Overview of The Glory: Part 2
‘The Glory: Part 2’ is a South Korean thriller series on Netflix depicting the story of revenge-seeking lady Moon Dong-eun played by Song Hye-kyo, the nation’s heartthrob and the lead actress of the drama ‘Descendents of the Sun‘.
Moon Dong-eun who was tormented by bullies in high school sets an elaborate revenge plan in place. With another victim and a mysterious doctor Joo Yeo-jeong (Lee Do-hyun) on her side, she sets on a ruthless path to make her enemies pay a terrible price for their sins. ‘The Glory: Part 2’ completes its classic revenge story with a little garnishing of a Korean melodrama.
The series features Song Hye-kyo, Lee Do-hyun, Lim Ji-yeon, Yeom Hye-ran, Park Sung-hoon, and Jung Sung-il in the lead roles. ‘The Glory: Part 2’ directed by Ahn Gil-ho and written by Kim Eun-sook served the well-cooked revenge dish that ‘The Glory: Part 1‘ took all the time preparing for.
Profile
- Drama: The Glory – Part 2
- Director: Ahn Gil-ho
- Writer: Kim Eun-sook
- Network: Netflix
- Episodes: 8
- Release Date: March 10, 2023
- Language: Korean
- Country: South Korea
Cast
- Song Hye-kyo as Moon Dong-eun
- Jung Ji-so as young Dong-eun
- Lee Do-hyun as Joo Yeo-jeong
- Lim Ji-yeon as Park Yeon-jin
- Shin Ye-eun as young Park Yeon-jin
- Yeom Hye-ran as Kang Hyeon-nam
- Park Sung-hoon as Jeon Jae-joon
- Song Byeong-geun as young Jeon Jae-joon
- Jung Sung-il as Ha Do-yeong
Supporting
- Cha Joo-young as Choi Hye-jeong
- Song Ji-woo as young Hye-jeong
- Choi Soo-in as Lee Seon-ah
- Ryu Seong-hyun as Lee Seok-jae
- Kang Gil-woo as Kim Soo-han
- Kim Hieora as Lee Sa-ra
- Bae Kang-hee as young Lee Sa-ra
- Kim Gun-woo as Son Myeong-oh
- Seo Woo-hyuk young Son Myeong-oh
- Ahn Ji-hye as Kim Kyung-ran
- Lee Seo-young as young Kyung-ran
- Lee So-ee as Yoon So-hee
- Jeon Soo-ah as Ahn Jung-mi
- Park Ji-a as Jung Mi-hee
Synopsis
Quick Recap of Part 1
Moon Dong-eun (Song Hye-Kyo) was tortured to the brink of suicide in her school days by a gang of five wealthy teenagers. Her tormentors were: Son Myeong-oh (Kim Gun-woo), Choi Hye-jeong (Cha Joo-young), Lee Sa-ra (Kim Hieora), Jeon Jae-joon (Park Sung-hoon), and the lead bully of the gang, Park Yeon-jin (Lim Ji-yeon).
Dong-eun sets into motion an elaborate plan to enact revenge against the five classmates who severely bullied her without any mercy. Eighteen years later, Dong-eun returned to the place with a heart full of revenge. She made some friendships and secret alliances while forging her path of revenge.
The story progresses while Dong-Eun strategically puts her pieces on board. Joo Yeo-jeong accompanies Moon Dong-eun and is willing to do anything she asks in her pursuit of revenge. Joo Yeo-jeong (Lee Do-hyun), a plastic surgeon who helped Dong-eun to become close to the lead bully Park Yeon-jin’s husband. Meanwhile, the sudden disappearance of one of the gang members Son Myeong-oh (Kim Gun-woo) has gotten the attention of the police and his friends. There the drama comes to an end marking the take-downs of the coming part and a violent and bloody game of nerves plays out between these rivals.
Plot Summary of Part – 2
‘The Glory: Part 2’ picks up after Myeong-oh’s death which gives rise to dispute among the bully group, with everyone pointing fingers at Park Yeon-jin. Before Moon Dong-eun begins her final moves, she offers her enemy Park Yeon-jin a last chance to confess all her wrongdoings, but Park Yeon-jin has her own plans to stop Moon Dong-eun from executing her revenge.
Yeon-jin outsmarted Dong-eun to find her primary helping hand. She suspects her own housemaid Hyeon-nam and threatens her to co-operate. Hyeon-nam agreed to some extent out of fear for her daughter’s safety, but never completely betrayed Dong-eun.
Meanwhile, Yeo-jeong comes up with a plan to get Yeon-jin to spill the truth and Dong-eun uses Yeon-jin’s own crimes to cause her abuser’s downfall. Dong-eun ensures that Yeon-jin is linked to two deaths in which she played a main role. First, the death of Yoon So-hee (Lee So-ee), a Sunghan High School student who was the victim of the gang’s constant bullying before Dong-eun became the next target.
On the night of So-hee’s demise, Yeon-jin was with her on the roof of an abandoned building. With the intention to kill So-hee, Yeon-jin set fire to her sweater and So-hee fell over the roof’s edge to her death.
