The Korean Drama “VIP” Ending Explained + Netizens Mixed Reactions

Published Categorized as Kdrama Recaps
https://www.jazminemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/vip-kdrama-ending-1.jpg

VIP” which became one of the most successful 2019 kdramas has captured fan’s hearts from the get-go and enjoyed great success domestically and internationally too has finally ended.

The gripping realistic plot along with the actors’ performances made the drama interesting despite the heavy subject tackling marital affairs.

“VIP” last episode aired last night on December 24; however, not everyone was exactly happy with the ending, but why? Let’s go through the highlights of “VIP” episode 16 to find out why some fans and k-netizens didn’t like the ending.

Note: major spoilers ahead

Kdrama VIP Ending explained- episode 16 recap

After Na Jung Sun goes through that terrible accident, she comes face to face with Ha Tae Young who proceeds to ask her if she wants to destroy her husband. Na Jung Sun explains that she doesn’t want to do it and declines her offer to become one of her people if she requires her to do the same type of dirty work her ex-husband did.

https://www.jazminemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/vip-kdrama-ending-1.jpg

Despite that, Ha Tae Young proceeds to expose her brother’s marital affairs, his daughter’s affair and the scheme he came up with to secure shares at his father’s company. The backlash is as severe as you’d expect it to be, Park Sung Joon, Oh Yu Ri, and VP Ha Jae Woong worlds come crashing down.

Oh Yu Ri begins to see cracks in her relationship with Park Sung Joon, she feels inferior to Na Jung Sun and bad about not having Park Sung Joon’s heart. However, she shows no remorse for ruining their lives.

Despite everything going on at work and her father telling her to end things with Park Sung Joon, Oh Yu Ri asks him to teach her how to drive which he agrees to. When night comes and he drives her home, they stop by a night stall; Oh Yu Ri tells him that she wants to break up with him.

Park Sung Joon isn’t shocked at all; he says he’s sorry while Oh Yu Ri breaks down in tears asserting that she is the one who dumped him.

https://www.jazminemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/vip-kdrama-ending-1.jpg

Na Jung Sun visits her mother and hangs out with her at a park, they talk about his affair and her mother tries to console her. The next day, VP Ha Jae Woong gets demoted, his father tells him to go abroad to clear his head, his sister is handling the company right now.

He speaks with Park Sung Joon letting him know he’s been transferred, he tells him to rest before they take their next step, however, Park Sung Joon resigns, he tells him he admired him and wanted to do well in front of him but it led to many mistakes that he regrets. VP Ha Jae Woong is taken aback by his words; he has lost another close ally.

Park Sung Joon then goes home to pick up his belongings, Na Jung Sun lectures him and talks about the past and how she wanted to settle down with him, how she felt about knowing of his past from his mother, Park Sung Joon is shaken by her words, he explains that he couldn’t bring himself to tell her because he knew the pain it had done to her, he didn’t want her to see him as someone who also ruined another happy family. She hands him the divorce papers, he wishes her the best.

https://www.jazminemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/vip-kdrama-ending-1.jpg
https://www.jazminemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/vip-kdrama-ending-1.jpg

Meanwhile, Ha Jae Woong discovers that he lost everyone on his side, he asks his wife to stay by him after she tells him his father has allowed her to file for divorce from him, now he is under her mercy, she tells him she’ll keep an eye on how he does in the future.

After the news spread about the affair and the subsequent resignation of her ex-husband and his mistress plus many others who were under Ha Jae Woong, Ma Sang Woo drops by her office to tell her that everything will be ok; he says he’s rooting for her and she’ll get over it because she’s a strong person.

At his new place, while unpacking, Park Sung Joon found his camera with a film that hasn’t been developed, he goes to pick it up after having it done only to find out its filled with photos of his happy times with Na Jung Sun. Park Sung Joon breaks down in tears after seeing those photos and recalling their happy memories together.

Lee Hyun A and Cha Jin Ho relationship is doing well, she moves in with him and you can tell they’re happy with each other.

Song Mi Na is also doing just fine; she gave birth to twin boys. She doesn’t end up quitting; instead, her husband takes maternity leave so she could focus better on her work.

