Roles of a Woman

“I’m looking for my ex-girlfriend. I have not found her yet…”

He keeps on repeating these words. 

I wasn’t actually too sure whether he was talking about Hee, the North Korean spy, or her actual girlfriend. I can’t help but think that the feminine character is intentionally confusing the audience. Hee/Hyun is a character that crosses the boundaries of femininity and their roles in society. Hee, as a North Korean spy, a top-notch militarily-trained assassin, is a femme fatale, who gives up her family and regular life, to take on the responsibility to protect her nation, proving her loyalty. 

In order to complete her tasks, she has to disguise as Hyun, a woman who has a terminal disease, neglected by society. But through this identity, she was also able to be herself: a pet shop owner, a music lover, a sweet child-like woman who lives like a regular person. 

This topic is mentioned twice in the movie: the first time by Ryu, when he is out with Yu and his girlfriend (Hee/Hyun). It was a directed to Hyun during a conversation. He showed her a picture, and after that, he received a piece of food on his shirt and she leaves the table to get a call.

The second time happened during Yu’s visit at the hospital to meet the real Hyun. 

Although it may only seem like a foreshadowing agent in the plot, it reveals that in their eyes, the femme fatale assassin-spy is only a woman. To have the guts to label her as an ex-girlfriend seems to delegitimize her abilities as an assassin to become an inferior entity.    

I don’t agree that Hee is a “ventriloquist.” Although she is “not only pitied but also desired and loathed… invites a seductive gaze that fatally turns her seducer into a victim,… and is left with no other option than self-destruction," (Kim, 261) her self-destruction seems to me like an inevitable end to liberate her from all her commitments/obligations. 

Her character from the beginning of the movie has softened a lot throughout, despite her political implications, which brings out our sympathy for this character, especially at the end. But because of her inevitable death at the end, does it reveal a stronger masculinity identity in contrast?