-tae began as a struggle between prosecutor and intelligence operative.

    Nine years later, however, the world around both men has changed.

    The institutions themselves are unstable.

    That makes their conflict more complicated.

    Season 1 could ask:

    Can a prosecutor stop Baek Ki-tae?

    Season 2 can ask something much larger:

    What happens when the system that was supposed to decide who is right begins collapsing around both of them?

    That is why 1979 is more than a historical backdrop.

    It changes the rules of the drama.

    Made in Korea Is Not Secret History

    This is probably the most important thing for international viewers to remember.

    When a fictional character appears beside real historical events, it is easy to assume the drama is revealing some hidden version of history.

    That is not the best way to watch Made in Korea.

    A better description would be:

    historical fiction built inside real political history.

    Park Chung-hee was real.

    His assassination on October 26, 1979 was real.

    The KCIA was real.

    The struggle for power after his death was real.

    The December 12 military insurrection was real.

    But Baek Ki-tae’s role inside those events belongs to fiction.

    The series uses that fiction to explore ambition, power and what people may do when the rules holding society together suddenly disappear.

    Why This Makes Season 2 More Interesting

    If you watch Season 2 without knowing Korean history, Baek Ki-tae’s story is a political thriller.

    But once you know what happens between October 26 and December 12, another layer appears.

    The audience is watching a fictional man attempt to control a moment that history has already claimed.

    He thinks he can use chaos.

    He thinks he can manipulate institutions.

    He thinks he can continue climbing.

    But history is moving toward something enormous.

    And that creates perhaps the most interesting question in Made in Korea Season 2:

    How powerful can Baek Ki-tae become before real history becomes more powerful than him?

    So no, Baek Ki-tae is not a historical figure whose biography you somehow missed.

    He is something more useful to this particular story:

    a fictional man placed at the center of a very real storm.

    And knowing what happened in Korea in 1979 may completely change the way you watch what he does next.