Gyeongseong Creature (Season 1) is a story about a monster created from human experimentation. It is a story of loss, a struggle for survival, a quest for freedom, and more. We meet Tae-sang, whose focus is on surviving until the end, and Chae-ok, who has been looking for her mother for over ten years and learns a disturbing truth while on a mission. The Japanese occupying Korea are ruthless and don’t spare anyone. It is an exciting and thrilling story with so many layers to unfold. This article contains spoilers.
Gyeongseong Creature (Season 1) Episode 1 ‘Najin’ Recap:
The episode begins with the Japanese Army in Korea. They were asked to retreat and get back, and the leading officer informed his men to burn all the evidence of their presence on the land and leave immediately. We see the men dumping dead bodies and burning the place down with dynamites. Meanwhile, an officer was informed that they had 12 serums and 8 Najin. They hear a monster-like noise behind a closed metal door, and they all leave. One officer is trying to light a match, but the metal door cracks open, and it seems there is a monster-like creature.
We are then cut to March 1945, when two travelers come to Gyeongseong (Seoul). They buy a newspaper, and the boy selling it gives them another piece of paper, calling it the real news. It seems to be about some air raids. As they read, many Japanese officers drag people, calling them rebels, in front of their senior officer. The rebels are asked to either sign up to work in the army or die in a torture chamber. We then see a man tied to a chair and given shock as a form of torture. The man being tortured was Jang Tae-sang, owner of House of Golden Treasures. It is a pawnshop where people would pledge their valuables.
In the next scene, we see Boem-a carrying valuables on a cart and delivering them to Mrs. Nawol, who keeps all the items in a highly secured room. We see Tae-sang asking for a tea set to give to a Japanese Lady called Maeda. Mrs. Nawol is unhappy about him doing business with the Japanese. But he assures her that these connections are helpful. The reason for his being tortured was because Commissioner Ishikawa assumed Tae-sang was having an affair with his wife, Lady Maeda. He explains that it was a misunderstanding and he was insulting his wife for committing adultery.
He was then released and revealed to Tae-sang that he wanted him to find a woman before the cherry blossom flowers fell to the ground. If he fails to do so, his possessions would be snatched away from him, and all the people he loved would be hurt. The travelers who had arrived in Gyeongseong were looking for a man called Sachimoto. The man was asked to meet Tae-sang, the ‘King of Information.’ Meanwhile, Tae-sang, Mrs.Nawol, and Manager Gu discussed the following. Tae-sang asks his men to find out about the woman Myeong-ja. He looks out the window and realizes that Ishikawa’s men are keeping an eye on him. He also notices the traveler girl.
We see a flashback where a woman tells Ishikawa she was pregnant and the child was his. In the present, we see Ishikawa asking his people to tell his wife that he will be very late as he has a new case to deal with. In the next scene, we see many women locked in a prison-like structure. Army men arrive, along with a man in a doctor’s coat. They randomly pick two women and take them to a separate room. Subsequently, they are put in two individual cells, and as they enter, they see food. They gobble it up and drink the liquid that looks like water. In another room, we see half-used vials.
The other vials had something small in it that looked like worms. Meanwhile, Tae-sang rides with one of Ishikawa’s spies and gets dropped off somewhere. Mrs. Nawol was informed of the travelers. We learn that they were from Manchuria and are sleuths. They are experts in finding missing people. The woman traveler Chae-ok follows Tae-sang. But Tae-sang outsmarts Chae-ok and confronts her to know what she wants from him. They get into a duel. She tells him she is looking for Sachimoto, but Tae-sang tells her he doesn’t know anyone by that name.
She insults him and leaves. In another scene, we see Sachimoto sketching something and is informed that he is needed. Tae-sang meets Jun-taek to find out about Myeong-ja. We are cut to the officers watching the two women in the cell. They call them subjects; one is showing symptoms early on, and they call her a failed subject. The officer is asked to inject a serum into the second subject. We see the woman throw up and something crawling under her skin.
The travelers are in Tae-sang’s house. They agree upon a deal. The traveler Chae-ok and the man (her father) should find Myeong-ja, and he will help them find Sachimoto and Chae-ok’s mother. The episode ends with Sachimoto in front of a cell. He was asked to sketch what he saw. He gets close, and something propels him towards him, making him scream.
