Air City: Episode 11

24 June 24, 2007January 27, 2023

by javabeans

Yaaaaaaawn.

Oh wait, is this mic on? *Tap tap*

Ahem. I decided to try, purely as a writing exercise, posting up an Air City summary that was (gasp!) completely devoid of negative comments. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I could do it, and having seen Episode 11, I think I picked a tough one to do, but hey, it’s a challenge.

As a totally unrelated aside, I found out what the phrase “bore you to tears” means. It’s kind of obvious, but I’d never thought about it — but it’s all those tears you get from yawning so much because you’re so bored.

Like I said, completely unrelated.

EPISODE 11 SUMMARY

After finding Russian counterfeiter Sergei shot to death, the NIS confirms that he was fooled into coming to Korea by hackers using a stolen IP address, which corresponds to the hackers who hacked into Incheon Airport. Alerts are raised to yellow level.

Airport admin and the NIS clash again, because the agency is offering up little information, which frustrates the aiport personnel, who must comply blindly without understanding the situation. Without knowing the details, they don’t understand why the alert is raised when they’ve already caught the bomb threat-maker. Particularly, Ha Joon is irked not only at having to submit to the NIS orders, but also to see Do Kyung so easily accepting of the situation.

The SWAT team is brought in to search the airport, and although I’ve never been privy to a SWAT team search, I’d hope that in real life they’d give bathroom-goers a little more opportunity to finish their business at the urinal before barging in with guns and dogs. Nothing like sudden stark terror to stanch the urge to pee.

The agents follow the Russian crime trail to a club, where they spy their targets. They’re easy to see because they’re the ones looking sinister, wearing sunglasses indoors at nighttime and smoking cigars. Let’s see… keeping this positive… I have not yet laughed so hard at a sequence in Air City as this scene. True comedy!

How do I phrase this?… IF this is an accurate reflection of covert spy activity, Korea is lucky that Russian criminals are timid enough that the Korean agents can capture them so efficiently without overly exerting themselves. (In contrast, those Chinese criminals in Episode 1 sure put up a good fight. But that scene wasn’t funny.)

Ha Joon watches with dismay as Do Kyung meets with Ji Sung for a meeting with the agents. There’s a cool bit where the clear glass turns frosted and opaque, which I’ve heard about as being used in bathroom stalls (when unoccuppied, the glass is clear, and when a person steps inside, it turns opaque white). I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I could ever comfortably use that bathroom stall without paranoia.

Anyway. Ji Sung reports that they didn’t get very far with the Russians. All they know is that Sergei’s counterfeited dollars were smuggled into the country. I hope I’ve got my zeroes right, but the smuggled bills amount to $10 million. The one issue they haven’t yet figured out is why they hacked into the airport’s computer systems.

Do Kyung calculates that $10 million in dollars, divided into four sacks, would weigh 100 kilograms each. How she is certain it would be divided into four sacks is beyond me. Perhaps she’s psychic as well as mathematically gifted. Do Kyung also informs Ji Sung of the airport’s own bank, which gets its funds from a bank in Hong Kong.

The hacker goons prepare to transport the counterfeit money to the airport the next morning. They have fake employee passes, as they’ll be posing as maintenance workers. One of them tries to smell the money through layers of plastic. I don’t think he’s the smart one.

Do Kyung spends the night at work, readying to inspect the incoming bank money per Ji Sung’s instructions, despite Ha Joon’s insistence that it’s an unreasonable burden on their resources. Do Kyung tells Ha Joon that he gets overly worked up when Ji Sung is mentioned, but he tells her why he’s angry — Ji Sung’s constant involvement in airport administration, always overriding Ha Joon’s decisions, belittles Ha Joon and their work. It’s insulting to his pride. And it’s worse to see how Do Kyung is so obviously siding with Ji Sung.

(I love my Lee Jung Jae, but in this triangle, I have to throw my hat to Team Ha Joon. I don’t think Ji Sung’s doing anything wrong, but I feel bad the way Do Kyung’s treating Ha Joon, who’s always looking out for her. Actually, the weak one in this threesome for me is anemic Do Kyung, but leaving her out would require me to slash Ha Joon and Ji Sung. Hm, then again…)

The hackers use their false identification to gain entry to the airport, where they stash their hoard of fake money. They become nervous at the added security and government agents, fearing that their operation is threatened.

