Redemption Camp: A Gem of Storytelling in the Unlikeliest of Place

I guess it's true that sometimes you can find a gem in the unlikeliest of place. Like how I accidentally found this manhwa here, titled Redemption Camp by Ramjak, because of its 'alluring' cover.


Looking at it, I thought to myself: Wow, it's probably another soft porn nonsense, should be nice for a certain "short-term entertainment and pleasure" (IYKWIM). But boy, was I very, very, very wrong.

The story follows a young Korean supermodel named Choi Da-Ae (don't ask me how to pronounce it) who gets kidnapped by a group of four guys and brought to an abandoned building for their own pleasure. At this point we have known that Da-Ae is a very attractive girl who take advantage of any guy who happened to be hooked by her sex appeal. Therefore, we can already establish that this guys are seeking revenge to Da-Ae for whatever misdeed she has done to them.


The group consists of a son of a minister who found out that Da-Ae has cheated him, a highschool teacher who Da-Ae has falsely accused of raping her, a college professor who has had an affair with Da-Ae to the point of pregnancy and a corporate employee whom Da-Ae has taken advantage of in the past. All of this guys have a good reason for wanting to lash their revenge on Da-Ae and the author really nails how slutty and bitchy the character of Da-Ae is.

At first, Da-Ae is a character that the reader should hate and the reader is encouraged to feel the same way as her kidnapper through tons of graphic and exploitative images. In a way, we were put in the same position as her captor so when they were torturing Da-Ae, we feel that we are doing the same thing. It gives us a surge of power and domination and it's probably relatable to people who ever had this kind of fantasy. This is the kind of softcore entertainment that I was expecting so no surprise, there.

But then, the story went into a much different and darker direction.

(Disclaimer: this is where I should place the SPOILER ALERT! notice. The discussions below contains information that I feel would be better if you experience it blind. The only thing that I can tell you is that reading this manhwa will be a really rewarding experience so you should only come back to this part after you have read until the latest chapter.)

Through series of flashbacks, we were given a background information on why Da-Ae became the kind of person that she is now. How she was abused by her father, how her mother neglects her well-being, how she must run away from her home with her first and only true love and how she must abandon him in order to be able to survive alone. In an instant, the story changed from revenge porn flick into a story about how a person able to survive this harsh world against all odds.

I was surprised by this development especially after chapter 40 or something when I began to actually sympathize with the character of Da-Ae. The turning point that changed my position from hating and wanting to exploit Da-Ae into actually caring and loving her is in chapter 50 when the college proffesor asked why did Da-Ae have to ruin his life, to which she replied: "...rather than crying by myself, I'd rather just burn the whole place down."


The words and images shown above is very powerful to me and makes me realize how Da-Ae is not much different with the rest of us. Da-Ae used to be a sweet and innocent girl, waiting for her prince of charming, until society molds her into the very representation of wrath.

Da-Ae pours her rage into the world by doing everything she wants and taking advantage of any man who are not necessarily benign themselves. She hurts everyone who hurts her because she is frustrated and because noone was there to help her when she need it. Most importantly, Da-Ae's story establishes that everyone could definitely be just like Da-Ae simply by being under a society without love.

The word "I'd rather just burn the whole place down" shows how much empowered Da-Ae is, that she knows what she is doing and that she got something to say under the disguise of her slutty and bitchy character.

This post is most definitely not by any means justifying the kind of behavior that Da-Ae has shown throughout the story. However, this post simply seeks to gain understanding of how a person can easily be corrupted just by, borrowing The Joker's words, "One Bad Day." And I guess it's true. Every individuals in society is only "One Bad Day" away from being a person like Da-Ae.

What makes this story is very recommended to me is definitely not its theme, since it is quite common nowadays, but the way the author tells their story. The back and forth nature of Ramjak's storytelling (from past to present) is very reminiscent of Christopher Nolan's storytelling and if you know me: I fucking love Nolan!

The back and forth storytellling in Redemption Camp is very effective in showing what the reader needs to know and not about Da-Ae's character which makes the sudden reveal in the latest chapter much more rewarding. Just like watching Nolan's movie, I became intrigued to read the story once again from the beginning to find the foreshadow that the author has prepared that I didn't notice in the first reading.

All in all, reading Redemption Camp has been nothing but rewarding. Lots of fanservice in the beginning is a lot of fun and the 'twist' in the latest chapter is very engaging. The story has been an emotional roller coaster for me and I enjoy it. Choi Da-Ae herself is portrayed very attractively and she is definitely a 'waifu' material (at least her past self, but I won't mind her present self).