The four girls meet up and have lunch together discussing each other success and failure stories with love and marriage.

Oh Yu Ri ends up leaving South Korea without looking back.

One day, Na Jung Sun attends a funeral for a VIP and runs into her ex-husband. They take a walk together. She tells him she’s not regretful about meeting him and marrying him, he wishes her happiness and expresses gratitude to her before they part ways again.

The end.


Netizens reactions to the kdrama VIP ending

However, k-netizens and fans are expressing mixed responses to the ending. Some loved it and expected it while others thought it was disappointed and/or underwhelming.

Here are some of k-netizens comments on articles that cover the ending of “VIP”:

“I was disappointed with Lee Sang Yoon drama.”

“Everyone worked hard, now wait for your daesang drama award Jang Nara.”

“If it wasn’t for Jang Nara, the audience would have not stuck around, the writer shouldn’t be mistaken that he wrote well.”

“Whats with the title VIP?”

“What is with the ending of this drama? What load of crap.”

“Whats with the ending? Jang Nara didn’t even get her revenge…”

“The end of cheaters… let us not hurt anyone we love; I thoroughly enjoyed Na Jung Sun’s performance till the end.”

“I can’t tell what the intention of the writer was… what were you trying to tell us?”


What did you personally think of the ending? Did you like it or not?

Source: (A), (B)


VIP kdrama ending- final thoughts

To be honest guys, I kinda expected this ending and I actually like it.

When I saw that we arrived at episode 15 with Jang Nara’s character not yet taking revenge I became sure that her character will not go along with it because it wouldn’t be a proper ending, they would have to leave so many loose ends and wouldn’t have been able to close the drama properly.

This ending is a bit sad but very realistic. The good thing about “VIP” was that aspect, how realistic it was, the characters felt real and their issues are something many people around us deal with daily.

I expected the writer to end the drama that way to stay true to the theme of it. This is about real life, in reality, many people who do bad things don’t get punished, and sometimes, people just part ways and decide not to commit to any relationship after it.

“VIP” didn’t go the dramatic route, it never had that makjang vibe to begin with, while some of us expected a grand ending with much more drama, this ending is a lot closer to what endings would look like in reality.

I wanted Jung Sun to end up with Sang Woo but deep down inside I knew it was not going to happen, after such a messy battle and divorce, people like Jung Sun wouldn’t jump to a relationship so soon.

I did wish for Sung Jun character to struggle a bit more, I didn’t expect him to go down this easily without a fight despite the way he acted early on. He did so much for his job and cracked too soon in my opinion, that’s the only part of the drama ending I didn’t think would fit but I also understand the writer decision because the writer needed to close everything properly.

The writer behind this drama name is Hae Won, he/she has no other credit to his/her name. I think that’s a great way to start. I am so excited about this writer next project.

Whats your reaction to this article?
+1
0
+1
0
+1
0
+1
0
+1
0
+1
0

By Jass K.

Hi, I am Jass k. I discuss some of the hottest currently airing kdramas on this site in form of reviews an/or recaps, join me in the discussion~

12 comments

  1. Well.. i do expected more for the ending.. i think this drama would be longer than 16episodes.. so it really tooks me of guard when suddenly the story going to end with a very calm ending and no plotting twist.. i feel a little bit dissapointed..the story running so excited but closed just like that.

  2. I likes the ending. It made sense. I think a lot of people are angry at the husband and mistress but look at their back story. Theirs is of growing up being the children of mistresses.and being mistreated because of it all their lives. This drama is about affairs and how it affects the lives of everyone. The mother who abandoned Na Jun Sung yet her father who forgave his ex wife. The VP who had continuous affairs and was never remorseful and even told his daughter, at the end, not to take the Ha name and his wife who endured (for the money, the power?) The mistress who was talked about by people, was never accepted by her father’s family, was only accepted by her colleagues once they found out she was the VPS daughter, she was desperate for love and ruined a marriage. And then the foolish husband who felt only his mistress could understand him because he did not want to reveal who he really was as of it was his fault who his parents are. And finally there are the strong characters who learn to forgive and move on, the main lead, her father, Park Sung Joon’s father’s wife who called him when his father died. And of course the strong friends who had their own stories to tell. One baffling thing about the show, why is the attempted rapist not behind bars…. Because they didn’t want to embarrass the company… Not a great message there.

