6.2 - Review of Episode 2 of Gyeongseong Creature

Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 2 of Gyeongseong Creature, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Park Seo-joon as Jang Tae-sang, Han So-hee as Yoon Chae-ok, Wi Ha-hun as Kwon Jun-taek, Kim Soo-hyun as Lady Maeda, Ji Woo as Myeong-ja, Jo Han-chul as Yoon Joon-won, and Kim Hae-sook as Nawol daek. We discuss:How we are grateful to our listeners! We have listeners all over the world and our audience is growing!The song we feature in the recap: Forever by SUHO.How the Japanese and Korean characters in this show speak both Japanese and Korean and it can be very confusing.How knowing what language our characters are speaking gives you a sense of who has the upper hand in the conversation.The sleuths, who are really good, because they figured out where Myeong-ja is and how she got there (she was sent there by Lade Maeda).How Mr. Gu wonders if Myeong-ja is another of the many women and girls who have disappeared in Gyeongseong, a reference to the Japanese Army practice of kidnapping women and girls during WWII and turning them into sex slaves, or what they called “comfort women.”How we now know that Lady Maeda had a powerful motive for getting rid of Myeong-ja AND she has some relationship with Dr. Ichiro.The few lighthearted moments of the show, especially when Jang Tae-sang is dumbstruck when he sees Yoon Chae-ok all dressed up in the light blue suit and pillbox hat.The secret hand signal that the Korean independence army members use to signal each other.The significance of Manchuria because it shares a border with what is now North Korea.The origin story of Sachimoto, including the fact that he drew Yoon Chae-ok’s mom!How we know that the creature is Yoon Chae-ok’s mom through her swollen left eye and wooden flower pendant.Our thoughts on why Jang Tae-sang decides to go back into Ongseong Hospital.The K Drama elements we see in this episode, especially the triangle between Lady Maeda, Commissioner Ishikawa and Myeong-ja, and the umbrella scene with Lady Maeda.The meaning behind the title: Mother, between longing and anguish.How the intro scene at the beginning of each episode is NOT the origin story of Yoon Chae-ok’s mom. We made a mistake. The intro is the origin story of the first girl to swallow a najin, turn into a creature, and get captured by the Japanese.The amazing and handsome Park Seo-joon, including how his last name is pronounced Pahk, not Pak and not Park.How episode 3 has some gory scenes with the creature AND some scenes of cruelty by soldiers against prisoners and other soldiers.ReferencesKorean Independence Movement in WikipediaTIME Magazine article on the real history behind Gyeongseong CreaturePark Seo-joon on WikipediaCome To My Heart from A Witch’s Love sung by Park Seo-joon