Air Date:  December 22, 2023 – January 5, 2024
                       September 27, 2024                      Episodes: 17
Where to Watch: Netflix
Genre: Action Thriller
Starring: Park Seo Joon and Han So Hee

In the spring of 1945, in Japanese occupied Korea, a young man has carved out a successful life running the “House of Golden Treasure” pawn shop.  One day he is visited by a mysterious young woman.  She has spent her life traveling throughout Asia with her father searching for missing persons.  But beyond her job, she is also searching for the mother who went missing 10 years ago.  She is hoping he can use his connections to help her with her current case.  And as he is pulled deeper into her search, the pair of them will make a shocking discovery about medical experiments being performed in a secluded hospital and a monstrous parasite that may threaten them all.

Tae Sang is a successful business man who runs “The House of Golden Treasure”.  In an occupied country on the brink of World War, his pawn shop is a life line for people from all strata of society.  With his connections, it is no surprise when he is approached by a mysterious young woman who wants help locating a missing person. 

But as he gets drawn into her web of adventure, he will find himself at the center of a dangerous Japanese government experiment that could have devastating effects on humanity as a whole.  And his unlikely journey across decades will bring him to the present, where he is living as a young man with no memory of his past.  But the strings of fate will once again intervene as he is brought face to face with the woman he once loved enough to sacrifice everything.  

Tae Sang is a shrewd business man in any decade.  He is loyal and generous to those he loves.  But by the time he makes it to 2024, he isn’t really sure who he is.  His only memories are those chosen by those close to him.  And he is haunted by the idea that there are things and people he should remember.  Park Seo Joon is always a joy to watch and I especially enjoyed him in Season 1 as the suave, well connected merchant.  But I felt like he was a great fit for this character in both seasons.

Yoon Chae Ok’s mother disappeared 10 years ago,  Since that time, she and her father have taken jobs locating missing persons across Asia while looking for her.  Their latest search brings them to Gyeongseong where they enlist help from the charming pawn shop owner, Tae Sung.  And Chae Ok finds herself depending more and more on his steadfast support.

But nothing will prepare her for the devastating truth about what actually happened to her mom.  As they fight the forces of evil, Chae Ok and her mom will both be forced to make a sacrifice that will have long-reaching effects.  Years later, Chae Ok is living with the parasite, najin, inside of her and the memories of how many lives it had taken.  And fate will bring her back to Tae Sang’s side as they once again confront the evil greed of humans.

Chae Ok is fiercely independent and rough around the edges.  Her life on the road has been a difficult one that has taught her survival techniques.  But she has never experienced romantic love before meeting Tae Sang. And she is shocked to find herself falling for his handsome charm.  But she is someone who is used to living by embracing the moment, no matter how reckless that may be.  And although she tries to resist, her heart gets the best of her. 

Han So Hee has done several dramas where she plays this kind of tough, brisk character and she does it pretty well.  I seldom feel a deep connection to her characters, but I feel like she fits the roles.

I really enjoyed all the side characters in the first season.  From Chae Ok’s dad to the sweet guardian, Na Wol Daek, they were interesting and well-developed.  Maybe it was because the second season was shorter, but I didn’t feel like we got to know the secondary characters nearly as well.  

I felt like there were times when the story got a bit murky and hard to follow.  Expecially in trying to keep track of who had the parasite when.  I also felt like the transition between the two seasons was clunky.  It was hard to infer what happened during the missing years and its never really explained fully.

I felt like this series completely avoided any explanation of why certain people seemed to react so differently to the parasite.  Why was Chae Ok’s mother the perfect host?  And why did the leads never turn into monsters while they were infected?  Even in the present, there were still subjects dying, yet Tae Sang, Chae Ok, and Seung Jo, along with Maeda, seem to be anomalies.  And if najin just stops the aging process, then why is Seong Ju not still a baby?

‘Gyeongseong Creature’ leaves us with plenty of unanswered questions and hints.  The good news is that Maeda has finally been killed, so she won’t be back.  Unfortunately, the other villains, including Seung Ju, get off pretty much scot-free to continue wreaking their sick chaos on an unsuspecting world.  Tae Sang saves Chae Ok from drowning, and although we see him being reinfected by Maeda, we see Chae Ok’s parasite lying next to her on the ground.

Later, we find out that Chae Ok no longer remembers the past or anything that happened to her, including Tae Sang.  But while walking down the street she passes him and stops to look at him as he smiles at her.  It seems like fate is not finished with these two. And that Tae Sang does remember her and is patiently waiting for his happy ending.  And in a nod to a third season, we see an after-credits scene of Seung Ju mass-producing bottled water that contain najin.  So apparently, things are far from over.