Gyeongseong Creature (Season 1) Episode 2 ‘Mother’ Recap:
The episode begins with a flashback to when Sachimoto applied for a job at Ongseong Hospital as he was desperate for money and ready to take on any job. The hospital was experimenting on humans, and his career was to draw sketches of these creatures. In the beginning, when he saw what was going on, he threw up because of how gory the experiments were. He was caught crying, and a janitor consoled him, saying he would get used to it. In the present, we see Sachimoto trying to get a good look at the creature in the cell, but he gets scared as the creature attempts to touch him.
Chae-ok is stealthy in her movements and is on a mission to find Myeong-ja. Her meticulous investigation leads her to the Spring Hall Office in Gyeongseong. A so-called Samurai is creating havoc in the House of Golden Treasures as there are rumors that Ishikawa will take over the pawnshop. Chae-ok informs Tae-sang that Myeong-ja may be in Ongseong Hospital. Ongseong Hospital was dedicated only to the Japanese and top officials. Tae-sang visits his friend Jun-take, bribes him, and asks him for his pass to let them enter Ongseong Hospital. Tae-sang and the group arrange clothes for Chae-ok and her father (Jung-Won).
Seeing Chae-ok, Tae-sang is charmed. They successfully enter the hospital. Chae-ok manages to get into the records room to find information on Myeong-ja. A man sees her and confronts her. Things are getting out of hand, but Jung-Won shows up, and the situation is managed. The man is a part of the resistance and helps them out. Meanwhile, the creature grows and kills two officials. Lt. Kato calls the creature a queen and wants to keep it alive.
The experiments are taking place in the hospital’s basement. As the group is leaving, there is a siren, and everyone who had come to visit and get treated was asked to leave the hospital immediately. Everyone goes while Tae-sang, Mr. Gu, Chae-ok, and Jung-Won plan the following action. The creature in the basement was put to sleep using Nitrogen gas and was moved to level 4.
As the transport took place, the spores touched the skin of the other people held in cells, and their flesh started to burn. Chae-ok and Jung-Won stay in the hospital, and Tae-sang and Mr.Gu leave. Chae-ok and Jung-Won spy on everything that is happening in the hospital. The dead bodies are loaded into the trucks, and Chae-ok seems to recognize one of the bodies. Meanwhile, Tae-sang is worried, and Mrs. Nawol teases him, saying he is in love.
But she asks him to find Sachimoto as that is what he must do now. The following day, it is announced that the Ongseong Hospital would be closed indefinitely. Tae-sang decides to visit the hospital, but a nurse from the hospital arrives with a message. It reads, “We found Myeong-ja.” The nurse is also a part of the resistance movement and informs that anybody stuck in the hospital would not make it out. The episode ends with Tae-sang deciding to get inside the hospital.
Gyeongseong Creature (Season 1) Episode 3 ‘Signal’ Recap:
The episode begins with a revelation of the enormous creature. The creature had managed to kill a few soldiers, and all the prisoners except one are dead. Lt. Kato interrogates a surviving officer to understand the movements of the creature. The officer asks him to kill the creature as it would finish them all. We are shown a flashback of when the creature was being moved, but the nitrogen gas was accidentally turned off. The creature woke up and started attacking the officers. Lt. Kato and a few officers were on the floor above, trying to figure out what was happening.
The surviving officer, Endo, to save himself, sacrifices his comrade. Tae-sang is searching for Sachimoto and gets an indirect confirmation from Lady Maeda that Myeong-ja is inside the hospital. Tae-sang was also asked to give a signal that could be seen at the hospital for his group to know outside help was coming. Chae-ok meets a Japanese officer from Joseon inside the hospital and is part of the resistance.
He explains that even with a bit of anthrax, people can be killed, and he had witnessed this in China before. He also confirms that he had seen Myeong-ja and was a survivor in the basement. We see a flashback when the Japanese tortured him, and she saved him while he tried to kill himself. Chae-sang gives good news to Tae-sang, asking him to meet her for dinner, and that’s where he would meet Sachimoto. Tae-sang reaches the place but is attacked by the so-called samurai thugs.
By the time he gets himself out of it, Chae-sang and Sachimoto leave. Dejected, he goes back home and finds Jun-taek waiting for him. Tae-sang and Mrs. Nawol argue as Tae-sang wants to go to the hospital despite his injuries, but Mrs. Nawol wants him to get treated first. But they are interrupted, and Chae-sang brings Sachimoto, and they devise a plan. In the hospital, Chae-ok and Jung-Won continue on their mission. Chae-ok gets to one of the rooms and finds the children trapped. She rescues them, but a doctor appears. She kills him and takes them to the terrace of the hospital, only to find many Japanese officers drinking.
