The Last Episode
It's amazing!
It looks like Myung-Wol has gone to the marketplace.
Yes! And she came dressed just as you said she would!
Perhaps she is worthy of her title after all.
- At least she is making the right steps. - What are you talking about?
Then what will happen to her now?
She's either going to give up her art completely, or become a true artist.
It'll be one or the other.
Why are you in such vulgar dress?
The finest dance... What do you think that is?
Do you know what that is?
You didn't go out and dance like that, did you?
- What do you think? - Of course you did.
As I suspected, you went to the marketplace to find the finest dance.
But you did not find your answer, am I right?
How do you know that? How can you be so sure?
- Come to your senses. - Bu-Yong!
This art that you and I, no, all the nation's artists are pursuing,
It was never meant to be performed
before the vulgar crowds of the marketplace.
What is art?
It is play. It is meant to entertain.
So the only people who need art are the people who have enough to eat.
It is not needed by those who worry about what they eat.
So what are you saying?
We should be satisfied to be playthings for the King and his noblemen?
Why do you insist on looking down on yourself?
We are not just playthings!
We are artists who perform art to those that appreciate it.
I am saying we are artists!
Just because they are of low status and class does not mean they are different.
- You and I are born of low status too. - There are levels of low status.
- You and I are different. - We are all humans.
Art has the power to touch our minds.
Unless it can touch both the King and the beggar, it cannot be considered true art.
Art that can only touch one is a half-formed art.
- No, it is not even art. - When will you cease your delusions?
- I will not be a half-formed artist. - Stop dreaming and face reality!
When will you complete your teacher's blank score when you waste your time?
Stop crawling around the marketplace.
Stay in the Gyobang and practice all the dances you've learnt thus far.
Create your version of the finest dance!
Know this.
I will not waste my time competing against a deluded fool!
I will not find the finest dance here.
I will never be able to make the finest dance here at the Gyobang.
Why did you come here looking like that?
You called the nation's finest whore.
So I came to be the nation's finest whore.
Come in.
How will you be a whore if you just stand there?
Dry yourself. What will you do if you catch a cold in this winter rain?
Why waste my time?
If you embrace me, I will be warm again.
Enough. I do not have the strength for a woman.
Then how will I repay my debt to you?
Debt?
I am truly the nation's finest whore and wine peddler, Master.
I just did not realize it until tonight.
You have given me such a great lesson. How can I not repay this debt?
Please allow me to repay my debt to you.
If not today, this opportunity will never come again.
If not today, then never again?
After tonight, I will no longer be a whore.
I will no longer depend on ornaments nor what others call my beauty.
I will compete only with my art.
I will live as an artist who has the power to move others with her talent.
This is how I will live.
That is not a bad idea. I will accept payment then.
Myung-Wol has disappeared? What do you mean?
She hadn't come out of her room, so I sent a girl in, and there was this.
What did she write?
She said she will return for the competition, but in the meantime do not try to find her.
I told her not to waste her time.
What? Do you know something?
Isn't this what you expected, Mistress?
What will you do now? She has broken our rules again.
What will you do now?
What can we do? Let's just let her be for now.
How can you say that? We must find her and punish her!
She will bring back what she thinks is the finest dance.
Let us see what this dance is.
We can always punish her after the competition, am I right?
Yes, Mistress.
"Dew on Grass"
Walk lightly as morning dew falls on grass.
"Golden Waves"
As the golden sands dance to the wind, walk forward and retreat gently.
"Flower on River"
Turn lightly as a flower circles in the ripples.
All these dance movements,
mimic all of nature.
Thus I ask this teacher, the greatest teacher of all,
what is the path of an artist.
But... I have yet to receive an answer.
How much more must I do in order to find the answer?
You wanted to be the greatest artist, but you ended up here?
And what is this?
- It is my money gourd. - Money gourd? What's that?
From today onwards, I will only live off what I earn in this gourd.
- What will you do if you earn nothing? - Master!
Good luck. If you earn a lot, make sure to share it with me.
What brings you all the way here to the Pyong-Yang Gyobang?
I came to receive teachings from you, Mistress.
You are said to be second best in the Royal Troupe.
And yet you come to seek teaching from a provincial Mistress?
Provincial? Not at all!
Pyong-Yang is well-known to have some of the best artists in the nation.
There is no one more skilled than you in performing the Five Mask Dance.
Please help my efforts to create our nation's finest dance, Mistress.
I thought you were just talented in dance, but it seems flattery is your strength.
Will you teach me, Mistress?
Come in.
You haven't earned one cent.
You won't attract an audience just by moving your body.
Isn't dance one with music?
Shall I help you by taking the gourd and beating it?
No need for that.
Dance does not need music. Dance creates music in those that see it.
If they chose courtesans by skill of words, you would be nation's finest!
But what is the use for words? You still have no audience!
You haven't earned anything. How will you eat?
Will you steal food?
One does not die from missing a few meals.
