“The Ugly” (original title: “Eolgul,” 2025) is a horror-thriller built around a father–son pair, Yeong-gyoo and Dong-hwan. Blind yet remarkably gifted, Yeong-gyoo works as a master stamp engraver, while Dong-hwan has taken over the family trade. Hoping to preserve his father’s craft, Dong-hwan persuades him to appear in a documentary being made by Soo-jin.
The fragile routine shatters when Dong-hwan receives a call from the police informing him that his mother, Young-hee, has been found dead. To his knowledge, she had abandoned the family years ago. When investigators suggest foul play, long-buried contradictions begin to surface. Driven to uncover the truth, Dong-hwan retraces Young-hee’s life, questioning those she left behind: her estranged relatives fighting over inheritance, co-workers who remembered her as kind yet “ugly,” a lecherous boss, and, finally, his own father. With each encounter, the narrative folds inward, circling back to Yeong-gyoo, where the most unsettling answers wait.
This article contains spoilers.
The Ugly (2025) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
The film opens with a blind artisan (stamp engraver), Yeong-gyoo, telling the documentary producer Soo-jin that blind people like him don’t understand what beauty means in the usual sense. When Soo-jin asks about Yeong-gyoo’s son, Dong-hwan, Yeong-gyoo decides to take a break from the interview. Seeing some photographs, Soo-jin mentions to Dong-hwan that he looks like Yeong-gyoo. Later that day, Dong-hwan asks Yeong-gyoo not to worry too much and to do the documentary, as it is good for the studio’s publicity. Suddenly, Yeong-gyoo remembers his friend Gyu-chil, who is broke but still travelling around the world.
A while later, Dong-hwan gets a call from the cops saying they found the skeletal remains of his late mother, Jung Young-hee. However, Dong-hwan didn’t even know his mother’s name, nor did he know she was dead. The cops then reveal that Young-hee had died around 40 years ago and was buried near the mountains.
They also suspect foul play. However, the statute of limitations has expired for the crime, so even if they find the criminal, they cannot take action. The family holds a funeral. At that time, Dong-hwan confirms with Yeong-gyoo, asking if Young-hee had indeed run away from home. Since neither of them had a family to turn to, Yeong-gyoo didn’t make too much of the situation.
Where did Young-hee work and what happened there?
At the funeral, Soo-jin arrives wanting to continue the documentary as there is a deadline. Soon, Young-hee’s sisters and their nephew arrive to pay respects. However, Dong-hwan and Yeong-gyoo learn that they have come to say their father has left some inheritance for Young-hee, but they don’t want to share it because Young-hee ran away from home when she was a child.
The ladies reveal that Young-hee had caught her father having an affair. When Young-hee revealed this to everyone, her mother hit her. After that, Young-hee ran away from home. Since they don’t have a photograph of Young-hee, Dong-hwan asks for it. Surprisingly, the family does not have a picture as Young-hee didn’t like to take photos because she was ugly. Sitting on another table, Soo-jin hears the conversation.
Outside, Dong-hwan overhears Soo-jin talk to her boss, saying they should shift the focus of the documentary by telling Young-hee’s story as well. At the funeral home, Young-hee’s sisters create a ruckus as they can’t stand the smell of the body remains. Now, Soo-jin calls Dong-hwan to inform him that Young-hee used to work in Cheongpung garments, and Yeong-gyoo’s studio is called Cheongpung engravings, which she finds peculiar. To find out more, Soo-jin has requested that factory workers who worked with Young-hee meet her.
So, Soo-jin invites Dong-hwan as well. The next day, Dong-hwan notices Soo-jin placing a spy camera in her bag to record the conversation. The workers also say Young-hee was ugly, but soon she got a nickname, ‘Dung Ogre’, because of an incident. One day, there was a lot of work in the factory, so with permission, Young-hee took a washroom break. However, there was a big queue for the washroom. Unfortunately, Young-hee could not hold her poop in any longer, and she pooped in her pants.
What does Ju-sang reveal about Young-hee’s death?
The workers assumed Young-hee had run away somewhere as Young-hee randomly stopped coming to work. One of the workers recalls an incident with the boss Ju-sang, but they ask Soo-jin to talk to Jin-sook. They also mention that Ju-sang used to take pictures for ID cards, and he may have Young-hee’s picture. The next day, Dong-hwan and Soo-jin visit Jin-sook, who reveals that Young-hee was her assistant. One day, Young-hee sees Jin-sook crying. That day, Jin-sook tells Young-hee that Ju-sang had raped her.
For the next two days, Jin-sook didn’t show up to work, so Ju-sang found a replacement. So, Young-hee confronts Ju-sang about his actions. Ju-sang kicks Young-hee out of his office. However, Young-hee writes on sheets of paper that Ju-sang sexually assaults girls and spreads across the market. After that, Ju-sang asks his employee to fire Young-hee.
As Young-hee leaves, Jin-sook arrives and slaps Young-hee, asking her to mind her own business. This is why Jin-sook feels that if Ju-sang killed Young-hee, then Jin-sook is partly responsible for it. The reason Jin-sook didn’t speak up is that she was afraid. Usually, in such cases, people are not concerned about the perpetrator but are more curious about who the victim is.