There are fireworks at the right time, and the group knows it’s a signal from Tae-sang. Meanwhile, Sachimoto manages to sneak Tae-sang and Jun-taek inside the hospital. In the cleaning room, Tae-sang finds a clue that he is to get to the terrace. Jung-Won and Chae-ok are fighting the Japanese officers. It seems like Chae-ok’s life is in danger, but Tae-sang appears and kills the Japanese officer. The episode ends with Chae-ok asking the kids to get out. She asks Tae-sang to get them out and will keep her promise of finding Myeong-ja.
Gyeongseong Creature (Season 1) Episode 4 ‘Imprinting’ Recap:
The episode begins with a flashback to when Chae-ok was a child. She would play a game with threads, and her mother would show her the various possibilities with one big thread. She is seen analyzing that in real life, even in the present. In the present, we see Ishikawa and his men trying to find the men who had set the fireworks off. On the hospital terrace, Tae-sang is annoyed as his mission was only to rescue Myegon-ja, and now he has to find a way to save the children. Jung-Won asks them to get inside the building and then discuss.
The other soldiers find the dead doctor whom Chae-ok had killed, and the entire troop is sent to find the person who had done this. Everyone is in a room, and Chae-ok and Jung-Won meet Sachimoto (without knowing his identity). One of the kids reveals that they are being experimented on, and none of them will survive. Chae-ok also shows that she had seen similar situations in Manchuria. Jun-taek asks Jung-Won about the necklace he is wearing, and he reveals that it is something Chae-ok had made for him and his wife when she was a child. It turns out the creature is wearing the same necklace.
Director Ichiro tells Lt. Kato that he can tame the creature, and the creature is feasting on the prisoners on command. Tae-sang reveals that the man is Sachimoto. She asks him about her mother, but he lies to her, saying he doesn’t know what happened to her. One of the soldiers hears a girl scream from Sachimoto’s room, and he informs his superiors. Tae-sang asks a teenage boy among the kids to pretend to be a rickshaw driver and asks him to take the kids out of the hospital. He gives them enough instructions so they can be safe.
The group is moving towards the hideout, but Japanese soldiers confront Sachimoto. They check the cleaner’s cart, but it is empty, and he is freed. The kids managed to rush out as a guest arrive. The guest is Lady Maeda, and they had come to meet Ichiro. The kids reach the pawnshop, and Mrs. Nawol takes care of them with Mr. Gu’s help. Lady Maeda asks Ichiro to keep Myeong-ja safe until she delivers. She also informs him that Tae-sang has broken into the hospital.
On the terrace, Jun-taek kills the tied-up soldiers with a writing that reads for the freedom of Korea. The group continues to get inside the vent to try to find Myeong-ja. Now, the soldiers are aware of the intruders and are looking for them. Meanwhile, Myeong-ja is moved to a different cell. The creature turns out to be smart as it figures out how to use the elevator. The group hears the officers are being instructed to find the intruders and find a different way to find Myeong-ja. One of the soldiers sees that the lid that led to the air vents is open and follows.
As the group reaches the laundry room, they meet with a soldier. He is attacking the group, and Jun-taek slips out. They sort that out, and Jung-Won tells them they need to split and search, which is efficient. They decide to meet at their spot in an hour. Meanwhile, the creature starts to kill all the officers. One of the soldiers informs Lt. Kato that the creature is approaching and has destroyed the soldiers.
Chae-ok helps with Tae-sang’s wounds, and they venture out. Chae-ok enters a room, and while Tae-sang waits, he sees the creature come in front of him, sucking blood from a soldier’s head. From inside the room, Chae-ok also sees the creature, and they both stand looking at the creature in stunned silence.
Gyeongseong Creature (Season 1) Episode 5 ‘Desperation’ Recap:
The episode begins with Jun-taek’s meeting with the Korean fighters for independence. But one of his comrades, Lee In-hyeok, after a couple of days, gets arrested and is taken to the hospital. In the present, Jun-taek finds his comrades locked up in the hospital. He asks them to reveal where the dynamite is hidden, but they want to be released first. The soldiers find Jun-taek and take him to Ichiro. The monster is attacking Tae-sang. He tries to escape it, and Chae-ok joins him.
With a lot of difficulty, they manage to get inside a room and lock the metal door. But the creature is trying to knock the door down. Jung-Won hears the noise and manages to trap the creature. He lights the path of fire so the creature cannot hurt him and gives up on breaking the metal door. As Tae-sang and Chae-ok express a sigh of relief, a group of soldiers surround them and capture them. Chae-ok finds the Korean soldier and throws the knife, and he picks it up without the other soldiers finding out.
