Netflix has released its newest kdrama “Gyeongseong Creature” and here is what I thought of it!
Note: this will be a spoiler review of the said episodes in the title. This is a subjective review.
Netflix has decided to split “Gyeongseong Creature” into two parts, 1 and 2, and a 2nd season too. The 1st part is out, the 2nd will be released in the 1st week of January.
Korean media says a 2nd season was confirmed around late 2022 and filming happened some time in 2023…. all in all, the rollout has been unnecessarily confusing.
All the more confusing because initially, I think the 1st part was meant to be 10 episodes. According to Namu wiki, this season is a total of 10 episodes, meaning the 2nd part they split was actually the last three episodes… which is… just why?
You try and tolerate the Netflix-way of handling series but gosh darn it, do they make that difficult or what….
Table of Contents
The script
The script is written by Kang Eun-Kyung who is responsible for the beloved series of Dr. Romantic. She has had ups and downs but in recent memories, only ups that upped expectations in my eyes and everyone’s too.
The script is unappealing and borderline weak….. especially in the 1st three episodes.
What I mean is this….
Since the drama is slow-paced for the 1st three episodes, and each episode is over 1 hour it takes a while to get to the actual meat of the story, you have to wait 3 to 4 hours, which is a big ask in this holiday season.
Introductions are important, and here they’re done in a weak manner and in a way that is unappealing [with a focus on the directing which I’ll discuss in the section below]. Its difficult to get through because its boring, not because of the imagery, if we keep in mind that the viewer doesn’t mind the blood. It’s a different story if you’re sensitive to gore and extreme violence. If its that, then I don’t recommend this drama because you’ll already find it difficult to watch because of the blood.
It was only in episode 4 that I found myself starting to have fun, but I watched “Gyeongseong Creature” in parts because I really, and I mean REALLY, struggled to get through the 1st three episodes. I wasn’t this excited watching it and it didn’t feel that binge-worthy to me.
The screenwriter also does a poor job of getting you to care about the characters and their connections to each other, this ties back to how they’re introduced in the story.
I still think “Gyeongseong Creature” could be made into a drama but not in this iteration which was lacking, to say the least. In theory, the story should work but its so expected and repeated, it does not end up being anything special.
Like, the only thing that would remind me of this drama is the casting….. and if its not the story…. then does it leave an impact?
this is up to you to judge for yourself because reactions have been polarizing.
Overall, the writing for part 1 was not to my liking, I felt a lot of parts could’ve been done better but the writing, mixed with the directing, made it so that its not easy to get immersed in the story. They go hand in hand, and I feel the union of screenwriter Kang Eun-Kyung and director Jung Dong-Yoon did not yield good results contrary to our expectations.
And the thing is, there is a 2nd season that had been reportedly filming for some time. So we have a 2nd season after part 2 concludes…
and get that, the drama total cost is around 70 billion won, which is roughly $54 million, making it one of the most expensive kdramas EVER made. The set design is fine, but the monster is horribly rendered which makes the overall project feel cheap, not like it cost over $25 million for each season.
The directing
I did not like the directing…. I feel this time strongly about this too. Generally, even if the direction is not unique, its passable… not this time, everything felt awkward. and I mean really awkward.
What was going on on the set?
Director Jung Dong-Yoon has only one other Standalone directing credit to his name, which is Hot Stove League. He has co-directed many SBS dramas including Defendant, but he has had only one kdrama he’s directed on his own, so was it a good choice to pick him as the director of such work?
Don’t get me wrong, Hot Stove League was a great drama, we’re not debating that, but his qualifications have me suspecting whether he can manage a $50 million production or not.
The first thing I noticed watching the premiere of “Gyeongseong Creature” was just how distant everything felt, how awkward everyone was and how cold the scenes felt… not in a way that’s intended but in a way I cannot easily describe to others.
The directing feels unimmersive, its coupled with the writing which I think made the situation feel even worse than it could have been in the hands of another director.
