La creatura di GyeongSeong (2023)

Wasted Potential and Good Actors Talents

This drama would have been a good horror mystery if the lukewarm-lame romance were removed from it. I would have preferred that the ML stayed cold, arrogant yet strong and over-confident throughout the drama. While I was watching this drama, I find myself shouting often at the TV screen to tell the characters to keep on running or escaping or not waste time during suspenseful scenes because of the imminent dangers around their corners. There are crazy Japanese soldiers or monster running around all over the dark places! And yet, those people were busy either talking trash, or arguing or crying or just making googly eyes at each other (yes, the ML & FL) trying to foster some fake romantic vibes for the drama! There's no feeling of urgency about the danger or fear. No tension or suspense. It's like the main characters knew they were super human, they have great plot armour and they know they will survive.
Compared this with Train to Busan drama, this new drama is as scary as some B-grade Hollywood Halloween film. Even the Korean "Kingdom" historical zombie horror-drama is 2x better. LOL... hehehe...
Anyways, this is only my opinion (plus my sister's too as we watched it together).

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Boring

I expected so much more considering the subject matter (Japanese atrocities and occupation of Korea, unit 731) at the beginning...but it ended up being super boring. i couldnt wait for it to end. The characters are underdeveloped. And the love story they forced into the series just didn't fit or make sense and took away from the rest of the story. it was like they were trying to do too much. it was highly fictionalized, it did not dive deep into what actually happened at the time, or what unit 731 did beyond just vague "human experimentation." the whole series ended up coming across as a bit too vapid for me. personally I would have preferred a real historical drama regarding this subject, with real names, real people, real events, real places, such a drama would have served the subject matter better. I just feel that the way this show treats the subject matter is too light and even maybe trivializes what happened. would have liked it better if it was more deep and serious. I did loved Suho from EXO's song that was part of the soundtrack.

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A unique monster story set in Japan-occupied Korea

STORY 9.5/10
I found the concept of a monster thriller set in the world of Japan-occupied Korea incredibly intriguing. The combination of the monster and period genres reminded me of Kingdom, which was another drama I loved. By combining the genres together, Gyeongseong Creature created an interesting dynamic that made the story more unique.

The shorter episode count gave way to good pacing throughout the entire series. However, one of my gripes with the story is that the show tended to give the answers away TOO quickly. Mysteries would sometimes be introduced and then revealed within the same episode. Delaying the reveals would've heightened the suspense a bit more.

I also disliked how the relationship between the male lead and female lead was handled. The hate-to-love trope was too exaggerated and the romance was rushed. It would've been more realistic to have the leads develop a relationship of mutual trust and understanding after the events of season 1 and then maybe have that develop into a romance in season 2.

ACTING/CAST 10/10
I absolutely LOVED the ensemble cast. I enjoyed seeing Park Seo Joon's anti-hero evolve throughout the series, but each of the characters had their moments to shine, even the minor supporting characters.

I was impressed that a lot of Japanese was spoken in this series by the all-Korean cast. I haven't watched any other dramas set in Japan-occupied Korea, but the fact that about half of this series was delivered in Japanese, and pretty adequately at that, further immersed me in the story.

MUSIC 10/10
The soundtrack to this series was phenomenal, elevating the thrilling action scenes to the more emotional ones. This series had an epic soundtrack and I wish there was a more comprehensive soundtrack released so I could listen to it again.

REWATCH VALUE 9/10
While most of the mystery is already revealed by the end of the series, I think the pure entertainment factor of the story is enough to make me want to rewatch this again. Also, the shorter episode count makes rewatching this series a lot more manageable than a 20+ episode drama.

OVERALL 10/10
Gyeongseong Creature impressively combines the monster and period genres, showcasing excellent execution by the production crew and cast. If you're looking for a drama with suspense, mystery, action, drama, and a dash of romance, then I highly recommend this drama.

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Worth watching!!

This was the best drama I've watched in a veeeery long time. To be honest, this is certainly Park Seo Joon's best role so far. Alongside with great acting, I feel like he really fits the character of this not-so-serious businessman with a heroic side hidden somewhere deep down. Truly outstanding, even made me shed a tear in the last episode.

Han So Hee also did a good job, and so did the rest of the cast. All of them definitely deserve a praise.

I'm glad this was only 10 episodes because that way it didn't get boring halfway as most of dramas do. The plot was full of suspense and action-packed, really had me sitting on pins and needles. Although, I must admit the romance was quite weak - there wasn't a real story to it, ML and FL just suddenly fell in love with each other. However, it's better the romance was weak and the rest of the storyline was good than the other way round.

Visual/special effects were superb, I especially enjoyed the fire after the bombing. As for OST, I'm in a fix - FOREVER by SUHO is a cool song, but in my opinion, it doesn't really fit this particular drama. Time by Baek A, on the other hand, fits perfectly.

One thing that really stuck with me is when in ep 2, ML used the expression "내 스타일대로". Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but to me it doesn't seem like something people in 1945 would say?

Overall, strong 10/10, would highly recommend. Had a great time watching it and can't wait for Season 2.

