“Ordinary life was all I ever dreamed of; I just wanted to live the ordinary life,” muses Yoon Chae-ok, one of the protagonists of the 2023 Korean show, Gyeongseong Creature. But Chae-ok’s life is anything but ordinary, especially when she encounters Jang Tae-sang, the wealthy owner of a pawnshop in Japanese-occupied Korea during the 1940s.
In the second season of the show, which drops on September 27, the extraordinary continues, this time set in modern-day Seoul. Chae-ok, portrayed by Han So-hee, has survived the Gyeongseong spring of 1945 and finds herself in Seoul in 2024. Here, she meets Jang Ho-jae (Park Seo-joon), who bears a striking resemblance to Tae-sang from the past. If the first season of Gyeongseong Creature followed Tae-sang and Chae-ok as they unearthed the mysterious happenings at Onseong hospital — with people trapped in a basement ward and a deadly monster on the loose — the second season introduces new horrors and revisits old ones through a time leap.
“Chae-ok is the pillar of the story. Seventy years have passed, yet she didn’t cease to exist. She is the center of everything that happens and propels the narrative forward,” Han So-hee says, discussing her character ahead of the show’s release. The time jump was something both she and her co-star Park Seo-joon were mindful of as they prepared for their respective roles.
“Given that I play a seemingly different character with no recollection of his past memories, not everything is spelled out about my progression. I had to interpret this and fill it with my own imagination,” Seo-joon explains. Ho-jae, his character in the second season, diverges significantly from the grandiose, powerful, and wealthy informant Tae-sang from the first season. “I had to remember to depict Ho-jae as someone who was experiencing everything for the first time, and adapt to the modern way of speaking and acting,” Seo-joon elaborated.
While the actors worked on the show’s debut season and had some time before filming its sophomore season, Seo-joon points out that the change in setting to the present required reflection on how to make the show even more engaging. “I was nervous to set foot on the set again. The show has lots of action, and not one easy scene,” he describes. A certified Hallyu star, Seo-joon is known for his roles in hit K-dramas across genres, including the romantic comedy What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim and the hugely successful Itaewon Class.
For So-hee, her character in Gyeongseong Creature demanded both emotional and physical range.
. Several sequences in both seasons feature her engaging in high-octane fight scenes and stunts, something she is no stranger to given her previous outing in the action-packed thriller My Name. “Instead of saying I particularly enjoy action, I think action is a means to express a character. My character is someone who protects herself, is very proactive with leading her life, and I tend to like people who put themselves first,” So-hee reflects.
Among her initial scenes for season two was shooting underwater, and So-hee recalls braving the frigid waters. Seo-joon, however, is quick to chime in on this revelation. “You have a ‘najin,’ and are a superhero, so you probably were okay,” he chuckles. In the show, a parasitic creature called a najin was used by the Japanese to experiment on humans, leading to the creation of monsters. A najin also takes over Chae-ok, rendering her ageless and alive decades later.
Shorter K-Dramas that deviate from the standard 16-episode format, as well as sequels, are gaining popularity. Netflix’s Korean originals, in particular, have produced sequels more frequently than other productions, with notable examples being Hospital Playlist, Alchemy of Souls, and Kingdom. Working on the Gyeongseong Creature sequel, director Chung Dong-yoon admits that while embarking on a second part was good news, it was not without concerns about a possible sophomore slump and whether the follow-up would live up to the first. “Writer Kang Eun-kyung and I believed that two seasons would do this story justice and were enthused about the idea of a time leap. We looked at Season 2 as a completely different show, and approached it as two different narratives,” he reveals.
Amid the terror, grisly monster attacks, and stealthy Kuroko fighters, a growing romance also finds its place in the chaotic proceedings. Romantic chemistry, according to So-hee, is something that this season will emphasize more.
“Everything in the last season was all leading up to this, and it is going to be fun for people watching to see how it all unravels. There is a lot to be explained, but the show will be very fast-paced,” Seo-joon sums up what viewers can expect.
Gyeongseong Creature Season 2 premieres on Netflix on September 27, promising a blend of historical intrigue, modern challenges, and thrilling action sequences.
