(Click the picture above to view or download the uncropped copy in a new tab.From Wikipedia: “Memorials” [“Into The Ring”] is a 2020 South Korean television series starring Nana, Park Sung-hoon, Yoo Da-in, Han Joon-woo, and Ahn Nae-sang. It aired on KBS2 every Wednesday and Thursday at 21:30 starting on July 1st, 2020. Genre: comedy, romance, political.
The series is based on the screenplay by Moon Hyun-kyung which is the grand prize winner in Broadcasting Content Promotion Foundation (BCPF)’s 10th Find the Desert’s Shooting Star Screenplay Competition, held in 2018.
The drama won the following awards from the 2020 KBS Drama Awards: Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries, Park Sung-hoon; Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries, Nana; and Best Supporting Actor, Ahn Gil-kang.
How I wrote these episode summaries without spoilers
1. I assumed that you will be reading these summaries and watching the videos chronologically.
2. I narrated some of the main actions in each episode without revealing the plot’s twists and turns.
3. At the beginning of each summary starting with Episode 2, I placed in a table a recap of the major twists and turns of the previous episode. But because you have already watched the video of the previous episode, they aren’t spoilers anymore.
4. I followed this structure all throughout, except for Ep. 16 (Finale) where I included spoilers. Reason — most people want to know if the drama has a happy ending or a sad ending before they invest the time in watching it.
Episode 1
Goo Se-ra is a busybody who’s always filing complaints about anything she sees wrong with government services or the enforcement of laws in Mawon District. She goes from one job to another and faces problems with her family’s finances and with Min-jae, her passive boyfriend.
Seo Gong-myung is the duty conscious government employee who was recently demoted and assigned to handle the complaints filed by Se-ra; other employees have quit before him because they couldn’t stand dealing with Se-ra’s complaints. One night, as he follows up one of Se-ra’s complaints, he comes upon some illegal gamblers, one of whom turns out to be Assemblyman Heo. But Assemblyman Heo escapes dismissal or discipline because Chairman Jo of the District Assembly works things out for him. (Chairman Jo is the boss of Se-ra’s boyfriend and an old friend of her father.)
Despairing over her life, Se-ra gets drunk. As she waits for the taxi that her boyfriend called for her, she calls the police when she notices a man slumped across the street. Police officers arrive and find out that the man is Assemblyman Yang Nae-sang; he’s got blood all over him.
With Assemblyman Yang remaining unconscious, Chairman Jo announces during a contentious assembly meeting that there will be a special election to fill his position.
Desperate for a job, Se-ra accepts a job in a government office as a graphics designer; it turns out, however, that she has to work under Gong-myung’s supervision. Later on, she gets fired; her father thus approaches Chairman Jo and asks him to find a new job for her.
Episode 2
| Ep. 1 recap:
Se-ra interrupts a meeting of the District Assembly by protesting that building a distribution center with lots of trucks going in and out of the center will be unsafe for children in a nearby school. Se-ra decides to run for the position left vacant by Assemblyman Yang; she asks her friend Han-bi for her support in complying with the documentary requirements and in gathering the minimum 50 endorsements. As the deadline for filing candidacies is about to end, she submits her application to Gong-myung. Gong-myung remembers Se-ra as his classmate some 20 years ago. |
At Han-bi’s comic book café (which Se-ra will turn later on into her campaign headquarters), Gong-myung warns Se-ra against illegal campaigning; he also says that “hope and potential are different things.” Meanwhile, the assemblyman from the Conservative Party makes a deal with Chairman Jo, asking for his support of the party’s candidate.
Han-bi helps Se-ra prepare for the campaign by making her watch videos on public speaking. Their friend Woo-young, however, says that voters don’t care about what the candidates stand for. Later, Se-ra and Han-bi begin campaigning in earnest. But Gong-myung is always watching for Se-ra’s violations of the campaign laws. Worse, Se-ra’s father finds out about her candidacy; when she refuses to back out of the elections, he throws her out of the house.
Mothers become outraged when news breaks out about the construction of the distribution center near the elementary school. Despite her earlier reluctance to support Se-ra, Woo-young encourages Se-ra to use the mothers’ outrage in her campaign.
