'The Glory' features 'Dark Song Hye-kyo' with heavy topic

연합뉴스 / 2023-01-03 09:15:34

▲This photo, provided by Netflix, show scene of 'The Glory.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL January 3 (Yonhap) -- Without any makeup on Song Hye-kyo swings the knife of revenge with in a heartbeat with emotionless face.

Queen of the mellow genre, actress Song Hye-kyo has returned with Netflix Original series “The Glory” which depicts a revenge story of the victim of school bullying.

“The Glory” is the latest work of writer Kim Eun-sook who is known for her work, “Mr. Sunshine,” “Descendant of the Sun,” “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” and more. Unlike her previous series where the writer portrayed various emotional changes through unique characters within the storyline, through “The Glory” the writer restricts everything within the protagonist’s face.

Song Hye-kyo acts out the adult version of Moon Dong-eun, who narrates every details of her sweet revenge on Park Yeon-jin acted by Lim Ji-yeon as she acts out her plan.

When Dong-eun calls out Yeon-jin it almost sound kind and friendly, however her will and dedication to seek revenge on Yeon-jin is firm. The one track mindedness of Moon Dong-eun showcase how much pain she has gone through alone.

“The Glory” is 2 parted series with total of 16 episodes. First season which was revealed on December 30 includes 8 of the episodes showcased Moon Dong-eun’s past where she suffered greatly of school bullying, and her planning stage of getting her revenge on bullies from wealth families.

Despite of it being a revenge series, “The Glory” shines light on protagonists intertwined story lines and her emotional drift instead of her tragedy.

Protagonist Moon Dong-eun who dropped out of high school works very hard to pass the qualification exam for college entrance to enter the school she has dreamed of but her misery does not stop there. She earns money by teaching kids, and later on passes the test for becoming a teacher. She learns how to play baduk also known as go, and later on she becomes close friends with couple of the people. However all of her actions are just part of her plans to get her revenge.

Throughout the series, Moon Dong-eun asks “Did you know what my dream was? I wanted to forget about who you are what you looked like and when we met again, I wished I can ask the question of who are you? I wish I forgot about the existence of you.” This demonstrates how Moon Dong-eun is still being haunted by her past.

Park Yeon-jin is not the only student who bullied Moon Dong-eun. Jeon Jae-joon acted by Park Sung-hoon, Lee Sa-ra acted by Kim Hi-eora, Choi Hye-jeong acted by Cha Joo-young, Son Myeong-oh acted by Kim Gun-woo and their homeroom teacher and Moon Dong-eun’s mother who decided to bury the school bullying case after receiving money.

The brutality of school bullying was featured throughout the first episode of the series. Moon Dong-eun was burned by school bullies, choked, kissed, and was made to dance. School bullies continued to live as a bully despite of their age even after they became adults.

Revenge of Moon Dong-eun starts off by creating cracks in between the bond of bullies. Members of the group who gathered around and stayed together with the goal of bullying Moon Dong-eun was easy to manipulate. Jeon Jae-joon, talks behind Son Myeong-oh’s back, and Park Yeon-jin and Lee Sa-ra talks behind Choi Hye-jeong showcasing how shallow their friendships are. Park Yeon-jin and Jeon Jae-joon who has their own individual ambition also splits up.

However, Moon Dong-eun who used to be alone throughout the entire season comes across those who she can rely on. Kang Hyeon-nam acted by Yeom Hye-ran who is a victim of abuse by her husband asks Moon Dong-eun to kill her husband, provides Moon Dong-eun with food. Also Ju Yeo-jeong acted by Lee Do-hyun who seems to have untold stories related to his deceased father, helps out Moon Dong-eun.

Unlike the bullies the bond between victims are unbreakable, and how their revenge will play out interests the audience. Especially Moon Dong-eun and Kang Hyeon-nam has an overlapping aspect of being part of a disadvantaged class.

Drama showcases bit monotonous storyline lead by victims and attackers, however actress Song Hye-kyo’s acting skill intensifies audiences interest throughout the series. “The Glory” marks the birth of “Dark Song Hye-kyo”

Forbes magazine released an article “A Scarred Song Hye-kyo Eacts K-Drama Revenge in ‘The Glory’” and provided positive review toward “The Glory” on using Moon Dong-eun’s blindness to seek her revenge throughout the series.

Since, Moon Dong-eun manages to act out her plan to revenge on her bullies, the suspense aspect of the series are little bit missing.

Moon Dong-eun acquires everything she needs to blackmail her bullies very easily, and the bullies fall for the tracks way too easily. Although the series showcase the emotion of revenge, the process of her getting the revenge she always wanted is lacking the relevance.

Part 2 of the series might feature much faster turn of events, but throughout the first season nothing really big has happened so one might be able to address it dull and bit flat without any climax.