It’s been a while since my last K-Drama review. So I’m starting 2024 with the first series I finished — Gyeongsong Creature on Netflix. It stars Park Seo Joon and Han So Hee, both of who are excellent actors. They’ve been heavily promoting this. Park Seo Joon and Han So Hee even went to Bangkok for a premiere event around the same time we were vacationing there last December.
Gyeongseong Creature is set in 1945, during the time of the Japanese occupation in Korea. This was about 6 months before the Japanese’s surrender. Most Koreans lived miserably, survival being the main goal. Men had to deal with forced enlistment to the Japanese military while women were forced into sexual slavery, serving as “comfort women” to the Japanese troops. Meanwhile those who tried to oppose or rebel were imprisoned, tortured, and/or killed.
Park Seo Joon is Jang Tae-sang, owner of the biggest pawnshop in the city House of Golden Treasure. He finds himself in deep trouble when Police Commissioner Ishikawa tasks him with finding Myeong-ja, his Korean mistress. Myeong-ja (also known as Akiko) is a courtesan who mysteriously disappeared. Ishikawa gives Tae-sang a deadline — he has to find Myeong-ja before the cherry blossoms start to fall. Failure to do so means he will lose everything. Tae-sang enlists the aid of 2 sleuths from Manchuria, the father-daughter tandem of Yoon Joong-won and Yoon Chae-ok (Han So-hee).
The sleuths get word that Myeong-ja is in Onseong Hospital. Tae-sang and company enlist the help of Kwon Jun-taek (Wi Ha-jun) in gaining access to the hospital.
The problem is, there is a lot more going on in the hospital than the military is letting on. Tae-sang and company discover that the Japanese have been conducting experiments on Korean citizens — men, women, and children alike. They have somehow created a monster they can’t control in the process.
Gyeongsong Creature is not based on a true story but it is inspired by the events of Unit 731, a covert biological research and development unit of the Japanese Army. I found the plot and premise very interesting and I kept watching just to see what would happen next. The set design is meticulously detailed and ornate, though not very realistic. It was giving me studio feels all throughout, unlike Mr. Sunshine which had a more realistic vibe.
Perhaps the main downside of this drama for me is the severe lack of chemistry between Park Seo-joon and Han So-hee. There simply isn’t any so the romance felt forced. Not to say that they are not good actors, they are. I was especially impressed by Han So-hee’s emotional range here. She has really come a long way since I first watched her in the K-Drama series Abyss. Props also to Claudia Kim, who plays the main villaness Lady Maeda. She has a poker face which she wears well but when you see the cracks, that’s where her acting chops really shine through. I felt Lady Maeda and Seishin’s (watch to find out who Seishin is) relationship could’ve used more context but I guess they will be saving this for the supposed next season.
The ending leaves a lot to be desired, but then again Netflix did confirm a second season to be released later this year. I’m not even going to try to guess what it meant, I’ll just wait or the next installment.
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