“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. Chae-ok’s life is anything but ordinary, and even more so when she crosses paths with Jang Tae-sang, the wealthy owner of a pawnshop in Japanese-occupied Korea in the 1940s.
In the second season of the show which drops on September 27, there is a lot more that continues to be extraordinary, this time though in modern-day Seoul. Chae-ok, played by Han So-hee, has survived the Gyeongseong spring of 1945 and finds herself in Seoul in 2024, where she encounters Jang Ho-jae (Park Seo-joon), who bears a striking resemblance to Tae-sang. If the first season of Gyeongseong Creature followed Tae-sang and Chae-ok unearth the mysterious happenings at Onseong hospital — with scores of people trapped in a basement ward and a deadly monster on the loose — the second season will see the return of some old horrors, and a host of new ones following a time leap.
“Chae-ok is the pillar of the story. 70 years have passed, she didn’t cease to exist. She’s the centre of everything that happens and propels the narrative forward,” says Han So-hee, in an interaction ahead of the show’s release. The time leap was something both she, and her co-star Park Seo-joon say they were mindful of, while preparing for their roles.
“Given that I play a seemingly different character with no recollection of his past memories, not everything is spelt out about my progression. I had to interpret this and fill it with my own imagination,” says Seo-joon. His Ho-jae in the second season, is a big departure from the grandiose charm of a powerful, wealthy informant 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 says.
Park Seo-joon in ‘Gyeongseong Creature’ Season 2 | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
While the actors worked on the show’s debut season and had a bit of time before they went into filming its sophomore, Seo-joon says the change in setting to the present meant that they reflected on the ways in which they could make the show even more entertaining. “I was nervous to set foot on the set again. The show has lots of action, and not one easy scene,” describes the actor. A certified Hallyu star, Seo-joon has starred in a number of hit K-dramas across genres, which include 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 an emotional and physical range. Several sequences in both seasons feature the actor partake in high-octane fight sequences and stunts, something she is no stranger to given her previous outing in the action-packed thriller My Name.
Han So-hee in a still from the show | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“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 says.
Among her initial scenes for season two was shooting underwater, and So-hee recalls how she braved the frigid waters. Seo-joon, though, is quick to chip in at this revelation.” You have a ‘najin’, and are a superhero, so you probably were okay,” he chuckles. A parasitic creature, the najin was used by the Japanese to experiment on humans in the show, and is what Chae-ok’s mother was infected with in season one, ultimately leading to the creation of the monster. A najin takes over Chae-ok as well, rendering her ageless and alive decades later.
A still from ‘Gyeongseong Creature’ Season 2 | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Shorter K-Dramas that deviate from the standard 16-episode format, as well as sequels are slowly but surely becoming popular. Netflix’s Korean originals in particular have dabbled with sequels much more than other productions, with Hospital Playlist, Alchemy of Souls, and Kingdom all enjoying second seasons.
Working on the sequel for Gyeongseong creature, director Chung Dong-yoon says that while it was good news for him as a director to work on a second part, it wasn’t without doubts of a possible sophomore slump on 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 says.
Amidst all the terror, grisly monster attacks, and warding off stealthy Kuroko fighters, a steadily growing romance also manages to find a place in the chaotic proceedings. Romantic chemistry, So-hee says, is something that this season will have a lot more of.
“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 says, summing up what is in store.
Gyeongseong Creature Season 2 premieres on Netflix on September 27
Published - September 26, 2024 05:41 pm IST
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