Episode 38
Is this it?
Why?
Did your life seem to pathetic to live as a merchant?
You saw Do Seung-ji and saw it as a chance
so you took it like the golden rope?
Bong-Sam!
Did he promise to raise up your family again?
How can you say such a thing?
How can Chun Bong-Sam say such a thing to me?
I don't know who you are anymore.
Are you the peddler and my friend Sun-dol?
Or--
are you the precious man of noble blood,
Nam Sun-yu?
Who are you?
You really don't know?
Chun Bong-sam's friend.
Chun's Gaekju's chief merchant.
Sun-dol.
Yeah.
I won't be able to throw away Nam Sun-yu.
Because that's me, too.
But
it was for the Queen.
It was for the country.
I had no desire to restore my family.
Sun-dol.
Even if that's not what you wanted,
if Min's family rises to power,
your family will be restored again.
And you--
You will have to live as Nam Sun-yu.
That is--
the will of Do Seung-ji who spent a lot of time finding this.
Sun-dol.
The moment you came back with this,
here deep down in your heart,
you have...
already given up staying as one of us.
Bong-Sam.
Bong-Sam!
Chun Bong-Sam!
How could you do this to me?
Sir Nam Sun-yu.
To lowly merchants like us,
the lives of our merchants are more important than power.
If Min's family rises to power again,
Gom-bae, Mak-bong, Bang-dae,
my merchants who were involved in the revolt,
they all die.
Chun Bong-Sam!
We have to beat him in a straw mat.
Beat him?
Don't be ridiculous.
What about all that he did for us?
He's right.
He did go against the regulations,
but he technically did it for us.
What if the Woon-hyun Palace hears about this?
We will all die.
Then let's send Sun-dol to Woon-hyun Palace
and make him get investigated there.
Make them find Min's family and arrest them.
What are you saying right now?
You little!
Everyone, stop it!
Leader!
What is this meeting for?
We met to discuss Sun-dol's crime.
Did I say this is a fight between Min's and Woon-hyun Palace?
Are we playing politics now?
Let's take a break.
Everyone step outside.
Leader.
Gangs look down upon kind-hearted and merciful leaders.
They know that kind of leader won't protect them.
It's the same with the Peddlers Headquarters Office.
If you don't rightfully punish Sun-dol,
everyone will lose trust in you saying you were lenient on your friend.
Then the Peddlers Headquarters Office will be over as well.
Bring him out.
Bang-dae.
Go get Sun-dol's identification card.
Yes, sir.
Chief merchant.
Excuse me.
Why are you taking that?
Correction!
We are confiscating Sun-dol's identification card.
For the next 3 years,
you will not be able to use it at any store.
You're kicking me out?
And--
for going against our rules,
for gathering merchants on your own,
and improperly creating an assembly,
for leading our merchants to death,
for all those crimes--
I order--
him to take....
30 beats.
30 beats?
The relationship between the two is going to be shattered.
I have to stop him.
Leader!
He had a hard time coming to this decision.
If he's wavered easily by others, how will he become the leader?
What are you all doing?
You heard him!
Yes, sir.
Seventeen!
Eighteen!
Song-pa's gang
Strong man Gom-bae!
Live up to your name.
You think I can't do it?
Nineteen!
What are you doing?
How dare you mix in emotions in punishment?
That name is too good for you.
Twenty!
Oh no! What is going on!
Sun-dol!
Go get the doctor.
Mak-bong, carry him!
Careful!
Chief merchant!
Leader.
You really beat him up, didn't you?
What are you doing here?
Didn't hear any news from so far away, huh?
The qing dynasty came in and captured our soldiers.
They even put up the military in the East Door. You didn't know?
Please move. We have to go to the doctor.
I'll take him.
Why would you take my friend?
This man here is not merchant Sun-dol.
He is Nam Sun-yu who did something great for us.
Let's take him.
Go get him.
No.
We have to save him first.
Come on.
Be careful!
Let's go.
That man Merchant Chun is stubborn.
He just has set standards.
Well good for us.
Merchant Chun and this guy seem to be over now.
Look at this.
Did Sun-dol really say to pack his things?
Pack all of Sun-dol's belongings.
What do we do?
What's going on?
Bong!
Are you really going to send away Sun-dol's belongings?
I'll go to Do Seung-ji's house and beg chief merchant to come back.
