The Glory is an 8-episode Netflix show released on 30th December. It is directed by Ahn Gil-Ho and written by Kim Eun-Seok.
The Glory K-Drama Cast
- Song Hye-Kyo as Moon Dong-Eun
- Lee Do-Hyun as Ju Yeo-Jung
- Lim Ji-Yeon as Park Yeon-Jin
- Park Sung-Hoon as Jung Jae-Jin
- Jung Sun as Ha Do-Young
- Yeon Hye-Ram as Kang Hyeon-Nam
The Glory K-Drama Plot
A young woman decides to drop out of school after being bullied and prawns a mission to get revenge for herself. Keeping this in mind, she lays down her plan by becoming a primary school teacher of the child of the person who bullied her the most.
The Glory K-Drama Review
The Korean entertainment industry is very much known these past years for its genre of revenge dramas. They truly depict that “Revenge is a dish best served cold” in the themes they choose. The Glory is another one in the train of such a series.
The show covers traumatic scenes like bullying, suicidal thoughts, grave harm, and sexual assault since the start of episode 1. Moon Dong-Eun is a student at a high school. Being from a poor background, the privileged students keep on making her the target and picking on her. The main person who is the root of bullying her is Park Yeon-Jin. Her family is involved in business and is very reliant on shamans and astrology. Yeon-Jin enjoys the suffering of Dong-Eun and keeps on harassing her along with her friends. Tired of all this, she decides to drop out and mentions the bullying in her note. Since the teachers are influenced by money, they also keep a blind eye to these matters. Even her mother signs off and is bought by the money handed to her.
Determined to make her dream come true, Dong Eun works different jobs over the years. Studying and working together, she successfully manages to get into college. She passes the exam on the second try and becomes an elementary school teacher. She keeps the track of the tormentors by stalking them all over. On the other hand, even in the group, there is a lot of internal conflict and power levels. Dong-Eun keeps finding new and new shreds of evidence and stuff and starts working on the plan by approaching Myeong-Oh and also buying a house near Yeon-Jin’s estate. She makes an acquaintance with an abused woman, and both of them start working together with each of their motives. In return, Dong-Eun tutors her daughter every weekend. This part is really heart-warming, seeing how these women suffer and how they are stepping up to turn their lives around, really gives an empowering message.
The woman learns all-new skills to carry out the tasks Dong-Eun gives to her, like stalking and capturing pictures. This sets her plan in motion and she starts her dirty work. While this, she meets Yeo-Jung who previously was an intern when she was admitted. Fate keeps them together and they catch up on a train ride. But neither of these lasts long as they separate again. Dong-Eun meets up with the bullies later on back in the school gymnasium. This all is introductory to the main plot of the story which actually begins in episode 4. Looking at these 3 episodes, one might lose interest because of just the progression from the past to the present. The story keeps getting on a good pace for the beginning, but since the main plan starts from episode 4, it’s hard to keep track.
Beginning her plan, Dong-Eun gets appointed as Yeon-Jin’s daughter’s homeroom teacher. She suspects that she is former Jae-Jin’s love child and tries to make it as part of her revenge. Coincidentally, Yeon-Jin’s husband crosses paths with Dong-Eun and she is instilled in her mind. When I was watching this scene, there was only one thing in my mind – “Please don’t twist this like Eve~”. We all know how this type of romance ruins a good plot, and for this show, I really didn’t want this to happen. But well when you find out that he is really a pawn in her game, I was on my toes for the rest of the episodes.
Keeping up with her games hasn’t been a good task and it takes a while to grasp what is happening. But perhaps this was a good thing because I could not rest until I find out what happens. Song Hye-Kyo’s eyes really play out a great role, her eyes sparkle with her determination and you can see how great she portrayed her role. Her expressions convey the trauma whenever she is triggered, and also whenever she is thinking about her past.
Back in the story, Yeon-Jin’s husband starts being infatuated with Dong-Eun and doesn’t realize the connection between her and him. Suddenly, Myeong-Oh disappears and everyone is at the limit of their patience. Yeon-Jin is terrified ever since she finds out that she was her daughter’s teacher, and fears that she will do the same thing the former did to her.
Yeo-Jung, played by Do-Hyun, is actually a side role yet. I loved how calm he is overall in his character and extra careful when it comes to Moon Dong-Eun. He keeps on thinking about her since 7/8 years ago and still hasn’t forgotten her. When she reveals her past to her, looking at her scars, he decides to join her in her plan of revenge. His eyes were soft, looking like he wanted to erase everything from her past while looking angry and hurtful. He acted this scene out so well, plus the chemistry between them increased the intensity of the scene greatly.
The Movie Culture Synopsis
A role in which Song Hye-Kyo acts as a badass will obviously be a hit, and there is no denying this one too. If you are disturbed by the triggers, it is advisable to skip this one. There is no haste to skim over the plot and it continues without any breaks, and that’s keeping the audience in the loop. The makers definitely progressed with the script and the focus is on the lead itself. Watch it now on Netflix.
