7 Things To Remember Before The K-Drama’s Season 2

Gyeongseong Creature season 2 brings back Han So-hee and Park Seo-joon in a story about legacy and karma, this time in 2024 instead of the late 20th century. One of many Netflix original K-dramas, Gyeongseong Creature premiered on December 22, 2023, with seven episodes. The final three episodes of the first season were released two weeks later on January 5, 2024. Shortly after the conclusion of season 1, Gyeongseong Creature was officially renewed for season 2. Given how season 1 ended, the announcement of a second chapter was hardly a surprise. Gyeongseong Creature 2 premiers Friday, September 27 on Netflix.

The horror K-Drama tells the story of Jang Tae-sang, whose life takes a turn after an investigation of a missing person leads him to Chae-ok, a detective who is also looking for someone who went missing. Together, Tae-sang and Chae-ok had to face the demons of their past, sometimes quite literally. Gyeongseong Creature season 1’s ending was mostly self-contained and saw the destruction of the hospital where the experiments were happening. However, the finale’s closing minutes made a second season all but inevitable. Not only was Chae-ok brought back to life, but the show included a massive time jump.

7 Gyeongseong Creature Combined Real History And Fictional Elements

Season 1 Was Set In The Final Days Of Japan’s Occupation Of Korea

While Gyeongseong Creature season 2 will take place in 2024, the first season was a historic piece set in the final days of World War 2. The show explored the social and economic impacts of Japan’s occupation of Korea and spotlighted the horrors of Unit 731, although it added a fictional element to it. In addition to referencing all the horrifying war crimes that happened in real life, Gyeongseong Creatureepisode 1 established that Japanese soldiers had found a mysterious organism that could turn people into rageful monsters.

This organism, which became known as “Najin,” was used as the basis for Lieutenant Kato and Ichiro’s secret program at the Ongseong Hospital in Gyeongseong. Kato and Ichiro were trying to create the perfect organism that could be used as a weapon in the war, and while their original lab was destroyed toward the end of the war, they resumed their experiments in Gyeongseong. Most of Gyeongseong Creature season 1 took place inside the Ongseong Hospital as Chae-ok and her father looked for answers about what happened to her mother.

6 Lady Maeda Was Behind The Ongseong Hospital’s Experiments

Lady Maeda Was The Mastermind In Gyeongseong Creature

In the latter half of Gyeongseong Creature season 1, we learn that Claudia Kim’s Lady Maeda, Commissioner Ishikawa’s wife, was the secret benefactor behind the hospital. Not only was Lady Maeda financing Kato and Ichiro’s experiments, but she knew exactly what they were trying to achieve. Lady Maeda also used the hospital as a way to eliminate her enemies, namely Ishikawa’s lover, Myeong-ja. Gyeongseong Creature also teased that Lady Maeda was behind the kidnapping and imprisoning of Chae-ok’s mother, although it’s unclear what happened between them.

It is also unclear why Lady Maeda was interested in the Najin research. She may have been trying to create new weapons for her country in the war, but there also seems to be a power-seeking element to it. Publicly, Lady Maeda behaved like a noblewoman who would rarely leave the house or question her husband’s actions. However, in secrecy, she was arguably the most powerful and dangerous person in Gyeongseong. A Japanese woman, Lady Maeda had been living in Gyeongseong ever since Ishikawa was appointed as the city’s new Chief of Police.

5 Jang Tae-sang’s Life Has Always Been About Survival

Tae-sang Grew Up Very Selfish And Pragmatic

One small but important detail about Gyeongseong Creature is that Park Seo-joon’s character is all about survival. Jang Tae-sang, owner of the most popular pawn shop in the city, came from nothing and lost his mother most tragically. Both Tae-sang and his mother were arrested by Japanese soldiers, and while the boy was freed, his mother was killed. The last thing Tae-sang’s mom told him was for him to survive, which is why he grew up to be a relatively selfish person who puts his survival in front of everything else.

This is also why Tae-sang likes making money so much, and why he is not very good at relationships. Tae-sang’s approach to life also explains why he never properly joined the fight for Korea’s freedom, even though his best friend was deeply involved with the freedom fighters. That said, Gyeongseong Creature season 1, part 2 showed that Tae-sang was not as selfish as it seemed. Falling in love with Chae-ok seems to have played a role in it, as Tae-sang finally learned how to open himself to someone else.

