“Uprising” (2024) is a period drama set during the Joseon Dynasty, weaving a tale of war, betrayal, misunderstandings, and unlikely friendship. In that era, slavery was a harsh reality, and Cheon Yeong, born into bondage due to his mother’s status as a slave, was no exception. Yet, unlike many others, Cheon Yeong refuses to succumb to the cruelty inflicted by the nobility.
Jong-ryeo, the son of the Deputy Minister of Defence and Cheon Yeong’s master, is the same age as Cheon Yeong. Over time, the two forge an unexpected friendship, bonding through their shared passion for sword fighting. However, their closeness draws the disapproval of those around them, and tensions rise. Betrayal strikes when a promise to free Cheon Yeong is broken, branding him as a fugitive slave. Amidst this, a Japanese invasion of Joseon erupts, separating the two friends. A deep misunderstanding ensues, leading Jong-ryeo to harbor hatred toward Cheon Yeong.
This article contains spoilers.
Uprising (2024) Netflix Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
“Uprising” opens in the Joseon Dynasty. A scholar named Jeong Yeo-rip believes that Nobles and enslaved people are born equal and should be treated like equals. However, King Seonjo doesn’t like this idea of treating enslaved people as equals and accuses Yeo-rip of committing treason. Anyone who commits treason will be executed. However, Yeo-rip decides to take his own life. A while later, the slave hunter Gwang-yi drags a runaway slave (Cheon Yeong) in shackles to the palace.
Running away is not the only crime Cheon Yeong has committed. He is also found carrying the deputy minister’s son’s (Yi Jong-ryeo) sword. A flashback (twelve years before) reveals that a young Cheon Yeong is considered a slave because he was born to a slave mother. Since Cheon Yeong’s mother worked in the palace under the Deputy Minister of Defence, Cheon Yeong had to be enslaved as well.
How did Jong-ryeo top the military exam?
When a young Cheon Yeong is brought to the palace, he notices a boy collapsed on the ground because of a beating by the Deputy Minister of Defence. His only job as an enslaved person is to watch Jong-ryeo practice sword fighting. Every time Jong-ryeo falls to the ground, the Deputy Minister hits Cheon Yeong. That night, Jong-ryeo gives Cheon Yeong food, and Cheon Yeong runs away after eating. When Cheon Yeong reaches home, he sees that his father has killed himself.
Soon, Gwang-yi finds Cheon Yeon and brings him back to the palace. In the present, Cheon Yeong is brought before the Deputy Minister of Defence, who is ready to kill Cheon Yeong. However, Jong-ryeo stops the Minister because people are watching him. Now Cheon Yeong provokes Jong-ryeo, asking how he topped the military exams after failing multiple times.
When the Minister asks his men to lock up Cheon Yeong, Cheon Yeong warns Jong-ryeo to either kill him or watch Cheon Yeong kill Jong-ryeo’s entire family. In the past, Cheon Yeong refused to get whipped, so he practiced sword fighting with Jong-ryeo at night. One such night, the Minister sees Cheon Yeong practicing with Jong-ryeo. The next day, Cheon Yeong does not get whipped because of the practice the previous night. Seeing the improvement, the Minister asks Jong-ryeo to practice with Cheon Yeong daily. As Cheon Yeong and Jong-ryeo grow up, they continue to train together, eventually becoming good friends.
Once again, Jong-ryeo fails the military exam, angering the Minister. Cheon Yeong volunteers to take Jong-ryeo’s place and top the exam in exchange for freedom. The offer seems good to the Minister. Therefore, he agrees to let Cheon Yeong take the exam. As promised, Cheon Yeong tops the military exam, and the Minister celebrates. Both Cheon Yeong and Jong-ryeo are happy, and Cheon Yeong will soon be free.
In the present, Cheon Yeon is locked up. Some village people see a Japanese ship approaching the palace. Hearing about the arrival of the Japanese, King Seonjo and Jong-ryeo escape the palace. Once the King escapes, the slaves and staff of the noble family stand up for themselves and kill Jong-ryeo’s mother and father.
Who does Cheon Yeong duel with?
Suddenly, Cheon Yeong wakes up and tries to help Jong-ryeo’s wife. But she refuses to accept Cheon Yeong’s help as he is a slave. Not taking Cheon Yeong’s help causes Jong-ryeo’s death by fire. As the King moves away from the palace from afar, he sees the palace burning. The General informs the King that the people of his country have burnt the palace. Since the Japanese will reach the palace soon, Cheon Yeong leads the villagers, who can fight and stand up to the Japanese. The Japanese have started to kill the villagers. General Genshin Kikkawa kills a shaman after she declares that Kikkawa Genshin will die with his sword.
Meanwhile, the King is ungrateful, so the villagers attack the King and his men. During the fight, Gwang-yi informs Jong-ryeo that Cheon Yeong is seen wearing Jong-ryeo’s blue robe and carrying his sword. At the same time, Jong-ryeo’s wife and child are dead. Now, Jong-ryeo assumes Cheon Yeong has killed his wife and child as Cheon Yeong has threatened to do so.
This was enough for Jong-ryeo to be enraged. Driven by rage, Jong-ryeo kills the villagers brutally and escapes the area along with the King. Meanwhile, Cheon Yeong takes the lead, and his troops destroy a lot of the Japanese men. General Genshin Kikkawa duels with Cheon Yeong who is impressed with Cheon Yeong’s skills. The duel continues, and Cheon Yeong falls off the cliff and into the water.
