The Glory (Korean: 더 글로리) is a South Korean revenge psychological thriller television series written by Kim Eun-sook and directed by Ahn Gil-ho for Netflix. Song Hye-kyo, Lee Do-hyun, Lim Ji-yeon, Yeom Hye-ran, Park Sung-hoon, and Jung Sung-il round out the ensemble cast.
The series was divided into two parts: Part 1 was released on December 30, 2022, and Part 2 was released on March 10, 2023, both to critical acclaim and viewership success. It received eight nominations at the 59th Baeksang Arts Awards, winning three: Best Drama, Best Actress for Song Hye-kyo, and Best Supporting Actress for Lim Ji-yeon.
Contents
Premise
Moon Dong-eun, a former victim of school violence, plans and seeks revenge on her bullies after taking up a job as a homeroom teacher at the elementary school of the bully leader's child (Ha Ye-sol). Some scenes are based on a true event in 2006 when a group of middle schoolers from Cheongju, South Korea, extorted money from their classmate for about a month, repeatedly beating and burning her using objects in the process.
Cast
Main
Song Hye-kyo as Moon Dong-eun
Jung Ji-so as young Dong-eun
A homeroom teacher at Semyeong Elementary School, Dong-eun was the victim of relentless bullying and physical abuse during high school at the hands of Yeon-jin and her group. Forced to drop out, she later devises an elaborate plan of revenge against those who tormented her. After resigning from her teaching position, she enrolls in an architecture program and becomes a chartered architect, fulfilling her dream from high school.
Lee Do-hyun as Joo Yeo-jeong
A plastic surgeon formerly employed at Seoul Joo General Hospital, of which his mother is director. Yeo-jeong taught Dong-eun the game Go and has developed romantic feelings for her since their university years. He ultimately assists in her revenge plan, driven by personal motives related to his own quest for justice after the murder of his father, a doctor killed by a patient he was trying to save.
Lim Ji-yeon as Park Yeon-jin
Shin Ye-eun as young Yeon-jin
A weather presenter who was the ringleader of the group that bullied Dong-eun in high school. Yeon-jin conceals the truth about her daughter's paternity, passing off Ye-sol as her wealthy husband's. Responsible for numerous cruel acts, including the death of another bullying victim, her crimes are eventually exposed. She is arrested and forced to endure consequences mirroring the suffering she once inflicted.
Yeom Hye-ran as Kang Hyeon-nam
A housekeeper formerly employed by the president of Semyeong Foundation. A victim of domestic abuse alongside her teenage daughter, Hyeon-nam agrees to assist Dong-eun in gathering intelligence for her revenge plan in exchange for help escaping her abusive household.
Park Sung-hoon as Jeon Jae-joon
Song Byeong-geun as young Jae-joon
Supporting
Cha Joo-young as Choi Hye-jeong
Song Ji-woo as young Hye-jeong
A flight attendant whose parents operate a dry cleaning business. Though a member of the group that bullied Dong-eun during high school, Hye-jeong held the lowest status among them due to her comparatively modest background. Her involvement in the abuse was largely driven by a desire to maintain her place within the group's social hierarchy. She has unrequited feelings for Jae-joon.
Kim Hieora as Lee Sa-ra
Bae Gang-hee as young Sa-ra
A church choir member and the daughter of a wealthy pastor. Despite her religious upbringing, Sa-ra developed a serious drug addiction and later pursued a career as a well-known abstract artist. She actively participated in the abuse of Dong-eun during their school years.
Kim Gun-woo as Son Myeong-oh
Seo Woo-hyuk young Myeong-oh
A former classmate who participated in the abuse of Dong-eun. Lacking the wealth and connections of his peers, Myeong-oh finds work as an errand runner for Jae-joon and as a drug supplier to Sa-ra. His loyalty to the group stems more from opportunism than influence.
Lee So-ee as Yoon So-hee
A student at Sunghan High School who suffered persistent bullying and abuse at the hands of Yeon-jin's group before Dong-eun became their next target.