At one point, Ji Sung enters the room where they’re pretending to be doing construction (flashes of Prison Break, anyone?), and his inspection of their workspace has them all sweating. One guy reaches for his concealed gun, but Ji Sung turns away, not sensing anything troubling, and the guys breathe in relief. (Note: When the bad guy gets away with a crime under the hero’s nose, either the bad guy is very very clever, or the hero looks dumb for missing it. You can come to your own conclusion.)

With this lull in their operation, Ji Sung and Do Kyung both take the opportunity to seek rest, having stayed up all night. Do Kyung (after chatting with Lady Doctor, who essentially gives her blessing to their relationship) runs into Ji Sung, who says he’s on his way to nap at the sauna. She invites him home with her, and insists despite his somewhat-bashful refusal.

Wanting to make breakfast, Do Kyung runs out to the store while Ji Sung looks around her place. She returns and cooks, while Ji Sung’s asleep on the couch. She sits to watch him sleep, and dozes off herself.

At the airport, the hackers launch the next phase of their still-ambiguous plan, messing with the departure boards and throwing the passengers into confusion with wrong information. The employees rush around attempting to facilitate the situation, and Ha Joon phones Do Kyung to call her back. But as she’s sleeping, she doesn’t hear the phone.

(Small aside to point out perhaps the only truly multilingual member of the cast and give him due props. Although I suspect he doesn’t actually speak Japanese, or at least has a pretty Koreanized accent, his English is nearly flawless — just a tiny hint of Korean accent — and he can act much better than any other English speakers we’ve seen so far.)

Anyway. The chaos escalates when the NIS discovers that Sergei’s suspected killer is masquerading as an airport employee. They’re in high terror alert.

Unable to contact Do Kyung, Ha Joon gets the apartment passcode from Yi Kyung, and arrives to see this lovely domestic scene:

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While confusion reigns inside the airport, the bad guy leaves a suitcase unattended at the curbside. Do Kyung, Ji Sung and Ha Joon race back to Incheon to deal with the crisis.

Tags: Air City, Choi Ji-woo, Lee Jin-wook, Lee Jung-jae

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1 Winnie

June 24, 2007 at 5:13 PM

Wow I'm the first to comment? Anyways, I love your blog and I loved how you tried to not insult it!

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2 NC

June 24, 2007 at 5:35 PM

lol... I'm not watching the show but maybe you should have a glass of wine (or two) before viewing each episode. It might make things a tad easier.

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3 MayMay

June 24, 2007 at 5:44 PM

Hi... this is my first time posting a comment here and i wanted to say THANK YOU Javabeans for doing such a great job by providing a great summary of Air City each week. I like your blog very much, it gives me (a non-Korean speaker) a better understanding of the drama before the subtitle comes out and moreover, your good sense of humor always made me laugh/smile when reading thru the drama's summary, never get bored/tired. Once again, thank you and thanks for not dropping this project. =)

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4 kiwee

June 24, 2007 at 7:24 PM

bleh. even the "love triangle/story/whatever" is blah.
she accepts their relationship?
c'mon, put up a fight or something

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5 ginnie

June 24, 2007 at 7:29 PM

oh..what a coincidence. I was listening to SM TOWN Christmas songs and SES today. sigh.....lol. Don't ask me why I was listening to Christmas songs in the heat of the summer....

Thank you for the song!

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6 Auntiemame

June 24, 2007 at 8:49 PM

Hi Javabean,

I don't know how much I'll laugh when I finally watch this episode. But, your comments have already given me a riotous time. I was laughing so much and so loud, my family in the other room, asked what was going on. And, I agree with you. They are not making any of the NIS agents look very competent. And, isn't Ji Sung supposed to be a hot-shot agent??? I love your blog!!!!
Thank you so much for sharing with us.

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7 Philippa

June 24, 2007 at 10:09 PM

lol. that's funny! I can't wait to watch this episode too!
I like that couch scene, except Hoon Joon or something (sorry, I'm bad at remembering Korean names...) saw them. I feel so sorry for him. But, I really like Ji Sung and Do Kyung together. (But the best couple ever with Choi Ji Woo is Bae Jae Yong or something BJY). lol. I love Winter Sonata! That's one of the best Korean Drama I've watched! lol. Thanks a lot for continuing to write the summary for this drama!
I agree with you, I don't get this episode at all. That is sooooo off topic. Can't the writers come up with a good plot, just like in the beginning? Gosh. I bet if you (javabeans) write the plot for this drama, the rate of this show is going to be so HIGH! It's kind of borring now, but I still want to know what's going to happen in the end. Can't wait for the next episode!

