Despite all the skyrocketing vibes and glamorous responses from thse Korean drama enthusiasts and the general public, there is an unexpected issue raised about The Glory Season 2 Korean drama. The love story between The Glory characters received mixed public reactions for multiple reasons. Check out the following discussions about the love story issue between The Glory characters.
*THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS THE GLORY KOREAN DRAMA SPOILERS.*
Love Story Issue Between THE GLORY Characters In Season 2 of the Korean Drama
Netflix The Glory Korean drama has managed to gain massive popularity, especially after the Season 2 release on March 10. Even when the Korean drama received a disappointing rating during its initial broadcast, its reputation rose over a week past its release date.
The Glory Korean drama received high praise not only because of its heartbreaking school bullying issues but also of the dramatic plots and impressive acting of all the cast members. Derived from real-life school bullying cases, all the characters in The Glory Korean drama have captivated the viewers’ hearts with their iconic traits and personalities.
However, South Korean netizens recently raised an issue about the love story between The Glory characters Moon Dong Eun and Joo Yeo Jeong. After the release of its Season 2, some viewers expressed mixed reactions towards the love story between the two characters in The Glory Korean drama for multiple reasons.
THE GLORY Love Story Issue: What Happened?
Starting from the beginning of the Korean drama, The Glory portrayed Moon Dong Eun as a character dedicating her life to plot the perfect revenge plan against her school bullying perpetrators. In the middle of her preparation, she encountered Joo Yeo Jeong, a doctor with a heartbreaking past who is willing to become her partner in crime.
As the story evolved, the two The Glory characters developed affectionate feelings that became a dramatic and heartbreaking love story in the Korean drama. After the revenge conclusion in Season 2, these two characters finally expressed their feelings to each other with a passionate kiss.
Indeed, the scene was one of the most dramatic moments throughout The Glory Season 2 Korean drama. It provided a sense of satisfaction for the viewers for the perfect conclusion and ending to Moon Dong Eun’s story. However, this The Glory characters love story apparently received heavy criticisms at the same time due to various reasons.
Large Age-Gap Between THE GLORY Korean Drama Cast: Song Hye Kyo and Lee Do Hyun
The first reason why The Glory characters love story received criticism from South Korean viewers was due to the large age gap between the cast.
Legendary actress Song Hye Kyo was born in 1981, making her 41 years old in international age this year. Meanwhile, Lee Do Hyun was born in 1995 and will turn 28 years old next month. It means there is a large 13-year age gap between the main cast, creating an issue among South Korean fans.
A post in a South Korean online community recently went viral due to the large age gap between THE GLORY characters cast, Song Hye Kyo and Lee Do Hyun.
To make it more dramatic, the post particularly compared Lee Do Hyun’s age with child actress Kim Sung Eun who played Song Hye Kyo’s niece in Soonpoong Clinic Korean drama. Kim Sung Eun who portrayed Song Hye Kyo’s niece, was born in 1990, while Lee Do Hyun, who become Song Hye Kyo’s love interest, was born in 1995.
This post, however, received backlash from fans of The Glory Korean drama due to its misogynistic nature. After all, large age-gaps has been common in various Korean dramas nowadays, including My Mister, Goblin, Eve, Our Blues, and Mr. Sunshine. And fans questioned why it was no problem when the male cast was way older, but it became an issue when the large age gap involved older female cast.
Moreover, Moon Dong Eun and Joo Yeo Jeong were almost the same age in the drama. So, age-gap should have never been an issue to completely immerse yourself in The Glory characters love story.
Contrasting Visuals in THE GLORY Characters Love Story
The next reason why The Glory characters love story received criticism was due to the contrasting visuals of Song Hye Kyo and Lee Do Hyun.
A comment from the same post particularly mentioned that aside from their unrivaled acting and impressive portrayals of intense emotions, Song Hye Kyo and Lee Do Hyun have a contrasting visual image.
Song Hye Kyo has always been the perfect image of elegant and charismatic figures with an intense gaze and strong features that are perfect for melodramatic scenes. Meanwhile, Lee Do Hyun has a softer boy-next-door image that is more popular nowadays.
This contrasting image brings strange feeling when the two incredible actors perform their love story scenes together, especially in The Glory Season 2. After all, The Glory Season 2 was when Moon Dong Eun and Joo Yeo Jeong admitted their feelings to each other. So, during The Glory Season 2, Song Hye Kyo and Lee Do Hyun performed more affectionate scenes together.
Hence, this contrasting image between the two The Glory characters cast brought a certain amount of disruption in the viewers’ immersion.
As a comparison, the same large age gap existed between Song Hye Kyo and her previous co-star Jang Ki Yong (born in 1992), in Now, We Are Breaking Up. However, due to their matching image and features, the two actors overloaded fans in a frenzy with their chemistry and passionate acting throughout the series.
Unnatural Love Story that Disrupted Viewers Immersion from The Revenge Theme, Especially in Season 2
Finally, the most significant reason The Glory characters love story received criticism was its unnatural placement in the whole storyline.
According to OSEN report on March 12, the love story between The Glory characters Moon Dong Eun and Lee Do Hyun was unnatural and unnecessary. That is because the love story disrupted the viewers’ immersion in the revenge theme of The Glory Korean drama, especially in Season 2.
OSEN report also mentioned that due to this unnatural development, many viewers watched The Glory Season 2 while skipping the love scenes. And they believed it didn’t have a big impact on understanding and enjoying the drama.
Instead of becoming Moon Dong Eun’s love interest, some viewers believe that Joo Yeo Jeong should have stayed as the helper and executioner. The report mentioned that his existence as the love line was considered absurd, contrived, and only broke the harmony of the whole revenge story.
THE GLORY Characters Love Story: The Most-Deserving Happy Ending that Represents Hope
Still, The Glory Korean drama brings the perfect ending at the end of its Season 2 at the end of the day. Not only was Moon Dong Eun’s revenge successfully executed, but she also managed to move on and allow herself to be happy with the person she loves, Joo Yeo Jeong.
Not only that, Newsen reported that the kiss scene at the end of The Glory Season 2 was like a toast to celebrate Moon Dong Eun’s successful revenge. It was the perfect finale of her victory that the viewers have longed for.
On top of everything, Moon Dong Eun and Joo Yeo Jeong’s love story ending in The Glory Season 2 Korean drama finale represents the one thing that most bullying victims have lost: HOPE.
Moon Dong Eun and Joo Yeo Jeong’s happy ending love story gives the ultimate hope to everyone suffering from massive trauma in their past. Moreover, it sends a message that a happy ending is always possible, waiting for them at the end of the dark tunnel as long as they don’t give up on their lives.
It may sound trivial to ordinary viewers, but even the slightest hope and salvation—like what The Glory Season 2 ending delivered—may be able to help those with traumatic pasts to carry on with their life.
Therefore, The Glory love story ending in Season 2 was the perfect finale for all the characters’ hardships and pain.
Your Thoughts?
So, what do you think about this love story issue in The Glory Season 2 Korean drama? Did it hinder your immersion in the story or give you the perfect finale?
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