- The Jeju Island arc is one of the most significant arcs of Solo Leveling because it changed things for Sung Jinwoo completely.
- The events of the Jeju Island Arc took place four years prior to the main storyline and saw even the greatest hunters lose their lives against the flesh-eating ants.
- It wasn't until the fourth raid that Jinwoo was able to overwhelm the Ant King with his Shadow Monarch powers and emerge as the strongest S-rank hunter.
The Jeju Island arc is one of the most action-heavy and important story arcs in Solo Leveling. It is sort of a Chimera Ant version of the Solo Leveling universe. The anime series has been teasing the ants and the Jeju Island since the very start, and it’s one of those regions that has claimed the lives of several S-Rank hunters from Korea. And now, the hunters are ready for yet another raid on Jeju Island. But, why now? Before the Jeju Island arc begins in the Solo Leveling anime, let us discuss everything we know about what exactly happened on the island.
Spoiler Warning: This post contains major spoilers for Solo Leveling anime and manhwa. Please proceed with caution.
Jeju Island’s Gate Appeared Few Years Before The Current Solo Leveling Timeline
Solo Leveling’s first episode made it pretty clear that the events of Jeju Island occurred a few years before the current timeline. Apparently, an S-Rank Gate appeared on Jeju Island four years before we saw Jinwoo for the very first time in anime and manhwa.
The threat level of this Gate was overwhelming for any Korean hunter to handle. To make things worse, a Dungeon Break happened, which led to the deaths of all human beings on the island. And well, the hunters fled the scene in a desperate attempt to save their lives.
At the time, the Hunter Association thought the hunters were too weak during their first raid on Jeju Island. So, they decided to execute more raids on the Island, thinking they were strong enough to handle the threat later on. However, the S-Rank hunters lost against the ants of Jeju Island not once but thrice.
It was the third raid on Jeju Island that broke everyone’s morale. That’s because one of the strongest S-Rank hunters from Korea, Eunseok, lost his life fighting the flesh-eating ants. The death of this Hunter is the thing that haunts Choi Jong-In in the anime series till now. Jong-In had to escape the island to save himself, and it was the survivor’s guilt that had been haunting the Mage-type S-Rank Hunter ever since.
Regardless, after losing powerful S-Rank hunters, the Hunter Association and the Korean Guilds in Solo Leveling decided to leave the island as it was. The Jeju island was isolated from the mainland, so they thought that the ants would starve to death after they ate every living soul on the island.
However, things took a rather unexpected turn when these ants started to evolve and develop wings. This allowed the ants to fly towards the mainland and kill every human in their path. That’s what we see happening in Korea when Sung Jinwoo is busy fighting Baran on the 100th floor of the Demon Castle.
Evolution of Ants Forces Korean Hunters to Lead Another Jeju Island Raid
As the ants developed wings, they flew towards the mainland of Korea and started devouring the civilians. So, the Korean Guilds and the Hunter Association had no choice but to execute another raid on Jeju Island. Of course, even the S-Rank hunters in Korea weren’t sure if they were ready to face Jeju Island again.
But fortunately, Japan’s strongest Guild, Draw Sword Guild, decided to help the Koreans on this dangerous mission. This guild was led by Goto Ryuji, Japan’s strongest hunter, so humanity finally had an opportunity to pull this off and get rid of every ant on Jeju Island.
The Japanese hunters decided that they would kill every ant on the island, while the Korean S-Rank hunters put all of their focus on the Queen Ant. The hunters thought that by killing the Queen of the Ant’s nest, they would prevent these ants from multiplying in numbers.
At first, everything was going as planned; the Japanese Hunters were killing the Ants with ease, and the Korean Hunters actually killed the Queen.
However, things get bloody for the hunters when the Ant King appears on the scene. The Ant King easily slaughters some of the most powerful S-Rank Hunters, including Goto Ryuji and Min Byung-Gyu. You can read about all hunters who die in the Jeju Island raid here. So yeah, every surviving hunter thought it was the end of the road for them as well
However, all hope was not last as humanity still had an ace up its sleeve. Yes, we are talking about Sung Jinwoo, Korea’s newest S-Rank Hunter.
Jinwoo Joins the Jeju Island Raid Just in Time
The fourth raid on Jeju Island was initiated at the same time when Sung Jinwoo got his hands on the Holy Water of Life after defeating the clone of Baran, the King of the Demons. Using that legendary item, Jinwoo was able to finally bring his mother back from the Eternal sleep.
He was able to talk to his mother after so many years, so he wanted to stay by her side for as long as he could. So, when the Hunter Association asked Jinwoo to join the Jeju Island raid, he declined. He wanted to stay with his mother, and well, the Association was in no position to force Jinwoo.
However, when Jinwoo saw several ants coming on the mainland and killing several civilians, the S-Rank hunter had no other option but to join the fight. He also sensed that the S-Rank Hunters were being killed left and right, so fighting this battle became a necessity.
Right when Ant King is about to slaughter other S-Rank Hunters on the scene, Jinwoo arrives to handle the situation. Surprising every other hunter on the scene, Jinwoo was able to handle the Ant King without any help. Jinwoo and his Shadow Army were more than capable of handling the ants and their king. Jinwoo dominated the Ant King in every way possible, and the entire battle was livestreamed to the rest of the world.
The Rise of Beru, Jinwoo’s Loyal Ant King Shadow
After Ant King’s defeat, Jinwoo added another Shadow soldier to his growing army and named him Beru. Jinwoo also cemented himself as the strongest Hunter in all of Asia. So, the hunter guilds from around the world, including America, made their offers to recruit Jinwoo.
The world started acknowledging Jinwoo’s incredible might, but there was someone else who also noticed these powers. Apparently, Jinwoo left traces of Shadow Monarch’s powers on Jeju Island while fighting Beru. This caught the attention of two Monarchs in Solo Leveling, Rakan and Sillad, who arrived on Jeju Island after Jinwoo’s fight was over and he left the island.
Of course, Jinwoo wasn’t there to greet the two Monarchs at the time, but this did lay the foundation of his big battle with the two Monarchs. Honestly, the first appearance of Rakan and Sillad after the battle on Jeju island would be a perfect way to end Season 2 of Solo Leveling and tease the next big fight for Season 3.
