Bang Eun-Ju is the main antagonist in Welcome to Samdal-ri, who uses a fake suicide and triggers a media witch hunt against the protagonist, Cho Sam-Dal, by using fabricated evidence. The show’s finale delves into the reason behind it.
Cho Eun-Hye is an accomplished fashion photographer based in Seoul and a big name in the industry.
With success, however, she has also garnered jealousy from those weaker of character. One such individual is her assistant Bang Eun-Ju.
She is envious of Cho Eun-Hye and believes that she’s ready to become a full-time photographer herself.
When Eun-Hye coldly corrects her about her delusions, Eun-Ju itches to get back at her and play her ultimate card.
The controversy
Bang Eun-Ju shows Cho Sam-Dal her phone which carries the proof that she is having an affair with Cheon Chung-Gi, Sam-Dal’s boyfriend.
When Sam-Dal lashes out at her, not for cheating with her boyfriend but for her work and cheap tactics, Eun-Ju records her anger.
The next day, Sam-Dal watches the news that her assistant attempted suicide because of the awful treatment she received at the hands of her boss, Cho Eun-Hye (Sam-Dal’s second name).
The fallout
Sam-Dal is shocked and wracked with guilt for possibly driving Eun-Ju to suicide. Meanwhile, her home is swarmed by reporters who want to question her regarding the controversy.
The media trial paints her as an abusive boss and everyone runs with the same story. Sam-Dal loses all her clients and opportunities; no one wants to work with her anymore in light of the controversies.
When reporters become too big a nuisance, Sam-Dal and her sisters deem it best to move to their hometown of Samdal-ri on Jeju Island. Sam-Dal reunites with her ex-boyfriend Cho Yong-Pil eight years after their breakup.
Impeding a comeback
Sam-Dal slowly comes out of her shell as her lifelong lover Yong-Pil, her family, her best friends, as well as the whole village, all help her spring back to her previous form.
However, Bang Eun-Ju tried her best to keep fanning the flames of the controversy by releasing another video to the media, where her mother physically confronted Sam-Dal.
She also works in cahoots with reporters who go to harass and make Sam-Dal’s life worse in Samdal-ri. But nothing works as she plans.
Meanwhile, she continues to fail as the substitute for Sam-Dal, because she neither has the same talent, nor the work ethic, and all clients and assistants realize that immediately.
Sam-Dal works to achieve her dream of holding an exhibition of her own and embracing her true self.
That’s when Eun-Ju’s further conspiring leads to a horde of reporters getting wind of Eun-Hye/Sam-Dal’s whereabouts.
Meanwhile, Sam-Dal’s best friends and assistants work around the clock to tackle the root of all her problems — Bang Eun-Ju and her fabrications.
Bang Eun-Ju’s secret & takedown
They manage to track down her alternative Instagram account where a frequent commenter asks her to promote her products, warning her to do so because they’ve already paid her the money.
They enter their account to see that so many of the posts uploaded contain products that Bang Eun-Ju has been sneaking into the photoshoots way before she took Sam-Dal’s place.
Sam-Dal’s assistants recognize the scarf she had persistently snuck inside the photoshoot, despite Sam-Dal’s strict orders against it.
Many other products never matched the theme of the photoshoots and yet ended up in the magazine.
They all figure it out: Bang Eun-Ju has been taking money from small businesses to illegally promote their products.
Naturally, Sam-Dal’s strict guidelines often prevented her from being able to sneak inside an anomalous product during the photoshoot.
And so she devised the perfect plan to get her revenge on her and take her spot.
It was to fake a suicide squad and blame it on Cho Eun-Hye so that she could snatch her spot and take over the career and opportunities she got on her own hard work and talent.
Her dirty plan was fueled by her insecurities and envy of Cho Sam-Dal.
Ultimately, she gets exposed and fails in all her endeavors, losing Cheon Chung-Gi, the projects, and even the fake veneer of innocence and victimhood she had created through white lies and manipulation.
Also Read: Bang Eun-Ju: Welcome to Samdal-ri character explained