Highlights
- Jeju Island incident in Solo Leveling led to major deaths & trauma, shifting the series' direction significantly.
- Failure of Korean gov't attempts to deal with the ants led to international threat as ants evolved.
- Solo Leveling protagonist's intervention in the fourth Jeju raid cements him as one of the most powerful Hunters.
The following contains spoilers for Solo Leveling, available on Crunchyroll.
One of the most important plot points in Solo Leveling is the incident that took place on Jeju Island about four years prior to the events of the series. This incident is such a major point of focus in the series that the anime actually opens with a glimpse of the kind of challenge that awaits anyone brave enough to visit.
The events that took place on Jeju Island four years prior, and in the subsequent visits to the island, continue to reverberate in the Solo Leveling world – but what exactly happened, and why is it such an integral part of the story?
This Future Solo Leveling Storyline is Similar to A Famous Shonen Arc
Here's a look at the similarities between the monstrous ants of Jeju Island in Solo Leveling and the Chimera Ant arc of Hunter x Hunter.
The Prime Example of a Dungeon Break
The Stakes Are Always High When a Gate Is Involved
Four years before the events of Solo Leveling, an S-Rank Gate opened up on Jeju Island, a self-governing province in South Korea known for its landscape and the presence of the last living remnants of the indigenous Jeju people and their critically endangered language. At the time of the Gate's appearance, Korean S-Rank Hunters were far weaker than they are now, and failed to conquer the Dungeon beyond. This led to perhaps the series' most important example of a Dungeon Break; when the magic beasts and monsters on the other side of the Gate make their way into our world. Unable to close the gate, giant ants sprawled forth, leading to the deaths of thousands of civilians, and the eventual abandonment of Jeju Island due to it becoming an inhospitable wasteland teeming with extremely dangerous beasts. For perspective, by episode 8 of Solo Leveling, Sung Jinwoo had only gone as far as to fight against an A-Rank magic beast in the form of Cerberus, the Guardian of Hell; while the Gate that opened on Jeju was S-Rank. There simply is no reconciling the gulf in power between C- and D-Rank, let alone that of S- and A-Rank.
"Isn't there something you left behind on the island as well?"
– Choi Jong In in conversation with Baek Yoonho, Solo Leveling episode 8
Major Losses Were Suffered By The Korean Government
Things Must Be Really Bad When The Most Powerful Die
Multiple attempts were made by the Korean government to dispatch Hunters to Jeju Island with the intention of taking it back from the monsters; however, each one was unsuccessful. The third Jeju Island raid, conducted about a year prior to the events of Solo Leveling, led to the death of S-Rank Eunseok, a Hunter considered to be the pride of Korea. This third raid is the context behind the very first scene in the Solo Leveling anime, which shows the arrival of several S-Rank Hunters as well as the forces of the White Tiger Guild as they save their fellow Hunters from certain death against giant ants.
A New Solo Leveling Documentary is Coming to Crunchyroll
"The Leveling of Solo Leveling" will explore the rise and development of the Solo Leveling IP.
Eunseok was the Hunter fighting alongside Baek Yoonho, armed with claws and powerful lightning abilities. His death in that raid is not shown as the series skips time to follow Sung Jinwoo's fated Cartenon Temple raid. While the opening makes it seem like they have it all under control, the series eventually builds up the lore surrounding Jeju Island, and after Eunseok's death, the Korean government makes the decision to cease further attempts to take back the island. Traumatized by the events that took place on Jeju Island, White Tiger Guildmaster Baek Yoonho suffers from survivor's guilt from the loss of Eunseok and his subsequent inability to leave the island with Eunseok's body, a fact that Choi Jong In attempts to manipulate when he tries to recruit Baek for a 4th Jeju Island Raid.
What Exactly ARE The Ants?
An Impossible Extermination
When Gates appear, they are commonly C- to E-Rank Gates, with B-Rank and higher only being accessible by select parties made up of experienced high-level Hunters. The fact that the Jeju Island Gate was S-Rank only communicates half the truth: S-Rank is a very vast designation, and just because two Hunters are regarded as S-Rank doesn't necessarily mean that they're the same in strength. At some point, one is impossibly strong just in the same way that Jinwoo was impossibly weak, even for E-Rank. The difficulty of the Jeju situation compounded after the ants began pouring onto the island, and even the weakest ants proved to be a problem for some of the stronger Hunters. Beyond the red foot soldiers, there are white soldier ants, each of whom is several times stronger than the regulars, and beyond that is the Ant Queen.
The Queen gives birth to all the ants, which feed on any living thing they can, and the more the Queen feeds, the more genetic material she can impart to her offspring. When the Korean government gave up on Jeju Island after the tragedy of the third raid, they figured that the ants would be confined to the area; however, after years of ruling the island, the ants eventually ran out of food. Spurred by the quest for sustenance, the ants eventually gain the ability to fly, which soon makes the Jeju Island issue a matter of international importance as ants begin attacking and feeding on unsuspecting humans on the nearby Korean mainland.
What's the Overall Significance of Jeju Island?
Arise, National Hero
Choi Jong In's intention to lead yet another Jeju Island raid is due to the stain on his reputation and the loss of life that occurred under his command in the last raid. The fact that the island still swarms with magic beasts is a major risk that eventually comes to hurt the Korean government when the ants eventually gain flight. A fourth raid is conducted with the Hunters of both Korea and Japan due to the direct threat posed to both countries; however, it goes even worse than the last one. Sixteen S-Rank Hunters; ten from Japan's Draw Sword Guild and six from Korea form the raid party. The plan was supposed to be simple: the Japanese Hunters would draw out the ant drones while the Koreans took out the nest before the majority of the ants could learn flight; however, the Ant King brutally slaughters eight of sixteen and very nearly kills them all, but Jinwoo intervenes and defeats the Ant King after what will be his most difficult fight since gaining the ability to level up.
Unfortunately, one of the deceased is S-Rank Healer Min Byung Gyu, a survivor of the third raid who retired due to the trauma of seeing Eunseok die. Sung Jinwoo didn't participate at first because throughout the story, he tries to avoid attracting too much attention to himself and his strength because of the uniqueness of his situation; however, with his fight against the Ant King broadcast for all to see, Jinwoo could no longer avoid being noticed. Hailed as a hero by some for being the sole reason the raid was successful, but hated by others for taking too long to intervene, Jinwoo becomes recognized as one of the most powerful Hunters in Asia after the fourth Jeju Island Raid, cementing his position as one of the strongest Hunters in the series at that point, if not, the strongest.
Solo Leveling
A-1 Pictures' Solo Leveling is an anime based on Chugong's popular web novel. Set in an unforgiving fantasy world where hunters explore dungeons filled with monsters, the vulnerable Sung Jinwoo gains a significant power boost after he is picked to be a solo player by the System.
Interview With Aleks Le, Sung Jinwoo From Solo Leveling & ADR Director Caitlin Glass
We got the chance to sit down with Sung Jinwoo and ADR Director Caitlin Glass to chat about their experiences in the recording booth of Solo Leveling.