  3. I am an adult and have great empathy with all the characters in VIP in various levels. The two main leads executed a heartbreaking believable deconstruction of a relatively long term relationship. The baggage and expectations people bring to a coupling are unique to the individuals. Life is not black or white. The writers conveyed masterfully how two people who deeply loved each other, probably more than they even knew, became undone by their inability to handle the worse moments of life (death of a baby, humiliation from friends and family, immoral expectations thrown at them to succeed in work and alienation of affection to name a few) and the poor choices that knock rational decision making off the shelf. It was crushing to read how vicious and bloodthirsty many obviously very young commentators were in the real time comments. So many people wanting revenge and in some cases wishing harm and death to certain characters. Not even understanding that life is messy, unpredictable, mistake driven because we are all imperfect creatures trying to survive one more day. I was disheartened by the husbands poor choice of adultery. I was saddened that the wife had to experience physically losing a child, their child, and sinking into a sadness that frightened and shook her husband to his core. He had no skill to be a tower of strength when he was also grieving his dead baby and fearful that he would lose the only ‘one on his side’. These two people were dealt horrible cards and lost.
    I loved the ending. To have the wife be mature and healthy enough to have reverence for the many beautiful years they had together was brilliant. To allow the husband to finally grieve his bad choices and loss was cathartic.
    I cannot go long enough into the beautiful secondary stories. The wife who comes into her own as wife, mother and career woman with her husband respecting and supporting her. The good friend who has lost status and financial security to find a healthy, calm love when all the pretense has been stripped from she and her boyfriend. Very natural writing and directing.
    Writers- if you are reading this you did a superb job of making a honest series that kept me wanting more each week. Excellent work actors, director, crew and especially the writers.

  4. I had mixed feelings. I thought the mistress got away too easilyi. She gets to keep her father’s name and study abroad too. As for the leading man, why on earth did he agree to go driving with her? That scene was uncalled for. Meaning he still allowed her to manipulate him. He should have just snubbed her.However realistic a drama is, some viewer satisfaction is also needed.

    Of course I didn’t expect her to respond to Sun Woo so fast and never expected her to carry forth that revenge she had in mind. The initial anger always dies down when one gradually accepts the situation.

  5. i want a season 2 that shows redemption and rehabilitation for jung soon and shows him and sung jun 5 or 10 years later, meeting again to start over, learn from their mistakes. i am for gender equality. both he and his wife needed each other but in their conversations she does not allow any mention of his suffering. in the last episode, the husband could have had more to say to explain his choices. oh how couples therapy as well as individual therapy would have help! season 2 could be a vehicle to make therapy more acceptable and carry less stigma. season 2 please please. if there is a season 2, of course i want lee sang yoon and jang na ra to take the same roles again. superb acting fro them both and from ensemble.

  6. I must admit, the ending was a bit of a bummer although it does make sense to end the story in a very realistic way. For one I wanted them to reconcile and have a child or two but as we know it not all relationships have a happy ending.

  7. She was such an insipid character I can’t imagine someone like Sang Woo would be attracted to her, she was totally the opposite of his classy, beautiful wife and certainly not worth everything he lost. He just came across as spineless. He was back and forth with her so many times, both of them looking miserable, I became sick of the pair of them and was rather hoping they would both get on a plane to the states and end it all quickly.

  8. Because this is a TV show, one kind of hoped the two would reconcile against the odds. However, in reality yes there is either revenge (due to bitterness) or an ultimate decision to let the other person go (for sanity to prevail). I completely understand the ending.

  9. literally idk whom to blame..I never went through this sort of thing but i couldn’t hold back my tears of jang na ra…It was so realistic and personally i am happy with the ending…Within a blink of eye the colorful world you create for sevral years can get black and white.. ugghhhh

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.