'Broker' Ending Explained: What Happened to So-Young And Her Baby? - OtakuKart (2024)

One of the astounding creations by Hirokazu Kore-Eda, the Korean film ‘Broker’ has been gaining a name worldwide. With an amazing plot and appealing cast, including IU, Kang-Ho-Song, and Gang-Dong-won, fans loved watching the movie, which was perfectly filled with drama and emotions.

However, fans seemed a little confused over the ending of ‘Broker,’ so here we bring you all you need to know about the plot details and the ending of the film. The Broker movie follows a storyline of a mother and two best friends indulging in illegal activity, which is being investigated by detectives. The plot of the movie is simple, but it follows a number of plot twists that shock viewers each time.

The film has attracted numerous awards and appreciation, notably including the Cannes Film Awards and Venice Film Festival. Released in the year 2022, the ‘Broker’ movie’s viewership has still been increasing, which is why the number of curious questions about the film’s plot has been increasing as well. The most asked question is how did movie end. Therefore to find answers to your questions, read till the end.

Broker Movie: Plot

At the beginning of the film, a girl named So-Young abandons her baby at the door of a church. Two detectives, who already had an eye on the church for some investigation, witnessed that a woman had left the baby in the heavy rainfall.

So, out of a feeling of compassion, one of the detectives put the baby in the baby box. If you are not aware of the concept of a baby box, In Korea, those who do not want their infants or those who feel that they won’t be able to give their child a better future can abandon their children at church.

A number of churches install a baby box where the family of the infant puts their baby with a particular note, and then the church takes full responsibility for taking care of those orphans and finding a new family for them. So-Young, however, puts a note that she will come back to get her child, but the infant catches the eyes of Sang-Hyeon and Dong-Soo, men who work legally during the day and illegally during the night.

However, their intentions are never sordid. These two men steal infants from the church and then sell them for a good amount of money to families who cannot legally adopt a child. They always look for good families for the infant’s good future. However, what is illegal is illegal.

Just like this, they steal So-Young’s baby from the church and start looking for a good family for him. The next day, So-Young comes back to look for her child, but she discovers that he is not there, even though she left him at the doors of the church.

Disappointed So-Young then gets followed by Dong-Soo, who takes her to meet her baby. So-Young gets furious at both Sang-Hyeon and Dong-Soo for stealing babies and selling them, but both of them overturn her, confronting her for leaving her son alone at night.

Three of them then come to an agreement to sell So-Young’s son for 10 million won and distribute the money equally among them. On the other hand, both of the female detectives who put the baby in the baby box at the beginning start investigating a murder case while keeping an eye on Sang-Hyeon, Dong-Soo, and So-Young.

Real Identity of So-Young

While watching the movie, fans were curious about why So-Young abandoned her child at the church. Well, there’s a valid reason for that, which is kept discreet for a long time in the movie, particularly to keep curious fans’ eyes glued to the screen until the new plot twist gets disclosed.

Later in the film, So-Young reveals that she is a sex worker, and she gets pregnant with the baby of one of her clients, who later refuses to accept the baby and asks So-Young to have an abortion. However, So-Young, out of fear and love for her baby, never aborts it and lets the baby grow in her womb for 9 months.

Plot twist alert! So-Young kills the father of her son, and detectives start investigating the same case by stalking So-Young to know her whereabouts because they know that So-Young is the prime suspect in the case as they witnessed her leaving the child at the church. Additionally, when detectives reach the place where So-Young works to enquire about her, the women working there tell detectives that she ran out of the place as she could not abort her baby.

What Happened to So-Young’s child?

The whole movie depicts the journey of Sang-Hyeon, Dong-Soo, and So-Young to find a perfect family for So-Young’s baby Wo-Song. As mentioned earlier, Sang-Hyeon and Dong-Soo get offered a 10 million won deal which they decide to share with So-young, and three of them go to meet their first client.

The couple observes the child and discovers that the child looks different from the photo that Sang-Hyeon and Dong-Soo sent them. They start arguing but later make an offer to purchase the baby at 40% of the previously agreed price.

Enraged So-Young lashes out at the couple, refuses the offer, and takes her baby with her. Sang-Hyeon and Dong-Soo let her know that if she acts like this again when they meet another client, they won’t be able to seal the deal.