It's all my fault.
I'll carry him back here if he says no.
Don't be foolish.
Ocean fish live in the ocean,
and lake fish live in the lake.
Sun-dol is your friend.
Your one and only best friend.
It's not easy splitting you two.
Sir Nam Sun-yu.
What are we gonna do with him if we bring him here?
Are you going to make him wipe cows' butts?
Bong, why are you saying things you don't mean?
Name isn't important. Sun-dol is--
Stop talking about Sun-dol!
The qing dynasty attacked.
Our merchants who got involved in the revolt--
How are we going to protect them?
That's more urgent.
Chun Bong-Sam.
Sun-dol.
Bong-Sam.
Let's switch our clothes. [Peddlers switch to show friendship]
Stay safe.
Bye, Bong-Sam!
Sun-dol.
What am I supposed to do?
Friend.
Sun-dol!
This is Bong-Sam!
Sun-dol!
This is Bong-Sam!
Sun-dol!
I'll go out.
If you walk out that door,
you will not be able to return as Nam Sun-yu ever again.
No misunderstandings.
I'm not telling you to choose between me and Merchant Chun.
Then what is it?
Can you really throw away your family name?
We live for our family names, not for ourselves.
If you follow out Merchant Chun right now,
you won't be able to live as Nam Sun-yu or Sun-dol.
You will be nobody.
This is your room so I'll go out.
Think about it carefully.
Sun-dol!
Hello there.
Now
I'm going to take my friend Sun-dol back.
Do as you say.
Sun-dol.
Ah, your stuff were here.
You okay?
Gom-bae, Mak-bong, Bang-dae
They feel so bad they don't know what to do.
You know them.
They tear up so easily.
Let's go home.
Let's go grill some pork and eat.
Gom-bae, Mak-bong, Bang-dae,
Choi-dol, Man-chi,
and Wol. They're all waiting.
Get up.
My home is Euiryeong.
Kyungsan Province Euiryeong.
My uncle who built the building
was given poison during Seonjuhak.
And my mother and father
had their heads chopped off.
My younger siblings who could not be chopped because they were under 15
were pushed off the cliff and killed.
I couldn't even make a grave for my parents yet.
I couldn't even find my siblings in the ocean.
Go to Euiryeong with me.
Let's make graves for your parents there,
and let's do everything you want to do for your siblings.
Sun-dol.
My name is Sun-yu.
Nam Sun-yu.
You even said so yourself.
My family name will be restored
and that I will have to live as Nam Sun-yu.
Alright.
Your name is Nam Sun-yu.
And you're also Chun Bong-sam's friend Sun-dol.
I'm sorry.
After I became the leader for the peddlers,
I forgot about that for a bit.
I'm sorry, friend.
Politics and business cannot be separated.
I realized through this incident.
You and I are too different.
We went through so much together.
Yes, we had different opinions on some things
but that was us trying to do the best for our 200,000 peddlers.
Leave.
I'm going to live as Nam Sun-yu now.
Sun-dol.
And you.
If you keep going against Min, you'll end up ruining the Peddlers Headquarters.
Alright.
Take care.
Merchant Chun.
Song-pa stable people.
Gom-bae, Mak-bong, Bang-dae who were involved in the revolt.
I'll try telling Do Seung-ji about them.
That's the last I can do.
Why are you alone?
Nam is one of us now.
One thing off your list now.
I owe you big this time.
No big deal.
Since things have settled down, go get the Queen.
I told you the Woon-hyun Palace is like the setting sun.
He was arrested.
He will not be of any threat to you anymore.
Your Honor.
Return to the Palace now.
Everyday spent in this room felt like a thousand years.
I might have rotten inside and died if it weren't for you.
Guksadang.
I will not forget of this gratefulness.
Come here.
The King has given you a government position.
You will be called the Jillyeonggun now.
Jillyeonggun can come in and out of the Palace
and you can meet the King and me whenever you want.
She has given you a house in the northern village
and you will receive royal treatment from the King's royal family.
Thank you, Your Honor.
Honorable Jillyeonggun coming through!
Move out of the way!
Honorable Jillyeonggun coming through!
Over there.
It's Honorable Mama.
Move out of the way!
Honorable Jillyeonggun coming through!
Chief merchant!
Chief merchant.
What's happening to our mistress now?
Why are you asking me?
