Origin and release year: South Korea (2022 – The Glory)
Korean title: 더 글로리
Starring: Song Hye Kyo, Lee Do Hyun, Lim Ji Yeon, Cha Joo Young, Yeom Hye Ran, Kim Hieora, Park Sung Hoon, Kim Gun Woo, Jung Sung Il, Jung Ji So, Shin Ye Eun, Lee Hae Young, Ahn So Yo, Son Sook, Kim Jung Young, Son Ji Na, Lee Byung Joon, Kim Seon Hwa, Oh Ji Yul, Heo Dong Won, Park Ji Ah, Kang Gil Woo, Choi Soo In, Lee So E, Lee Joong Ok, Bae Gang Hee, Lee Mu Saeng, Park Sang Hyun, Song Ji Woo, Song Byeong Geun, Seo Woo Hyeok, Lee Min Goo
Director: Ahn Gil Ho
Screenwriter: Kim Eun Sook
Synopsis: A woman lives for absolute revenge against her childhood bullies who destroyed her life. (IMDb)
Trigger Warning: Bullying, Violence, Sexually Explicit Scenes. Nudity
So, disclaimer and transparency… This writer is personally not a fan of Song Hye Kyo. Since Descendants of the Sun, I haven’t really ever thought, “Wow I really like her acting.” In fact, contrary to popular sentiment… I didn’t like Descendants of the Sun as a drama that much either.
THAT being said… The Glory definitely changed my thoughts about Song Hye Kyo. For me, it seems that she has been very typecast in her career and The Glory was the drama that broke those stereotypes against her for me because for once her biggest personality trait wasn’t being standoffish and beautiful.
Song Hye Kyo really came through with the acting chops in this production, with a gritty and authentic performance. She’s not alone in that either… One of the things that made The Glory as successful as it was, was how incredibly talented every single actor in this drama was from lead roles, to support roles, and even down to child actors.
Some of the actors who really stood out were Lim Ji Yeon, Cha Joo Young, Kim Gun Woo, Shin Ye Eun, Yeom Hye Ran, and so many more cast members. It was also nice to see so many detailed female characters in one drama.
In terms of the content, the drama had a number of shocking moments which added to the impactfulness and shock factor of the rollercoaster plotline. For instance, the scene where Kim Hieora is getting off in front of the whole church congregation was one of the most shocking things this writer has ever scene in a Korean drama. The same can be said for Cha Joo Young’s random nude scene that seemed completely non-essential.
However, whilst The Glory had huge entertainment potential, it’s important to remember that the bullying stories in this drama are based on true stories of school crime cases in South Korea. For instance, the burning of the girl with a hair iron happened in real life.
It’s ironic because in the end one of the cast members (namely Kim Hieora) and even the director, Ahn Gil Ho, themselves turned out to have had past bullying controversies, too. That’s really unfortunate because this drama played a huge role in raising awareness about school bullying victims.
Issues aside, the drama was one of the best of the year when it was released and is a must-watch. If you’re a fan of revenge dramas then we highly recommend watching this drama.
What did you think of The Glory? Let us know in the comments!