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8 Luv

June 24, 2007 at 9:18 PM

Javabeans...I can't thank you enough...hehe...you always brought me so much laughters...and that's priceless...hehe...

Thank you for making Air City fun and memorable...hehe...
I can never forget the "drug code"...just thinking about it already put a big smile on my face. :)

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9 Marzy

June 24, 2007 at 11:14 PM

thanks sarah! :D i had a ball reading this. hhahah im feeling so bad for Ha Joon right now. it doesnt help that Lee Jin Wook is adorable as heck when he gets the pissed off annoyed to pieces look too. hahahha id be scared that an NIS agent cant really protect the airport! lol. it hardly sounds believable when before they were so good a the second guessing stuff.

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10 Sarah

June 24, 2007 at 10:21 PM

That multi-lingual guy can actually speak Japanese surprisingly enough. And hey...its pretty good too! Props to the one person who can actually speak English and Japanese without me gagging cause of the horrible accent.

Anyways...air city so far has been a disappointment... how dissapointing.

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11 ktv

June 25, 2007 at 12:19 AM

Seriously, while watching this drama, I am so confused whether or not Ji Sung actually likes Do Kyung. I don't know. I feel so bad for Do Kyung who likes him so much but never really show her feeling to him directly. At the same time, Ji Sung just leaves his answer open without any clues that I can guess. I think when he told his friend that he is dating Do Kyung, he took it as an excuse for not being back with the Lady Doctor.

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12 ripgal

June 25, 2007 at 6:21 AM

Thanx a lot for the summary beans chinggu. Honestly speaking, I found Ep 11 quite boring. Maybe I didn't understand some of the stuff they talked about, and I got confused about all the counterfeit money smuggling stuff..I appreciate the chinese subs, but then even watching with the subs made me confused. Luckily I have your blog to recheck on the stuff I've missed out on. And it sux cos I'm translating this ep..Gotta refer to your summary for miss outs then..

Once again, your side notes never fail to make me laugh! hahaha..
Keep up with the good work!

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13 mangoicy

June 25, 2007 at 10:17 AM

To be honest, at this point, I'm actually rooting for Ji Sung and Myung Woo. It's probably the only thing that makes sense.

Please, don't let them ruin my only hope of a sensible ending.

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14 soonjap

June 25, 2007 at 10:43 AM

Okay, so I'm officially done with this series. I was holding out hope against hope and I've dragged myself through the mediocrity, weathered some tough criticisms against my...well...criticisms (of this series - and you know where, right?) and so I waited until ep. 11 and...nothing. I was like, "Ok, so this is the episode where they're going to put in all the action scenes again. But how come I'm not tense with anticipation like I was during the first 4 episodes? Why is this not interesting?" That's when I decided to wait until ep. 12 and then after watching, I groaned...oh noooo...but I felt I should keep going, right? I mean, I only have 4 episodes more to go but I just can't take it anymore. And strangely enough, LJJ just isn't enough for me to continue with this. I really can't do it anymore. So I will rely on you for the summaries and well, brilliant but honest analyses of this drama and watch vicariously through your eyes. At least this way, I have a fair chance of enjoying the rest of it.

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15 blue_rose

June 25, 2007 at 11:23 AM

Thanks Javabeans for your latest release.

It is indeed a very 'lovely domestic setting' :D :D :D Poor Ha Joon........

As always I enjoy your synopsis, even the more stripped down version ;D
Actually, you should let it rip.........it is more 'fun' that way.
I have only watched the first 5 minutes of ep 11 and the part when HDK & JS playing 'house' together. I don't feel compelled to see the rest quite yet. Maybe later.........much later, yes it seems quite boring indeed. Is 12 any better?? gosh I hope so.

From the way LJJ interpret Ji Sung he was rather 'uncomfortable' being there in her house........kind of 'do I want to be here' feel to it, despite his lunch time pronouncement to others that he was dating DK .

To console myself I whipped out my 'City of the Rising Sun' movie and rewatched that very lovely dance sequence 50 minute into the movie for the umpteenth times :D

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16 javabeans

June 25, 2007 at 1:55 PM

jo, it's not just you -- i was confused too. partly because it wasn't exactly the most clearly written plot, and partly because my attention kept straying.

soonjap, i'm with you. strangely, my LJJ love is not enough to revive interest in this drama. it's a real shame because i think he's still doing a great job given what he's got to work with, but i almost feel sorry for him for being shackled to a project that is far below his capabilities. it's like jae hee in witch amusement all over again.

blue_rose, like you i'm seeking my LJJ fix from other sources.