Jeon Soo-ah as Ahn Jung-mi
The school nurse at Sunghan High School and the only adult who showed support for Dong-eun during her time at the school. Her concern for Dong-eun contrasts with the inaction of other faculty members.
Special appearance
Hwang Kwang-hee as radio show host
Lee Moo-saeng as Kang Yeong-cheon
A patient who murdered Yeo-jeong's father.
Lee Joong-ok as Tae-wook
Hye-jeong's lover.
Kim Seung-hwa as Hye-jeong's junior
Production
Development
Preparation for the series began in January 2021. Entirely pre-produced by Hwa&Dam Pictures and its parent company Studio Dragon, it is a Netflix original series. It is said that the series will be produced in two seasons, 8 episodes per season for a total of 16 episodes.
On December 20, 2022, the director announced at the drama's press conference that Part 2 will be released in March 2023.
Casting
In July 2022, The Glory confirmed production with ensemble casting of Song Hye-kyo, Lee Do-hyun, Lim Ji-yeon, Yeom Hye-ran, Park Sung-hoon, and Jung Sung-il.
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 82% of 112 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10.
Writing for Forbes, Joan MacDonald praised Song Hye-kyo for her "nuanced portrayal of Dong-eun" as well as Jung Ji-so who played teen Dong-eun, and wrote "The Glory features a fair share of unexpected plot twists, veering the story from almost horror to melodrama to murder mystery." Lakshana N. Palat, in his review for The Indian Express, praised the series' cinematography, music, and Song Hye-kyo's performance, stating, "It is one of her finest performances, if not her best." Chris Vognar of San Francisco Chronicle called the series "visually arresting", "carefully constructed" and "delights in every step".
Pierce Conran of South China Morning Post graded the series with 4 out of 5, appreciating its storyline. The Hindu's S. Poorvaja wrote, "Part 2 of The Glory, goes above and beyond, with its razor-sharp writing, compelling narrative, and impressive performances. And this is no easy feat, given that the story here has its focus trained on a rather complicated plan of revenge coming to fruition."
Viewership
Two days after the release of The Glory Part 1 on December 30, 2022, it ranked ninth globally on Netflix's TV shows category. On its third day, it reached fifth place on the most watched shows on Netflix worldwide. Two days after the release of The Glory Part 2 on March 10, 2023, it ranked second worldwide and became top one worldwide on its third day The series debuted at number three on the Netflix's Weekly Global Top 10 in non-English TV show category for the week December 26 – January 1, with 25.41 million hours viewed and subsequently ranked number one of the same list in the following week, January 2–8, accumulating 82.48 million viewing hours.
The series now ranked among the top 10 all-time Non-English TV series at #5 with 436.90 million hours watched in the first 28 days of release.
Media Play News, citing PlumResearch data, reported that The Glory attracted 2.2 million unique viewers on Netflix in the United States during the week ending April 2, 2023, with an average time spent of 216 minutes.
Spotlighting school bullying
The series has been criticized for its graphic portrayal of violence, but it has also been praised for shedding a light on the ongoing abuses among students in South Korean schools. The violent scenes reminded the country's viewers of a 2006 incident where a middle schooler was beaten and burned by her classmates over the course of 20 days, not allowing her wounds to heal. She ended up being hospitalized for six weeks. One of the perpetrators was arrested afterward, while the school and its staff faced "administrative measures". Kim Eun-sook, the writer of the series, was initially inspired by her teenage daughter asking her which scenario she would find more distraught, that her daughter abuses someone else or that her daughter ends up as a victim of abuse. Since the show was aired, former employees in the South Korean school system have said that its depiction is realistic.
In March 2023, an anonymous online post accused the director of the series Ahn Gil-ho of physically assaulting a classmate when he studied in the Philippines in 1996. Ahn initially denied the allegation but ultimately admitted to it in a statement through his law firm. It said that Ahn and his friends confronted another group of students after hearing that the latter had made fun of Ahn's girlfriend at the time. Ahn wanted to seek forgiveness from those he had hurt and offered to make apologies in person.