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I liked

Simply perfect. The Creature from Gyeongseong is horror, suspense and science fiction combined with a period piece, which clearly made it even more spectacular. It is important to highlight that, although disguised as fantasy, it is not far from the reality that occurred in the past; that during the Japanese occupation of South Korea, many individuals born in the country were captured and used as guinea pigs for scientific experiments and testing of weapons developed by the Imperial Japanese Army, in a division known as Unit 731. Talking about the cast, what a show! Han So-Hee, Park Seon-joon, Wi Ha-joon is the true meaning of whatever; I confess that I wanted Wi Han-joon's participation in the second season but it took a different direction than I expected. 》At first, in the second season I thought it had no connection with the previous facts but little by little it started to fit together but that doesn't cancel out the fact that it was still vague. From 1940 to 2024? It completely changed the plot, setting and time that was set in the first season. 》I noticed that in the second season they focused more on the protagonists' romance, it must be because it complies with the mandatory romance between the protagonists in the K-drama, but it is notable how Han and Park do not bubble with passion on screen, their encounters of souls are more gentle and circumstantial. Which obviously explains that totally convoluted and unfinished ending. Despite everything, it's an excellent series and all I can say is: Watch it. 🎞🍿

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Good Enough

Korean Drama '' Gyeongseong Creature '' is a fantasy, horror, action drama.

The historical aspect of the drama is spot on. The costumes, make-up, settings, everything are beautiful, and create the right atmosphere, along with camera filters and sharp shots.

The story has enough mystery, moreover, to keep things intense and interesting till the very ending. However, the plot is pretty basic for a fantasy historical drama, with few surprises, a messy pace when it came to the love story, which could have been omitted or kept for the second season, and poor CGI that messed up the whole momentum at times,

Other than that, there were some emotional plotlines and a lot of well handled action scenes.

Finally, the performances were all enjoyable.

So, overall, six out of ten.

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Ambientado na década de 40, quando a Coreia estava sendo colonizada pelo Japoneses, pano de fundo importante para a construção da narrativa pois apresenta como os coreanos sofriam na mão dos colonizadores sendo obrigados a abandonar seu próprio idioma para falar o idioma do colonizador, abdicar de seus negócios e viver com medo ou como rebeldes que frequentemente eram torturados e mortos. Mas também, no contexto do drama, submetidos a experiências cientificas desumanas.

Jang Taesang é um homem que viu sua mãe ser presa e posteriormente morta pelos japoneses quando ele era um menino. Para manter a promessa feita à mãe de se manter vivo, ele se mantém longe dos conflitos com os japoneses até que o destino dele encontra o de Yoon Chaeok, uma detetive determinada que está procurando pela mãe desaparecida há 10 anos.

Taesang acaba sendo intimado a resgatar a amante de um oficial japonês que foi levada para o hospital (onde os militares realizam experimentos) a mando da esposa legítima do oficial. Com isso Taesang e Chaeok acabam unindo forças para se infiltrar e resgatar as pessoas presas no hospital.

Digamos que a primeira metade do drama funciona como ambientação e preparação para o clímax que acontece na segunda parte com o resgate propriamente dito e o embate com os vilões. Achei esse primeiro momento mais devagar e até um pouco chato, mas "devorei" os episódios da segunda parte. E sinceramente foi muito satisfatório a cena no velório do Oficial e o bilhete de Taesang manda para a Sra Maeda e o desfecho disso.

Ansiosa pela segunda temporada que vai trazer explicações sobre aquele final enigmático que parece trazer elementos de viagem no tempo.

P.S: Assisti a segunda temporada e não tem nada de viagem no tempo kkkkkkkkkk

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Surprisingly Enjoyable

I have reconsidered this series multiple time whether I should watch it or not as It's not something I usually watch, however I decided to give it a go as I ran out of series I really wanted to see and I've been pleasantly surprised by this series. The series itself was full of action, drama and a great story.

The acting was probably one of the strongest part of the series as all main characters did an outstanding job with Kim Su Hyun as Lady Maeda being the absolute highlight for me. She played her role as a true villain. The story itself had it's few dropdowns at several occassions, but at other times was very unpredictable with an example to the last few shots of the series.

The music however wasn't the highlight of the series and have definitely seen series with better ones.

Regarding the rewatch value, It's something I do not take into account as I never re-watch a series.

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Exploring Horror and History in an Engaging Drama

I checked out the first two episodes when the series premiered. While it was decent, I wasn't particularly eager to continue watching—especially with Part 2 releasing the following year. Now that I've finally finished Part 1, I can appreciate its intriguing elements. This fictional sci-fi horror drama draws inspiration from eerie events tied to a historical military unit known for its wartime experiments. Set in Korea during the Japanese occupation, the story unfolds in a fictional hospital where questionable experiments give rise to a terrifying monster.

The cast shines, especially Claudia Kim as the villainous Lady Maeda—she's truly captivating! However, many characters could benefit from more development; their backstories are revealed gradually in the latter half, making it challenging to connect with them initially. Additionally, some of the dialogue feels a bit shallow, detracting from the overall experience. To fully grasp the character growth and plot twists, it's essential to watch Parts 1 and 2 back-to-back.

With heavy themes and the grim realities of war crimes, Part 1 isn't likely to make my rewatch list.

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