I felt things heat up towards episode 4 and 5 but by that time, the story somewhat lost me.
The performances, casting and chemistry
The combination of Han So Hee and Park Seo Joon should’ve been; in theory; enough to guarantee this drama a success and I doubt it won’t be, but does it live up to expectations?
It doesn’t, not in my opinion.
I felt that Seo Joon and So Hee were awkward around each other so much so it seeps through the screen.
You know what it felt like? it felt like every actor was on a different hill, a different set and somehow, they just grouped them together in post-production and editing. This is how it felt, especially early on.
It feels they got used to each other by the 2nd half but overall, the way they acted definitely messed with the immersion in the story.
There have been talks about Seo Joon acting here. Personally speaking, I understand the angle people are coming from, some say he’s not fit to play every character out there, and I happen to slightly disagree. I noticed everyone, even the trusted supporting cast, feel awkward at first, so this time I will chuck it onto directing.
He did well here but definitely felt out of element at first, it felt like he slowly warmed up to the atmosphere. The same goes for So Hee, who I think is fine. Is she my favorite actress in terms of acting capabilities? no, but I think she does a good enough job. Especially in the scenes where she figures out who her mother is.
I think with time, she’ll become better, I see determination in her eyes and willingness to learn, which is enough to deter me from saying more.
Wi Ha Joon gives a good performance but his addition to the cast is weird, its weird in the sense that I feel he deserves a bigger role, his role here doesn’t seem that important, thus far. My opinion could change depending on part 2 and season 2.
He has also notably not promoted this drama on his Insta, yet, which is definitely odd.
In terms of chemistry, its bad, like real bad.
Seo Joon and So Hee share zero chemistry and the progression to their romance was insufficient, but I still believe it could have worked if they had better chemistry. The writing for it failed to make sense especially accounting for how Tae-Sang has been primarily concerned with surviving on his own but he risks it for someone who gave him absolutely nothing, it felt incomplete, its as if its missing additional context that would make their romance feel more real.
I would’ve loved it more if he came back to retrieve Myeong-Ja and then, through fighting the Japanese they came to like each other, but falling for her so hard you sacrifice your life does not make much sense, at ALL.
because at this point you cannot even call it love, its admiration or ‘liking someone’ but where is the deepness of what ‘love’ is supposed to be, there is nothing to go on off.
Conclusion
do I think that “Gyeongseong Creature” was one of the worst I’ve seen this year? no, I don’t. But its not great.
I think its passable, it’s a fine watch but if I take into consideration just how much hype was around it with its cast and proposed story, it fails to live up to the hype in every aspect.
Netflix has also made the weird choice to split into two parts and only release three more episodes for the 2nd part which screams desperation, and with the reviews out, I highly doubt they saw this reaction coming, this will make the 2nd part more difficult to break through with audiences if they couldn’t be bothered to complete the 1st.
It should have been released in its entirety.
The reactions have been mixed at best, some LOVED it and some, DIDN’T. There was no in-between like I’d usually see. I think its because people expected so much.
I’d say I am 30% there, still slightly hopeful but if the release of the 2nd season gets immensely pushed back, that’ll definitely sour the watching experience even more.
What did you guys think of the drama? Did you like it or not? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!
Thank you for this amazing and sincere overview. I also thought some of them, the chemistry from the main cast for example. But reading all these made nore sense and add more information for me.
I hope if they made a season 2 could correct all this flaws. But we’ll never know.
Again, thank you
I am waiting to watch this series on January 5th when part 2 arrives despite some awful reviews. I have been looking forward to it since reading about it initially. I like both leads but I really wanted to watch when I heard Wi Ha Joon was added to the cast. I have been a fan since Squid Games and just watched him in his best work in my opinion, Worst of Evil. When the series came out and he was absent at the press release and not in publicity photos, I thought he wasn’t actually going to be on the show. As you mentioned, it’s really weird that he doesn’t even promote it on his Instagram. So, I wondered what the story was and then to find out his role is minimal, I’m not even sure if I’ll watch.