Han So-hee (left) and Park Seo-jun pose for a photo during a press conference held in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Wednesday. (Yonhap)
The second season of "Gyeongseong Creature," one of Netflix Korea's largest projects, promises a faster pace as well as an exciting new plot and characters to address viewer comments about the slow pace of the first season, director Jung Dong-yoon said Wednesday.
The first season of "Gyeongseong Creature" is set in 1945 Gyeongseong, where Chae-ok (Han So-hee) and Tae-sang (Park Seo-jun) uncover secret experiments intended to transform humans into monsters. The series draws heavily on the real-life atrocities of Unit 731, a division of the Imperial Japanese Army infamous for the human experiments it performed in the 1940s. In the show, this is reflected through the Japanese military's experiments to turn Koreans into monsters.
In "Gyeongseong Creature Season 2," the story picks up 79 years later, centering around Chae-ok who is now part-monster, part-human and gifted with eternal youth. She encounters Ho-jae (Park), a man who strikingly resembles her former lover, Tae-sang.
Along with the entirely new setting, the second season also introduces two new key characters. Lee Moo-saeng portrays Captain Kuroko, leader of a secret agent team working for the company behind the 1945 experiments, while Bae Hyun-sung joins the cast as Seung-jo who, with the ability to use tentacles, is on a hunt for Ho-jae and Chae-ok.
The director emphasized that a key difference between the first and second seasons is the pace at which the latter unfolds.
“1945 was a difficult year to portray, and I aimed for a more subdued representation of the era (when producing) the first season,” director Jung said during a press conference in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday.
"However, there was a 79-year time jump in season two. Given the series' modern setting, I focused on establishing a greater sense of speed that aligns with the contemporary era, using various elements, including visuals and sound," he said.
"Gyeongseong Creature Season 2," starring Han So-hee (Netflix)
Despite "Gyeongseong Creature" having one of the highest-ever production costs for a Korean Netflix original -- reportedly around 70 billion won ($52 million) in total -- the first season received mixed reviews.
Responding to the first season's lukewarm reception, Jung said that he carefully reviewed viewer feedback and integrated it into the development of the second season.
"By the time the first season was released, the editing for the second season had already been completed. (However), I watched the public's reactions ... and I felt it was important to take full responsibility and asked to edit the series again," said Jung.
“I can’t predict how the response will turn out ... (nevertheless), as the director, I focused on incorporating a lot of the feedback into the second season and helping the viewers connect with the series,” he said.
"Gyeongseong Creature Season 2," starring Park Seo-jun (Netflix)
Through the "Gyeongseong Creature" series, Jung said he wanted to communicate the significance of remembering those who have harmed others.
“I believe it’s crucial to reflect on those who caused pain (to others) and to confront them assertively, without bowing our heads. This was the original intention behind creating the drama," said Jung.
"Forgiveness and forgetting are not the same, and I wanted to share this perspective with people around the world,” he added.
The first episode of "Gyeongseong Creature Season 2" will stream on Netflix on Friday.
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