A unique monster story set in Japan-occupied Korea
STORY 9.5/10I 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. ??Was this review helpful to you?
Monster in Japan Era
The story is about when Japan invaded Korea. Korean people living in a town called Josenjing (a Mocking call of Japanese people to Korean people). Then there is one Korean man who has a business like a jack of all trades (Jang Tae Sang ) where you can search for anything by trading precious items. Not long after that, Japan conducted a human experiment secretly by using Korean people. It's become interesting when Jang Tae Sang encountered a girl and involved in that problem.*There is a lot of action and blood in this K-Drama.
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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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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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It is not engaging at all
Well I was expecting much more from this drama. There is no real story of developing feelings between main leads as all of the sudden they are in love .The production was really good but I have to say it was boring and 12 episodes were too many. It is real shame as it had so much potential. I could not connect to any characters at all.
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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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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?
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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 ;)
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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!
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Captivating!
I normally watch romance dramas, but I decided to watch this because season 2 just came out, and Han So Hee is one of my favorite actresses. She did so amazingly in this show! I only like her more now.I love love loved this drama! Every plotline was just thought out to perfection! It was filled with such good drama, action, sci-fi, and romance, of course! It's a captivating drama for sure, and I will be starting season two today!
So if you don't think you'll like this one because it's different from what you usually watch, please still give it a try!
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