Because of the negative publicity, Chief Won of Planning and Budgeting Office blames Chairman Jo and the assembly representatives for pushing through with the construction of the distribution center. Later, after asking Se-ra’s father to persuade her to back out, Chairman Jo tells Min-jae to bring Gong-myung to him.
Episode 3
| Ep. 2 recap:
Gong-myung is Chairman Jo’s eldest son; Se-ra remembers him as her schoolmate some 20 years ago. Chairman Jo claims all the credit for stopping the construction of the distribution center. When she becomes the target of negative publicity about getting a job through connections, Se-ra fills out a form for retracting her candidacy. But Gong-myung rips the form into pieces. |
More negative publicity swirls around Se-ra about her father using connections and her mother working for a rival candidate. Later, she tracks down a netizen who has been posting nasty comments about her.
The field narrows down to three candidates when one candidate is busted for bribery while another withdraws to support Oh Byung-min of the Conservative Party. On the other hand, Hee-soo of the Progressive Party advises the party’s candidate, Eun-sil, to slander the remaining candidates.
Se-ra finds out that, based on the unofficial polls, she only has 9% of the votes, while Oh Byung-min leads with 30%. When Eun-sil invites her to her office, she remembers how during a low point in her life, Eun-sil had said something that encouraged her. Later, she gets drunk at a “pojangmacha” (street stall) and tells Gong-myung that she’s withdrawing her candidacy to support Eun-sil; she has also given Eun-sil her journal of complaints.
Episode 4
| Ep. 3 recap:
Se-ra’s mother quits working for the Conservative Party and joins Se-ra’s campaign. Eun-sil announces that she’s quitting the race and throwing her support to Se-ra’s candidacy. While Oh Byung-min concentrates on campaigning in the districts that traditionally supports his party, Se-ra focuses on a district where the residents are elderly folks and young people in need of cheap housing. Chairman Jo protests the tiebreaker, but during the recount, Se-ra wins the election by three votes. |
Gong-myung is reassigned from the public service center to the Assembly Secretariat. Meanwhile, as Se-ra reports for her first day of work, she asks when she’ll get her first salary; she also meets Min-jae, who leads her to Assemblyman Yang’s desk. In the box containing Assemblyman Yang’s belongings, she finds his journal.
The assembly representatives ignore Se-ra during her first attendance in the assembly’s session, but she tries to be friendly with Go Dong-chan, the recently appointed Vice Chairman. Later, during the funeral wake for Assemblyman Yang, she gets caught in the middle of a fistfight.
Chief Won of the Planning and Budgeting Office proposes to the assembly that Mawon District use municipal bonds to fund new city development and the labor costs; she says the total costs would amount to 30 million dollars. When Assemblyman Bong objects, the assembly members become hopelessly divided along party lines. The deciding vote falls on Se-ra, but she has disappeared from the assembly’s session hall.
Episode 5
| Ep. 4 recap:
Gong-myung is reduced to doing menial jobs for the assembly representatives; he also remains oblivious to Hee-soo’s show of affection towards him. The political parties try to woo Se-ra into voting with them; Chairman Jo also visits her father. After meeting Gong-myung at the drugstore, Se-ra asks him to explain to her what municipal bonds are. Gong-myung berates her for not knowing what municipal bonds are; he also shows her an article that says Mawon District is about to go bankrupt. Before parting with Se-ra, Gong-myung tells her that “money is politics.” The vote is tied at 6 for the proposal and 6 against, with one vote invalidated. Chairman Jo thus proposes that the assembly members forgo their salaries until Mawon District’s finances become stable. |
Chairman Jo abstained, knowing that Se-ra would vote for the proposal to ensure that she gets her salary. Later, as news spreads that the government employees in Mawon District won’t get their full salaries, Se-ra is forced to look for a part-time job.
Se-ra clashes with Vice Chairman Dong-chan over the proposed budget for transportation expenses of low-income college students; on the other hand, she’s asked by Assemblyman Bong to work with Hee-soo on a bill that will protect children from abuse and bullying.
Having met Se-ra’s father previously, Gong-myung goes to visit Se-ra and her family. But while he’s helping edit Se-ra and Hee-soo’s bill, Chairman Jo arrives.
