Before introductions, Han So-hee pauses, gathering a final moment of calm. Her eyes shut briefly, lips serene, one hand hovering near her face in a small, meditative gesture—marshaling her focus. Then, with a soft exhale, her eyes flutter open and her expression morphs. She breaks into a radiant smile, waving enthusiastically as we exchange greetings.
Understandably, anyone would need a moment of quiet reflection amidst the tumult of anticipation. “Gyeongseong Creature season two is finally unveiling and I have an array of emotions swirling inside of me,” Han says, ahead of its official release on September 27.
Netflix’s Gyeongseong Creature first premiered in December 2023, blending an original Korean drama set in colonial-era 1945 with horror, mystery, and romance. Within three days, it topped charts in South Korea and ranked third in Netflix's "Global Top 10" for non-English shows, staying in the Top 10 for three more weeks.
The series' success stems from its compelling premise and leads. In season one, Han’s character, Yoon Chae-ok, is a pertinacious sleuth on a quest to find her missing mother. Chae-ok’s investigation leads her into a serendipitous altercation with the male lead, Jang Tae-sang, portrayed by Park Seo-jun. Tae-sang, the enigmatic owner of the House of Golden Treasure, deftly navigates a web of relationships, bartering information with both ruffians and elites. Together, Chae-ok and Tae-sang uncover sinister Japanese biological experiments beneath Gyeongseong’s hospital, leading to the creation of an eldritch monster.
Season one ends on a cliffhanger when Chae-ok's search for her mother takes a harrowing turn. In a devastating twist, she discovers her mother has become the very monster they’ve been fighting. Chae-ok’s mother fatally wounds her but sacrifices herself in a final, tragic act of love. She allows the parasite Najin—responsible for transforming humans into monsters—to enter Chae-ok’s body, mending her mortal wounds and granting her superhuman strength and durability.
Originally conceived as a single, sprawling season, Gyeongseong Creature was split into two, with both seasons filmed consecutively. The pause between releases makes the significant time jump in season two feel more natural, as the saga leaps 79 years forward to modern-day Seoul. Chae-ok, kept alive and youthful by the Najin, remains immortal but has become a spectral figure—aloof, distant, and marked by an otherworldly pallor.
“Chae-ok always was and still is a very selfless person. She locates missing people and lives to help others. One difference would be that in the past she had her own longings and desires, but now after all this time that’s faded away. Because so much time has passed, her reason for existence and her goals are somewhat lost in the way and she’s transformed into a character who’s much more selfless,” Han explains. Chae-ok's selflessness, however, comes at a cost. Decades of existence have hollowed her, eroding her sense of self. Her existence, now purely functional, is stripped of personal desire or indulgence. Her hideout is furnished with only the basics—water, a laptop, and a work desk. There’s no comfort, no trace of who she once was, just the tools needed for her mission.
“Instead of focusing on what impact the time progression would have had on her, I thought more about how to portray the time she’s been through. She’s a lonely character who’s like a lone wolf. I focused on how she must have felt enduring all those years by herself,” she says. Han can empathize with that solitude. The 29-year-old arrived in Seoul with less than 300,000 won (about $355) at age 19, leaving Ulsan to pursue her dream of acting. Before her debut, she struggled, working part-time jobs and living with her grandmother. At one point, she worked 12-hour shifts at a bar, earning just enough to cover rent and bills.
Alongside her part-time jobs, Han began taking on various modeling gigs, steadily building her portfolio. But her breakout role came in 2020 with The World of the Married. Han portrayed Yeo Da-kyung, a young woman drawn into an affair with a married family man, whose choices unravel a seemingly perfect marriage. The JTBC series shattered records, becoming the highest-rated show in South Korean cable television history. It also earned Han a Rookie of the Year honor from the Asia Artist Awards.
Her versatility as a performer became undeniable in 2021, showcasing her talent to inhabit vastly different roles. In Nevertheless, she embodied Yoo Na-bi, a disillusioned art student navigating the complexities of love with a quiet vulnerability. That same year, she transformed into an assiduous action star in Netflix's My Name, portraying a vengeful woman driven by loss and seeking justice in a world of corrupt violence. Her range extended further with Soundtrack #1 in 2022, where she charmed audiences in a cozy, heartwarming romance as an earnest lyricist falling for her longtime friend.
