The Glory (TV series)

The Glory (Korean: 더 글로리) is a South Korean revenge psychological thriller television series written by Kim Eun-sook and directed by Ahn Gil-ho for Netflix. Song Hye-kyo, Lee Do-hyun, Lim Ji-yeon, Yeom Hye-ran, Park Sung-hoon, and Jung Sung-il round out the ensemble cast.
The series was divided into two parts: Part 1 was released on December 30, 2022, and Part 2 was released on March 10, 2023, both to critical acclaim and viewership success. It received eight nominations at the 59th Baeksang Arts Awards, winning three: Best Drama, Best Actress for Song Hye-kyo, and Best Supporting Actress for Lim Ji-yeon.
Moon Dong-eun, a former victim of school violence, plans and seeks revenge on her bullies after taking up a job as a homeroom teacher at the elementary school of the bully leader's child (Ha Ye-sol). Some scenes are based on a true event in 2006 when a group of middle schoolers from Cheongju, South Korea, extorted money from their classmate for about a month, repeatedly beating and burning her using objects in the process.
Preparation for the series began in January 2021. Entirely pre-produced by Hwa&Dam Pictures and its parent company Studio Dragon, it is a Netflix 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.
In July 2022, The Glory confirmed production with ensemble casting of Song Hye-kyo, Lee Do-hyun, Lim Ji-yeon, Yeom Hye-ran, Park Sung-hoon, and Jung Sung-il.
Two days after the release of The Glory Part 1 on December 30, 2022, it 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. Two days after the release of The Glory Part 2 on March 10, 2023, it ranked second worldwide and became top one worldwide on its third day 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.
The series now ranked among the top 10 all-time Non-English TV series at #5 with 436.90 million hours watched in the first 28 days of release.
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, The Glory has an approval rating of 83%, based on 6 reviews.
Writing for Forbes, 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, praised the series' cinematography, music, and Song Hye-kyo's performance, stating, "It is one of her finest performances, if not her best." Chris Vognar of San Francisco Chronicle called the series "visually arresting", "carefully constructed" and "delights in every step".
Pierce Conran of South China Morning Post graded the series with 4 out of 5, appreciating its storyline. The Hindu's S. Poorvaja wrote, "Part 2 of The Glory, goes above and beyond, with its razor-sharp writing, compelling narrative, and impressive performances. And this is no easy feat, given that the story here has its focus trained on a rather complicated plan of revenge coming to fruition."
The series has been criticized for its graphic portrayal of violence, but it has also been praised for shedding a light on the ongoing abuses among students in South Korean schools. The violent scenes reminded the country's viewers of a 2006 incident where a middle schooler was beaten and burned by her classmates over the course of 20 days, not allowing her wounds to heal. She ended up being hospitalized for six weeks. One of the perpetrators was arrested afterward, while the school and its staff faced "administrative measures". Kim Eun-sook, the writer of the series, was initially inspired by her teenage daughter asking her which scenario she would find more distraught, that her daughter abuses someone else or that her daughter ends up as a victim of abuse. Since the show was aired, former employees in the South Korean school system have said that its depiction is realistic.
In March 2023, an anonymous online post accused the director of the series Ahn Gil-ho of physically assaulting a classmate when he studied in the Philippines in 1996. Ahn initially denied the allegation but ultimately admitted to it in a statement through his law firm. It said that Ahn and his friends confronted another group of students after hearing that the latter had made fun of Ahn's girlfriend at the time. Ahn wanted to seek forgiveness from those he had hurt and offered to make apologies in person.