The Glory Part 1: Why Song Hye-kyo's Netflix Revenge Drama Became a Global Hit
A spoiler-free look at The Glory, the Netflix K-drama that turned beloved actress Song Hye-kyo into a cold, calculating avenger.
An Actress Known for Warmth Takes a Dark Turn
For years, Song Hye-kyo was one of Korea’s most famous “sweetheart” actresses. She was the gentle doctor in Descendants of the Sun. She was the innocent, tearful heroine in Autumn in My Heart. She played bright, likable women that audiences instantly loved.
Then, in December 2022, she did something completely different.
In The Glory, Song Hye-kyo plays a woman with almost no warmth left in her at all. Her character does not cry for sympathy. She plans. She waits. She destroys people, one careful step at a time.
In an interview around the show’s release, Song Hye-kyo described it as her first thriller and revenge drama, a sharp turn away from the kind of characters she had played before. It was also her first-ever Netflix original series, after a long career mostly built on Korean broadcast networks.
Fans and critics noticed the change immediately. This was not the Song Hye-kyo they thought they knew.
What Is The Glory About?
The Glory is a Netflix original K-drama created by star writer Kim Eun-sook, the same writer behind Descendants of the Sun and Goblin. It was directed by Ahn Gil-ho.
Without giving away any spoilers, here is the setup: Moon Dong-eun (Song Hye-kyo) is a former high school student who suffered terrible bullying from a group of wealthy, popular classmates. The abuse was so severe that she had to drop out of school and give up her dream of becoming an architect.
Years later, Dong-eun is a completely different person on the outside. But inside, she has spent her entire adult life building a slow, careful plan to make the people who hurt her pay for what they did.
That is the whole premise. How she does it, and what happens along the way, is where the show earns its reputation as one of the most successful Korean revenge dramas of its time.
A quiet classroom hides years of pain in “The Glory.”
▶ Watch The Glory Official Trailer on YouTube
Meet the Main Cast
| Character | Actor | Role in the Story |
|---|---|---|
| Moon Dong-eun | Song Hye-kyo | Former bullying victim, now planning revenge |
| Joo Yeo-jeong | Lee Do-hyun | A doctor who becomes tied to Dong-eun’s plan |
| Park Yeon-jin | Lim Ji-yeon | Leader of the group that bullied Dong-eun |
| Ha Do-yeong | Jung Sung-il | Yeon-jin’s husband |
| Kang Hyeon-nam | Yeom Hye-ran | A woman who becomes an unlikely ally to Dong-eun |
Lim Ji-yeon’s performance as the cold, cruel Park Yeon-jin became just as famous as Song Hye-kyo’s lead role. Playing a villain that audiences truly loved to hate is not easy, but Lim pulled it off so well that she became a breakout star from the show.
A Story Released in Two Halves
The Glory did not release all at once. Netflix split the season into two parts. Part 1, with the first eight episodes, arrived on December 30, 2022. Part 2, with the final eight episodes, followed on March 10, 2023.
This slower release style built huge anticipation. Fans spent over two months debating theories online between Part 1 and Part 2, trying to guess exactly how Dong-eun’s plan would unfold.
Why It Became a Worldwide Phenomenon
The Glory did not just do well in Korea. In the week of January 2, 2023, Part 1 climbed to the No. 1 spot on Netflix’s global Non-English TV chart, with 82.48 million hours viewed. By March 2023, it had entered Netflix’s all-time Most Popular Non-English TV list at No. 6, with 413.05 million total hours viewed under Netflix’s measurement system at the time. When Part 2 premiered, it became the single most-viewed title on all of Netflix that week, with 124.46 million hours viewed.
Part of the appeal was the mystery box structure. Every episode revealed a new piece of Dong-eun’s plan, keeping viewers guessing about who would be targeted next and how far she was willing to go.
But a lot of the show’s power also came from its heavy subject matter. Kim Eun-sook has said she was inspired to write the story partly by thinking about school violence from a parent’s point of view. The drama drew on research into real Korean school-violence cases, and its curling-iron assault scene was widely compared to a 2006 school-violence case in Cheongju. That grounding in something real made the fictional revenge feel personal to a lot of viewers.
Awards and Recognition
The show’s impact showed up at award shows too. At the 59th Baeksang Arts Awards, The Glory picked up three major wins: Best Drama, Best Actress for Song Hye-kyo, and Best Supporting Actress for Lim Ji-yeon.
For Song Hye-kyo, the win was proof that stepping outside her comfort zone had paid off. After years of playing warm, romantic leads, audiences and critics agreed she had found an entirely new gear as an actress.
Recognition followed quickly after “The Glory” premiered.
What Makes This Show Different From Other Revenge Dramas
K-drama fans have seen plenty of revenge stories before. What set The Glory apart was its pacing and tone. The show never rushes. It lets Dong-eun’s pain sit with the audience for a long time before showing any payoff. When the revenge finally does happen, it feels earned rather than easy.
The Editor found this patience to be the show’s biggest strength. Many revenge dramas jump straight to satisfying moments. The Glory makes you wait, the same way Dong-eun herself had to wait for years.
Ready for the Details?
This spoiler-free look only scratches the surface. In Part 2 of this series, we go deep into the ending, the biggest twists, and what the story is really trying to say about bullying, power, and justice.
Continue to The Glory Part 2: Deep Dive Ending Explained →
If you enjoy dark, twisty K-dramas, you might also like our breakdown of Squid Game Season 1 or our deep dive into Queen of Tears.
Rating: 8.9 / 10
A personal note from the Editor. It’s rare to see an actress this famous take such a big risk with her image. Watching Song Hye-kyo trade warmth for ice made me appreciate just how much range she had been hiding all along.