The film was one of the first Korean films to be presented in the competition category of the Venice Film Festival, following Im Kwon-taek's Surrogate Woman, and Jang Sun-woo's Lies. However, the film and its controversial elements caused some stir in the film festivals it appeared in, causing it to be picked up by others in the process. Like most of the director Kim Ki-duk's films, The Isle wasn't well received in his native country. The divers discover the bodies of the prostitute and the pimp while Hee-jin and Hyun-shik wordlessly take off on his float. He calls divers to have them retrieve the watch.

A prostitute accidentally kicks a man's Rolex into the water, infuriating him. Hyun-shik and Hee-jin continue their troubled relationship. This time it's Hyun-shik's turn to save her, by reeling her in with the still attached hooks. Hee-jin apparently attempts suicide in an effort to stop him by stuffing fish hooks into her vagina and falling into the water.

Hyun-shik takes the boat and is set to leave. When he attempts to swim out, Hee-jin has to save him and take him back to his float. Hyun-shik wants to leave the resort, but Hee-jin, who controls the only boat won't let him. He is then submerged near the prostitute.ДЄfter the murders, Hyun-shik's and Hee-jin's relationship stalls. Hee-jin appears in the water and kills the pimp. The prostitute's pimp, who comes to find out what's happening, falls in the water after a fight with Hyun-shik. The next morning Hee-jin finds her drowned and submerges her body tied to her motorbike. During one visit, Hee-jin ferries the prostitute to an empty float instead of Hyun-shik's, ties her up and duct tapes her mouth shut, which eventually leads to her death as she falls into the water. The prostitute continues to take more and more time off her schedule to visit Hyun-shik, oblivious to his troubles and eventually Hee-jin becomes jealous. Hee-jin looks after Hyun-shik, even saving him from two suicide attempts, the second one accomplished gruesomely by swallowing a string of fish hooks. The two developing relationships between Hyun-shik and the prostitute and Hyun-shik and Hee-jin move the plot. Hyun-shik, however, only wants companionship from the prostitute and a relationship starts to form between them. When visiting his float one time, Hee-jin still resists Hyun-shik's forceful advances but does call in a prostitute to service him. There is nothing unusual about their business relationship from the onset, but eventually Hee-jin is intrigued by Hyun-shik's obviously troubled past.

However, when a man running from the law, Hyun-shik ( Kim Yu-seok), comes to the resort, a bond starts to form between them.ДЄt the start of the film, Hyun-shik arrives at the resort and is ferried to his float by Hee-jin. She also dispassionately takes care of her customers' needs by selling supplies, providing prostitutes from a local dabang or occasionally acting as one herself. Suh Jung plays the mute Hee-jin, who operates a fishing resort, where she rents out small floating cottages and ferries her customers back and forth between land and the floats, controlling the only means of transport around.

The isle game