The day comes for the presentation and approval of the bill, but to Se-ra’s shock, the bill only lists Hee-so and Dong-chan as the authors. Outraged, she confronts Hee-soo and Dong-chan.
Episode 6
| Ep. 5 recap:
When Gong-myung runs out of the house, Se-ra follows him; she remembers when they were children how Gong-myung ran away from home and how she stood up against Chairman Jo. Se-ra gets drunk after she disrupted Dong-chan’s presentation. On the way home, she tells Gong-myung that they should give each other’s heart for safekeeping. Se-ra’s friends Han-bi and Woo-yong later on make bets on her relationship with Gong-myung. Se-ra locks up Hee-soo in the rooftop. Later on, during the Ethics Committee hearing, to everyone’s surprise, she plays her recording of Dong-chan’s rant against the other assembly members. She also reveals that she voted in favor of the municipal bonds bill. The Ethics Committee disciplines Dong-chan with a three-day suspenion and Se-ra with a 30-day suspension. |
Se-ra becomes jealous when she sees Gong-myung getting off from Hee-soo’s car. Later on, with almost no money in her bank account, she gets another part-time job in the evenings.
Se-ra goes to the home of one of her constituents, an elderly woman, who’s following up her complaint about golf balls landing on her courtyard. The woman says that she approached the late Assemblyman Yang and, later, Hee-soo about the problem with the nearby driving range, but nothing has been done about it.
Assemblyman Bong tells Hee-soo that they must recruit Se-ra into their Progressive Party, but she questions the wisdom of Se-ra joining their party.
When Se-ra investigates the old lady’s complaint, she learns that all the assembly representatives are VIP members of the driving range.
Episode 7
| Ep. 6 recap:
Se-ra finally admits that she has feelings for Gong-myung. Se-ra finds out from Assemblyman Yang’s journal that it was Chief Won who promised to close down the driving range. Chief Won holds an event called “washing the elderly’s feet.” But Se-ra interrupts the event by showing on the screen the video of Chief Won pledging to close down the driving range. She also dumps dozens of golf balls on the event venue and then, with her golf club, launches a ball with Chief Won as her target. |
Se-ra pressures Chief Won to close down the driving range, to compensate those who have been injured, and to apologize to the elderly woman who filed the complaint. But Min-jae offers Chief Won and Chairman Jo a way of appeasing the driving range’s owner.
While celebrating Se-ra’s victory with Se-ra and her friends, Gong-myung finds out that she has broken up with Min-jae.
Se-ra’s father asks her to look into the case of nine security guards at an apartment complex, all 63 years old, who received dismissal notices before the annual renewal. Se-ra promises to help and, with her friends, visits several apartment complexes. Later, she asks Gong-myung to do some research for her.
Assemblyman Bong meets with Se-ra and Hee-soo and asks for their help in convincing the other assembly members to reinstate some of the social welfare budget, which includes the “employment stability support fund.” Se-ra and Hee-soo cringe when they find out that they have to change the minds of the three representatives from the Conservative Party known as “Shim-Jang-Si.” But Se-ra sees an opportunity when she finds out that the three representatives live and breath for the annual sports festival between Mawon District and an adjacent district.
After the sports festival, Min-jae walks Se-ra home. But Gong-myung sees them.
Episode 8
| Ep. 7 recap:
Se-ra pressures “Shim-Jang-Si” (the three representatives) to sign an agreement that if she helps them win the sports festival, they will support the reinstatement of some of the social welfare budget, which includes the employment stability support fund that the dismissed security guards need. Gong-myung becomes jealous that Min-jae still hangs around Se-ra and that Se-ra still calls him “oppa.” |
The three representatives (“Shim-Jang-Si”) break their agreement with Se-ra about reinstating some of the social welfare budget, and a fight breaks out in the assembly’s session hall.
Hee-soo blames Se-ra for the mess; later on, Se-ra apologizes to the security guard whom she promised to help but has now been dismissed.
After a fight with her father, Se-ra goes to Sunset Land, her favorite secret place. Concerned, Gong-myung asks Se-ra’s friends where she might be, but they don’t know where her secret place is.
Dong-chan seeks Chairman Jo’s support for becoming the assembly’s next Chairman. But Chairman Jo says it’s the turn of the Progressive Party to choose who it wants as the new Chairman. Min-jae, however, thinks that the progressives will be split and that the conservatives will eventually decide who the next Chairman will be.
