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On May 16, 2025, Netflix released the full South Korean mystery melodrama sageuk series Dear Hongrang (탄금). Written by Kim Jin-ah and directed by Kim Hong-sun, the show stars Lee Jae-wook and Jo Bo-ah in the lead roles. Dear Hongrang is adapted from Jang Da-hye’s novel Tangeum: Swallowing Gold.
The story centers on Jae-yi’s quest to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of Hongrang and the mysterious man who claims to be him. By the end of Dear Hongrang, it is revealed that the real Hongrang has already died. The story focuses on the imposter’s journey and the larger mystery behind the disappearances.
Disclaimer: The article contains spoilers for the series. Reader's discretion is advised.
Dear Hongrang ending explained: The truth about Hongrang's fate, identity, and Jae-yi's tragic love
Dear Hongrang opens with a young Hongrang running through the snowy woods at night, terrified by something pursuing him. He stumbles and falls, coming face to face with his pursuer — a man with long white hair, cloaked in white.
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Dear Hongrang, then shifts to the following morning, and Hongrang has vanished. His family launches spiritual rituals and extensive searches across the country and beyond, but the boy remains missing.
His father, Shim Yeol-guk, the nation’s chief merchant, uses his immense wealth to find his son. Over time, opportunists begin arriving, falsely claiming to be Hongrang. When proven liars, they are severely punished, often losing their fingers.
Hongrang’s mother, Min Yeon-uil, devastated by her son's disappearance, sinks into deep mourning. Meanwhile, Jae-yi (Jo Bo-ah), Hongrang’s stepsister from Yeol-guk’s previous marriage, bears the brunt of Yeon-uil’s grief. Often blamed for Hongrang’s disappearance, she is cursed and mistreated. Yet, Jae-yi, who deeply loved her younger brother, relentlessly continues her search for him.
Also in the family is Mu-ji (Jung Ga-ram), Yeol-guk’s adopted son has been taken in to become the future heir of the family business and guild. Mu-ji, secretly, harbors feelings for Jae-yi but, bound by his position as her adoptive brother, keeps his emotions hidden.
One day, a man appointed by Yeol-guk to find Hongrang returns, bringing with him a mysterious young man (Lee Jae-wook) who claims to be Hongrang. He says he has no memory of his childhood due to severe trauma. After physical examinations and matching birthmarks, the family becomes convinced he is truly Hongrang.
However, Jae-yi refuses to accept him. To her, this man feels nothing like her brother. Her objections only earn her scorn from Yeon-uil, who, convinced of her son's return, rushes to embrace him. The supposed Hongrang explains that after enduring abuse and hardship, he survived as a foot soldier, clawing his way through life.
Welcomed back into the family, Hongrang begins learning the business from Mu-ji, who grows increasingly insecure about his own position. As days pass, Jae-yi becomes more determined to prove the man is an imposter.
Her suspicions fuel Mu-ji’s ambitions as well, and together they investigate his past. They uncover that the man is, in fact, a deadly assassin known as “Soul Ripper,” infamous for leaving no survivors.
The imposter challenges them openly, dismissing Jae-yi’s accusations and pointing out how she is treated as a nobody in her own home. Yet, her unwavering concern for her brother softens his heart, and he begins to develop feelings for her. Despite her doubts, Jae-yi also starts caring for him, further enraging Mu-ji and intensifying his mission to expose the imposter.
The truth slowly unfolds — the imposter is part of a covert group investigating the sinister figure with the long white hair from the first scene, nicknamed the “Snow Man.” It turns out that Hongrang’s disappearance is not unique. Many children have gone missing under similar circumstances, including the imposter and his companion.
Their investigation leads to a painter who abuses these children, using their bodies as canvases for mysterious, sinister artworks. This painter is linked to the Shin family’s guild, which is a renowned patron of various artists.
While the imposter immerses himself in the Shin family’s affairs, Jae-yi continues her own search for the real Hongrang. Tensions rise when Yeon-uil arranges for Jae-yi’s marriage to an abusive man who has previously beaten 3 wives to death. Jae-yi’s desperate escape attempt fails.
Mu-ji and the imposter both learn of the truth about Jae-yi’s would-be husband and plan to rescue her on their own. Though Mu-ji fails to rescue her, the imposter sends Yeol-guk the evidence of the groom’s crimes, rescues Jae-yi himself.
He then takes her back to the Shim house. After settling her in her room, he kisses her, though she is disoriented and later unsure if it really happened.
