Oldboy - Ending Explained

The central, devastating twist of "Oldboy" is that Mi-do, the young sushi chef Oh Dae-su falls in love with after his release, is his own biological daughter. This was not a coincidence but the very core of Lee Woo-jin's elaborate revenge. In high school, Dae-su witnessed Woo-jin in an incestuous embrace with his sister and spread a rumor about it. The rumor led to the sister's suicide, and Woo-jin has spent his entire life plotting his revenge.

Woo-jin's plan was not simply to imprison Dae-su, but to make him suffer the same sin. He had Dae-su's daughter adopted, raised her, and then used post-hypnotic suggestion on both Dae-su and Mi-do to ensure they would meet and fall in love upon his release. Every step of Dae-su's quest for "freedom" was manipulated by Woo-jin. The clues, the encounters, and the romance were all part of a grand, cruel design.

After revealing the truth, Woo-jin, his life's purpose fulfilled, commits suicide in front of Dae-su. Utterly broken, Dae-su cuts off his own tongue as an act of penance for his past gossip—the "sin of the tongue" that started everything. He then seeks out the hypnotist who aided Woo-jin and begs her to erase the knowledge that Mi-do is his daughter. The film ends with Dae-su and Mi-do embracing in the snow. His face breaks into a pained smile, leaving it ambiguous whether the hypnosis worked, and whether he is living in ignorant bliss or feigning it to protect the daughter he now knowingly continues a relationship with.

The most debated aspect of "Oldboy" is its ambiguous ending. After undergoing hypnosis to forget that Mi-do is his daughter, Oh Dae-su embraces her in the snow. His face contorts into a complex expression that is both a smile and a grimace of pain.

One interpretation is that the hypnosis was successful. Dae-su is now living in blissful ignorance, truly free from the horrifying knowledge. The pain on his face is a lingering, subconscious echo of his trauma, but the smile signifies his genuine love for Mi-do, unburdened by the truth. He has chosen love over morality, ignorance over unbearable knowledge.

Another, more tragic interpretation is that the hypnosis failed. Dae-su still remembers everything. His smile is a mask, a painful performance for Mi-do's sake, to protect her from the truth that has destroyed him. In this reading, he is condemned to live a lie, forever aware of his transgression, making his final state an even more profound form of psychological imprisonment. The final shot suggests that even if the "monster" within him is suppressed, it is not gone.

A third perspective views Lee Woo-jin not just as an antagonist but as a metaphor for fate or life itself—a cruel, manipulative force that toys with individuals, offering the illusion of free will while having already determined their tragic path. In this light, Dae-su's final choice is not about memory, but about a futile attempt to defy a destiny that has already consumed him.