As Min-jae predicted, Hee-soo and Dong-chan both run for Chairman. But Dong-chan bribes the assembly members with gold bars.
Episode 9
| Ep. 8 recap:
The night before the voting for the new Chairman, Se-ra promises to support Hee-soo’s candidacy; she also gives Hee-soo the gold bar that Dong-chan gave her as a bribe. Chairman Jo manipulates the Conservative Party members into voting for Se-ra as the new Chairman, based on Min-jae’s assurance that as Se-ra’s secretary, he will manipulate her into doing what Chairman Jo wants. Gong-myung tells Se-ra to reject Chief Won’s appointment of a new secretary for her; he also offers to be her secretary. |
Chairman Jo blows up at Chief Won for her approval of Se-ra’s choice of Gong-myung as her secretary and at Min-jae for his botched plan of manipulating Se-ra. Later on, Chief Won meets with Assemblyman Bong and Hee-soo to form an alliance with the Progressive Party.
After laying down his work conditions, Gong-myung begins tutoring Se-ra on the duties and functions of the assembly Chairman. But he becomes exasperated when Se-ra uses almost all of her business operation funds of 3,300 dollars in just 24 hours.
Gong-myung hastily gets Se-ra added to the list of government officials who are invited to the groundbreaking ceremony for the Smart One City Project. But at the ceremony, Se-ra sees the people protesting the project; she gasps as she finds out that the project will cost Mawon District 1.6 billion dollars.
Episode 10
| Ep. 9 recap:
Gong-myung kisses Se-ra after confessing his love for her. |
Se-ra learns from Gong-myung the history of the Smart One City Project and why Chairman Jo and Chief Won joined together in pushing for the project. Meanwhile, Chief Won meets with Chairman Jo about the delay and budgetary problems of the Smart One City Project. Chairman Jo tells her to delay the project’s completion, and Min-jae recommends that they should approach the Mawon Credit Cooperatives to make up for the budgetary problem.
Part of the plans for the Smart One City Project is the changing of the district names. After receiving letter-complaints about the changes in the name of Sarang District, Se-ra and Gong-myung visit an elderly man, who explains to them the etymology of “Sarang.”
Se-ra meets with Chief Won and Hee-soo about the changes in the district names, arguing that while the budget for social services has been cut, the Smart One City Project continues draining the resources of Mawon District. But Chief Won and Hee-soo rebuff her, saying that the name changes and the project were approved by the residents of the affected districts.
Se-ra meets Assemblyman Bong, who advises her not to get too comfortable in her office because that’s when she will start making mistakes; he also warns her never to fully trust anyone because every person has two sides.
Episode 11
| Ep. 10 recap:
Se-ra’s parents find out that she’s dating Gong-myung. Se-ra and Gong-myung find out that the approval of the Sarang District name change was done fraudulently at the direction of the late Assemblyman Yang. |
Because of a lover’s quarrel with Se-ra, Gong-myung passes on his duties as secretary to Yong-kyu. When Se-ra announces during an assembly meeting that the name change for Sarang was approved fraudulently, Chief Won dares her to prove it, or else, she should resign as Chairman.
Based on Min-jae’s instructions, the man who forged the residents’ signatures says that Assemblyman Yang was acting on Chief Won’s order. When Min-jae tells Chairman Jo that Chief Won could disprove the allegation against her, Chairman Jo says that he’ll bring her down before the general elections; if he can’t, he can just place all the blame on Se-ra.
When the Seoul City Assembly orders a re-vote on the name change ordinance, Chief Won gloats that she has the majority votes in the assembly.
Episode 12
| Ep. 11 recap:
After reconciling with Se-ra, Gong-myung tells her that she needs Hee-soo’s vote to defeat Chief Won. When Hee-soo walks out of the lunch meeting with Se-ra, Gong-myung runs after her and says that Se-ra’s stubbornness about the name change for Sarang comes from the 2002 fire at a resort where 49 students and teachers of an elementary school died. |
Hee-soo casts her vote in favor of Chief Won, defeating Se-ra’s plan to revoke Sarang’s name change. Later on, Chairman Jo tells Min-jae that they can oust Se-ra from her position by using her mother’s financial troubles.