You said you would reveal Guksadang's crime--
Whatever Sun-dol promised you, that has nothing to do with me.
Sir Merchant.
If it's that frustrating, why don't you reveal it yourself?
Don't come here again.
I'm not part of Song-pa stable now.
Sir Merchant, how could you--
We came to meet Jillyeonggun Mama.
It's so big.
She won't even look at us now.
Don't be silly. Come on.
Good day.
I've been wanting to meet you.
The past twelve years,
I, Haeju--
I haven't forgotten you for even a second.
Father.
Mother.
You got the wrong person, Jillyeonggun Mama.
Haeju is the name of my daughter,
but she already left this world.
Father.
Why are you saying such a thing?
How dare a shaman hold my hand!
Honey.
Let's go.
Mother.
Mother!
You can't leave like this.
I don't know you.
Don't do this, Mother.
I'm Haeju.
Haeju!
Father.
I can do anything that you want.
I can do anything for you.
I can even put brother on a government position--
What's going on?
You!
Are you that proud to be a shaman?
Even if you became something greater than Jillyeonggun,
you're nothing but a shaman.
Let's just go.
No matter how great your position may be,
you're just a shaman and I'm just a shaman's father.
Mother!
Mother, please don't go.
Don't go.
Live with me here, mother.
Hae-ju.
Don't come to us ever again.
Mother!
Don't go!
Don't leave me, mother!
Mother!
Gae-ddong!
Gae-ddong.
Mama.
Go get some blankets.
Gae-ddong.
The Merchant is where?
How many times are you asking? He's with Jillyeonggun Mama.
Take him please.
You're gonna go?
I need to see the Merchant.
The ships stopped for the night already.
Is that what it is?
Do you like him?
That's not it!
Why is she yelling?
You have to hurry.
You have to go before the sun comes up.
If your father or brother sees you, you will die.
Gae-ddong.
Are you awake now?
Don't think about anything and go to sleep.
How did you come here?
What?
You should get some sleep.
Guksadang...
Jillyeonggun Mama...
I didn't want any of this.
I just wanted to see my mother once again.
If you're next to me, my spiritual disease would be healed.
I just wanted to get married to you so I can go back to my mother.
Did you never...
give me your heart?
Is it still only Yu-su's mom in your heart?
You look at me dearly and smile at me
but you can't give me your heart?
It's okay.
Gae-ddong, it's okay.
It's all okay.
Another day is here.
We have to make breakfast for the merchants.
Did you not sleep at all?
Wol, what's wrong?
Take care of Yu-su for me.
Where is Sir Merchant?
What are you doing?
I said you can't!
Where is he?
Come here.
You weren't sleeping?
If you knew I was awake, you would've left.
Pity or whatever it is,
being with you like this is the only source of happiness for me.
Gae-ddong.
Through this army rebellion--
the Jaemul Port return will come sooner.
Business will start falling.
And I might become a merchant with a bankrupt Gaekju.
This big house and all the wealth you have.
Do you want to be with me
even if you have to throw all that away?
Can you
really do that?
I'll help you.
I'll raise the cows, cook,
and follow you around to help you sell.
I'll raise Yu-su too.
Abandoned by parents and siblings,
sent away a loved one,
an empty heart and a cold breath.
If you want a small breath of warm air,
come to me.
I'll get going now.
So did you think about it?
What do you want?
I will become Yook-ei-jeon's Head Merchant.
What?
Yook-ei-jeon's Head Merchant?
All you want to be is a mere merchant?
Don't you want to be in Euiryeong?
The Queen will give you a spot there.
All of that is for later.
Politics and business are no different.
I want to test my skills out in Yook-ei-jeon.
You'll end up running into Merchant Chun.
The Peddlers Headquarters is going to be gone soon.
The qing dynasty and Japanese traders are flooding in.
We can't stop them with Yook-ei-jeon and Peddlers Headquarters existing together.
We're in trouble.
What's wrong?
Yangpyeong's Chang and 19 other merchants all went to Yook-ei-jeon.
What?
Sun-dol became Yook-ei-jeon's Head Merchant.
What? Sun-dol became the Head Merchant?
Yes, Sun-dol became the Head Merchant
and they're reopening Yook-ei-jeon today so they all went there.
What are you saying?
They want to see you, Merchant.
What's up?
It's an invitation from the Head Merchant.
