INTERVIEW 'Gyeongseong Creature' director discusses global responses, show's historical message

Chung Dong-yoon, director of Netflix series "Gyeongseong Creature," poses prior to an interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Netflix

The director of Netflix's "Gyeongseong Creature," Chung Dong-yoon, expressed surprise and gratitude at the global response to the movie, particularly from Japan. He acknowledged the difficulties of crafting a narrative grounded in the harsh historical reality of Japanese military experiments during the colonial era.

"In light of the influence of the Korean Wave, particularly in Japan, Korean actors have been hesitant to take on projects of this nature for nearly a decade. The fact that actors like Park Seo-joon and Han So-hee, who have immense popularity in Japan and globally, have chosen to participate in this project is, I believe, an act of great courage," Chung said in an interview with The Korea Times at a café in Seoul on Monday.

The second season of the show, released worldwide on Friday, soared to the No. 3 spot on the global TV show rankings just two days after its release. The series topped the charts in Asian countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand and ranked within the top 10 in 80 countries, including Japan, where it ranked fourth, according to the streaming analytics site FlixPatrol.

"Initially, we didn't have high expectations for a global audience, as we anticipated it might be difficult to garner interest in Korean history abroad. Many people, even today, still confuse Korea with Japan or China. So I think a big part of its popularity was due to the actors. Their participation has been instrumental in raising global awareness of Korean history, especially considering the common misconceptions that still exist," he added.

Actor Han So-hee is seen from Netflix's "Gyeongseong Creature" season 2. Courtesy of Netflix

Season 2, set in Seoul in 2024, continues the story of Jang Ho-jae (Park), the spitting image of Jang Tae-sang from the first season, and Yoon Chae-ok (Han), who survived the spring of Gyeongseong, as they unravel the unfinished threads of fate, destiny and ill fate in Gyeongseong.

Chung stressed that the drama is not intended to be anti-Japanese but rather aims to convey a universally resonant message that "forgiveness and forgetting are different."

"There are victims, and there are those who have committed terrible acts and still hold power. Even as time goes on, new victims continue to suffer. We must not remain silent and must continue to speak out against these injustices. I believe this is how we can create a better world," the director said.

Regarding the criticism about the creature's limited screen time, he explained that the creature in this series is not a typical monster designed for action sequences. Instead, it's presented as a subject of scientific experimentation.

"Our drama's creature is a transformed experimental subject exposed to anthrax, so rather than being depicted as overly strong or large, we wanted to focus on the emotional aspects. In Season 1, as the creature was Chae-ok's mother, we emphasized a sorrowful expression and swollen eyes caused by hitting the bars of her cage, allowing viewers to still see her as a mother," he said.

In Season 2, he introduced a more diverse range of creatures. The first creature was imagined to be muscular, the second more feminine, and the third larger and more powerful. Despite their monstrous appearance, he wanted to depict the creatures as victims of experimentation so that viewers can feel empathy for the creatures, he said.

"After the face down with the creature, Ho-jae says, 'You're suffering too, aren't you?' It's meant to show that they're also experimental subjects and that they don't want to be doing this. I wanted to highlight that point, even if just for a moment. When Ho-jae says, 'You don't want this either,' the creature retreats quietly," Chung explained.

Direct said he wants to create an "alien" series some day. "My lifelong dream is to go to the moon and see Earth. I've always been drawn to that story. Watching the sci-fi film 'The Moon' (2023) made me realize how far Korea's technology has come. I think we can do even more in the future. Being a director, I wish to create a narrative centered around extraterrestrial beings some day," he said.