Min-jae becomes Chief Won’s secretary. Meanwhile, after resuming his duties as Se-ra’s secretary, Gong-myung confronts Yong-kyu about his secret reports to Chairman Jo.
Hee-soo finally finds out that Gong-myung and Se-ra are in a dating relationship.
The workers at the Area 6 construction site of the Smart One City Project petition Se-ra to do something about the unsafe working conditions at the construction site that have already resulted in several injuries. When Se-ra and Gong-myung try to investigate the matter, however, the workers who have previously been involved in the accidents refuse to say anything because they had already settled with the construction company and had signed non-disclosure agreements.
Se-ra and Gong-myung decide to go undercover to find out the reason for the accidents at the Area 6 construction site.
Episode 13
| Ep. 12 recap:
Through her father-in-law, Chief Won owns a parcel of land that’s included in the Smart One City Project. An unregistered company is in charge as a subcontractor of the construction in the Area 6 site. While doing their undercover work at the construction site, Se-ra and Gong-myung find in a garbage pile the memorial tablet for the victims of the Sarang Resort fire. One of the names inscribed on the tablet is that of Gong-myung’s brother. |
Using a wheel barrow, Se-ra and Gong-myung take the memorial tablet away from the construction site. But they are captured on the construction site’s CCTV.
Se-ra questions Chief Won about the potential conflict of interest with her father-in-law owning part of the land that’s included in the Smart One City project. In retaliation, Chief Won files a defamation case against Se-ra.
Assemblyman Bong receives documents on Chief Won’s corruption regarding the Smart One City Project and files cases of bribery and abuse of authority against her. But in the district assembly, Se-ra is also accused of being part of the Mawon Credit Cooperatives scandal. The assemby members ask for a vote of no confidence against her.
Episode 14
| Ep. 13 recap:
Chief Won is arrested on charges of bribery and abuse of authority. Gong-myung is reappointed to his position in the Planning and Budgeting Office, but Se-ra is ousted from her position as Chairman. |
The construction company files theft charges against Se-ra for removing the memorial tablet from the construction site.
Chairman Jo begins collecting signatures of the families of the fire victims so that Mawon District can decide where to relocate the memorial tablet. But Hee-soo reads the form the families are being asked to sign and concludes that Chairman Jo wants to simply keep the memorial in a storage room.
The last person needed to sign the form for moving the memorial tablet turns out to be the elderly woman who filed the complaint against the driving range. But Se-ra finds out from the neighbors that the woman has left her house; she also cannot contact her by phone.
During the assembly meeting, Se-ra demands that the Area 6 construction site must submit the required environmental impact report. Assemblyman Heo and the acting Chairman try to stall Se-ra, but Se-ra goes to social media to publicize her demand for the report’s release.
Episode 15
| Ep. 14 recap:
Assemblyman Bong finds out that Gong-myung is Chairman Jo’s son. Se-ra and Gong-myung find out that the elderly woman and the construction worker have been suffering from arsenic poisoning. Assemblyman Heo used the Area 6 construction site as a dumping site for heavy metals such as arsenic and other carcinogens. Despite knowing about the problem, Chief Won allowed the construction to continue. Through Chairman Jo’s scheme, Se-ra faces a recall election. |
Chairman Jo and his assembly allies manipulate their constituents into filing a petition for Se-ra’s dismissal; among the alleged grounds for her dismissal are using taxpayers’ money for personal use, using her position to get her friend a position at the Mawon Credit Cooperatives, and her mother’s inappropriate activities. Se-ra’s father blows up in anger when his wife tells him that Se-ra ran for the assembly to pay off her debt.
Assemblyman Bong defends Se-ra during the assembly meeting, but Chairman Jo says that he has warned him enough.
While reading Assemblyman Yang’s journal, Se-ra finds a page with the word “bury” beside Assemblyman Heo’s name. She meets Assemblyman Heo on the rooftop, but he snatches the journal, rips off the page, and throws away the journal before Se-ra could react.
