Bridal Mask
This program has been recommended for audiences 15 years of age and over.
Episode 20
I...
do not want an impure element among my officers.
A negligent attitude toward duty reflected in unauthorized absence...
Incompetence that enables Gaksital to get away time after time, and on top of that...
definitively not want a *josenjing (*derogatory term for Koreans).
Sato Hiroshi, you are dismissed.
Leave this Jongro Police Station immediately!
Captain Kimura.
Immediately drag this punk out of here.
Chief.
Though unauthorized absence is grounds for disciplinary action,
it is not grounds for dismissal.
Moreover,
how can the fact that I am a Joseon person be grounds for dismissal?
You dare debate my order?!
Your statement...
opposes what the Government-General has emphatically promoted since unification.
The Naeseonilche... (Japan and Joseon in one body)
Please withdraw your order.
I... cannot take one step out of this place.
If you're told to get lost, you should get lost.
You dare to debate the order of this Murayama Yoshio?!
Chief, please restrain yourself!
Naesonilche!
You believe some strategic words used to rule over the josenjing?!
Can the first class citizens of the Great Empire of Japan,
possibly be compared to you submissive bastards, always controlled by other countries?!
Chief. Please calm down. I'll take care of this.
Ishida, Takeda, what are you doing?!
Throw him out at once!
Yes, sir!
Yes, sir.
This isn't just!
Please withdraw your order!
Chief! Chief!
- Withdraw your order! - He said the bastard ultimately couldn't be broken in.
The commissioner was 100 percent right.
Don't let him ever come near the Jongro station again.
Yes, sir.
From now on, stay out of my sight.
If this Lord Sergeant sees you again,
I don't think I can hold myself back.
Hey, sentries! This punk is not to be allowed in from now on! Understand?!
Yes, sir!
[Gaksital]
Captain Kimura!
That punk...
Come here!
Captain Kimura!
A dismissal is unreasonable! I'll gladly accept any other punishment!
Please just block the dismissal!
Captain Kimura! Kimura Shunji!
Kimura Shunji!!
Lieutenant...
Captain.
It feels like ten years of indigestion has finally cleared!
Did you hate Lee Kang To that much?
That goes without saying.
Because of that guy, I always got that heavy bloated feeling...
Aigoo!
Since the punk's been dismissed, I can tell you this freely.
Actually, Captain Kenji killed Lee Kang To's mother.
What?
What are you talking about?
Why would my brother kill Kang To's mother?
You know that Captain Kenji had some absurd ideas.
He accused that Lee Kang To's nutjob brother of being Gaksital,
and leveled a gun at his mother.
He thought Lee Kang San was Gaksital?
Of course he was completely off the mark.
He worried about having killed her for nothing.
But, fortunately, because the Joseon folks set fire to his house,
the brother and mother were buried as victims of the Joseon people.
Why'd you wait till now to tell me this?!
Well, you were always taking care of him as your friend,
I thought if you knew that, you'd protect him even more.
On top of that, he didn't seem to know about what happened.
Lee Kang To really doesn't know about it, then?
Of course not!
If he knew, with his temper, would he have sat still about it?
He would have charged in here immediately and killed Captain Kenji a dozen times over.
Could it be, that the Gaksital who killed Hyung,
was Lee Kang To?
What's the matter?
If Kang To knows that Hyung killed his mother...
If he knows but is pretending not to...
Captain.
Goiso.
Go and stop Lee Kang To. Hurry!
Captain!
Goiso, find Lee Kang To at once.
I'm going to the commissioner's office.
Captain, why Lee Kang To? What is it now?
Quickly!
Yes, sir.
Lala is inside, isn't she?
What's the matter?
Why is your face like that?
The new chief...
dismissed me.
Dismissed?
You mean you were taken off the force?
Without Commissioner Kimura's support, it would have been impossible.
I think you'd be someone who could reverse his decision.
I tell him I want to accept Lee Kang To into the Kishokai,
and they fire him?
Are they declaring war on me?
Do you know the reason for my dismissal?
It's because I'm a Joseon person.
Don't worry.
As it was,
I was on my way to recommend we accept you into the Kishokai.
I was going to talk to the chairman.
Kishokai.
So the organization is called the Kishokai, is it?
Having been kicked out of the Jongro police force,
could I really become a Kishokai member?
You wanted to become Police Commissioner, Governor-General...
Where has all that confidence and ambition gone?
I always have more than enough will.
Don't you know my will and spirit can stop an armored tank in its tracks?
That's precisely it.
What the 70-year old chairman wants most...
Exactly what sort of man is the chairman?
