Writer Kim Eun-sook unfolds her first revenge play through the OTT platform. It is revenge for school violence, not revenge for lust, power, or money.
The end of 2022 was ‘the youngest son of a chaebol house’. If prominent actors including Song Joong-ki and Lee Seong-min built a tower of high ratings and topicality with bloody acting, but made the tower into a sandcastle with an absurd ending, the start of 2023 is ‘The Glory’ by writer Eun-sook Kim and Hye-kyo Song with luxurious lines. With her outstanding beauty, she will build a tower of issues to stand against school violence.
I previewed the 6th episode of ‘The Glory’, which will be released on December 30th through Netflix. ‘School violence’ has already been an issue through the media for several years, and many characters, whether victims or perpetrators, have apologized, reflected, or escaped, so I thought it was a familiar word. However, the school violence seen through ‘The Glory’ refused to be familiar. This drama realistically depicts why victims still cannot escape the shadow of abusive behavior even after a tremendous amount of time has passed, and why perpetrators of abusive behavior must be criticized.
Most of the revenge I’ve seen so far is revenge for what was taken away and giving back what was suffered, but the revenge in ‘The Glory’ is a more original and desperate struggle for survival. No matter how much they talk about school violence, what use are those words? It can be seen through this work that ‘one hundred thousand words, one look’.
Writer Kim Eun-sook revealed the intention of planning this work at the production presentation, saying, “Cheering for the victims of this world.” He said, “I saw victims of school violence, and what they have in common is that they want a sincere apology from the perpetrator rather than realistic compensation. I gained a realization. I thought that it was the starting point and starting from there when I received an apology for losing invisible things such as human dignity and honor. I support them for their ‘origin’.” This intention of the artist burns with fierce momentum from the beginning to the end of the work without blurring or deteriorating.
Maybe that’s why Kim Eun-sook’s revenge is different. First of all, every episode is a feast of famous lines. Rather than beautiful words, the right words come pouring out as if they hit bones and brains. The main character’s thoughts about the shamelessness of the perpetrators are embedded in the viewers’ minds as an expression that makes them feel beautiful beyond exhilaration.
Song Hye-kyo recites such famous lines. Every time Song Hye-kyo, who is pretty just by being there and even more beautiful when she smiles, speaks like this, it touches my heart so deeply. Viewers naturally support Song Hye-kyo without any effort, and she wishes her revenge success. In the background, there are good lines, which are writer Kim Eun-sook’s talent, and the liveliness of the surrounding characters.
To this, PD Ahn Gil-ho’s specialty, the thriller-optimized directing, is added to make you watch all the episodes in an instant, as if you were watching an hour-long drama. In addition to Song Hye-kyo, the acting of actors such as Lim Ji-yeon, Park Seong-hoon, Kim Hee-ra, Cha Ju-yeong, and Kim Gun-woo is so good that I hate them, and actors such as Yum Hye-ran, Lee Do-hyun, and Jeong Seong-il do their part.
A total of 16 episodes, 8 episodes will be released on December 30th, and the rest will be released in March 2023. In fact, after watching Part 1, you will be angry. You should be angry at ‘Moon Dong-eun”s misfortune, and even more angry that the part was cut here. It is an anticipated work that makes you think that it would be better to reveal the whole thing even before it is released.
Netflix can’t even capture the screen, so how should viewers keep and share the famous lines of ‘Moon Dong-eun’ that will pour out in the future? It seems that ‘The Glory’ will become the topic of the new year to the extent that it makes me think about this in advance.
‘The Glory’, in which a woman falls into a whirlwind of revenge planned for her life, will be released on Netflix on December 30th.
Kim Kyung-hee / Photo courtesy of Netflix