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17 Hanizah Hashim

June 26, 2007 at 6:39 AM

Dear javabeans, I sense that, like soonjap, you have lost interest and have decided to stop blogging about AirCity. As I've stopped by several times today to check on your summary of Episode 12 and there was none, I kinda figured it out. If I'm wrong, I'll be mighty glad cos I'll be able to understand the drama a whole lot better with it. However, if you have called it quits, I feel a thank is in order. This is the first time that I've been actively involved in a forum discussion of any kind. Both out of boredom and curiosity I suddenly discovered a whole new other world of forums and blogs, a world I had always been too busy to explore. Although I do a lot of research on the net, I've never been into the forum and blog culture and boy, I still suffer culture shock from the experience. I wish you well and hope you will reconsider finshing the series. Whatever it may be, your writing has truly provoked my thinking about k-dramas.

I will miss soonjap's zinging but honest analysis and hope she will start her own blog one day. With that much passion and fire, she will be great at whatever she does, and with a blog of her own, she'll know the audience who visit really do appreciate her writing and insights. Thank you for the experience soonjap.

I wish both of you well.

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18 ripgal

June 26, 2007 at 3:21 PM

Ep 12 made more sense to me. But unlike soonjap, I thought it was more understandable and watchable than Ep 11, which I found utterly boring.

So are you still on with the summaries of the drama? I hope you'd not stop since there are still 4 more eps to go.. But be comfy on what or how you wana go on with it. It's your choice hehehe.. It just that most of us rely on you for detailed info of the drama. And talking about refering to your summary, I haven't even started on Ep 11 yet...darn...maybe it made me sleepy that I don't really wana start on it.. sighz..

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19 Zombie

June 30, 2007 at 10:19 PM

I was actually checking out Bad Couple, and I thought I should drop in here as well.
Thanks javabeans for yr conscientious humourous postings of all the summaries and other dramas as well.

Kudos to you and Soonjap for both yr perseverance of watching up to 12 esp? Ha..Ha..
LLJ totally wasted his talent here, and I was expecting CJW to change my opinion of her being a type cast actress, and after several episodes in AirCity, someone with her seniority in acting, unfortunately, I think she still have a long way to go in being recognised as a talented actress who knows her craft. Hope she learnt from this experience and improved further. Who knows , she may just surprise me one fine day with her true fine acting.

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20

July 1, 2007 at 11:40 AM

haha! you did well on this one! i can actually feel your restraint! to be honest, despite the negative reviews and what-nots, i really find Air City irresistible for some reason. It keeps me entertained. :p

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21 Nordelm

July 12, 2007 at 1:58 PM

Inspite of some negatives comments, I really enjoyed watching "Air City". I definitely think it's very interesting & intriguing because it's something different from other Korean dramas I ever seen. The actors are all great especially Choi Ji Woo, Lee Jin Wook & Lee Jung Jae. I'm eagerly looking forward on watching the rest of the episodes. By the way, are there 20 episodes? I noticed that Episode 16 stated "Finale" (please clarify this). Thanks.

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22 yetty

July 15, 2008 at 7:06 AM

dear javabeans...i really appreciate your blog on kdrama Air city...you did a great job...i have seen the drama completely it is very interesting story and great one...i love the acting of lee jung jae and choi ji woo..the did complex character..but i like a bit comedy love along the story..so javabean,i really want to follow up Lee jung jae career so let me know any for pogress for his activity or next drama,definitely i will watch it...i love the way he act..he is georgeous actor..send to my email [email protected]...thank u my dear..

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23 jomo143

October 8, 2011 at 5:05 PM

Thanks for writing this 4 years ago!
Time flies!

I laughed out LOUD for this "One of them tries to smell the money through layers of plastic. I don’t think he’s the smart one." because it is sooooo true, and because now I want to know who IS the smart one?

You guys are so negative with your requests for "excitement" and "interesting developments" and "common sense" from the writers. Pshaw! One of the commenters suggested a glass or two of alcohol before turning this show on. It is obvious that what the writers did. I can see the Writers Room with empty bottles of beer strewn about. Papers everywhere...The poor plot keeps trying to fly out the door, only to smash into it when it is on "clear" and closed. Poor plot...bruised and battered...

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Air City