Fantastic
A cunning businessman and a woman who searches for missing people are thrown together in the spring of 1945. With news of monstrous happenings in a derelict hospital, the two join forces to investigate, and there they discover a unimaginable darkness. Gyeongseong Creature wraps up with some answers, a lot more questions, and sacrifices with a side of betrayal. The show hurtles toward the finish line while simultaneously limping its way there, hindered by its inconsistent pacing and underdeveloped character arcs. It has its thrilling moments, but its squandered potential keeps it from achieving what it set out to.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
beautiful, tough and historical
first of all even tho im not interested in history i was very invested in the plot. the historical part was quite important, but it didnt feel like a history class!!secondly i love this 'creature' idea, its really fascinating to me how it will work on a little baby....
what's next, it might be my problem, but it was difficult for me to get attached to the characters, so i couldnt bring myself to cry. despite that i love the was main actors showed their emotions (seo joon and so hee are truly the best)
the acting was good but what was making this series hard to watch for me, is the fact that they were almost all the time at one place. but i got through this
and the ending!!! that was really something. didnt expect that the 'mother-creature' would pass its parasite(?) to chae ok....
after that ending i really cant wait for a next season ;)
Was this review helpful to you?
worth it to watch
This series is worth watching. All the actors did a good job. It's exciting until the end. Everyone fights for each other, especially the main characters. And you learn that the monster is not the evil in the game. you see what people are capable of doing to other people, be it torture, coercion or experiments. And of course the monster is fictional, but there really were experiments on people in those times. I think the monster represents all of these experiments.I'm looking forward to season 2. and I'm glad that it be on Netflix now
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Stranger things vibes
At first it was a little boring and had a slow start, I had a really hard time watching it and figured I might drop it, but then my friend started watching it and she went a lot further with the show and started to talk to me about how good it is and that I should continue it, so I listened, and i’m glad I did!!!Trust me, once they get into the hospital (wink wonk), shit goes DOWN! It’s so good.
The arcs built up, the way they connect things to each other and the way all of it slowly gets revealed.
I don’t want to spoil much but to say overall, this gave me a lot of stranger things vibes at first and I was lowkey here for it, they did it really well— it was like….watching schindlers list mixed with strangers things almost?
The betrayals the sacrifices, this will bring you to tears, truly. Also the ending had me jump out of my seat!!!! I hope season 2 happens!
I never really liked the actor (park seojoon) and didn’t think he and han sohee fit each other but they showed their chemistry and i enjoyed it a lot.
Its a good watch, 10eps, perfect honestly, they didn’t drag it out (except for maybe a little in the beginning but then again i am very impatient) , built the drama up well, every new ep something new gets revealed, although theres still some plotholes like (***spoiler) how does lady maeda know about chaeoks mother and what kind of teacher was she to her? why were they so deeply connected that lady maeda remembers her? also was the japanese painter in love w chaeoks mother?😂 this one is just my personal theory.
Anyway I recommend this! Good watch!
Was this review helpful to you?
Gyeongseong creature- between not absolutely horrible but not great either
The first 5 episodes honestly made me rethink starting the drama and then dropping it because it fell terribly flat, be it the characters or the pacing. The show really starts showing some actual substance after episode 6. Still the plot and character building was rushed, character development felt sloppy and there were some glaring plot holes that cannot be overlooked as anything but plot armor.The drama in my opinion failed when it tried to do a lot of things at the same time but not hitting the right balance. The atrocities and crimes committed by the Japanese occupation subsequently got overshadowed by the supernatural aspect of the drama. Half the time I wasn't sure how to feel because you have some very dark material that horrifies you and then you see a 10-11 ft monster just rumbling about. You aren't sure whether to be curious and thrilled about what the monster can do when you have a man being tortured still fresh in your mind.
Now, the last 4 episodes kinda brought them together in a good cohesion and an overarching theme to bind them but in a 10 episode length drama thats quite late. Han so hee was amazing throughout, especially her action scenes and crying scenes gave me goosebumps.Park SEO Joon's Jang tae sang character development was finicky but it made him act more like a main character rather than a showpiece so..i guess it's okay. The ending felt like a leeway to season 2 and less like a proper ending to me. Loved the opening theme song extremely haunting and appropriate for a drama like this. Production, cinematography, cgi were pretty good. Overall not bad but not great.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A good plot well used
it was a good plot and they managed to execute it welli have to say all the actors did exceptionally well and except for a few minor plot holes i found everything to be rather well done.
Claudia Kim as Maeda-san was the best decision that casting director ever made in his life cuz DAMN! does that woman have a presence when she comes on screen.
the only thing i don't get is why y'all are hating on the romance guys, cmon
listen to me
the tropes used here are; forced proximity, right person not enough time and mutual survival.
these three tropes have to be used together in such a careful blend to make the story sell it okay.
For one second just put aside the fact that they are Park Seo Joon and Han So Hee okay? let's put that aside and just look at them as Jang Taesang and Yoon Chae-ok.
Jang Taesang is the well-renowned and respected master of this well-off pawnshop. His family was destroyed when he was very young but he has managed to (resiliently) create a found family for himself and got hold of power enough to protect them.