The soldiers bring Jun-taek to Ichiro, and he recognizes him. Jun-taek has asked to be captured and is called a rebel. He asks the soldiers to teach him a lesson but to keep him alive. Furthermore, he thinks about capitalizing on the situation by using Jun-taek to get funding from his father, the Bugang Company’s owner. Tae-sang is separated from Chae-ok. The officer interrogating Tae-sang seems to know about his deal with Ishikawa. He wants to live in Gyeongseong forever, and he wants Tae-sang to help him. He would let him leave the hospital alive if he agreed to the agreement.
The officer interrogating Chae-ok is torturing and humiliating her. Lt. Kato stops him and takes her away to have a chat. Tae-sang is put inside a cell where the other members of the patriotic society are present. After a while, Tae-sang reveals to them that he has made a deal with the Japanese officer and lets himself out of the cell. He promises everyone there that he will return and give a key to the members of the patriotic society. The deal entailed the officer sending a message to Mrs Nawol. It is to remove all the officers from the area he is locked up in and give the keys to the prison cell.
Kato and Chae-ok have a conversation, and he asks about her mother. He recognizes and realizes that the creature is Chae-ok’s mother. He gives her water, and we see an empty vial on his desk. She is sent back into the cell, and Kato asks the officers not to touch her until they are told otherwise. The Korean officer gives the knife back to her sneakily. Meanwhile, Jun-taek’s father and Ichiro make a deal, and in the hospital, Jun-taek is being tortured and asked to give details about the other intruders.
Jun-taek’s father and Mrs.Nawol devise a plan b to help these people. Jun-taek, with a heavy heart, starts writing details about the others on a piece of paper. Chae-ok sees the words, “I miss you, my daughter,” on the prison cell wall. She realizes her mother is in the hospital. Tae-sang manages to get inside the cell, and Chae-ok tells him about her findings. They get out, and she hugs Tae-sang and tells him they must go their separate ways. They embrace each other for a moment and run toward their goals. Chae-ok asks Kato at gunpoint to take her to her mother. Meanwhile, Tae-sang comes back to rescue the other people, but they have all escaped. Instead, he comes face-to-face with the creature and shoots it.
Gyeongseong Creature (Season 1) Episode 6 ‘Chaos’ Recap:
The episode begins with a flashback to when Tae-sang was a nine-year-old boy. His mother forces him to hide and tells him that he has to survive no matter what. The soldiers beat his mom up while he was hiding. In the present, Chae-ok asks Tae-sang to free the other prisoners. Tae-sang gets there to find the cells empty. The prisoners are led by In-hyeok, who runs into a group of soldiers. Luckily, Tae-sang arrives at the right time and saves some of them as the soldiers have shot some people down.
While they are running away to safety, the creature shows its presence. The creature kills one of the patriotic society members, and the rest escape. Kato reveals to Chae-ok that the creature is her mother. He also asks her to drink the cup with the worm liquid and to reunite with her mother by becoming like her. Meanwhile, Jun-taek’s father meets Ishikawa and tells him to save his son. He also mentions that Tae-sang is stuck there as he had found Myeong-ja in the hospital.
We see a flashback to the time young Tae-sang saved Mrs. Nawol. Tae-sang had asked about his mother, but she said she didn’t know anything about her. In the present, Tae-sang is mad at In-hyeok for not waiting for him to come to their rescue, resulting in the loss of many lives. Jun-taek succumbs to the torture, and he writes down all the details the soldiers ask him to. Jung-Won finds the group, and he is informed about Chae-ok’s whereabouts. Tae-sang asks him to take the others to a safe spot, and he will find and bring Chae-ok. Ichiro is annoyed to see the prisoners escape.
He is also informed that people are dying because of anthrax. He is told that Ishikawa had arrived to investigate the missing woman’s case. Chae-ok dresses up like a soldier and takes Kato down the hall. He tells the other soldiers that the only way to kill the creature is to burn it alive. Chae-ok’s cover is caught, and someone hits her. Her hands are chained and in a dark, enclosed space when she wakes up. Myeong-ja was moved to a different cell once again.
Manager Gu had arrived with Ishikawa, dressed like a driver. Chae-ok is screaming, and Kato tells her that her mother will arrive. The creature comes and is about to attack Chae-ok, and she calls the creature “mother.” Tae-sang sneaks up, where all the soldiers are watching the creature. The Korean soldier notices him and indirectly tells him that Chae-ok is below the creature. Kato orders the men to start firing and then use nitrogen on the creature.