A man who believes someone with will goes farther than someone with skill.
Without a doubt, he will like you very much.
When will I be able to meet him?
Shortly.
Thank you.
If you're curious about how it turns out, go to Geumhwa Pavilion.
Around 7:00 this evening?
All right.
Geumhwa Pavilion at 7:00.
Bye. See you later.
Lee Kang To's mother... Kenji...?
So, you're saying Kenji killed his mother?
Then that bastard, Lee Kang To,
could have killed your brother as Gaksital.
We can't be sure of that yet.
Because Lee Kang To might not know that Kenji killed his mother.
If by any chance, he knows but is pretending not to,
then the probability that he's Gaksital increases.
That's why we can't completely kick him off the police force.
Please persuade Chief Murayama, Father.
This is Police Commissioner Kimura Taro.
Excuse me?
With Chief Murayama?
You called for us, Chairman?
Right now in the Beijing area,
a fierce standoff is developing,
between the grand imperial army and the Chinese army.
At this critical point in time,
when we should be thinking of how to support the Imperial Army,
there is discord among the Kishokai members. Does that make any sense?
What do you mean discord?
That's preposterous!
Commissioner Kimura.
I understand you dismissed Sato Hiroshi.
As soon as you heard me talking about accepting him into the Kishokai!
What's your purpose in doing so?
Chairman.
Lee Kang To, otherwise known as Sato Hiroshi...
The possibility that he is Gaksital is very high.
Gaksital?
That is your misunderstanding, Commissioner.
Your son, Shunji,
is certain that Lee Kang To is not Gaksital.
He told me himself.
In any case,
we cannot accept a suspicious Josenjing into our Kishokai.
Chairman.
Sato Hiroshi, more than anyone, is loyal to...
Regarding the topic of Sato Hiroshi,
we'll forget it ever came up.
Chief Murayama.
Commissioner Kimura.
Tomorrow, a report from the Japanese military command in Guangdong (China),
will arrive for the governor-general.
The report indicates an urgent need to prepare "comfort women,"
to reward the troops and keep motivation and spirits high.
Prepare to provide a quick solution to the governor-general.
Yes, sir!
("Comfort Women" is a term referring to the young women forced
into sex slavery as reward/motivation for Japanese troops.)
I would like this to be the last time you suddenly visit without notice.
I came to ask you a favor.
If at all possible, I would like you to comply.
I want to make Lee Kang To a member of the Kishokai.
But because of your father's adamant opposition,
my intentions were blocked.
Lee Kang To?
Lee Kang To in the Kishokai?
Why are you so desperate to get Lee Kang To into the Kishokai?
Weren't you once intent on killing him as Konno's right-hand man?
In any case, Konno is dead.
And, the man's loyalty to the empire is exceptional.
I find it a waste to discard him.
Even if it's a waste, discard him.
Lee Kang To is unacceptable.
Why?
Isn't Lee Kang To your friend?
You couldn't possibly,
suspect him of being Gaksital like your father does, could you?
You went around proclaiming that you had confirmation he wasn't.
A new discovery has been made.
And because of it,
there's an increased possibility that Lee Kang To is Gaksital.
A new discovery?
What is it?
You don't need to know.
Because the bastard's mine to capture anyhow.
Anyhow... anyhow, you say?
I want to kill Gaksital as much as you do.
What happens if I catch him first?
It's actually good it turned out that way.
Just get out of the police force now.
After I heard that Kimura Shunji suspected you,
I haven't had a single peaceful moment.
Commander Damsari asked me to stick it out at all cost.
It's likely because he'll need the assistance of the Imperial Police.
I have to stick to those bastards no matter what.
But with that bastard chief so resolute,
will it be that easy to get reinstated?
I don't know how much power Lala has within the Kishokai,
but she said she was going to recommend me to the chairman.
So I'll have to wait and see.
What do you plan to do if you get into that organization?
If I can just get into their lair,
I'll need to start by eliminating that chairman.
It's not feasible on your own.
Since I can't take all the bastards down on my own,
wouldn't the best plan be to kill off the head first?
Young Master!
Don't worry.
I'm going now.
A new discovery has been made.
And because of it, there's an increased possibility that Lee Kang To is Gaksital.
Katsuyama.
When you fought Gaksital at Geumhwa Pavilion,
where did you strike him with your sword?
His right arm and his right thigh.
His right arm and thigh?
[Geumhwa Pavilion]
What shall we do?
No one is pleased with the idea of accepting you yet.
Really?
That's too bad.
Just wait a little longer.
I'll try to persuade the chairman somehow.
