Returning With a Vengeance: Exclusive Look Behind the Scenes of ‘The Glory’

The anticipation for The Glory was so high that just three days after it was released on March 10, the revenge series became the most-viewed title of the week.

It also entered the Most Popular Non-English TV List, joining other Korean hits such as Squid Game, All of Us Are Dead, and Extraordinary Attorney Woo.

Over 16 episodes, the story follows Moon Dong-eun (Song Hye-Kyo) as she carries out an elaborate plan to exact revenge on five former classmates who tormented her as a teenager. Part 1, which remained on the Top 10 Non-English TV List for five weeks after its debut on December 30, raised the stakes for Part 2.

At an event for fans, both the cast and creators talked about how thrilled they were by the show’s popularity.

“Part 1 was so successful that I got scared,” said acclaimed screenwriter Kim Eun-sook, who was so concerned Part 2 might not match up to the hype that she had to remind herself of what she wrote. “I went back and looked at the script and was relieved to see that it was great,” she added, to much laughter from the crowd.

The Glory (L to R) Park Sung-hoon as Jeon Jae-jun, Jung Sung-ill as Ha Do-yeong in The Glory Cr. Graphyoda/Netflix © 2023

Song, one of the top female leads in Korea, detailed how she transformed herself for her first outing in this genre. The protagonist had many burn scars because of the bullies, and it took four to five hours each time to apply the special effects makeup. To make it more realistic, Song went on a strict diet three days before filming a scene where all the scars were going to be visible and even stopped drinking water the day before.

“It was very tough going through that scene because of the physical toll it took on me. But it ended up being more impactful and I really wanted to convey how hurt and broken Dong-eun was,” Song recalled.

“However, I also wanted to show that a character like Dong-eun can make something happen. Life doesn’t have to end in misery or despair, Being able to portray her was a huge honor.

‘The Glory’ is now streaming only on Netflix.