We're reopening today and we would like to be celebrated by the Peddlers Headquarters.
Haedong Janghwe
One, two, three
What are you doing?
Why are you bringing in those Japanese traders in here?
All the way into Jongno of Yook-ei-jeon?
When Wonsan Port opened, Ma Chi-soon said this:
How will you block in the flooding tide with bare hands?
So is Yook-ei-jeon going to work with the Japanese instead?
Selling rice, beans, and cow skin?
Rice?
We'll have to sell it if we need to.
Beans?
We have to sell them.
That's all we have left to sell.
The country has no money, Yook-ei-jeon has no money.
Sun-dol.
When funds gather,
I'm going to produce goods that can compete against Japanese goods.
I'm going to bring in soap, makeup, and anything else and sell them here.
No!
I know that's not what you really want.
You frustrate me so much that I can't handle it.
Chun Bong-Sam.
You failed to keep up with the flow of the generation.
You just tried to scoop out the ocean water.
I'm not wrong.
Then, I'm wrong?
You're missing something big in your plan.
The citizens of this country.
The pain of those people.
If you sell rice to Japan, the people here will starve.
If you sell calico, Joseon's cotton makers will lose their job.
You need sacrifice at times for the best of everyone.
Sacrifice for the majority?
If you think that and I think that,
The commercial supremacy of Joseon will fall
and plunder of our goods will destroy this nation.
A ruined country!
In this exact spot, I've once told Shin Suk-ju this:
If Yook-ei-jeon falls, foreigners will flood in all the way to Jongno.
How will mere peddlers stop them?
We have to find a way.
Do you know what that solution is?
So did you find that solution?
Yes.
I found it today.
What is it?
You will find out soon.
Kyeong-gi Doham-bang
Can you say that opening the port was wrong?
That, too, is the flow of this generation.
But we, 200,000 peddlers,
we must go protect 250,000 merchants out there.
We must stop the bankruptcy of Joseon
and the starvation of our people.
But we can't protect all and stop them all.
It's impossible.
Then what will you protect?
Three things that you cannot live without as a citizen of Joseon--
Rice.
Salt.
And cotton.
Rice, salt, cotton?
That's right.
Rice, salt, cotton.
If we protect those three things,
we can stop the fall of commercial supremacy in Joseon.
We can stop the starvation of our people.
With the fees you paid to the Peddlers Headquarters Office
we will buy in rice, salt, and cotton.
This country's commercial supremacy!
We must stop the fall of it.
The leader is right!
Sit down.
You're going to need a lot of money.
It's a lot of goods to buy in.
But we have to stop the fall of the commercial supremacy.
I have to risk my life for this.
If we can't do it here, I'll use Song-pa stable's money too.
And if that's not enough,
we'll have to talk with the merchants who made deals with Chun's Gaekju.
I need to do everything I can do.
I'll help too.
What? Are you looking down on Guksadang's connections?
It's something I have to do before stepping down from Jillyeonggun position.
Thank you. I owe you every time.
Thank you.
Merchant Chun is trying to buy in rice, salt, and cotton?
How would he buy all that in?
200,000 peddlers.
And if all the merchants registered there pay fees, that's a big amount.
There are rumors of Merchant Chun and Jillyeonggun Mama getting married.
How would a Guksadang shaman get married?
The rumors are going around everywhere.
Jillyeonggun would do it.
The problem is that marriage would do us no good.
Darn it.
This isn't something I should say as a man but...
you know it already too.
I know a secret of Jillyeonggun.
Is this about Merchant Chun's wife?
Yes, it is.
Tell Merchant Chun.
I have another request to ask you.
We have to close down the Peddlers Headquarters Office.
Please get the permission from the King.
Close it down?
The office of 200,000 peddlers?
Yook-ei-jeon. Peddlers Headquarters Office.
We cannot win against the qing dynasty and Japan when we're split into two.
Yook-ei-jeon will absorb all the peddlers in.
Who will take over the rice?
Focus on the rice. Just on the rice!
The Hwangcheop is about to go into the hands of Chun!
You threw away Song-pa and chose Yook-ei-jeon.
You know it and I know it.
I cannot be Guksadang anymore.
I will not forgive you.
Plea for forgiveness?
I owe Wol something.
You have no other intentions?
We have to close down the Peddlers Headquarters Office.
Nam Sun-yu, you are nothing but a monger.