Chae-ok on the other hand is a more, tougher nut to crack. She's been on the run with her father for a very long time, searching for her mother and in the process making a business out of finding people. she has no other driving force except her father and finding her mother.
these two people are both broken and both in very different and significant ways
They find eachother under circumstance (dare i say fate) and their significant missions lead them in the same direction where they make the decision to trust eachother, for the sake of their mutual survival.
i don't think most people understand how affection can bloom in a position of forced proximity AND mutual survival is at stake. this type of a situation builds trust, respect! more than can be seen in most relationships of today, that's for sure.
And as they continue to protect each other and have each other's backs they start to like each other which should obvious under any other circumstance.
i was actually pretty happy with how they did the romance, an interesting plotline well used.
though the season 2 disappointed me deeply, season 1 left so much potential and season 2 just flushed it down the drain for me. (THEY EVEN HAD BAE HYEON SEONG THEY SHOULD HAVE USED HIM BETTER)
Was this review helpful to you?
lukewarm and pointless
for a high budget production with good casting the story was too lacking at times. it felt too superficial and the characters were poorly developed. it felt like going in circles and the ending made me question why i sat through 17 hours of this if they wanted to end it where it started, just in a different time period, which was also kind of unnecessary. not to mention the plotholes that were already there right from the first episode that just widened monumentally once the second season began. the central issue of this series itself is meaningless at large.the cast did a wonderful job, the special effects were great, but only if the story could hold the drama up on its own would it have achieved what the drama was really aiming for.
Was this review helpful to you?
impactado
estou meio chocado com esse daqui. eu assisto séries de ficção/fantasia sul coreanas sabendo que minhas chances de se decepcionar são baixas e mais uma vez minhas expectativas foram atendidas. eu não estava esperando que a série tivesse um teor tão político, é muito clara a crítica a ocupação japonesa e os danos que trouxe à sociedade, é uma clara demonstração da tomada de liberdade e o que se configura viver constantemente oprimido. além da crítica talvez não tão explícita do modelo como mulheres eram tratadas nessa época. enfim, um show em tudo!Was this review helpful to you?
Interesting genre-bending premise but ultimately gives way to tropes... and romance
First of all, I love k dramas that blend genres, and most of the time they succeed. Unfortunately, this is not one of them.The production value is high, and the cast is high caliber, the premise is intriguing, I also love this time period for dramas, and there's decent action between the long stretches of dialogue.
So herein lies the issue. The tags are Action, Thriller, Historical, and Sci-Fi. I love all those genres. The main genre is actually a Romance. It should be its main tag. It should be at the front of the line. Everything eventually is just about the Romance between the 2 protagonists. Despite having so many other interesting avenues of plot and storylines, it ultimately devolves into a love story. Which doesn't sound terrible but when it takes place in a gritty historical setting with war, atrocities, and monsters, it sticks out like a sore thumb.
It's especially jarring when the ML is a white knight that constantly sweeps in to save the FL despite the FL establishing she is a very competent and capable badass. But then he sweeps in like a male Rey Skywalker in every scene, being good and perfect at everything. Our ML is a Gary Stu (male Mary Sue). He is the best businessman, he's also the handsomest, he's also the best fighter, the best shooter, he knows everyone and everything, he out rebels the rebels and out sleuths the sleuths. At one point he even teleports. I kid you not. He is physically on one level and magically teleports to where the story needs him to be. And all the characters (and I mean ALL the characters) seem to be trying to help the ML get with the FL, all while on the run from soldiers and monsters. It's insane.
And at one point someone seemingly dies. Then they totally do not. What is this!? A MAKJANG???!!! And things like this happen quite a few times.
But in the end, I did enjoy it overall. It's a good production, the action scenes are on point, I'm still a sucker for this time period, and the Sci-Fi and horror aspects I found intriguing. I just didn't expect romance to be the driving plot of the whole story. And the plot logic is all over the place. Just be prepared to suspend your disbelief for a LOT of it and enjoy the ride.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Sometimes it’s a monster wearing human skin
Oh, I liked it! The cast was perfect. The story was mysterious. Plenty of suffering was there as well. The production, camera and storytelling were all on point. Was it original? I mean not really. Did I enjoy it anyway? Oh yes. I didn't know we needed this power couple. Park Seo-joon and Han So-hee We're a perfect fit. Their chemistry was amazing. And I don't have to tell you that they both look so good on screen. Their visuals are captivating. I loved the ending so I am really curious about season 2.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A Rebellion, A Monster and a Weak Love Story
A mission to find a government official’s side piece leads down a rabbit hole of horrific human experiments, a rebellion against the Japanese occupation and of course love.I generally liked the leads in this but am on the fence about whether PSJ was the right actor for the ML role. He wasn’t bad in the role but I think there are other actors out there who could’ve really owned the part. His acting is good but I don’t think he’s the embodiment of who Jang Tae-sang should be.
