Solo Leveling: The Dark Truth Behind the Jeju Island Raid, Explained

Jeju Island represented a major stain on the Korean hunter’s record in Solo Leveling after three failed attempts to clear the ants that had infested the area after a dungeon break. Korea’s top hunters who participated never forgot the toll the island took, and kept working toward eventually putting their slain comrades to rest with a victory.

However, the desperation of the Korean hunters to emerge victorious left them susceptible to being manipulated by those who saw an opportunity. This opportunity was seized by the Goto Ryuji and the nation of Japan, who had hoped to sacrifice the Korean hunters as a way to prop up their own S-rank hunters on the world stage. Unfortunately for Goto Ryuji and Japan’s Hunter Association, this dark betrayal ended up not coming to fruition because of the strength of the Ant King and the intervention of the Solo Leveling main character, Sung Jinwoo.

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Japan’s Offer to Korea

Setting Up The Plan

As Korea’s hunters were finalizing their plan for the fourth Jeju Island raid, Goto Ryuji was dispatched to meet with Hunter Association Chairman Go Gunhee. In the meeting, Goto brought up their own research and suggested that Japan’s plan of attack would be better. Japan’s S-rank hunters would serve as a distraction while the Korean hunters pushed to eliminate the queen on their own.

“Due to recent disastrous events, we have come to the conclusion that Jeju Island can longer be neglected. That said, we pledge to give Korea our full support.” -Hanekawa talking to Chairman Go Gunhee.

Chairman Go Gunhee trusted Goto because he felt this plan was their best chance of defeating the ants, given their limited resources. Since an individual ant has a lifespan of only about a year, defeating the queen would mean that eventually the huge ant army would die off on its own with no way to replenish its numbers.

However, while the plan on the surface appeared beneficial to the Korean hunters, Japan plotted to betray them after they defeated the queen and take credit for the raid for themselves. After the Korean hunters eliminated the queen, they would allow the ants they were supposed to be distracting to overwhelm the Korean hunters while they were trapped deep in Jeju Island. Then Japan would take Jeju Island and force Korea to be subservient to them because they would have now lacked most of their S-ranked hunters.

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The Plan Goes Awry

Japan’s Betrayal Almost Worked

After news was reached that the queen was defeated, the chairman of the Japanese Hunters Association, Matsumoto Shigeo, ordered the Japanese hunters to retreat. This would have left the Korean S-ranks for dead and Korea itself defenseless against future monster threats. Without having its S-ranked hunters, Korea would be forced to turn to Japan for help, allowing Japan to have more power in the region.

This plan would have worked, as the Korean hunters seemed not to anticipate this betrayal. However, before the Japanese hunters could retreat, they were killed one by one because of the emergence of the Ant King. Even Goto Ryuji, who was thought to be a level above a normal S-rank hunter, was effortlessly defeated before he could flee the island.

In the end, the plot backfired spectacularly for Japan. The majority of Korea’s S-rank hunters survived, while nearly all of Japan’s S-rank hunters were wiped out. Matsumoto attempted to cover up the plot, but it was eventually uncovered by Chairman Go thanks to the discovery of a transceiver on the dead Goto after the battle. Later on in the manhwa, Matsumoto is forced to ask for Korea and Sung Jinwoo’s help to stop an S-rank gate. He also ends up arrested by the Japanese authorities, a fitting end for his character in Solo Leveling.

Solo Leveling can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Amazon.

Solo Leveling

Release Date

January 7, 2024

Directors

Shunsuke Nakashige

Writers

Noboru Kimura

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  Taito Ban

  Shun Mizushino (voice)

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  Genta Nakamura

  Kenta Morobishi (voice)