In 1905, there was a confluence of international events leading to the loss of Chosŏn Korean sovereignty, and by 1910, Japan formally annexed Korea outright.

To settle the dispute one of the team members, Oh Dae-hyeon, who went to school in Tokyo with the Japanese Officer, suggests a competitive game of baseball.

Meanwhile, a more serious dispute is going on between the Korean diplomats and the revolutionary thinkers, over the signing of the Eulsa Treaty that officially made Korea a protectorate of Japan.

Coincidentally, Oh Dae-hyeon and Min Jong-rim are members of the Anti-Eulsa League, an organization formed in protest of the Five Eulsa Traitors, which one of their teammate's, Kwang-tae, father belongs to.

Devastated over the loss, the team members decide to abandon baseball and return to more practical roles in society.

The Koreans victory in this rematch symbolizes their unity in baseball, and their ability to come together despite the social and cultural issues facing the changing country.

As with most imperial governments of the early 20th century, militarization and conquest through industrial and technological prowess ensured a place in the handful of nations that took part in global leadership.

China at that time was under the bindings of a non-exclusivity agreement with what was then known as the Great British Empire that forbade them to purchase goods from other countries.

China had become rather weak after the Ming Dynasty and continually made concessions to foreign nations in trade rights and permission to settle inside its borders.

Korea was a buffer zone between Japan and the Chinese mainland and provide an access conduit to all measure of logistical and consumable resources.

If Japan was able to hold control or sovereignty over Korea, it would tactically ensure the safety of the Japanese homeland from attack and therefore was considered a highly valuable asset.

The Japanese have a highly invested interest in maintaining control of Korea and make every attempt to prohibit any inkling of resistance or possibility of uprising by the Korean people as portrayed by the film although somewhat overly exuberant.

The relative had committed suicide in protest to the Eulsa Treaty, this is supposed to be Min Yonghwan (1861–1905), the military attache of King Kojong.