.jpg)
PRESENTING Korea’s final series of the year, The Glory, directed by An Gil-ho and written by Kim Eun-sook, also known for her other works, such as Descendants of the Sun and Secret Garden.
Despite her reputation for melodramas and romantic comedies, she has now taken a turn and created a genre show – aimed at a select community, generating a specific fandom and relying on their loyalty to thrive.
The Glory – inspired by her own daughter’s experiences as a sophomore in school witnessing school violence – follows Moon Dong Eun, the main character, in a web of vengeance towards her high school bullies.
Casting Song Hye-kyo, Lee Do-hyun, Im Ji-yeon, Yeom Hye-ran, Park Sung-hoon, Jung Sung-ill, this will be a two part series with a total of 16 episodes; the first part premiering on December 30, while part two is scheduled for release in March of 2023.
What sounds like an anti-hero series is the writer’s way of trying to portray a sense of restoration. As Eun-sook shared, upon understanding that school violence victims would rather receive a heartfelt apology from their perpetrator over monetary compensation, she learnt that it is about the idea of restoration to a time before they were victimised.
The Glory is a tale of a victim, Dong Eun, seeking revenge on her perpetrator, Park Yeon Jin, played by Ji-yeon; but things become more deeply intertwined when Dong Eun so happens to be Yeon Jin’s daughter’s homeroom teacher.
Seeking an actress who is able to portray the fragile but strong main character, director Gil-ho reached out to Hye-kyo, who is known for playing roles in melodramas and romance series.
Her role in The Glory is definitely not the Song Hye-kyo that we are familiar with, as her character suffered from school violence but was turned away by all authorities and had a life-awakening moment when she attempted suicide; leading to her hunger for vengeance.
On the other hand, we have the antagonist, Yeon Jin, who grew up in an environment where she could do no wrong. With wealth and power on her side, she never had to worry about anything. She even married into a prestigious family and was blessed with a child of her own.
Upon trying to understand Yeon Jin’s villainous backstory, actress Ji-yeon could only come up with one explanation; oblivion. She grew up with such privilege that she was not aware of what and why her actions were wrong or why they were considered mean and unkind.
Seeking for someone who looked angelic on the outside, but a devil at heart, Eun-sook zeroed in on Ji-yeon to represent this character.
Apart from the main plot between victim Dong Eun and assaulter Yeon Jin, The Glory also features other intertwining characters such as Ju Yeo-jeong (Do Hyun), Jeon Jae Joon (Sung-hoon), Kang Hyeon-nam (Hye-ran) and Ha Do Young (Sung Il).
Written with the concept of a letter in mind, The Glory is Kim Eun-sook’s ode of a victim’s inner struggle and internal scream towards the pain and suffering inflicted by their perpetrator. Quiet but fierce. – The Vibes, December 20, 2022