By any chance,
the man who raised you like a daughter,
and made you a singer...
Isn't he... the chairman?
Otherwise, how could you have become part of the Kishokai?
Are you curious about me or curious about the Kishokai?
Both.
Are you truly curious about me?
The man who couldn't remember me at all?
Right now, your heart is likely filled only with Oh Mok Dan.
I'm a woman who suddenly lost her parents at nine,
and became a gisaeng of my own accord.
I can tell a man's emotional state,
just by the look in his eyes.
I can understand that you approached me because you wanted to join the Kishokai.
But,
don't say you want to know me,
that you're curious about me.
Don't tell me those lies.
To think I made you say such a thing...
I'm an evil bastard.
But,
it's true I was curious about your life.
You, who were dressed in mourning,
and shedding tears in front of the Japanese...
How did you become Lala, singing the Japanese anthem for the governor-general?
I was truly curious.
Even now, while I live as Sato Hiroshi,
if the same situation happened now as it did five years ago,
I would likely...
save you again.
Whether you're Lala,
or a mere gisaeng.
Shall we have a toast?
Sato Hiroshi, here's to you.
If you are Gaksital,
you would have...
seen me try to kill the woman you love.
But you say if what happened five years ago happened again,
you would save me again?
Such an obvious lie.
But why do I want to believe it so?
Ueno Rie, snap to your senses!
You've confirmed that Lee Kang To is Gaksital.
You can't step back, you can't let him go, not any longer!
What are you hesitating for?
What...
Katsuyama!
Go and fetch Masako.
[Joseon Government-General Building]
This morning,
an urgent telegram came from the Japanese military command in Guangdong.
The battle that began in Beijing,
is currently growing into a full-scale war centered in Shanghai.
Naturally, the Chinese military power is massive.
The problem is the inferior numbers of our imperial troops.
Now, now then...
From ancient times,
since the Russo-Japanese war,
what has caused the biggest losses in our military strength,
has not been attacks from the enemy or guerilla soldiers,
but sexually transmitted diseases.
Your Excellency.
With our current state of comfort women,
we can not motivate our troops.
As soon as possible,
we have to select clean and healthy virgins from Joseon,
and send them to the war front as military provisions.
Our Jongro police force,
will gather up military provisions,
and contribute to the maintenance of our military strength.
Ah, the thing you have to keep in mind,
is that our Great Japanese Empire, in 1925,
signed an international treaty,
against the trafficking of women and children.
The fact that the Government-General and the Guangdong military command,
intervened and supplied comfort women,
must never become known.
Of course, Your Excellency.
We will use private agencies or pro-Japanese groups to recruit,
and the fact that the Government-General or our military intervened,
will be completely hidden.
Even if that information were to be discovered later,
they will not be able to find any evidence of it.
There are no records. How can they know?
Be very careful as you gather these women,
to avoid any consequences later.
I understand, Your Excellency.
We will choose poor and healthy girls.
Good. Very good.
Excellent!
[Far East Circus]
Hello.
Who are you?
Aigoo. She looks ripe for the picking.
Oh my my my!
So many young girls!
Oh my goodness.
Who are you?
You must be the troupe leader.
In today's bad economy, even if you work to the bone,
you probably still go hungry.
I'm asking who you are!
Oh, you scared me!
Haven't you even read the newspapers?
The story about recruiting nurses to go to China...
Look.
[Recruiting nurses to working in Shanghai]
The monthly salary is 50 won?
How can you be a nurse if you've never been trained?
You'd be caring for soldiers wounded in the battlefields,
wrapping bandages, bathing them, and feeding them.
What's there to learn?
Ahjumeoni, are you only selecting women?
I'm very good at wrapping bandages.
Ahjussi, really!
We're recruiting nurses. Nurses...
The nurses who will care for soldiers on the battlefields,
are being recruited by a Gyeongseong employment agency?
No one in our circus troupe is going to treat any Jap soldiers.
Get out. Get out. I said get out.
Just write your name here.
If you just write down your name,
you can earn 50 won every month!
I told you to get out!
- It's 50 won, 50 won! - Get out.
Just write down your name!
- Get out. - If you just write your name...
- Get out. - But... it's 50 won, 50 won!
- You just need to write your name... - Get out!
Masako!
What happened last night?
What about Lala?
Ay, looking for Lala the minute you get up...
What happened?
As soon as you passed out asleep,
she asked me to take care of you and left.
She left as soon as I passed out?
Sato Hiroshi.
Here's to you.
I'm certain I only had one glass.
Lee Kang To followed you in the hotel?
He definitely had a motive for approaching you, Miss.
I know that too.