The war is over, and the people’s army goes home. The war has made the situation worse for ordinary people as food is scarce. Because of this, people cannibalize dead bodies for survival. During this time, King Seongjo wanted to rebuild the palace grandly. Even though some suggest waiting before rebuilding the palace, King Seongjo does not care about what’s happening to anyone else except himself. In Suncheon Base Camp of the Righteous Army (Volunteer Militia), General Kim Ja-ryeong struggles to eat meat like common folk so Beom-dong teases him.
Why does Cheon-yeong have Jong-ryeo’s sword?
Meanwhile, Jong-ryeo tells King Seongjo that Cheon Yeong has killed his entire family. Now, General Ja-ryeong expresses that if the King gives people freedom from slavery and recognition for fighting in the war, then they will support King Seongjo in helping with the reconstruction of the palace. The next day, the Japanese in disguise head towards the base camp, so the Righteous Army/Great Unity prepares to take down the Japanese.
Almost everyone from the Japanese troops is destroyed. As Cheon Yeong and Genshin Kikkawa fight, Beom-dong captures Kikkawa alive as he is needed to negotiate and help get their freedom. It also seems Kikkawa has a reputation for being a nose snatcher. He cuts off his enemies’ noses.
In a flashback, we see that Jong-ryeo tries to plead with his father to free Cheon Yeong. However, the Minister had already sent Gwang-yi to capture Cheon Yeong. If the Minister frees the slaves, then King Seongjo will look at this act as treason. However, when Gwang-yi arrives at the room, Cheon Yeong is nowhere to be seen.
Once Gwang-yi leaves, Cheon Yeong appears in front of Jong-ryeo. So Jong-ryeo gives his sword to Cheon Yeong and helps him escape. Presently, Beom-dong does not trust the King or any other nobles except Ja-ryeong, so she leaves with the other members to fight in her own way. That night, Beom-dong and their group attack the Japanese mayor of Cheongju, eat their food, and pack the rest to provide for the common people.
How do Cheon Yeong and Beom-dong survive?
The next day, General Ja-ryeong and Cheon Yeong appear at the palace along with the Japanese to win the freedom of the enslaved people. However, the King and Jong-ryeo betray Ja-ryeong and Cheon Yeong by attacking them. In this process, Ja-ryeong is beheaded for being a traitor. His head is put up for display in town. The next day, Cheon Yeong kills all the guards in Jong-ryeo’s residence. As soon as Jong-ryeo arrives, they fight. Sensing the anger in Jong-ryeo Cheon Yeong is deeply hurt. However, Cheon Yeong does not kill Jong-ryeo. Instead, he kills Gwang-yi, who tries to capture him.
Jong-ryeo decides to use Genshin Kikkawa to get to the treasure and destroy Cheon Yeong. Meanwhile, Cheon Yeong takes the beheaded heads and holds a proper funeral for them along with Beom-dong and the others. The troop also realizes that the Japanese are looking for buried treasure. Hence, they look for it and find it. Most people want to split the treasure and stop the fight. But Cheon Yeong, Beom-dong, and another kid (fisher) want to stay and fight. So, the troops part ways. Unfortunately, the group carrying the treasure runs into Jong-ryeo and the Japanese. Each of the members are killed.
Uprising (2024) Netflix Movie Ending Explained:
What does King Seongjo find in the treasure chests?
When Cheon Yeong’s group arrives, there is a message from Jong-ryeo for Cheon Yeong. At the base camp, Beom-dong realizes something is off between the Koreans and the Japanese. As Beom-dong predicts, Jong-ryeo had planned to kill the Japanese. However, Genshin Kikkawa outsmarts Jong-ryeo as he also intends to betray the Koreans. A fight ensues between the two. A thick fog starts to form, making it difficult to fight, and from the mist emerges Cheon Yeong.
Now, Genshin Kikkawa, Cheon Yeong, and Jong-ryeo fight each other. After pushing Genshin Kikkawa away, Cheon Yeong and Jong-ryeo duel. As they fight, Jong-ryeo reveals that he thought Cheon Yeong killed his family. So Cheon Yeong clarifies that Jong-ryeo’s wife did not want to take Cheon Yeong’s help.
Suddenly, Genshin Kikkawa arrives and hurts Cheon Yeong. Jong-ryeo fights Genshin Kikkawa, but Genshin Kikkawa’s skills overpower that of Jong-ryeo, so he is killed. Now Cheon Yeong fights and kills Genshin Kikkawa. The General dies in the same way the shaman had predicted. Before taking his last breath, Jong-ryeo asks Cheon Yeong if he is still his friend. Meanwhile, King Seongjo is alive and wonders where the Japanese and Jong-ryeo are.
Exciting news brings King Seongjo out of his room. Treasure chests are waiting to be opened. When the treasure chests are opened, they are filled with salt, so King Seongjo asks his men to tilt them. When they do that, many severed noses fall to the ground, scaring King Seongjo. The Great Unity army is now in town and has decided to change its name to Beom-dong.
In the end, Cheon Yeong is not successful in abolishing slavery but continues to fight alongside Beom-dong for the cause. Sadly, a slight misunderstanding led to the death of Jong-ryeo. After Cheon Yeong threatens to kill Jong-ryeo’s family, and Jong-ryeo later finds his family dead in his absence, he assumes Cheon Yeong is responsible, fueling his hatred towards him.
Unfortunately, in the end, Jong-ryeo dies fighting to protect Cheon Yeong from Genshin Kikkawa. King Seongjo receiving the severed noses could also mean it is a threat from Cheon Yeong and his group for ill-treating enslaved people. The film’s ending seems hopeful as Cheon Yeong has gathered more people to fight for the oppressed.