Episode 16, Finale (with spoilers)
| Ep. 15 recap:
Se-ra survives the recall elections, but Chairman Jo releases the video footage of Assemblyman Bong being involved in the hit-and-run incident that eventually led to Assemblyman Yang’s death. Se-ra tries to convince Eun-sil to run against Chairman Jo in the general election. |
Eun-sil wins the election by a wide margin, and the memorial tablet is later relocated to the elementary school.
Gong-myung makes Se-ra promise not to get involved in politics ever again. Se-ra’s friend, Woo-young, on the other hand, decides to run for the vacant seat in the district assembly.
2023 ..
After learning about Se-ra through Ja-ryong’s webtoon “Into the Ring,” all the members of “The Polar Bear Party” go to the comic book café to try to convince Se-ra to join their campaign to protect the environment. Se-ra says that she has retired from politics, but then, she gets a call from Labor Administration about her complaint against a company that is exploiting freelancers like her. The guy from Labor Administration tells her that freelancers are not protected by the Labor Standards Act and that if she wants things to change, she should work on changing the law.
Se-ra decides to join “The Polar Bear Party.”
Lessons in cinematography and photography from “Into The Ring”
In-depth analysis of this drama’s cinematography
A. Overview:
(1) “Into The Ring” has some great camera movements, oftentimes in keeping with its comedic plot; these movements are more noticeable because of the use of wide angle lenses, which accentuate movement and produce distortions. Posted below is an example:
Ep. 4. Notice how small Se-ra appears when she smiles and looks up as she asks (or subtly suggests to) Dong-chan about a welcome party for her. We can’t help but smile or laugh at how she was shot in this scene.
(2) An extreme wide angle lens was used to shoot most of the scenes in keeping with the drama’s comedic plot, and thus, there are a lot of distortions in the images.
In the example below from Ep. 6, Se-ra and Hee-soo are in a standoff, with Gong-myung caught in the middle; notice how the houses at the left and right edges of the frame curve so much inward. The shot was most probably taken with a fish eye lens (notice the slight vignetting at the edges).
With some exceptions, whenever the scenes were shot at eye level, the cinematographer switched from an extreme wide angle lens to a wide angle lens, and thus there are almost no discernible distortions. (There’s another possible reason for the lack of distortion, as I will explain below.)
The visual style of “Into The Ring” was probably inspired by the 2018 critically acclaimed and award-winning movie “The Favourite,” a historical drama/ dark comedy starring Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone, and Olivia Colman. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and shot by Robbie Ryan, its visual style is marked by the use of wide angle lenses (including a 6mm fisheye lens), with lots of low angle shots and camera movements such as tracking shots and whip pans.
For more information about the cinematography of “The Favourite,” please read:
(a) “Royal Trappings: The Favourite” (American Cinematographer, January 2019)
(b) ‘The Favourite’ DP Robbie Ryan Brings Fisheye Lenses & Fluid, Roving Camera To Yorgos Lanthimos’ Madcap Period Piece (Deadline)
Watch also this video analysis of the movie’s visual style starting at the 1:36 mark.
(3) Unlike the polygon-shaped lens flares usually seen in K-dramas, this drama’s lens flares are horizontal streaks, similar to JJ Abrams’s famous lens flares in his “Star Wars” movies. And the lens flares are always blue, whether the scene is set at nighttime or daytime. That blue color and flat, horizontal shape tell me that the cinematographer used “anamorphic lenses” in shooting the drama. (Take note, however, that lens flares can be added during post production.)
Here’s an example of the lens flares from Ep. 6; After seeing Gong-myung get off from Hee-soo’s car, Se-ra becomes jealous and runs after him. The lens flares appear and disappear because, as Gong-myung walks along, he sometimes covers the light source.
B. Creative camera movements
Ep. 10: Se-ra’s parents have found out that she’s dating Gong-myung. As Gong-myung is passed out drunk, Se-ra moves in to kiss him (the camera pushes in), but her mother grabs her hair and pulls her away (the camera pulls out.)
Ep. 5: As Gong-myung edits Se-ra and Hee-soo’s bill, Se-ra begins staring at him and seeing him in a new light. The shots use slow motion, camera rolls (clockwise and counterclockwise), and Dutch angles.
Ep. 9: Se-ra becomes angry with Gong-myung because he issued a press release saying that the Conservative Party supported her in becoming Chairman of the district assembly. The camera tracks Se-ra as she goes to confront Gong-myung; the camera with an extreme wide angle lens then pans across the room as Gong-myung runs away from Se-ra.