Yeon-jin also played a role in the murder of Son Myeong-oh (Kim Gun-woo). When Myeong-oh tried to blackmail Yeon-jin over So-hee’s death, she picked up a bottle and smashed his head with it a couple of times. Later, it is revealed that Kim Kyung-ran (Ahn Ji-hye) is the one who actually delivered the killing blow to Yeon-jin. Kim Kyung-ran works at a boutique run by gang member Jeon Jae-joon.
Dong-eun’s executioner, Joo Yeo-jeong somehow invites Yeon-jin to Joo Yeo-jeong’s clinic and after giving her anaesthesia, Yeo-jeong takes out a strand of Yeon-jin’s skin from an injury on her leg. This helps him secure her DNA, which he eventually plants on Myeong-oh’s dead body. The detectives working on the case find a match with the DNA recovered from Myeong-oh’s fingernails and Yeon-jin faces imprisonment.
Yeon-jin has no one by her side as her husband discovers her history of bullying and divorces her, moving away with their child, Ye-sol. Dong-eun also manipulates Yeon-jin’s mother, Hong Young-ae (Yoon Da-gyeong) into killing housekeeper Kang Hyeon-nam’s abusive husband. Hong Young-ae then betrays her own daughter Yeon-jin in an attempt to save herself from jail, making Yeon-jin completely lonely.
Definitely, Yeon-jin learned her cruelty from her mother. Rather than letting Yeon-jin be punished for her crimes, Hong Young-ae ensures her daughter’s part in the tragedy is covered up.
Of course, Yeon-jin isn’t the only one facing grave consequences for her heartless cruelty. Jeon Jae-joon is pushed off of a building to his death by Yeon-jin’s husband Ha Do-yeong when he comes to know that Ye-sol is the illegal child he had with Yeon-jin. Elsewhere, Lee Sa-ra (Kim Hieora) is sent to prison for stabbing Hye-jeong in the neck, damaging her vocal cords beyond repair.
Once Dong-eun accomplishes her revenge against Yeon-jin and the others, she decides to step off because she has a new revenge to live for: Joo Yeo-jeong, who has been a constant companion in her entire journey of revenge. After six months, she comes back into his life with a plan to do what she has spent her life training herself to do — take revenge. They then plan their revenge against Kang Yeong-cheon, the unrepentant killer of Yeo-jeong’s father. The series ends with them admitting that they love each other.
Theme
‘The Glory: Part 2’ sheds light on social issues such as bullying and school violence. The drama puts a spotlight on loopholes in the law and the story is a clear indication of how badly bullying and certain aggressive behaviours can affect a person’s mental health.
With top-notch direction and cinematography, impressive performances of the actors and a thrilling plot add an extra layer of depth to the story. The drama emphasises the deep roots of taunting, and physical and mental harassment, such as social or emotional problems, physical injury, and in some cases, even an attempt at death.
Depicting violence on screen in an unflinching manner with a striking message of various types of violence and its subsequent psychological trauma that is often ignored.
Awards
- Baeksang Arts Awards – 2023
Best Drama- ‘The Glory’
Best Actress- Song Hye-kyo
Best Supporting Actress- Lim Ji-yeon
- Blue Dragon Series Awards – 2023
Best Actress- Song Hye-kyo
Best Supporting Actress- Lim Ji-yeon
- Brand Customer Loyalty Awards – 2023
Best Actress – OTT, Song Hye-kyo
- Kinolights Awards – 2023
Best Actress- Song Hye-kyo and Lim Ji-yeon
Best Drama- ‘The Glory’
Interesting Facts about The Glory: Part 2
- ‘The Glory: Part 2’ is inspired by real-life incidents revolving around school violence and bullying.
- The most revealing white dress of Cha Joo-young in the drama sparked some controversy online.
- A controversial scene in which Lee Sa-ra (Kim Hieora) hallucinates a snake slithering towards her is actually a real snake.
- Song Hye-kyo once revealed that she barely ate or drank during the shoot, which gives a more realistic look when her character Moon Dong-eun reveals her iron curler burn marks.
- All the actors who were cast in the drama ‘The Glory’ were investigated for any past history of bullying during their casting time.
- Shin Ye-eun, who portrays the younger Park Yeon-jin, revealed that she had constant nightmares and she often felt disturbed by the dark character she portrayed.
- Contrary to how characters appear on-screen, the cast members are actually quite friendly with one another.
- ‘The Glory’ was under fire for some of its NSFW scenes, which centred around Choi Hye-jeong (Cha Joo-young).
FAQs
- Who are the writer and director of ‘The Glory: Part 2’?
The drama is written by Kim Eun-sook and directed by Ahn Gil-ho. - What is the genre of ‘The Glory: Part 2’?
The drama falls into the revenge and psychological thriller genre. - Does ‘The Glory: Part 2’ have a happy ending?
The satisfying revenge marks a happy ending for the drama ‘The Glory: Part 2’. - Is ‘The Glory: Part 2’ worth watching?
Definitely, the drama is acclaimed as one of the best series with a depth of rage that explores the path of revenge unravelled in intricacy and malice, all for vengeance. - What is the Instagram ID of Song Hye-kyo and Lee Do-hyun?
kyo1122 is the Instagram ID of Song Hye-kyo and ldh_sky is the Instagram ID of Lee Do-hyun.