The monster being created by the Japanese was a creative way of referencing the history of the experiments they conducted on Koreans during the war and its horribke impact on those individuals. However, how the monster worked within the story wasn’t always consistent. Some managed to fight off the monster and escape its attack unscathed while others were completely eviscerated by it. This was driven more by plot than logic. Same with the anthrax attacks.
The action on this show was pretty good, but what engaged me the most was the human stories of those impacted by the war and the Japanese occupation as well as those working in the rebellion in an attempt to fight back.
The implied feelings developing between the leads was not believable because they have no romantic chemistry and the development of those feelings was random. Having the ML join the rebellion due to his feelings for the FL made no sense for the previously mentioned reasons. There was more than enough going on in his life to drive his change of heart without the FL being the reason.
The production value was superb, save for the CGI of the monster which was hit or miss. The episodes were a little too long, but overall the acting was good and the show entertaining.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This could've been the next Kingdom but never quite lives up to its potential
The comparisons between Gyeongseong Creature and Kingdom will be obvious as both are Netflix originals with impressive casts that blend the supernatural/horror with historical events, and I really really wanted Gyeongseong Creature to be as good as Kingdom (which is one of my favorite kdramas of all time), but sadly, it never quite lives up to its potential. That's not to say this drama is bad and in fact, there's a lot to like about it. The cast is excellent (special shoutout to Choi Young-Joon for his chilling portrayal of Colonel Kato) and many of the characters and their relationships are easy to root for, the way the story weaves fact (the Japanese occupation of Korea and human experimentation) and fiction (the inhuman creature) is incredibly compelling, and its core message about freedom and resistance continue to be relevant, now more than ever. But where Kingdom is elevated by an incredible script with impeccably developed characters, Gyeongseong Creature is unfortunately let down by mediocre writing and lackluster character development.What makes Kingdom so SO good is that the writing hones in on the themes of hunger and power in Joseon-era Korea and explores it via the supernatural element of zombies. The zombies are not the point of the story, the hunger is, and that core theme is woven into every aspect of the show and explored over the course of 12 episodes, resulting in a tight, cohesive story about how hunger can drive a nation to the brink of destruction. Gyeongseong Creature tries to follow this playbook and tell a story about freedom and resistance and the way war makes monsters of us all, sometimes literally, but the writing isn't strong enough to deliver on that lofty theme.
It was a huge miss for the show not to dive more deeply into Tae-Sang's journey from selfish rogue to reluctant freedom fighter, and even after watching all 10 episodes, I still can't tell if he's supposed to be a charming pawnbroker with a secret heart of gold and patriotic streak or if he's simply a rich man who wants to protect his riches and will only support noble causes if they happen to align with his own interests. The writers tell us he's the former, but end up showing us more of the latter and the fact that the show never truly integrates Tae-Sang (the main character!!) into the resistance storyline is a huge missed opportunity. Park Seo-Joon does his damndest to bring some nuance and depth to Tae-Sang, and the fact that he succeeds at all is a testament to his skill as an actor rather than the quality of the script. The other main character, Chae-Ok, is presented as a righteous character who has seen the horrors of man and the fact that she and her father don't become part of the resistance movement is honestly not really believable to me. The only character we know by name who is actually involved in the resistance movement is Jun-Taek, but he makes no real impact on the story until the end of the season, and that's really only as a plot device to introduce explosives into the narrative in time for the finale (what a waste of Wi Ha Joon). But for me, the most egregious missed opportunity to incorporate the theme of freedom and resistance into the story is with the treatment of the titular creature. I wanted so badly to root for the monster as the physical manifestation of the evils that Japan inflicted on Korea, as the horrifying culmination of the atrocities committed by the oppressed now exacting righteous vengeance on the oppressors, but we never really get to know Seong-Sim as a human and we see so little of her before her transformation that she's never really allowed to become anything more than just a monster.
This review probably seems harsh but it's only because this drama had SO much potential and I really wanted it to be so much better than it was. Don't even get me started on Lady Maeda, who is easily the most intriguing character on this show. She's revealed to be the puppet master behind the whole nefarious plot at the hospital, and for what? I'm sure the show is saving these answers for the next season, but by doing so, it falls into the same trap that Sweet Home season 2 did - they spent more time setting up season 2 than they did actually making a coherent season 1. As an aside, I have to say that Netflix is really ruining the pacing of its originals by splitting them up into parts 1 and 2. This show should've ended season 1 on episode 7 once they escaped the hospital because the remaining 3 episodes felt super rushed and ruined much of the tension and momentum they had built with the previous episodes. Pushing the storyline from episodes 8-10 into season 2 would've given that story more time to develop and it would've made the return back to the hospital and its bombing all the more impactful. I don't know what the hell to make of the time jump at the end but I know it wasn't a satisfying way to end this season.
All that said, I did mostly enjoy this show despite how negative this review is. The history of Japanese occupation in Korea is an important one and I think the writers did a decent job conveying the horrors of the time, both real and imagined. I'll certainly be back for season 2, but if you're like me and were hoping this would fill the Kingdom-sized hole in your heart, you're probably better off lowering your expectations for this one and rewatching Kingdom again once you're done, which is certainly what I plan on doing.
Was this review helpful to you?
