Park Seo-joon’s Gyeongseong Creature Role Is The Perfect Callback To His Hit 2018 K-Drama

Park Seo-joon’s Gyeongseong Creature character, Yang Tae-sang, is the perfect callback to one of the actor’s most famous K-drama roles. Between shows and movies, Park Seo-joon’s career includes lots of critically acclaimed work and popular hits. He currently stars in Gyeongseong Creature as Tae-sang, the charming owner of a pawn shop whose life changes forever after he starts investigating the disappearance of a woman in Gyeoseong during the last days of World War II. Gyeongseong Creature was Park Seo-joon’s first-period piece, although the upcoming season 2 will take place in 2024.

Having appeared in some of the best K-dramas of his generation, Park Seo-joon already has an extensive list of leading roles and impactful characters. This includes 2018’s What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim and 2020’s Itaewon Class, the former of which confirmed Park’s status as a leading man. Gyeongseong Creature is far from a romantic comedy, but the Netflix K-drama does include romance and even shares some similarities with What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim when it comes to Park Seo-joon’s characters.

Park Seo-joon’s Gyeongseong Creature Character Shares Traits With What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim’s Young-joon

Tae-sang and Young-joon both struggled to be part of relationships

While Gyeongseong Creature is a very different show from What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim, Park Seo-joon’s respective characters share some interesting traits. In What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim, Park Seo-joon plays Lee Young-joon, the vice-chairman of a major company. Young-joon is one of the country’s most famous bachelors at the beginning of the series, yet he was never part of a serious relationship. For years, Young-joon was at the center of gossip and rumors that originated from the fact he never had a public girlfriend. This lack of meaningful relationships had to do with Young-joon’s narcissism.

As perceived by “Secretary Kim,” played by Park Min-young, her boss was too narcissistic to love anyone but himself. Young-joon believed himself to be perfect and that no one was good enough for him, which is why he had been single for years. In Gyeongseong Creature, Park Seo-joon plays Jang Tae-sang, who is also one of the most famous bachelors in his city. Whereas Young-joon was the vice-chairman of a company in present-day Seoul, Tae-sang was the owner of a pawn shop in 1945 Gyeongseong. Like Young-joon, Tae-sang was too worried about himself and his future to care about any relationships.

How Gyeongseong Crature’s Tae-sang & What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim’s Young-Joon Are Different

Tae-sang and Young-joon’s narcissisms are not the same

Even though Gyeongseong Creature’s Tae-sang and What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim’s Young-joon were known for never entering a serious relationship, the reason for their loneliness was not the same. What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim’s lead character was a narcissist in the true sense of the word, someone who loved themselves above everyone and everything. Young-joon believed no one was good enough for him, and that trying to connect with other people was a waste of time. The only person Young-joon actually enjoyed spending time with was Secretary Kim, whom he only realized when she announced her resignation.

Tae-sang’s narcissism, on the other hand, comes from his fears and wish to survive no matter what. After spending much of his childhood as a prisoner and brutally losing his mother, Tae-sang learned that there was nothing more important than survival. Gyeongseong Creature’s lead character created a successful business and made a lot of money so that he could honor his mother’s wish – she wanted him to survive and keep going. However, by focusing so much on his life and future, Tae-sang ended up losing sight of other important things. This only changed after the arrival of Chae-ok, played by Han So-hee.

Park Seo-joon Might Not Be Playing Tae-sang In Gyeongseong Creature Season 2

Gyeongseong Creature season 2 will not be a period piece

Park Seo-joon’s next K-drama is Gyeongseong Creature season 2, which arrives on Netflix in 2024. However, it is unclear whether he will be reprising his role as Yang Tae-sang or playing an entirely different character. This is because, at the end of Gyeongseong Creature season 1, the show jumped 79 years into the future and revealed a “new character” played by Park Seo-joon in the present day. Gyeongseong Creature was set in 1945, yet the post-credits scene took place in 2024. Park Seo-joon’s character was referred to as “Ho-ja,” suggesting he might no longer be playing Tae-sang.

Related

10 Biggest Gyeongseong Creature Season 2 Theories

Several Gyeongseong Creature season 2 theories try to explain Park Seo-joon’s “new” character and Han So-hee’s return as Chae-ok, now in 2024.

However, considering Gyeongseong Creature deals with sci-fi elements, including a zombie virus-type of creature capable of turning people into monsters, Tae-sang and Ho-jae might be the same people after all. If so, it will be interesting to see Park Seo-joon play Tae-sang in a very different context. Tae-sang’s character was all about survival, so it would make sense narratively for him to still be alive decades after the events of season 1. Regardless if it is a new character or just Tae-sang, Gyeongseong Creature season 2 will allow Park Seo-joon to show more of his acting chops.

Stream Gyeongseong Creature on Netflix

Stream What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim on Hulu

Gyeongseong Creature

Gyeongseong Creature is an action horror-thriller television series that Kang Eun-kyung and Chung Dong-yoon created for Netflix. Set in 1945 during the Japanese occupation of Korea, Jang Tae-Sang, a wealthy informant in the heart of Gyeongseong, and Yoon Chae-ok, a highly skilled investigator, come together to face a literal creature created from the cumulative greed of humanity.

Release Date

December 22, 2023

Seasons

2