But the point to be noted here is, So-young’s motherly instincts get activated when she discovers that the couple cares more about the looks of the baby rather than loving him as he is. As they also cut down the price, So-Young gets concerned about how they will treat the baby later when he grows up.

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Subsequently, three of them start looking for the next client, and they instantly receive a big deal. However, they do not know that this deal is the trap set by the detectives to catch them. They train the couple and send them to meet Sang-Hyeon, Dong-Soo, and So-Young.

However, before handing the baby over, they ask some questions to the couple, which the couple cannot answer. Because of the increased suspicion about the couple, Sang-Hyeon and Dong-Soo break the deal.

What happens to Sang-Hyeon and Dong-Soo?

While working with Sang and Dong, detectives contact So-Young. They ask her the reason why she killed the father of her son. She lets the detective know how he abused her after discovering that she was pregnant with his child.

The detectives ask So-Young to cooperate with them so that her sentence will get reduced and even her son can have a great future, as one of the detectives assures So-Young that she can get her baby back and live happily with him after getting released from jail.

So-Young accepts the offer and starts cooperating with the police. The widowed wife of So-Young’s victim orders some thugs to steal the baby from So-Young and bring it back to her. One of the thugs contacts Sang-Hyeon to make an offer.

Sang-Hyeon, in greed for money, accepts the offer without letting Dong-Soo know about it. However, while selling the baby, his intentions change, and he starts caring more about him. Additionally, even Dong-Soo comes out of nowhere and does not let Sang-Hyeon sell the baby.

But things begin to change when Sang-Hyeon and Dong-Soo discover the tracker in their car and assume that So-Young is working with the detectives. Both of them decide not to leave her, and then Sang- Hyeon, Dong-Soo, and So-young go by train to sign the final deal about So-Young’s son with the genuine couple.

But when asked, the couple says that the real mother of the baby cannot meet the baby later in the future. So-Young changes her decision to sell the baby to them. Later, So-Young thinks deliberately about the detective’s offer to give her son a better future.

In the end, Sang-Hyeon meets his daughter, whom he cannot meet for a long time. She lets her father know that her mother currently has a new partner, so it is better for Sang not to try meeting herself and his wife again.

Her words break Sang-Hyeon’s heart, and his mind changes again about selling the baby to the thugs. In the middle of the night, he meets the thugs to finally sell the baby. However, Dong catches them and saves the baby from getting sold to the wrong person. As Sang-Hyeon, who takes the impulsive decision to sell the baby in the traumatized condition, comes back to sanity and tries to convince the thug.

However, in the feud, Sang-Hyeon kills him to protect the baby from future threats. On the other hand, Dong-Soo meets the family that they met earlier and tries to sell off the baby. However, detectives barge in and arrest Dong-Soo for human trafficking. Even So-Young turns herself in.

Is There a Happy Ending in ‘Broker’? : Fans Reactions

Not really. At the end of the film, fans see that one of the detectives has taken care of woo-song for three years, and even the family, which was supposed to adopt him, frequently comes to meet him. As for So-Young, after getting released early from jail, she is shown working in a different job, leaving her prostitution work, but she never goes to meet her son or to get him back.

Because she never wanted Woo-Song to be a murderer’s son, and as he receives the desired love and compassion from the detective, she thinks the detective’s family would be the right place for him. However, in the very end, So-Young is shown happily running to finally meet her grown-up son.

Fans got curious about the reason why the detective and her husband decided to adopt Woo-Song. Perhaps, even she wanted to have a child of her own, and as she is shown more connected with So-Young’s son from the beginning of the film (When she puts the baby in the baby box to keep him safe from the heavy rainfall), she might have found herself emotionally connected with the baby.

Additionally, Even So-Young gets convinced to turn herself in after letting detectives know of her and Sang–Dong’s exact location. So, for So-Young, what she cares about the most, is her child’s safety, well-being, and bright future, and that is why even So-Young lets the detective adopt her child.

As per the critic’s review, fans seem unsatisfied with the end of the movie as they expected something else following the outstanding plot of the movie. The end seemed quite confusing, considering the whole situation So-Young has gone through. The filmmaker may have decided to end the movie with a happy ending, but it seems that the end could not exceed the expectations of the fans.

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