After that, Soo-jin and Dong-hwan visit Ju-sang, who is now an old, frail man living all alone with women’s pictures stuck to his wall. The questions begin, and Ju-sang reveals that it was Yeong-gyoo who killed Young-hee. Ju-sang tells his side of the story. One day, Ju-sang hangs out with his friends when Yeong-gyoo visits him.
At that time, Ju-sang tells the others about Yeong-gyoo’s talents and gets him to do a sample stamp. Soon, Ju-sang is high. Now, Ju-sang tells Yeong-gyoo that Young-hee creates problems for him. So, Yeong-gyoo promises to talk to Young-hee. Still, Ju-sang insults Yeong-gyoo by pouring beer on his head and calls him an ungrateful bastard.
Why was Young-hee killed?
The next day, Young-hee spread the word about the true nature of Ju-sang. So Ju-sang calls thugs to hurt Young-hee. That day, Young-hee and Yeong-gyoo are near the mountains when Ju-sang’s thugs beat Young-hee. The next day, Young-hee barges into Ju-sang’s office, attacks him, and demands to know what her mistake was.
Once again, Ju-sang sends his men to hurt Young-hee. However, they see Yeong-gyoo carry a dead Young-hee on his back, walk to the mountains, and drop her there. Since Yeong-gyoo didn’t bury Young-hee’s body, the thugs buried her and prayed for her as well. Hearing this, Dong-hwan tries to hit Ju-sang for telling lies, but Soo-jin stops him, saying this is not the way to solve things. Of course, this makes Dong-hwan mad, so he takes Soo-jin’s camera and leaves. At night, Dong-hwan confronts Yeong-gyoo, asking if he had killed Young-hee. To Dong-hwan’s surprise, Yeong-gyoo admits to it and asks why he shouldn’t have killed her.
Yeong-gyoo tells his side of the story. Growing up, Yeong-gyoo only remembers being teased and beaten for being blind. After so much struggle, Yeong-gyoo opened a stamp engraving stand. One of the first people to recognise and help Yeong-gyoo was Ju-sang. Still, no one ever came to Yeong-gyoo’s stand until one day Young-hee stopped to look at Yeong-gyoo’s work. Since Young-hee was his first customer, Yeong-gyoo made a stamp for free.
Soon Young-hee started talking to Yeong-gyoo often, even bringing him food. The other vendors began to tell Yeong-gyoo that Young-hee is so pretty, so he should ask her to move in/marry. So, Yeong-gyoo asked Young-hee to marry him, and the ceremony was held in the market. The others teased them to have a child, which they did, and Dong-hwan was born. Even though they were barely managing financially, they were content.
The Ugly (2025) Movie Ending Explained:
One day, Gyu-chil visits Yeong-gyoo and reveals that Young-hee was ugly like a monster. This is when Yeong-gyoo realised the other vendors were mocking Yeong-gyoo. However, Yeong-gyoo felt Young-hee approached him just to ridicule him. This felt like a betrayal. Now, Yeong-gyoo hoped Young-hee would be killed.
Despite the thugs beating Young-hee, she was alive. That night, Yeong-gyoo and Young-hee argue as Young-hee says she always pretended not to notice anything, as she was ill-treated all her life because she was ugly. However, things changed because Yeong-gyoo gave Young-hee courage. Hearing the word ugly, Yeong-gyoo gets furious and presses Young-hee’s mouth and neck. This kills Young-hee. Still, Yeong-gyoo thinks no one knew about the murder.
At present, Yeong-gyoo asks Dong-hwan to understand him. However, Dong-hwan says he can’t, so Yeong-gyoo calls Dong-hwan a parasite. In anger, Dong-hwan leaves, calling Yeong-gyoo a murderer. The next day, Dong-hwan meets Soo-jin to give her camera back. Understanding Dong-hwan’s situation, Soo-jin says she empathises with Dong-hwan’s emotions.
But Dong-hwan says he has deleted unnecessary clips from the camera, and asks Soo-jin to do a good job with the documentary. Now, Soo-jin gets mad and says Dong-hwan resembles Yeong-gyoo a lot more. Furthermore, Soo-jin says she spoke to Ju-sang and got Young-hee’s picture. Before leaving, Soo-jin gives the ID card photo to Dong-hwan. Seeing Young-hee’s picture, Dong-hwan weeps.
The film ends without a decisive closure. The way I see it, the ugliness is less to do with reality and more with societal standards of beauty. It seems to be a social commentary, more specific to South Korea (as the film is set there), as there is a high emphasis on beauty and weight there. Plastic surgeries are so common to fit into the societal beauty standards.
The film tries to explore the consequences of bullying. Yeong-gyoo himself was bullied all his life for being a disabled person, but being ugly felt more humiliating to him, which made him kill Young-hee. Dong-hwan, who could not understand Yeong-gyoo’s actions as he thought it was morally wrong, still stood up for Yeong-gyoo. Dong-hwan does this so Yeong-gyoo’s reputation is not ruined.
When Dong-hwan sees his mother’s photo, he probably feels guilty for not getting her the justice she deserved. Probably Dong-hwan also realised beauty is subjective, and he probably didn’t think his mother was ugly like the rest of the world believed her to be. Towards the end, all Dong-hwan did was weep, feeling helpless, not understanding what the right thing to do was.