You've come to An-Sung Gyobang just to learn the Hand Dance?
What an admirable child.
This is the Exorcism Dance.
How stubborn she is!
Carry her. She'll die at this rate.
Look at me! Can you hear me?
Why do you keep fainting?
Is there... is there still no news from her?
Madam...
How is she? Has she improved?
Improved? She's on the verge of death!
She's that bad?
We thought she was recovering, but now she keeps losing consciousness!
Did you send Duk-Pal to the capital yet?
- Of course. - Still no news?
Yes.
Where in the world is that girl hiding now?
Her mother's ill because of her! She should be here to help her mother!
- Her presence will help her! - She left to learn dance.
Dance? What dance? Her mother's about to die!
Please... go to your quarters.
You have been sitting here everyday like a stone Buddha...
You will get sick too.
I have sent for some gruel.
- I'll go when it's here... - From tomorrow...
- Please don't come here. - Look here...
I don't like... having you see me like this...
I am ashamed... sir.
Please... go and rest.
So you're alive.
Are you going to the marketplace again?
- I must. - And for what?
You must know the answer to that.
Give it up.
You'll come back on someone's back again.
- Do you wish to die? - If I cannot find the way, then I must die.
What greater honor is there for a dancer to die on the dance stage?
Cease your foolish talk!
You will never receive one cent dancing at the marketplace!
How can you be so certain?
You are famous as a learned scholar.
And from my acquaintance with you, it is a title deserved.
But do not be so confident that you know all.
It is not I that is arrogant. It is you, you foolish child!
How can you call me arrogant?
I am just a street performer that cannot earn a single cent.
Your dance is in itself arrogance!
No. The fact that you came out to the marketplace, that is arrogance too!
- I cannot accept that. - Of course not.
You don't even know what you have done wrong!
Fine. Do what you want.
Starve to death, freeze to death, or dance yourself to death!
Do as you wish!
It is cold, isn't it?
Your expression tells me you didn't earn anything again today.
- Go in and rest. - Master...
Do you know the answer?
Do you know what I have to do?
Where I have to go so that I can become an artist and not a plaything?
- You know, don't you? - How would I know that?
You have countless disciples learning from you.
- If you don't know, then who does? - Who says I only teach?
A teacher asks questions and learns as well!
Let us go in. I have invited a better teacher than myself.
Let us go and question him.
What is a scholar?
What does he do?
When I questioned this,
this teacher answered me.
But to you who asks what is an artist,
I do not know if it will provide an answer for you.
- Lovely, isn't it? - It is fragrant too, Master.
It tastes even better.
The chrysanthemum that blossomed in the cold water,
was not only your teacher, but mine as well.
If a scholar is one who questions first,
an artist is no different.
I will discard all my arrogance in wanting to perform my art.
I will embrace first the movements that came out of people's daily lives.
As a dried flower drinks water to become a fresh blossom,
I know now that the flower garden made up of our people
resides within me, and will blossom with the sun.
But just as the flower gives its essence to the water,
and is wasted if not drunk,
I will pray that my dance can also be enjoyed by the world.
I beg and pray for this.
All of the Mistresses have arrived.
- Where is Bu-Yong? - She is ready.
But no news yet of Myung-Wol?
Of course not.
She has improved?
Yes. Is today the day of the competition?
We were hoping Myung-Wol would return today.
She was overjoyed and improved dramatically!
It is nice to be outside.
A long time ago, I begged you to help my girl keep her love.
You kept silent and just accompanied my music with your lute.
That was such a long time ago.
Perhaps it was because I was so heartbroken,
but our music that night was exceptionally good.
May I request your performance today?
I wish I could play with you,
but my fingers are still stiff.
Is it a difficult request?
Alright. However...
You must make sure to repay me with your performance.
It is good music.
It is unforgettable music.
Perhaps my child's dance will be like this unforgettable sound.
Because her heart has been broken just like yours has.
Announcing the Head Mistress!
Is this competition necessary?
- What do you mean? - Bu-Yong's rival Myung-Wol is missing, I hear.
Missing? Has she run away knowing she would lose?
What other reason could there be?
That is why we should cancel this competition.
We should just appoint Bu-Yong...
No. I will not do so.
Myung-Wol will come. She will definitely come.
More than that, even if she does not come, we must still have this competition.
If all the Mistresses here do not recognize Bu-Yong's talent,
she cannot become the Head Mistress.
I have already seen her talent.
- She is exceptionally... - Be quiet!
Begin.
What did I tell you!
I said there was no point having a competition!
There is no need for us to convene separately. Let us appoint her now.
If all of you agree...
I have returned. I am not too late, am I?
Who... is that?
- It can't be...! - That is Myung-Wol.
- May I begin? - What are you saying?
Go inside this instant and change into something more appropriate!
No. I'm fine like this.
- Let me dance like this. - You want to dance dressed like that?
A courtesan dressed as a beggar at a banquet?
- Yes, Mistress. - Be quiet and go change!