Don't worry.
Lala.
Lala!
Lala, you're in there, aren't you?
Open the door.
Lala!
This is Captain Kimura Shunji of the Jongro Police.
Captain Kimura.
Will you please get rid of Lee Kang To from here?
What are you talking about?
Are you saying that Lee Kang To is at the Asuka Hotel?
I understand. I'll be right there.
Lala!
Lala, aren't you in there?
I came because I have something to say.
Lala!
Lala. Lala!
Hey, Lee Kang To!
Do you know how much I've been looking for you?
I put in quite the effort to persuade him. Let's go to the station.
What do you mean go to the station?
Are you telling me to come in for work?
That's what I'm saying, pal.
We're late. Get in the car.
This is a huge problem.
It looks like everyone's ready to leave to become nurses immediately.
It seems really strange.
Young girls who have no specialized medical training,
are being offered 50 won a month?
Even men who graduate from college don't easily make that much.
No matter how I think about it,
young girls being sent to the war front,
makes me feel really uncomfortable.
I'll take a look into it.
Lieutenant, are you feeling all right?
This is Sato Hiroshi of the Jongro Police.
It's me.
Yeah.
Nothing's wrong, is it?
This morning, people from a Gyeongseong employment agency,
came recruiting nurses for the war front.
Our troupe members are agreeing to go.
But do you think it's reliable?
Really?
All right. I'll take a look into it.
Where are you right now?
I'm at the circus.
I'm not going to Sun Hwa's anymore. I'm going to stay at the Gyeongseong Inn.
Contact me at the inn or the circus.
All right. I'll contact you shortly.
Everyone, gather up!
Attention!
Salute!
As you were!
We have urgent orders.
Beginning today,
in all towns, villages, districts in the 13 provinces,
there will be recruitment of comfort women.
You will actively assist private agencies so they can recruit young girls.
And take care,
not to allow the spread of groundless rumors,
by carefully safeguarding this information.
Furthermore,
the fact that the Imperial Police is helping with this endeavor,
must never be revealed to the Joseon people.
For the sake of supporting the strength of our imperial army,
I ask that you all do your utmost,
in gathering up the necessary military provisions.
Yes, sir!
Congratulations.
Commissioner Kimura,
has issued an order, Sergeant Goiso Tadanobu,
to promote you to Lieutenant, first class.
What? Me?
Me? To Lieutenant?
Thank you!
Sato Hiroshi.
Lee Kang To.
The commissioner has ordered that you be demoted to low rank officer.
Officer Lee Kang To.
Do you have any objections?
I do not.
That is all!
Congratulations, Lieutenant Goiso!
I'm envious.
Lieutenant? Lieutenant?
Have a seat. Let's sit.
You've heard, haven't you?
About what kind of person Chief Murayama is.
I was afraid he'd notice that I hold you in special regard,
so I intentionally ignored what happened yesterday.
I had a hell of a time persuading him.
What kind of a person ignores his superiors?
Father was against your dismissal.
We barely managed a compromise to bring you back as an officer.
Bear with it for a little while.
I'll get you back in your rightful position soon.
Thanks.
Ah right.
I notice that you still haven't moved into my room.
Do you know how upset I was when I couldn't find you yesterday?
Move into my room tonight. That's an order.
All right.
Yes, this is Kimura Shunji of the Jongro Police.
Esther?
Sato Hiroshi.
Wait.
Yes.
Right now?
All right. I'll be right there.
Oh Mok Dan would like to see me.
You drive me.
You're demoting me to officer,
and keeping me by your side?
What do you bastards have in mind?
Have they begun to suspect me again?
Lee Kang To.
If you are really Gaksital, just wait and see.
I will strip you of that mask.
Have a lot of people applied from Gyeongseong?
Of course! These are all people who have applied.
There are 2,000 going from Gyeongseong alone. 2,000.
Your age goes here.
Gyeongseong...
Hard at work, I see.
Hello. So hard at work...
We're really,
going to be paid 50 won every month, right?
Of course! If you do well, you may get even more.
50 won! It's 50 won!
How great is this? You'll be earning money and learning a skill.
Kakawa, what are you doing?!
They're defiantly demanding we leave because of their performance.
We have to perform to make a living, don't we?
Who's going to come to a circus where police officers are camping out?
You. How long are you going to keep us under surveillance?
What crime have we committed, exactly?
Do you know how many people find the circus their only joy?
These people have nothing in their lives to smile about.
Must you take away their circus too?!
Kakawa, pull out.
Captain.
Now.
Yes, sir.
Pull out.
From now on, we will not have you under surveillance.
