How Sung Jin-Woo Could Have Prevented The Jeju Massacre, Explained

The Jeju Island Raid in Solo Leveling has been one of the most pivotal events in the series, delivering intense action and impressive coordination from the hunters who volunteered for the mission, as well as Sung Jin-Woo, the savior of the day.

Although Sung Jin-Woo’s contribution to the raid was immense, several hunters were slain by the ants before he decided to intervene, a decision that fans question. While some simply boil it down to “aura-farming,” others wonder if Jinwoo’s reasons are tied to the deeper parts of the Solo Leveling world and how, considering several hypotheses, he could have prevented the loss of several hunters.

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The Jeju Island Raid

Korea’s Final Attempt

While gates are a common occurrence in the Solo Leveling world, S-Rank gates are few and far between, and the one that appeared on Jeju Island in Korea was terrifying, to say the least. After three unsuccessful attempts, the loss of several hunters and civilians, and an evolved species of ants threatening to cause chaos outside the island, a fourth raid was carried out.

Despite the loss of several hunters, the raid was a success, thanks to Sung Jin-Woo’s last-minute intervention. The Raid Team itself was very efficient and would have cleared the gate without the help of Sung Jin-Woo if the Ant King had not appeared. They had already made solid progress with proper coordination and action, achieving their original goal of defeating the Ant Queen.

However, with the appearance of the Ant King and Sung Jin-Woo, it went from a simple raid mission to an all-out brawl between anomalies, a brawl Sung Jin-Woo emerged from as the victor.

Why Did Sung Jin-Woo Not Join The Raid Earlier?

Placing Family First And Trust In Fellow Hunters

Despite Sung Jin-Woo’s spectacular save and defeat of the monsters that rendered Jeju Island inhabitable, some fans believe there could have been a better outcome than the current one. This leads to the big question: Why did he not join the raid from the start? Chairman Go Gunhee personally asked him to join the raid, and he refused. Moreover, Sung Jin-Woo is not interested in political affairs, so the theory of waiting for Goto to die is also nullified.

As seen in the anime and manga, Sung Jin-Woo decided to stay behind for his family. His mother had just been cured from Eternal Slumber, and he wanted to stay with her. He also believed in the power of the S-Rank hunters partaking in the mission and their ability to handle the situation. He even took measures such as designating his shadows to several hunters should there be any need to use Exchange.

Shadow Limitations And Broadcast Delay

Considering Sung Jin-Woo had planted his shadows on several hunters, how did he not know when the massacre began? Some fans theorize that while Sung Jin-Woo might have had shadows on these hunters, he had not gained the ability to share senses with them at this point in the series and would only be aware should one of them die. This theory appears concrete as it was after Goto’s death that he had appeared. Min Byong-Gu did not have a shadow on him, so there was no way he would have been aware.

While the broadcast would have been a more convenient tracking method for the hunters’ status, it had a 10-minute time lag. This meant that everything being broadcast happened 10 minutes earlier, giving the Ant King enough time to amass a lot more kills before Sung Jin-Woo would know. However, Sung Jin-Woo only watched the broadcast in the manga, as he explicitly stated that he did not feel the need to watch it in the anime. Thankfully, he showed up when he was needed either way.

How Sung Jin-Woo Could Have Prevented The Massacre

Deploying Stronger Shadows

While Sung Jin-Woo has his reasons for not joining the raid from the start and cannot be entirely blamed for the delay in his intervention, fans still believe there are ways he could have prevented the massacre from happening. Sending stronger soldiers to join the hunters is one of the curated solutions. While respecting his decision to remain at his mum’s side, the foot soldiers he placed on the hunters were not strong enough for the regular ants, let alone the Ant King. They also do not act without orders, making them nothing but signals of death.

Soldiers such as Igris and the High Orcs would have been a better option, as they are stronger and capable of reasoning. Even though they might not have safeguarded everyone, the numbers of lost hunters would have been reduced. He would have also been aware of the tough situation via mana usage by these soldiers, leading to a faster response time and further reducing casualties. Given that the Ant King was an anomaly, there is not much else he could have done to prevent this massacre without hands-on information.

The Significance Of Sung Jin-Woo’s Actions

Exposing Japan’s Hidden Agenda

While Sung Jin-Woo’s decision might not have been the right call to prevent the massacre, it did expose the secret intentions Japan had in sending its hunters to aid in the Jeju Island raid.

While volunteering to take care of the ants outside of the colony seemed noble of the Japanese hunters, it was actually a scheme to protect themselves while the Korean hunters would be sent to their doom. They had even planned on making Goto a National-Level hunter as a side quest.

Unfortunately for them, Sung Jin-Woo’s untimely entrance completely foiled their plans as nearly all their hunters, including Goto, lost their lives to the Ant King. However, Sung Jin-Woo was timely enough to save all the Korean S-Rank hunters except Byung-Gyu, making Japan’s secret mission a complete failure.