Set in 1945 during Japanese-ruled Korea, Gyeongseong Creature follows Jang Tae-sang (Park Seo-joon) and Yoon Chae-ok (Han So-hee) as they try to locate the missing pregnant mistress of Police Commissioner Ishikawa (Kim Do-hyun). The second set of episodes, released on Jan. 5, 2024, makes the series one of the best K-dramas to release in Jan. 2024. As they begin to uncover the truth about where she is and what is happening at a local hospital, they discover the unthinkable. Through horrific human experimentation, Lieutenant General Kato (Choi Young-joon), and the rest of the Japanese Army in the city, create a monstrous creature using a Najin parasite. Just one of many experiments Kato has under his belt, his work is clearly not finished by the end of the show’s inaugural season. As such, the implications of the show’s mid-credit scene after its finale could mean significant changes for Gyeongseong Creature during its sophomore season.
After the end of Gyeongseong Creature and the season’s reasonable cliffhangers, in which Lady Maeda (Claudia Kim) is still somehow alive, and Chae-ok’s fate is now intertwined with a Nijan, the perplexing revelations during the show’s mid-credit scene only raise more questions. Having seemingly jumped decades into the future, the show offers no real explanation of what the scene means. Images of Korean history flood a television screen before a man with a scar on his neck gazes out the window at present-day Seoul. Answering to the name “Ho-jae” but clearly Tae-sang, the scene left viewers confused about what it means for the series going forward.
What Is Shown on the Television?
Having concluded the season with the backdrop of Korean independence from Japan in WWII in 1945, the images shown on the television begin with that same event. The first images are shown in black and white. A Japanese flag is lowered from a flagpole, and then June 25 comes across the screen as tanks roll across a war zone, indicating the start of the Korean War. After that, another black-and-white image of a child is seen before silent protesters are shown marching in the streets. Then, the images switch to color, and a modern Korea comes into focus, highlighting the 2002 World Cup, K-Pop concerts, and space exploration. The camera pans away to reveal an old television playing the images as an unknown man with a vertical scar on the back of his neck watches.
What Is the Scar on the Man’s Neck?
As the images of space exploration are seen on television, the vertical scar on the back of the man’s neck becomes the major focus. In line with the man’s spine, it’s entirely within the realm of possibilities to assume the scar has something to do with one of Kato’s experiments. Furthermore, although it clearly looks like a scar, maybe it’s a Najin implanted somehow on the man’s spine. Given that he is somewhere within the 21st century, Kato’s research could have expanded, and advancements could have been made regarding the benefits a Najin could provide inside the human body.
After all, the Najin clearly brought Chae-ok back from the dead after her mother, aka the creature, inadvertently mortally wounded her. However, even if the scar isn’t a Najin, it could be related to some other kind of experiment that leads back to Kato’s research. Seeing as there was a half-human/half-creature baby at the end of the season’s finale, viewers might have only seen the tip of the iceberg concerning what lies ahead for Gyeongseong Creature.
Is Tae-sang the Man With the Scar?
After viewers see the man’s scar, he opens the window to reveal a modern-day Seoul skyline. When another man off-screen hollers, “Ho-jae, we’re ready. Let’s Go,” the man with the scar turns around, smiles, and leaves. While it might seem inconsequential, the shocking part is that Ho-jae and Tae-sang appear to be the same person. Dressed in modern clothes and in some sort of office, it’s uncertain whether the man with the scar is the Tae-sang viewers know or one of his descendants. In the context of the show, both conclusions could be possible. However, given the extent of Kato’s experimentation as well as the regeneration abilities of a Najin, it’s not unreasonable to think Tae-sang is the man with the scar.
Furthermore, given the kind of show Gyeongseong Creature is, even though it’s not a time-travel K-drama, all clues indicate that Tae-sang is the man with the scar. How that came to be and what that means is the real mystery. If Lady Maeda drank the cup of water with a Najin inside at the end of the season, and Chae-ok was brought back to life underwater, it’s reasonable to assume Tae-sang could somehow exist in the present day. Furthermore, given the three main characters of the series all seem to be defying the laws of science, it’s likely they’ll all cross paths once more, if they haven’t already.
A lot can happen over the course of over six decades. Hopefully, the show’s second season will quell the confusion and shed light on who Ho-jae really is when it drops on Netflix later this year. For now, Gyeongseong Creature is one of the best K-dramas to binge-watch on Netflix. All episodes of Gyeongseong Creature are currently streaming on Netflix.
