Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Hierarchy.
Summary
Who killed Kang In-han inHierarchyis the question that sets the events of Netflix’s latestK-dramain motion, and it’s only toward the end of the show that things become clear.Hierarchytakes place in the fictional school Jooshin Academy, where South Korea’s richest, most powerful families send their kids. Jooshin also accepts scholarship students, yet they are treated terribly by the high-class ones. AlmosteveryHierarchycharacterwas hiding a secret, which made Kang Ha’s investigation quite tricky.
Hierarchyseason 1’s endingbrought all theNetflix K-dramastorylines together by confirming that Jae-i’s secret, the bullying In-ha was suffering, and the relationship between Woo-jin and their art teacher were all connected to the death of Kang Ha’s brother. AlthoughJae-i blamed herself for what happened to In-han, his fate had not much to do with her. In-han was run over by a car, and while this may have been an accident, he was being chased down and wasn’t given any help after it happened.
Professor Ji-soo Killed Kang In-han In Hierarchy
In-han caught Ji-soo and Woo-jin together the night he died
Professor Ji-soo killed In-han after Kang Ha’s brother saw her and Woo-jin making outduring the latter’s birthday party. Although Ji-soo did not necessarily plan to kill In-han, she accidentally ran over him with her car and did not call an ambulance. After dealing with bullying from the high-class students for months, In-han feared for his life and believed everyone at the school was against him. His breaking point was running into Woo-jin and Ji-soo making out at the stairs, which he knew would make him into a target.
(…) Ji-soo covered her tracks, got the car fixed, and made In-han’s death the ultimate secret she and Woo-jin would hide forever.
Kang In-han now knew too many important secrets about powerful Jooshin students, including Jae-i and Woo-jin. Hoping to stop In-han from saying anything about what he had witnessed,Professor Ji-soo got into the car and followed him.It’s unclear what Ji-soo would have done to In-han had she talked to him, but the fact is that she ran him over and did not do anything to help. Instead, Ji-soo covered her tracks, got the car fixed, and made In-han’s death the ultimate secret she and Woo-jin would hide forever.
How Kang Ha Avenged His Brother In Hierarchy
Kang Ha exposed all the footage he found
Although Kang Ha did not know what happened to his brother, he was sure that In-han’s death had not been just an accident.Kang Ha originally believed that Ri-an was the one behind In-han’s death, which turned out not to be the case after all. While the toxic environment created by Ri-an and his friends was partially to blame for In-han’s death, the real secret behind Kang Ha’s death was the relationship between Woo-jin and their teacher. After almost ruining Jae-i’s life by telling her father about the pregnancy, Woo-jin decided to make things right by giving her the pen camera.
Hierarchy’s Post-Credits Scene Means Season 2 Has To Happen, Right?
Netflix’s Hierarchy is described as a limited series, but episode 7’s epilogue makes it difficult to believe the K-drama won’t return for season 2.
With both Jae-in and Woo-jin willing to expose everything that had happened, Kang Ha was able to prove that In-han’s death had been more than a hit-and-run. Professor Ji-soo was arrested shortly after she was fired from Jooshin Academy. Kang Ha got to look Ji-soo in the eyes as she was being arrested, finally bringing justice to In-han.It appears that no otherHierarchycharacter faced criminal charges for what happened to In-han, although herrings took place at the school to investigate the bullying accusations that Kang Ha brought to the police.
Kang Ha’s Revenge Changed The Jooshin High School
Jooshin Academy is a better place after Kang Ha’s quest
Kang Ha was not just interested in avenging his brother – he wanted to change the system that had crushed In-han. This is why Kang Ha needed to understand how the school worked, who were the major players at Jooshin, and what caused In-han to be so afraid of everyone there to the point he ran away from a party and called his brother for help. Kang Ha became a symbol that Jooshin’s scholarship students should not take the bullying from the high-class onesby standing up against them and exposing their modus operandi.Hierarchywas more than arevenge K-drama.
Lee Won-jung
Lee Woo-jin
Hierarchy’s ending was strangely hopeful, though. Not only did Ri-an sincerely apologize for letting In-han be bullied when he could have stopped it, but he also confessed to being one of the bullies when the other students were being interrogated. Additionally, students like Yun-seok seemed to have regretted their actions and now have a much more positive relationship with the scholarship students. Not manyK-dramasaddress bullying and all the issues that come with it, butHierarchy’s message is that it’s never too late for people to learn from their mistakes and put an end to cycles of violence.
