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The Witch, a 2025 South Korean television series starring Park Jin-young and Roh Jeong-eui, aired episode 4 on February 24. Directed by Kim Tae-gyun and adapted from Kang Full's webtoon, Manyeo, the series tells the tale of Park Mi-jeong (Roh Je-ng-eui), a woman ostracized by town folk for mysterious disasters that beset those around her. Meanwhile, Lee Dong-jin (GOT7's Jinyoung) is a man on a quest to uncover the truth behind such events.
The Witch is focused around Park Mi-jeong, who has been called a "witch" since she was young. She is an unfortunate girl and whenever a boy likes her, they seem to meet with accidents or die untimely deaths. This started persistent rumors of her being a cursed girl, leading to ostracization.
To know more about the complicated world that surrounds Mi-jeong, Lee Dong-jin vows to uncover the truth behind her alleged curse. He has silently observed Mi-jeong from a distance since their days at school, and he finds himself increasingly intrigued by the inexplicable dramas surrounding her. Furthermore, he also had a crush on Mi-jeong since high school.
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In Episode 4, things get heated as Dong-jin's quest to clear Mi-jeong's "witch" stigma puts him in dangerous positions. His belief in her innocence leads him to directly confront the biases and superstitions of society that have marked Mi-jeong as an outcast. He leaves his job and shifts to the opposite apartment from Mi-jeong to protect her from afar till he can prove her innocence.
The Witch episode 4 ends with Dong-jin heading back to their hometown and asking all his high school friends to meet. However, his agenda for meeting others isn't revealed yet. It seemingly hints at his will to investigate the source of the rumor of Mi-jeong's curse.
Disclaimer: The article contains spoilers for episode 4 of The Witch.
The Witch episode 4 highlights society's ruthlessness and baseless prejudices against things they can't fathom
In The Witch episode 4, Dong-jin takes a year's sabbatical from his high-paying job and moves to the opposite building of Mi-jeong. Meanwhile, Mi-jeong has no idea that a boy from her high school has been trying to prove her innocence for the last 10 years. She quietly works as a transcriber for tourism-related videos from home and rarely steps out of her house.
Mi-jeong's character reflects the ordeal of social alienation. A woman endowed with beauty and intelligence, she is made to lead a life of solitude and seclusion due to the inexplicable tragedies surrounding her. Roh Jeong-eui embodies the deep and nuanced feelings of Mi-jeong, a woman shackled with the burden of guilt and societal judgment.
She harbors a yearning to be normal and have meaningful connections with others. However, she fears that she might hurt others.
Meanwhile, Dong-jin sees the world in numbers and statistics. As a data miner, he symbolizes a dependence on logic and hard evidence, in opposition to non-rational fears that govern his society. Park Jin-young plays the sympathetic yet brilliant Dong-jin in a manner that presents him as a man who will break the norms of society to find the truth.
In The Witch episode 4, after leaving his job, Dong-jin gets called to the police station. The police informed him that they identified the person who had previously damaged his car (episode 1).
The police tell Dong-jin that the attacker is the ex-CEO of a company that went bankrupt after Dong-jin's data mining company, Shine Solutions, created an algorithm for the bank. This bank was supposed to give a loan to the CEO but canceled the loan at the last moment after getting a risk analysis report from the algorithm.
As a result, the CEO's company went bankrupt, his employees were laid off, and his family was destroyed. In a fit of anger, the person decided to attack Dong-jin and get revenge. After learning this detail, Dong-jin feels guilty and tells the police he wants to drop all charges against the attacker. He also requests the police to try their best so the person won't get severely punished.
Later, Dong-jin meets the ex-CEO in front of his apartment. The person attacks him and beats Dong-jin. A guy from Dong-jin's building intervenes and tries to save Dong-jin by calling the police. Dong-jin tells the guy not to inform the police and quietly takes a beating from the ex-CEO.
The scene shifts in The Witch episode 4 as Dong-jin takes the man to the convenience store and offers him food. Dong-jin apologizes to him for creating a data mining algorithm that ruined the person's life, family, and company. The man forgives Dong-jin as they both quietly sit at the store.
Later, Dong-jin meets the casino owner (seen in episode 1 of The Witch) and asks him if there is any job available. Dong-jin explains to the owner that he is trying to help a person (the ex-CEO) and requests the casino owner to provide the man with a job. The owner willingly accepts to help Dong-jin based on his sheer goodwill.
The episode ends with Dong-jin heading to his hometown and asking to meet his high school friends to get to the bottom of the rumors involving Mi-jeong.
The Witch is a powerful commentary on how fear and superstition can lead to ostracizing others. By labeling Mi-jeong a "witch," the series serves as an analogy for scapegoating, where simplistic explanations are sought for complex occurrences. The series prods the viewers to reflect on the consequences of baseless judgment and how it takes a human toll.
The show also focuses on the so-called conflict of reason vs. superstition. As Dong-jin shows up with his analytical theories to unmask the myths surrounding Mi-jeong, he too gets sucked into the depths of societal prejudices and vices.
Director Kim Tae-gyun goes for a visual treatment that enhances the show's melancholy yet mysterious atmosphere in The Witch. Episodes 5 and 6 will be aired on March 1 and 2, 2025, on TVING and Viki.