Through her diverse projects and formative years as an art student, Han embodies the spirit of an artist. On social media, she frequently shares the films and books she’s immersed in, from 2011’s Detachment with Adrien Brody to superhero staples like Deadpool and Wolverine. In her free time, she crafts striking paintings, watches anime like Death Note, or indulges her passion as an avid League of Legends player. She is the type of person to keep a journal, admitting to Timid, “It’s my diary. It's because I write it by hand every day about what happened. So if that becomes 30 days, that would be a month. If that becomes 12 months, that would be a year, so it's a good way for me to look back on how my year has passed. My diary holds so much meaning to me, and I wouldn't be whole without it.”
Chae-ok leads a far more austere existence. Her only possession is a simple bracelet, a sentimental gift from Tae-sang that tethers her to the past she's tried to bury. Things come to a head when a new investigation brings her face to face with a man who looks strikingly like Tae-sang, but goes by a different name: Ho-jae.
“He’s Ho-jae but he looks just like Tae-sang. There are certain feelings that just come to her because she sees him. And when you follow her emotional journey, there are inevitably going to be some very heartbreaking moments. If you focus on those moments, you’ll be able to really resonate with her,” Han divulges. Ho-jae works as a detective, but has no knowledge of who Chae-ok really is when they cross paths on the streets of Seoul.
Chae-ok and Ho-jae become entwined as targets of ruthless assailants known as “kurokos.” These shadowy figures are dispatched by the malevolent Jeonseung Biotech, a sinister stronghold inherited from the Japanese scientists of 1945. The chthonic creatures from that era have persisted into the present day. Ho-jae proves to be a formidable fighter in his own right, while Chae-ok demonstrates that she hasn’t lost her edge.
The choreography also brought fresh challenges for Han. “It was my first time on wires and I got over my fear of heights. I had to be really swift and clear-cut in my movements. That required lots of training and rehearsals,” she says.
For Gyeongseong Creature director Chung Dong-yoon the Najin powered adversaries are a cardinal thematic throughline. He envisioned Najin as a multifaceted force, representing different things to different people—whether a symbol of struggle, a means to gain power, or a curse. Chung intended these creatures to bridge past and present, urging viewers to reflect on how remnants of history can persist in the modern world, rather than confining the horrors solely to the past.
The remnants of the past, for better or worse, shape the protagonists in Gyeongseong Creature. As the second season progresses, Ho-jae's backstory unravels, and his memories—at first seemingly truthful—are revealed to be mendacious. These fractured recollections harbor a deeper connection to Tae-sang, an entanglement that overcomes both time and reality. This epic revelation paves the way for Chae-ok’s eventual reunion with Tae-sang. While the past brought Chae-ok old enemies and tribulations, it also returned love and redemption. Through her arc with Ho-jae, the echoes of history do more than haunt—they heal. A love that transcends time allows her to find not only closure but opens the door to uncharted druthers to explore—a life she may yet reclaim.
It resonates deeply with Han as well. On the release day of season two, she reflected in her personal vlog, "It's hard to believe it's over since filming took two years. It’s also sad because I probably won’t see the staff I worked with for a while." She candidly acknowledged her experience, saying, "At least I didn’t cry until the end. Crying would’ve felt like a real goodbye, and it’s not goodbye. I’ll watch Gyeongseong Creature 2, reflect on that time, and look at where I can improve."
Elsewhere in the vlog, Han also contemplated the relentless pace of the industry, admitting, "Time flies, and I'm getting older. I've been thinking a lot lately about how to approach my work without cutting corners and how to do it more efficiently." She expressed a newfound freedom from the pressure to please everyone, focusing instead on how to repay those who love and support her. "I hope everyone enjoys watching, biting into it, and savoring it. Some might be curious about Season 1 as well. As autumn approaches, be careful of catching a cold, and I hope you all find happiness. Happiness is something that's given to everyone equally," she shared.
In acknowledging the impertinence of this business, she concluded her vlog with, "Lately, I've been trying to enjoy the happiness that's been given to me. That can sometimes be the hardest thing. I hope that when you're happy, you truly feel it."
Through Han’s portrayal of Chae-ok, we’re reminded that true happiness lies in reconciling with the past, embracing the present, and opening oneself to the possibilities of the future. As she moves through time, enduring loss and rediscovering love, Chae-ok shows us that healing is not about erasing the past but finding strength in the scars we carry—and that even after decades of solitude, there’s still hope for renewal and resplendency.
