''The Glory'' () is a South Korean

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aer ...

series written by

Kim Eun-sook Kim Eun-sook (Korean: 김은숙, born 1973) is a South Korean screenwriter. She wrote the popular television dramas ''Lovers in Paris'' (2004), '' On Air'' (2008), '' Secret Garden'' (2010), '' A Gentleman's Dignity'' (2012), ''The Heirs'' (2 ...

and directed by Ahn Gil-ho.

Song Hye-kyo Song Hye-kyo (; born November 22, 1981) is a South Korean actress. She gained international popularity through her leading roles in the television dramas ''Autumn in My Heart'' (2000), '' All In'' (2003), ''Full House'' (2004), ''That Winter, th ...

Lee Do-hyun Lim Dong-hyun, (; born April 11, 1995) better known by his stage name Lee Do-hyun (), is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Hotel del Luna'' (2019), '' 18 Again'' (2020), '' Sweet Home'' (2020), and ''Youth of May'' (2 ...

Lim Ji-yeon Lim Ji-yeon (born June 23, 1990) is a South Korean actress. After beginning her acting career in stage plays and short films, Lim made her feature debut in 2014 with a leading role in the erotic thriller '' Obsessed''. Early life Lim majored in ...

Yeom Hye-ran Yeom Hye-ran (born October 30, 1976) is a South Korean actress. Career Yeom began her career in theater in 1999 and made her screen debut in 2003. She has since played supporting roles in film and television, notably ''Dear My Friends'' (2016 ...

, Park Sung-hoon, and

Jung Sung-il Jung Sung-il (October 21, 1969) is a South Korean retired competitive figure skater. He is the 1991 Winter Universiade silver medalist. He placed as high as sixth at the World Junior Championships (1988) and 14th at the World Championships ...

round out the

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

. Part 1 was released on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

on December 30, 2022, and Part 2 has been scheduled for release on March 10, 2023.

Premise

A former victim of school violence seeks revenge on her bullies after taking up a job as a homeroom teacher at the elementary school of the bully's child.

Cast

Main

as Moon Dong-eun **

Jung Ji-so Hyun Seung-min (; born September 17, 1999), known professionally as Jung Ji-so () is a South Korean actress. Hyun made her acting debut as a child actress in the 2012 television drama ''May Queen''. She is best known internationally for her rol ...

as young Moon Dong-eun : The homeroom teacher of Class 1-2 of Semyeong Elementary School. During her high school days, she was the target of constant bullying and physical abuse by Yeon-jin and her group. She eventually quit school and starts an elaborate plan of revenge on Yeon-jin's group. *

as Joo Yeo-jeong : A plastic surgeon working at the Seoul Joo General Hospital, where his mother is the director of. He teaches Dong-eun Go. *

as Park Yeon-jin **

Shin Ye-eun Shin Ye-eun (; born January 18, 1998) is a South Korean actress, best known for her role in the web series ''A-Teen'' and its sequel ''A-Teen 2''. She also starred in the television series '' He Is Psychometric'', ''Welcome'', and '' More Than ...

as young Park Yeon-jin : A weather presenter at a television station. She led the group of delinquents in bullying and physically abusing Dong-eun during high school. *

as Kang Hyeon-nam : A housekeeper who worked at the home of Semyeong Foundation's president. She, along with her daughter, suffers from

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

perpetrated by her husband. She helps Dong-eun in the latter's revenge by becoming her sleuth, in exchange for the killing of her husband. * Park Sung-hoon as Jeon Jae-joon ** Song Byeong-geun as young Jeon Jae-joon : The color blind heir of a golf course. He was part of the group that constantly abused Dong-eun.

Supporting

as Ha Do-yeong : Yeon-jin's husband and CEO of Jaepyeong Construction. *

Cha Joo-young Cha Joo-young (born 5 June 1990) is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in dramas such as ''Cheese in the Trap'', ''Wok of Love'', ''Jugglers'', ''The Spies Who Loved Me ''The Spies Who Loved Me'' () is a South Korean televisi ...

as Choi Hye-jeong ** Song Ji-woo as young Choi Hye-jeong : An air stewardess. She was part of the group that constantly abused Dong-eun, although she was of the lowest authority in the group. * Kim Hi-eora as Lee Sa-ra ** Bae Kang-hee as young Lee Sa-ra : A member of the choir of a church where her pastor father leads, loves to draw abstract pictures in a private studio, and has a habit of smoking drugs. She was part of the group that constantly abused Dong-eun. * Kim Gun-woo as Son Myeong-oh ** Seo Woo-hyuk young Son Myeong-oh : He was part of the group that constantly bullied Dong-eun. Growing up, he works as an errand boy for Jae-joon and a drug dealer for Sa-ra. * Oh Ji-yul as Ha Ye-sol : The daughter of Yeon-jin and Do-yeong, although her biological father is Jae-joon. She is color blind. She attends Semyeong Elementary School Class 1-2. * Ahn So-yo as Kim Kyung-ran ** Lee Seo-young as young Kim Kyung-ran : Worker at a boutique owned by Jae-joon. During her high school days, she became the next target of constant bullying by Yeon-jin's group after Dong-eun quit school. * Park Ji-ah as Jung Mi-hee : Dong-eun's mother. *