Da-Ae's past, during a time when hope still feels lingering around

The current story seems like it's nearing its climax and I'm curious to find out how the ending turns out to be. I'm definitely rooting for Da-Ae now and really wants to know if she can finally found her happiness or simply revert back to her ugly and bitter self. Either way, there's no denying that Redemption Camp is an amazing story.

Comments

  1. Do you know where to read the last two chapters?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. you can go to this link https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/redemption if you want to pay for it, the scanlation is not uploading anymore it seems

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  2. I found the last two chapters translated in spanish, so you could probably read those. It really just ties up all the lose ends for all the characters.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    SPOILER ALERT
    SPOILER ALERT
    SPOILER ALERT
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    ch 58.
    1)a fire starts
    2)the son of the priest dies in the fire, under those words written on the wall (ironic?). he dies being spiteful and hurling verbal abuse
    3) da-ae and her innocent high school crush who ran away with her get out alive. low key after locking the priest son inside
    4) the dude in the hat, the one who lost his job, he breaks a window and runs away and ends up in hospital somehow
    5) the old university literature professor runs away and he gets out all safe
    4) the high school teacher who made out with her, he was still locked in there. But da-ae and her friend save him
    ...
    ch. 59
    the old professor guy reunites with his daughter
    the teacher who couldn't find work lets go of his hate and starts teahcing at a cram school. he bumps into da-ae at her shop later
    the high school sweet heart ends up with her and they open a store
    the dude who lost his job gets visited in hospital by his old boss
    pretty much they all live a happy life even though they're super fucked up

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. http://es.addfunny.com/chapter/Atonement%20Camp/653477.html
      Here it is. And you can use google translate for 95% coherent story.

      Delete
  3. A nice story, that catches similar undertone: https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/champion/brand/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/from-the-ashes/

      This story*

      It's about a boy outcast from society and the eventual burning of his village.


      And if someone wants to read last two chapters of "Atonement/Redemption camp", you can read it here:
      http://es.addfunny.com/chapter/Atonement%20Camp/653477.html

      It's Spanish but that's where google translator sensei will help.

      Delete
  4. I feel bad for the teacher, as he got the most screwed over for having done the least. Not only that but in the epilogues, he has a short relationship with a student again and hooks up with his ex, only to have both of them leave his life again, leaving him alone. Unsure what the symbol of him running is though... is it to run towards his ex? Thoughts?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Remember when she was first introduced, she said that she likes men who can run fast? In the end, he wasn't fast enough to catch her. The sad part is, the reason he couldn't catch up with her is because he gave his ex a second chance instead of devoting himself to her fully. You could tell in the final shot of her face that she was very disappointed he didn't intersect her at the airport before she left. In the end, his ex left after one night to get engaged, and his new love flew off to another country, leaving him alone once again.

      Delete
    2. Ya I too felt very bad about the teacher. It was very painful to read to the point that I just glanced over the other stories ( so I only know what happened not the details ). I want to believe that one day soojung will return back and reunite with him, and till then he will learn to live alone without loosing hope. I was also glad he didn't end up with his ex, as she does not deserve to be with him. She left him when he needed her the most and didn't even show any guilt towards it and shamelessly contacted him again only to leave him. I wonder what she was thinking..... Anyway I wish he reunite with soojung and be happy...

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    3. yes teacher was most unlucky one if we see it all the other guys were bit selfish and kind hurt fmc but teacher never did instead he saved fmc but he didnt got what he deserved author really got us with this. teachers character was the most likable then any other guys. in side story i was happy that he got other girl who likes him but ended up alone once again we cant blame the girl or the teacher for breaking up just feel sad. this was one of the great manhwa i have read left with lingering feelings i wish more manhwa like this should be published

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    4. To the guy saying that she was disappointed the teacher didn't find her at the airport before she left, how could he? She left the next day without telling him anything, he even tried calling her for her necklace which she left at his place but the number was unavailable. He had no idea she was leaving with her mother, she did that out of nowhere.

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    5. To the anon replying to the other anon about the girl leaving without notice, I think the guy had two chances. First, he shouldn't have made the girl wait and entertained his ex. She would have said that to him if he hadn't made her wait. Second, he should have visited her place the first thing right after he woke up instead of having a date and doing his ex again. The girl said she likes fast guys, although she didn't tell the teach that. This ending made by the author also shows the fate of nice and indecisive guys like the teach.

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