The high-stakes game between a determined prosecutor and a ruthless intelligence agent reached its dramatic climax with the Made in Korea finale. The sixth and final episode of the Disney+ K-drama, which launched on January 14, 2026, answered major questions about the fate of its main characters, Jang Geon-yeong and Baek Gi-tae. While Gi-tae’s cold-blooded plan to secure ultimate power came together, the finale left the door open for more conflict, with a second season confirmed for production.
The series, starring Hyun Bin as Gi-tae and Jung Woo-sung as Geon-yeong, is set in the politically tense 1970s. It follows Gi-tae’s rise within the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA), using covert drug deals and manipulation to gain influence. Geon-yeong stands as his moral opposite, a prosecutor who risks everything to expose the corruption riddling the government.
How Gi-tae’s Final Plan Unfolded
The finale opened with Geon-yeong in a desperate situation. Contrary to what viewers saw at the end of Episode 5, Geon-yeong was not killed. Instead, he and his sister were captured by Gi-tae’s KCIA operatives. Gi-tae subjected Geon-yeong to a brutal psychological attack, presenting fabricated evidence that tied his sister to communist funds from North Koreaโa charge that carried the death penalty in that era.
“Kitae has fabricated incriminating evidence against Geonyeongโs sisterโฆ Kitae is basically using Geonyeongโs sister to get him to back off,” recapped one review of the tense scene.
Gi-tae’s goal was to break the prosecutor’s spirit and force him to drop his investigation. However, this personal confrontation was cut short by pressures from higher up. Chief Cheon Seok-jung, the powerful presidential advisor backing Gi-tae, ordered him to release Geon-yeong. Cheon viewed the prosecutor as a distraction from the more important mission: finalizing a major methamphetamine deal with the Japanese yakuza to fund the president’s re-election campaign. Geon-yeong was freed, but the experience only hardened his resolve to bring Gi-tae down.
The Tragic Fates of Key Supporting Characters
As the main battle raged, the stories of several supporting characters reached emotional and somber conclusions. The most tragic was that of Kang Dae-il, a former gang member turned informant for Geon-yeong who had become addicted to the drugs he helped traffic. Dae-il was in love with Gi-tae’s sister, Baek So-yeong, and his loyalty to her ultimately dictated his fate.
When Geon-yeong arrested Dae-il and So-yeong, he pressured Dae-il to give a confession that would incriminate Gi-tae. To protect So-yeong from being implicated, Dae-il made a devastating choice. He gave a false confession naming Geon-yeong as the mastermind of the drug ring, then injected himself with pure heroin and died in the interrogation room. His death removed a key witness and provided Gi-tae’s allies with a scapegoat for their entire operation.
The finale also followed Gi-tae’s younger brother, Baek Gi-hyeon, a military officer with a strong moral compass. His storyline in Vietnam served as a mirror to Gi-tae’s moral decay. Unknowingly sent to spy on a meeting in the same location, Gi-hyeon witnessed his brother conducting a drug deal with a Taiwanese supplier. After a sudden bomb explosion, during which Gi-tae instinctively saved his yakuza partner Yuji, the two brothers locked eyes. The look of profound disappointment on Gi-hyeon’s face said everything. He walked away and was not seen again in the season, symbolizing a permanent break between the brothers.
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Geon-yeong’s Last Stand and Crushing Defeat
With Dae-il’s initial help, Geon-yeong made his most aggressive move. He secured a warrant and led a raid on the KCIA headquarters, successfully placing Baek Gi-tae under arrest. In a holding cell, Geon-yeong tried to turn Gi-tae against his protector, Chief Cheon. Gi-tae responded not with fear, but with a story from his past. He recounted his time as a soldier in the Vietnam War, where his entire squad was killed following orders from a commanding officer who was later promoted. Gi-tae was left as the scapegoat.
“I was just cannon fodder in someone elseโs rise,” Gi-tae told Geon-yeong, explaining his cynical worldview that in their world, raw power always triumphs over ideals or justice.
Gi-tae’s story proved prophetic. Geon-yeong’s plan relied on a double agent, Pyo Hak-su, retrieving an incriminating tape from Gi-tae’s office. However, Hak-su betrayed Geon-yeong. The tape he delivered to Chief Cheon did not contain evidence against Cheon. Instead, it was a recording of Chief Na, Cheon’s rival, accepting bribes. With this, Cheon gained total control over Na, stripping Geon-yeong of his political backing.
With his support gone and Dae-il dead, Geon-yeong was utterly defeated. In a final act of cruelty, Gi-tae exposed Geon-yeong’s deepest personal shame during an interrogation: that his father was a drug addict who killed his mother. Geon-yeong was arrested on fabricated charges of bribery and collaboration with the drug ring. As he was led away in handcuffs, a voiceover captured his despair: “I wonder. What was my patriotism truly for?”.
Gi-tae’s Victory and What Comes Next
The finale ended with Baek Gi-tae achieving his ultimate goal. His drug deal with the Ikeda yakuza clan was a success, delivering the massive funds he promised to Chief Cheon and the presidential campaign. With his rival silenced and his benefactor satisfied, Gi-tae was rewarded with a promotion. In the final scene, he became the Director General of the KCIA, the very position he had meticulously schemed to obtain.
However, his victory came at a great personal cost. His brother has severed ties, and his sister is now a widow, pregnant with Dae-il’s child and running the meth operation. The system rewarded his ruthlessness, but the ending suggests his ambition is not satisfied. The story is set to continue, as Made in Korea Season 2 has been confirmed and is already in production, targeting a release in late 2026.
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