Following this, Yeol-guk annuls the marriage, bringing forth the groom’s surviving victim as proof. Enraged, Yeon-uil attempts to sabotage Yeol-guk but is herself outmaneuvered. Yeol-guk then establishes a new guild in Mu-ji’s name to protect his assets.
Yeon-uil discovers this and accuses Mu-ji of forgery and captures him. Jae-yi’s attempt to free Mu-ji from captivity is thwarted by the imposter, who instead negotiates Mu-ji’s release with Yeon-uil in exchange for his exile from the city.
Meanwhile, in Dear Hongrang, Jae-yi discovers a personal token the imposter carries — one meant to convince her of his identity as Hongrang. Though the token is false, unaware of that, it convinces Jae-yi that he is indeed her brother. She struggles with the realization that she has fallen for him. When she confesses these feelings, the imposter kisses her again.
Torn with guilt over her feelings, Jae-yi decides to leave with Mu-ji. However, on the day of their departure, the imposter reveals the truth — he is not Hongrang and also confesses about his own feelings for her. Together, he and Jae-yi flee to the mountains and begin a life in hiding.
Back in the city, seeing Jae-yi gone, Mu-ji delivers evidence of the imposter’s true identity to Yeol-guk, who has already uncovered the deception. Mu-ji offers to retrieve Jae-yi and the imposter, demanding in return the heirship of the guild and his disownment so he can marry Jae-yi.
Meanwhile, in Dear Hongrang, the king, a long-time supporter of Yeol-guk’s search for Hongrang (in exchange for Yeol-guk's patronage of his artworks), learns of the imposter’s true identity. The king, who has his own dark ties to the painter and the Snow Man, becomes interested in the imposter.
A wide-scale search ensues, and the imposter and Jae-yi are eventually found. Though he initially resists, the imposter is captured by the royal army and brought back to the Shim house. During interrogation, Yeol-guk rips the imposter’s clothing to reveal his scarred back, inked with grotesque erotic drawings, used in dark spiritual rituals. The imposter’s harrowing past is exposed.
Once a slave subjected to ritualistic abuse, he was later taken by the Snow Man to the painter, who marked him as a living talisman. The imposter’s life took a turn when he was rescued by a woman, Yeol-guk’s former lover. Pregnant with Yeol-guk’s child but betrayed by Yeon-uil’s men, she survived and raised the imposter to enact revenge against the Min and Shin families.
After his truth revealed, the imposter is handed over to the king, who is exposed to be the very painter responsible for the imposter and countless children’s suffering. The king prepares to use him in a final, gruesome ritual. However, with help from the allies and Jae-yi, the imposter escapes, confronting and killing the Snow Man in the process.
He and Jae-yi again escape to the mountains. However, the imposter's health deteriorates. Mu-ji informs Jae-yi that the imposter and other captives have been tortured with chemicals by the king, leading to severe, often fatal, illnesses.
The imposter, knowing this and aware that his group is not safe from the king once he dies, decides to kill him before dying. Determined to protect his group, the imposter strikes a deal with them: in exchange, he asks for information about the real Hongrang.
Elsewhere, in Dear Hongrang, it is revealed that Hongrang has died long ago from a fall at his own home. His remains have been hidden in the family well by the group’s leader for her greater intentions. His skeleton is finally found and given a proper burial, though Yeon-uil refuses to accept his death, clinging to the belief that her son will return.
The imposter sets out to kill the king, and in retaliation, the king captures Jae-yi. To rescue her, Mu-ji sacrifices his life, freeing Jae-yi and the other prisoners. The imposter confronts the king, chops his hands off, and delivers the final blow.
But he sustains fatal injuries in the process. Somehow, he returns to Jae-yi and dies in her arms as she comforts him with dreams of a future they can never have. Shortly after, Yeol-guk’s former lover avenges her own pain by killing Yeol-guk.
Dear Hongrang, then goes to 2 years later, Jae-yi becomes the head of the household and guild. Yeon-ju is mourning her son but believes him to return any moment now.
Jae-yi often sits on the rooftop where she once used to sit playing with her brother. However, now she imagines conversations with her lost love, holding onto the memories of their brief but profound connection. Dear Hongrang ends on this note.
Possibility of Dear Hongrang season 2
Dear Hongrang does not have the possibility of a season 2. The story has concluded all the major arcs. This includes how Hongrang's true fate is revealed, the imposter's real identity and mission are resolved, the villains are confronted and defeated, and the key emotional threads (Jae-yi's love, loss, and growth) reach a natural end. Dear Hongrang's ending is bittersweet but complete, leaving no open plotlines for continuation.
All 11 episodes of Dear Hongrang are now available for streaming on Netflix.
