Abhiroop Das
Helmed by Ryoo Seung-wan, Netflix’s ‘Humint’ is a Korean action spy film that brings together two intelligence officers on a rescue mission where every second counts. A South Korean intelligence officer named Zo crosses paths with a North Korean state agent named Park, both of whom are tracking down the same North Korean escapee but for different reasons. As they navigate the unfamiliar political landscapes of Russia, both Zo and Park realize that the mystery they are grappling with runs much deeper than they thought.
Just when it feels like things cannot get any worse for the two officers, it is revealed that a higher-up in the North Korean government might be involved in the conspiracy, which means that they cannot progress towards their goal without inviting all-out chaos. The ending of this movie gives us just that, while also allowing the vastly different perspectives of Zo and Park to clash and ultimately intersect. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Humint Plot Synopsis
‘Humint’ begins in Russia, with Agent Zo, a South Korean National Intelligence Service officer, being tasked with developing a human intelligence network and smoke out the mafia’s drug enterprise. For some time, Zo has been focusing on Kim Soo-rin, a North Korean woman who was trafficked for sexual exploitation here and is being sedated with crystal meth, locally known as “bingdu.” Though Zo wants to help her escape, his team declares that their primary objective is to learn more about the drug routes, which sends him into a rage. Even after beating up Soo-rin’s kidnappers, he is unable to save her as she dies of an overdose. Feeling guilty, he urges the higher-ups and takes charge of personally investigating the sex trafficking ring.
Park Geon is a North Korean state officer who is tasked by his government with disrupting Russia’s sex trafficking network and rescuing any survivors. He gets to work very quickly and soon captures a Korean middleman who has been trafficking women under the pretense of helping them escape Korea. The North Korean consul general, Hwang Chi-seong, isn’t particularly pleased with this development, as he secretly has a hand in these kidnappings. While he distracts Park with a fancy lunch, his crewmates kill the middleman in cold blood, erasing all evidence. At the restaurant, Park identifies a woman named Chae Seon-hwa, who was his fiancée, but vanished at the last minute. What he doesn’t know, however, is that she was tricked into sex work here, but has already made contact with Zo, and has a means of escape.
Through a series of covert meetings in hotels, Zo turns her into a human intelligence agent, nearly gathering enough evidence for legal action. However, Park’s arrival stirs things out of control, driving Hwang’s attention her way. He soon figures out that she is working with South Korean agencies and gets her arrested. Instead of deporting her back to Korea, however, he makes a deal with the Russian gangs to have her trafficked to an unknown location. However, Zo chases them throughout this entire exchange, and clues in Park, who soon joins him in this rescue mission. Together, they infiltrate the gangsters’ hideout and begin cutting through their ranks one after another. However, just when they are about to escape, Hwang enters the scene as well, initiating an all-out gunfight that threatens to lean either way.
Humint Ending: Is Park Geon Dead? What Did He Whisper Into Zo’s Ear?
‘Humint’ ends with Park Geon sacrificing himself to save Chae Seon-hwa, but not before whispering something into Manager Zo’s ears as his final words. Even after the credits roll, we don’t necessarily get the full truth about what Park said, and the only thing we have to go by is Zo’s own recollection of the words, which may or may not be made up. When Lim asks Zo about whether Park’s dying words concerned Chae, he instead replies that Park was actually scared of dying, and was hopelessly asking if he would survive. While that might just be the truth, the subtleties of Zo’s expressions throw that into doubt, especially when we know what is at stake here. As such, an equally viable interpretation is that Park’s last words are indeed about Chae, specifically a way by which she can have the best future possible.
Although the narrative initially tells us that Park’s final words were those of an intense, mortal fear, that doesn’t quite stay true to his characterization thus far. On more than one occasion, he shows a complete disregard for his own life if it means that Chae gets to live another day, and that is precisely what leads to the ending. As such, it is more likely that he spends his remaining, precious words in service of her, perhaps directing Zo to the correct course of action regarding a North Korean escapee whose case will now be handled in South Korea. The fact that Zo hesitates for a moment when recounting the words to Lim also strengthens this reading. In the case that Park did say the words that Zo recollects, it in turn serves as a rather haunting portrait of death, especially when it means the loss of one’s future with their loved one.
The fact that Park’s final words reflect a very particular kind of vulnerability might exactly be a part of Zo’s plan, as it makes his words to Lim that much more convincing. At the same time, this might also be something he is keeping secret from Chae and the government, as she is currently an asset to unfold the drug smuggling network that Zo and his team were originally investigating. The fact that she leaves South Korea out of the blue leaves the government struggling for answers, and without Park’s advice, this would likely not have been possible. While we may never know what Park actually told Zo in that moment, the bottom line remains that his spirit is carried forward in both Zo and Chae’s respective decisions.
Where Does Chae Seon-hwa go?
In the final moments of the movie, we learn that Chae is not in South Korea anymore, as she sought asylum in Japan, and briefly began living there, only to disappear once again. While that sounds alarming at first, a brief scene reveals that she specifically requested this of Zo, asking for a place, and potentially a new identity, so that she can completely shed her past. This comes after her mother dies from cancer, despite Chae’s best efforts to buy her more time. With this, the two most important people in her life are dead, and it appears that the only way Chae can move forward is by erasing the past and starting with a clean slate. Zo obliges to this request, and, as we see in the ending, sets up a new life for herself somewhere in the West.
From what little glimpses we get into Chae’s new life, it appears that she is now a singer working with an artists’ group. This means that her original dream to be a music artist, for which she even went to a music university, is now fulfilled. However, this comes at the cost of her life with Park, and that fact doesn’t escape her either. In her final appearance, we see her stand all alone at a theatre, reflecting on the difficult decisions she has made up to this point. While we don’t know the exact country that she now lives in, it is clear that she has no plans of returning to Korea. Burying the past behind in this case is a positive development, as it finally allows her to move past the series of traumatic experiences and figure out what she wants out of life next.
Is Hwang Chi-seong Dead? Are the Russian Traffickers Busted?
While the climax of ‘Humint’ is largely centered around a two-versus-one gunfight, Hwang proves to be a much more challenging opponent than either Park or Zo initially bargained for. The reason for that, however, is not a gap in skill, but the simple fact that Park and Zo are fighting to protect innocent people. In the end, Park realizes that the only way to beat Hwang is by turning himself into bait, and Zo doesn’t miss this chance either. When the three enter a narrow space with only a single car separating them, Park gets Hwang to open fire on him, following which Zo gets the opening to put a definitive bullet into Hwang, killing him instantly. Although we don’t get a look into what happens immediately after this, it is implied that Lim, who has sustained the least injuries of them all, manages to get help and save the girls.
Hwang’s death is just one part of the puzzle, as the bigger project of Zo’s investigation from the start is the Russian mafia that perpetrates the sex and drug trafficking network. Many of the mafia’s enforcers are killed in their fight with Zo and Park, including their leader, Aleksei. However, this entire collection only represents a small rebel group within the larger system, who use trafficked girls to sell drugs. As the South Korean court hearings later reveal, Zo’s efforts unintentionally end up alerting the mafia higher-ups, who likely tighten up the security of their networks. While the mission is undoubtedly a lifesaver, it also undoes much of the progress that has been made in the drug investigation, but that isn’t something Zo regrets, nor is he made to. In the end, he puts meaning into the “human” half of the movie’s title, ensuring that a tragedy like Soo-rin’s isn’t repeated under his command.
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