This scene reminds me of that scene from “The Favourite” where Abigail pushes Queen Anne’s wheelchair, and the camera with its famous 6 mm fish eye lens pans from right to left.
Ep. 5: Se-ra gets drunk and as she looks at Gong-myung and holds his hand, the lights behind her seem to throb like heartbeats, and the camera rolls clockwise and counterclockwise.
Ep. 1: Se-ra files her candidacy with Gong-myung, accompanied by her supporters and with only minutes to spare before the deadline. The ground level shot of Se-ra stepping towards Gong-myung represents a giant step for her as she puts herself foward into public service after a series of short-term jobs.
Ep. 4: The Conservative Party and Progressive Party hold their separate meetings as there’s a deadlock between them on the the issuance of municipal bonds. Notice how the camera pulls out and pushes in on the meetings.
These shots remind me of that scene from “The Favourite” where the camera tracks Abigail as she walks behind Lord Masham; when Lord Masham turns around, Abigail also turns around and walks back, with the camera still tracking her (with Lord Masham following her).
Ep. 4: Se-ra waits anxiously at the expensive restaurant for Dong-chan and the other representatives who were supposed to welcome her. The camera (probably mounted on a jib) moves up from ground level to show Se-ra and then pushes in on her.
Ep. 2: The camera tracks Gong-myung as he walks home, with the shot ending as Se-ra trips him up.
Note: When the camera moves parallel to the subject, it’s called by some authorities as “trucking shot” or “crabbing.” Some authorities, however, just call them tracking shot or dolly shot.
Ep. 5: The camera tracks Gong-myung and Se-ra, who’s drunk and dancing on the street.
This YouTube video shows (starting at the 1:44 mark) how this scene was shot and the rails that were set up parallel to Se-ra and Gong-myung’s path.
Ep. 8: Se-ra has just been elected as the district assembly’s Chairman because of Chairman Jo’s manipulation. From a high angle POV, the camera tracks right a bit (?) and then rolls clockwise to show Se-ra lying on the ground, dazed and thinking about what just happened.
Ep. 2: Long tracking shot of Hee-soo and Dong-chan as they walk into a meeting to endorse Eun-sil’s candidacy.
Ep. 10: Se-ra tells Gong-myung to sit down so that she can discuss with him her dating regulations. As Gong-myung looks to the left (from our perspective), we can see Se-ra and Gong-myung already sitting down on the sofa. These are actually two tracking shots that were “stitched” together. (The “stitching” of tracking shots was the technique used in making the film “1917” look like it was one long take.)
C. Whip pan
Ep. 3: The camera whip pans from the Conservative Party candidate to Se-ra who gasps as she sees that she got exactly the same number of votes as the other candidate.
Ep. 7: Se-ra drinks with her friends and with Gong-wyung after they accompanied the elderly woman from the hospital back to her house. The camera whip pans from her friends to Gong-myung and then from Gong-myung to Se-ra.
D. Crash zoom (snap zoom)
Renowned directors such as Quentin Tarantino and Edgar Wright use crash zoom (snap zoom) for various reasons — Tarantino, as an homage to other directors and Wright, for comedic reasons.
Ep. 5: Dong-chan dares Se-ra to say on record what she’s saying against the assembly representatives who are VIP members of the driving range.
Ep. 3 (?): Gong-myung is taken aback by Se-ra’s campaign poster.
Other examples of crash zoom:
E. Rack focus: What’s a K-drama without rack focus shots? But some “Into The Ring” shots combines rack focus shots with shaky cam or with Dutch angles.
Ep. 3 (rack focus with Dutch angle): Se-ra gets drunk at the “pojangmacha” after she withdraws her candidacy in order to support Eun-sil. As Se-ra (foreground) becomes out of focus, Gong-myung (background) becomes in focus.
Ep. 2 (rack focus with shaky cam): Gong-myung celebrates his brother’s death anniversary by placing banana milk at the bus stop.
F. Shaky cam
Ep. 7: Se-ra is disappointed when the elderly woman seems to have ignored everything that she has done to solve her complaint against the driving range.
