Ashfall Ending Explained [SPOILER!]

SPOILER ALERT: the following article contains massive spoilers, including the ending. If you have not yet seen the movie, proceed at your own risk, or better, come back to this article later!

The volcanic eruption of Mount Paektu threatens Seoul, South Korea.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Ashfall Plot Summary and Synopsis

Mt. Paektu, an active volcano straddling the China–North Korea border, suddenly erupts, causing severe earthquakes in both North and South Korea. Pandemonium ensues on the Korean peninsula, with more eruptions predicted in the area.

To prevent another disaster, Jeon Yoo-kyung (Jeon Hye-jin) plans an operation based on a theory by Professor Kang Bong-rae (Ma Dong-seok), who had studied Mt. Baekdu and its possible future eruptions.

Jo In-chang (Ha Jung-woo) is assigned to be the captain of a special forces team taking part in the operation. Jo In-chang contacts Lee Joon-pyeong (Lee Byung-hun) who is part of the Korean People’s Army in North Korea as a spy.

Meanwhile, Jo In-Chang’s pregnant wife Choi Ji-young (Bae Suzy) is alone in Seoul and struggling to survive amidst the disaster.

In-Chang departs with his team on a plane, and they parachute after their airplane malfunctions. They locate Joon-pyeong, who was being held in a North Korean prison, and seek his knowledge in finding the correct mine closest to Mt. Paektu’s caldera.

After threatening his dying wife to disclose the location of his daughter, Joon-pyeong guides In-chang’s team to a power station, and they extract a piece of uranium from a nuclear missile. This alerts the American garrison in South Korea, who sends soldiers to stop Joon-pyeong from delivering the uranium piece to several gangsters from China.

In-chang and Joon-pyeong evade the Americans and reach Bocheon, a town near Mt. Paektu. Joon-pyeong meets his frightened daughter, and just as the Chinese gangsters almost kill him for failing to deliver the uranium, In-chang gives the uranium, but sets its timer to coincide with Mt. Paektu’s eruption.

Although the American soldiers also arrive to take the uranium, they and the Chinese gangsters flee when Mt. Baekdu erupts again, triggering more earthquakes. In-chang and Joon-pyeong bring the uranium to a mine with Joon-pyeong takes the bomb into the mine’s depths, leaving In-chang to go with Joon-pyeong’s daughter, whom he adopts. The uranium bomb explodes and stops the earthquakes, saving many lives.

Ashfall Ending

One year later, North and South Korea together oversee the reconstruction of the peninsula. In-chang and Ji-young have a baby son.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).