Choi Soo-in Choi Soo-In (born March 5, 2004) is a South Korean actress. She first came to the attention of the public with her debut role in the 2016 film '' The World of Us'', where she plays a lonely and outcast child who tries her utmost to hold onto h ...

as Lee Seon-ah : Hyun-nam's daughter, who, along her mother, suffers from physical abuse by her father. She is tutored by Dong-eun. * Lee So-yi as Yoon So-hee : During her high school days, she was the target of constant bullying and abuse by Yeon-jin's group before Dong-eun became the next target. *

Lee Joong-ok Lee Joong-ok (born 1979) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in dramas such as '' Hell Is Other People'', '' Sketch'' and ''Hi Bye, Mama! ''Hi Bye, Mama!'' () is a 2020 South Korean television series starring Kim Tae-hee, Lee ...

as Tae-wook : Hye-jeong's lover. * Heo Dong-won as Mr. Chu : A teacher in Semyeong Elementary School. *

Kim Jung-young Kim Jung-young ( born on 27 July 1972) is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in 2000 in films, since then, she has appeared in number of plays, films and television series. She got recognition for her supporting roles in ''Clean w ...

as Park Sang-im : Yeo-jeong's mother who is also the director of Seoul Joo General Hospital. * Jeon Soo-ah as Ahn Jung-mi : The school nurse at Sunghan High School who was the only adult who supports Dong-eun. * Cho Min-wook as Kim Jong-heon : Yeo-jeong's senior. * Park Yoon-hee as Kim Jong-moon : Dong-eun's former homeroom teacher at Sunghan High School. * Kang Gil-woo as Kim Soo-han : Dong-eun's senior who is also Jong-moon's son. * Noh Kyung (Part 2)

Special appearance

Hwang Kwang-hee Hwang Kwang-hee (Hangul: 황광희; Hanja: 黃光熙; born August 25, 1988), also known mononymously as Kwanghee, is South Korean singer, actor, and TV personality. He debuted in 2010 as a member of the boy band ZE:A. He is also known for his a ...

as radio host *

Lee Moo-saeng Lee Moo-saeng (; born May 10, 1980), is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the television dramas ''The World of the Married'' (2020), ''The Silent Sea'' (2021), ''Thirty-Nine'' (2022), and '' Cleaning Up (2022). Career ...

as Kang Yeong-cheon : A patient who murdered Yeo-jeong's father.

Episodes

Part 1 (2022)

Part 2 (2023)

Production

Development

Preparation for the series began in January of 2021. Entirely pre-produced by

Hwa&Dam Pictures Hwa&Dam Pictures (; stylised as hwa&dam pictures) is a Korean drama production company and a subsidiary of Studio Dragon. It was founded on June 11, 2007 by former SBS drama producer Yoon Ha-rim. Works Managed people Writers * Kim Eun-sook ...

and its parent company

Studio Dragon Studio Dragon Corporation () is a South Korean drama production, marketing and distribution company under CJ ENM's E&M division. It was established on May 3, 2016, as a spin-off from E&M Media Content. The company joined the KOSDAQ index of Ko ...

, it is a

original series. It is said that the series will be produced in two seasons, 8 episodes per season for a total of 16 episodes. On December 20, 2022, the director announced at the drama's press conference that Part 2 will be released in March 2023.

Casting

In July 2022, ''The Glory'' confirmed production with ensemble casting of

, Park Sung-hoon, and

Reception

Audience response

Two days after its release, ''The Glory'' ranked ninth globally on Netflix's TV shows category. On its third day, it reached fifth place on the most watched shows on Netflix worldwide. The series debuted at number three on the Netflix's Weekly Global Top 10 in non-English tv show category for the week December 26–January 1, with 25.41 million hours viewed and subsequently ranked number one of the same list in the following week, January 2–8, accumulating 82.48 million viewing hours.

Critical response

Writing for ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'', Joan MacDonald praised Song Hye-kyo for her "nuanced portrayal of Dong-eun" as well as Jung Ji-so who played teen Dong-eun, and wrote "''The Glory'' features a fair share of unexpected plot twists, veering the story from almost horror to melodrama to murder mystery." Lakshana N Palat in his review for ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...

'', praised the series' cinematography, music, and Song Hye-kyo's performance, stating, "It is one of her finest performances, if not her best." Jonathon Wilson reviewing for Ready Steady Cut gave 3.5 stars out of 5, and praised Song Hye-kyo, stating, "The script asks a lot from her, and she delivers it, capably carrying Part 1's action on her shoulders," but wrote that the brutal torment of school violence made the series "an unpleasant watch." Pierce Conran of ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...

'' graded the series with 4 out of 5, appreciating its storyline.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Glory, The Korean-language Netflix original programming Television series by Hwa&Dam Pictures 2022 web series debuts Television series about revenge South Korean drama web series 2022 South Korean television series debuts Television shows written by Kim Eun-sook