Ep. 9: Chairman Jo is furious with Gong-myung after he finds out that Gong-myung volunteered to be Se-ra’s secretary.
G. Visual cues (frames, lines, Dutch angles)
“Visual cues” are explained in an excellent series of articles from “My Drama List” written by someone with the username “3GGG.” These MDL articles on visual cues will help you better understand and appreciate K-dramas.
1. Popular Visual Cues found in K-Dramas: visual ways to establish a conflict, division, or fight between two or more character
2. Popular Visual Cues in K-Dramas: boxing to establish a character’s vulnerability, solitude, or fear; comfort and respite; change; danger; showdown
3. Popular Visual Cues in K-Drama: Dutch angle
Ep. 10: Han-bi and Ja-ryong have a misunderstanding when she hurriedly walks away instead of picking him up from school. (Han-bi saw Ja-ryong with his judo teacher, who was the reason she quit her judo career.) Notice the line that separates Han-bi and Ja-ryong.
Ep. 5: As the elevator door opens and the employees exit carrying with them the flyers on the vegetable juice that Se-ra is selling, the camera pushes in on Se-ra who cheerfully urges them. But as the doors close, we see Se-ra sigh at the the financial difficulties that she’s going through. The doors and the lines inside the elevator froms frames that box Se-ra in, reinforcing her dire situation. (Just before the door closes, we can see an elegant line that leads our attention towards Se-ra.)
Ep. 5: Se-ra is framed by the narrow walls, but as she despairs about her career as an assembly representative, she sees that Gong-myung is having an even more difficult time, with washing the dishes as part of his responsibilities.
Ep. 5: Se-ra faces a disciplinary hearing before the Ethics Committee after she disrupted Dong-chan at the public presentation of the approved bill for the protection of children.
Ep. 2: Se-ra and her mother argue; notice the frame that boxes them in.
Ep. 3: Gong-myung checks whether Se-ra is complying with the election laws; notice that they’re inside a box. (This shot also follows what is called “lower corner composition” or “lower quadrant composition.”
Ep. (?): Notice that Gong-myung and Se-ra are inside a box. Just like the example immediately above, this shot also follows “lower corner composition” or “lower quadrant composition.”
Ep. 4: Gong-myung feels awkward when Se-ra sees him relegated to menial duties like serving food and drinks at the district assembly.
Ep. 4: If I remember correctly, Gong-myung calls up his father to ask if he was responsible for assigning him to the district assembly secretariat.
Ep. 7: Hee-soo feels uncomfortable when Assemblyman Bong asks her to work together with Se-ra in trying to convince the “Shim-Jang-Si” trio of assemblymen to support the proposed remedial budget.
Ep. 9: Chairman Jo is furious with Gong-myung because he volunteered to become Se-ra's secretary. Notice the frames that box them in.
H. Lens flares in this drama: blue, horizontal streaks created by anamorphic lenses
Unlike the polygon-shaped lens flares usually seen in K-dramas, this drama’s lens flares are horizontal streaks, similar to JJ Abrams’s famous lens flares in his “Star Wars” movies. And the lens flares are always blue, whether the scene is set at nighttime or daytime. That blue color and flat shape tell me that the cinematographer used “anamorphic lenses” in shooting the drama. (Take note, however, that lens flares can be added during post production.)
Ep. 6; Se-ra becomes jealous after seeing Gong-myung get off from Hee-soo’s car and runs after him. The lens flares appear and disappear because, as Gong-myung walks along, he sometimes covers the light sources.
Ep. 4: As Hee-soo vents her frustration with Se-ra by singing her heart out in a “noraebang,” she gets a call from Gong-myung.
Ep. 5: Se-ra and Gong-myung at a street stall.
Lessons in photography from “Into The Ring”
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| Foreground and background blur |
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| Converging lines |
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| High angle shot, diagonal lines |
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| Dutch angle or Dutch tilt, foreground blur |
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| Dutch angle or Dutch tilt |
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| Dutch angle or Dutch tilt |
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| Background blur, lines of direction |
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| Rule of Odds |
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| Conveying depth through overlapping forms |
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| Distortions caused by extreme wide angle lens |
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| Foreground and background blur |
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| Leading lines, short siding |
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| Lens flares |
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| Low angle (ground level) point of view |
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