4 Lieutenant Kato Was With Myeong-ja’s Baby At The End Of Season 1

Myeong-ja’s Baby Was Born With The Infection

Myeong-ja suffered a terrible fate in Gyeongseong Creature. She was Ishikawa’s mistress, and while Lady Maeda didn’t care about her husband being with someone, the news that Myeong-ja was pregnant with his child changed things. Maeda had Myeong-ja kidnapped and sent to the Ongseong Hospital without telling Ishikawa. This set the events of the show in motion, as the Chief of Police made a deal with Tae-sang so that the well-connected pawn shop owner would try to find out what had happened to Myeong-ja.

Later in the first season, we learn that Myeong-ja was one of many prisoners used as test subjects for the Najin experiments. While she did not fully transform into a giant creature like what happened to Chae-ok’s mother, Myeong-ja did become a zombie-like figure who ferociously attacked other people. At the end of Gyeongseong Creature, Myeong-ja died during childbirth, but the baby survived. Lieutenant Kato delivered the baby and noticed they had inherited the Najin organism. With Gyeongseong Creature skipping to the present, we will likely see the baby as a grown-up, at least in flashbacks.

3 We Don’t Know Who Drank The Contaminated Glass Of Water

Tae-sang Is The Most Likely Candidate

One of the most important non-resolved plots of Gyeongseong Creature season 1 is who drank the contaminated glass of water at the end of episode 7. Tae-sang, Chae-ok, and several other characters had the opportunity to drink from the glass of water where Lieutenant Kato had put one of the parasites. Gyeongseong Creature never revealed who drank it and only showed that the glass was empty by the time the characters had escaped. The first half of season 1 even ended with a montage that teased all the possible characters who may have been infected.

The most accepted theory is that Tae-sang is the one who got infected without knowing. This would explain why Tae-sang was able to escape the hospital despite being found by a guard, which happened offscreen. It would also explain why Tae-sang was feeling nauseous when he and Chae-ok were buying food shortly after they reunited out of the hospital. Lastly, Tae-sang being infected would explain why he is still alive and looks the same almost 80 later. Ho-jae is all but confirmed as being Tae-sang, although the trailers have suggested he lost his memory.

2 Chae-ok Virtually Died But Came Back At The End Of Season 2

Chae-ok Now Has The Mysterious Organism In Her Bloodstream

Chae-ok was deeply wounded by the creature, her own mother, in Gyeongseong Creature episode 10. Han So-hee’s character put himself between the monster and Tae-sang, with one of the creature’s tentacles perforating her chest. Chae-ok’s death in Tae-sang’s arms was very tragic, especially because she was attacked by the monster version of her mother. However, the creature could feel that it was her daughter and did something to bring her back. Gyeongseong Creature season 1 ended with the monster transferring the Najin organism into Chae-ok, who then opened her eyes.

It can be assumed that Chae-ok gained some of the powers shown by both the creature and Myeong-ja, although it is unclear if she ever became a giant monster like her mother. Regardless, this explains why Han So-hee is back as Chae-ok in Gyeongseong Creature season 2 despite the modern-day setting. Unlike Ho-jae, who seems to be Tae-sang without his memories, Chae-ok knows who she is according to the trailers. In the closing shots of season 1, Tae-sang was mourning the loss of Chae-ok, meaning he didn’t know she was being brought to life.

1 Gyeongseong Creature Season 1 Ended With A 79-Year Time Skip

Gyeongseong Creature Season 2 Is A Whole New Show

The most important thing to remember from Gyeongseong Creature going into season 2 is that the first season ended with a shocking 79-year time skip. The Netflix horror K-drama included a post-credits scene featuring Park Seo-joon, except it was set in modern-day Seoul rather than 1945 Gyeongseong. Park’s character was referred to as Ho-jae, not Tae-sang, and there was no context whatsoever as to what we were actually seeing. It has since been confirmed that Gyeongseong Creature season 2 will take place in 2024, a surprising turn of events for a show that premiered as a period piece.

Gyeongseong Creature jumping eight decades into the future means that most of the characters cannot return, unless of course in flashbacks. However, both Park Seo-joon and Han So-hee star in the second season, with the latter officially reprising her role as Chae-ok. Everything points to Ho-jae being Tae-sang with a different name and most likely without his memories. The tagline for Gyeongseong Creature 2 is “The weight of karma,” suggesting this season will deal with how the horrors from Gyeongseong continued to affect those involved. Given that Maeda and Kato both survived, the Najin experiments likely continued after the war.