But the creature protects Chae-ok with all her might. Tae-sang takes the opportunity and drags her away. She later reveals to him that the creature is her mother. Kato orders the soldiers to find and kill Chae-ok. Jun-taek is released, but they put a black mask over his head and take it away. Manager Gu distracts a soldier by having drinks with him. Chae-ok and Tae-sang change into soldiers’ uniforms and move with the platoon. They all manage to get to the safe spot. Soma also wants to join them in their escape mission. They all have a 10-minute window to escape.
Gyeongseong Creature (Season 1)Episode 7 ‘Chase’ Recap:
The episode begins with Chae-ok waking up with a nightmare about her mother and Tae-sang. We go back to the past, 16 hours prior. The group is ready to escape from the hospital. They use ropes made of bedsheets to climb out of the window where Manager Gu is waiting to drive them away. Tae-sang asks the women to get out first while the rest help. A Japanese soldier enters the room, and Choi Yeong-gwan shoots and kills him. Choi Yeong-gwan firing the rifle alerts the other soldiers and Sergeant Haneida. Tae-sang asks the others to leave while he creates a barricade to block the soldiers out.
Choi Yeong-gwan, Chae-ok, and Tae-sang decide to prevent the soldiers from entering while the rest escape. Sergeant Haneida orders his men to kill everyone. The soldiers march, and they fire continuously. Meanwhile, Ichiro tells Ishikawa that Lady Maeda knows everything that is going on in the hospital, which makes Ishikawa uncomfortable. He also mentions that no Korean would be allowed to get out, and there would be no exceptions, implying that Myeong-ja can’t get out.
A bullet grazes Tae-sang, but Choi Yeong-gwan is killed. Before he dies, he asks Chae-ok to message his mother and not forget him. Chae-ok and Tae-sang manage to kill six soldiers. Everyone else escapes, Chae-ok descends, and Tae-sang stays back to distract the soldiers. Tae-sang does not leave the building, and Manager Gu, teary-eyed, takes the rest of the prisoners out. Tae-sang tries to fight but is injured. He then escapes through the air vent. Haneida finds the escape route and asks all his men to get to the air vent. As he runs, he slips and falls on a pile of bones.
Mrs Nawol sells a priced possession to someone who got Jun-tae out of the hospital. Jun-taek is thrown on the street and is in a terrible state. Manager Gu drops off Myeong-ja, and as instructed, the other truck chases Manager Gu’s truck to kill everyone on it. In the hospital, Ichiro is worried as Myeong-ja is missing, and Kato is curious to find out who has emptied the cup. Only four people had entered: Chae-ok, Tae-sang, Myeong-ja, and Soma.
Tae-sang wakes up and tries to move, but Haneida catches him. We hear gunshots, but we don’t know who is dead. Manager Gu navigates the truck so the other truck cannot catch up with him. Meanwhile, a festival in town is a hurdle for the Japanese police. The tailor, Young-Chun, and Mrs. Nawol had everything planned to get the rescued people out of town. Manager Gu is stopped by the police, who assume there are prisoners inside, but it is empty. They arrest Manager Gu while Mrs. Nawol sends all the rescued people out of town. There is havoc, and innocent people are hit to find the prisoners. Chae-ok and Jung-Won leave, and Chae-ok wonders if Tae-sang is still alive.
Gyeongseong Creature (Season 1) Ending, Explained:
Is Tae-sang alive?
Ichiro apologizes to Lady Maeda for everything, but she is infuriated. She asks him to resign, but he shows her their latest discovery, i.e., the creature. He tells her he had looked after Seishin for her all those years. The creature is now being sprayed with nitrogen, but Kato is more concerned about who had the liquid from the cup. Tae-sang is alive, and Haneida is dead. However, he is injured, and he stumbles across the hospital. His bloodied handprint looks weird. Yeong-gwan gets the news of her son’s demise and is shattered. Myeong-ja is asleep with Ishikawa, and we see something crawling within her body.
The episodes end with a cliffhanger. Many questions need to be answered. We don’t know what happened to Sachimoto, as we haven’t seen him in the last few episodes. There are two possibilities of two people turning into the creature; one is Tae-sang, and the second is Myeong-ja. How the episode ended seemed like it could be one of these two. Will we see Chae-ok again now that she is leaving town? It is something to wonder about. Jun-taek may come to Tae-sang’s rescue this time as he is fuelled with revenge. Even if the Japanese leave now, they have created a monster that can destroy the entire city.
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