Do what we say. A dancer must always be dressed properly.
Proper dress is mandatory for a courtesan,
but it is not mandatory for an artist nor a dancer.
- What? - You told me to perform the finest dance.
- Yes I did. - The finest dance is danced by the finest dancer.
Why is the exterior dress of the artist important in dancing?
The only thing that is important is the energy and spirit of the dance.
That energy is revealed in the movements of the hands, the knees,
and even the feet. And soon it even moves the audience.
Only when the artist is one with that energy can she be a true artist.
- That is what I believe. - What are you trying to say?
Are you saying that you have created the finest dance in the world?
That is not for me to judge, Mistress.
I am just an artist trying to convey the energy and spirit
that is within me.
Alright. Bring me the dance score.
There is no dance score, Mistress.
No dance score and yet you wish to compete?
Yes, Mistress.
Then what is the foundation of your dance?
You must have used the basics of another dance to formulate yours!
I do not have that either.
You not only want to break the rules, but also crush our traditions?
Must we waste our breath on this impudent wench!
Seize her and drag her down this instant!
How can she be an artist and a courtesan if she does not respect our traditions and rules?
Have her seized and punished!
Her crime will be disruption of the competition to appoint the Head Mistress!
She must be punished!
No. No need for that.
- First, let us see this dance of yours. - Mistress!
But, this dance of yours that depends not on rules and tradition,
it must move the hearts of the Mistresses. If not, you will be expelled immediately.
No Gyobang in this nation will accept you.
You will never dance again, and you will live the rest of your days as a prostitute.
Can you accept that?
Yes. I accept, Mistress.
Since your dance has no score, the musicians will not be able to accompany you.
You must dance without music.
You know how difficult it will be, don't you?
I do.
Fine. You may begin.
Are you sleeping?
You must have been tired from your outing.
But get up for a while. You should drink this...
Here... Hyun-Geum!
Sir!
Sir! Sir!
You have all unanimously voted. I will do as you say.
What do you think will happen?
Why do you even ask?
I lost.
I clearly lost.
What a day this has been! Now the Mistress can finally rest in peace.
Myung-Wol, you better not treat us badly because you've become Head Mistress!
The next Head Mistress will be...
Bu-Yong.
- Is this satisfactory? - Yes, Mistress.
How can you say you're satisfied?
- Bu-Yong! - I will not accept this.
- You won't accept this? - I lost.
It angers me, but her dance was greater than mine.
Then she have become the Head Mistress.
That is why. That is why we've chosen you to be Head Mistress.
The finest dancer... needs only to live the rest of her life dancing.
But the Head Mistress is different.
She must search for talent in other people.
She must have an eye to recognize this talent.
And she has to have the generosity to nurture the talent in others.
The first person who recognized Myung-Wol's talent...
was you, Bu-Yong.
That was the first reason you were chosen.
Countless dancers and musicians will step over you to become the best.
But you have the ability to applaud their talent with sincerity.
This is the kind of character the Head Mistress must possess.
Even though she was your rival,
you were able to applaud her talent with all sincerity and honesty.
Don't ever lost that heart of yours.
You will become the greatest Head Mistress in the history of our nation.
Miss...! You're here!
You came back!
Duk-Pal, why are you...?
Don't be too disappointed.
You would have made the same decision as me, Baek-Moo.
Myung-Wol!
- Mother... Where is my mother? - Go in! Go in right now!
Mother... Mother!
Is... it you, Jin-Yi?
Are you here?
I'm here, Mother.
You're... safe.
Mother...!
It is good music.
It is unforgettable music.
If I am born again,
If I am granted another life,
I... I will live as your woman.
Have you come to repay your debt?
Or now that you have truly become the nation's finest,
have you come to teach me something?
I came to cry, Master.
I needed a place to cry, Master.
Yes, you must cry. Of course you must cry.
What are artists?
They are men and women fated to
lift the burdens of others around them.
What a difficult life that must be.
Yes, you should cry.
You should cry hard and loud!
However, an artist cannot cry forever.
I know that.
They must push themselves to the limits,
so that they can make others laugh.
Because that is what artists do.
I will cry only for today.
And just like a dried flower drinks water to blossom,
I will begin again.
And when a stranger asks who are the three key figures are in Song-Do,
first, there is the eternal waterfall Bak-Yeon,
second, the teacher who taught us to embrace the people, Master Hwa-Dam,
and lastly, myself...
The courtesan who wanted to change the world's tears to laughter,
The artist who cared not about wealth nor length of days,
but one who lived her life as if she was starting out for the first time.
I will start again.
Who... is that, Mistress?
She was my closest friend.
And my only rival.
More than that, she was too much an artist
to be constrained within the walls of the Gyobang...
Let us dream of a world where all of us can dance freely.
And I, no matter what, will always be dancing.
The laughter and joy on people's faces...
I know this reward has the power to overcome suffering and pain.
The dance... The dance is not yet over.
No... It will never end.