You may go on making your living without concern.
Oh Mok Dan.
Shall we talk for a moment?
Don't let them go.
They're not recruiting nurses,
but comfort women.
I understand.
I will trust you.
From now on, I won't even have you watched.
But in turn,
give me a piece of your heart.
Let go. Don't do this.
You...
aren't hiding anything from me, are you?
If there is something you're hiding from me,
I will absolutely find out what it is.
And without fail, I will shatter it.
Officer Sato!
Follow me.
Kang To, you know what?
No matter what, I will catch Gaksital, who killed my brother.
But you,
why don't you go after the culprits who killed your brother and mother?
If it were me, I'd have dropped everything and done that first.
That's right. You told me...
That you couldn't die, leaving those bastards who killed your family,
and made you that way.
And yet, you don't even look for the bastards who killed your brother and mother?
You know something, don't you?!
You know who killed my mother and brother, don't you?!
Tell me.
I said tell me!
If I knew, I would have told you right away.
Do you think I'd do nothing?
I'm sorry
for needlessly disturbing a painful wound.
Let's go.
Kimura Shunji.
Have you found out that your brother killed my mother?
Fine. Let's go at it.
That Sato Hiroshi...
Kinbei seems to remember him.
I understand that five years ago,
he was the Joseon fellow who saved your life at Myeongweol-gwan?
It was not because of that,
that I ultimately recommended him, Father.
The comfort women that will be sent from Gyeongseong,
you must take charge of that task.
I understand.
I will transport them to the send-off point without any mistakes.
Mmm, in my opinion,
this seems to be a prime opportunity to get your school accredited.
Don't you think, Count?
If your Gyeongseong school were to step forward with initiative,
and send female students to be nurses,
I do believe school accreditation would be granted quite easily.
Then how many students should we send?
Oh please, Headmistress...
The more, the better, I'm sure.
I understand, Countess.
If we tell the graduating students there's an opportunity to study,
there will probably be plenty of volunteers.
Oh my, what an excellent idea! Honey, honey?
With such loyalty,
the Imperial Army is sure to be victorious!
Count.
On that note, shall we have a toast?
To the victory of the Imperial Army! Cheers!
Cheers.
Grandmother, I'm going to work as a nurse.
A nurse? What kind of work will you be doing?
They say that during the day, I'll be caring for wounded soldiers,
and at night I'll be studying.
Since I'll be studying abroad, I'll be the same as an international student.
I'm earning money for you to study.
Do you really have to go?
Don't worry, Grandmother.
They said the headmistress is sending only the top students.
I'll work hard, study hard, and one day, become a doctor.
And then we'll live together happily for a long long time.
Aigoo, my baby, my little pup...
Commissioner, you've come?
This is my granddaughter.
Greet him politely.
Excuse me, Commissioner.
At my granddaughter's school,
she was selected to be a nurse.
Would it be all right to send her?
Don't worry and send her.
Thank you.
- Thank you, Commissioner. - Thank you.
Aigoo.
Aigoo aigoo aigoo.
Bu Yong, So Hwa, you're ready, right?
For now, you have to leave Gyeongseong as soon as possible.
Troupe Leader, we'll be back.
Troupe Leader, I'm sorry.
Take care of yourselves.
Where do you think you're going?
Hwang Bu Yong. Yoon So Hwa.
You promised to be nurses!
A promise made under false pretenses has no validity.
Acting in this manner when they've made it clear they don't want to go...
Isn't that kidnapping?
You little...
What are you doing?
Drag them out.
Yes, sir!
Bu Yong, Bu Yong! No, you can't!
Drag that wench out too!
- Yes, sir! - Bu Yong!
- Hurry up! - Get moving!
Come here, you wench! Hurry up!
If it weren't for the captain, you'd have been dead a long time ago!!
Have a safe trip.
Don't worry, Grandmother.
Stay healthy.
I'll write to you.
Soon Yi.
No, Grandmother.
Just take it.
Buy something tasty for yourself.
I'll be going now.
Move out!
Soon Yi, have a safe trip!
Have a safe trip!
They're coming, they're coming, they're coming!
They've arrived!
Confirm the roster.
Yes.
Hi there, pretties!
Our pretties look even prettier today.
Let's check to make sure no one's missing.
- Oh Ma Soon. - Yes.
All right.
- Shim Soon Yi. - Yes.
Oh so pretty!
Gaksital!
Geez!
Gaksital, damn it!
Hey! Move!
We're not going to be nurses, but comfort women! We have to run!
Let go, you bastard!
You want to die?
Please.
Don't make me regret...
letting you live.