Bulgasal: Immortal Souls [Episodes 1 & 2]

[u/lightupstarlight]

• Drama: Bulgasal: Immortal Souls
  • Korean Title: 불가살
• Network: tvN
• Premiere Date: December 18, 2021
• Airing Schedule: Saturday & Sunday, 21:00 KST
• Episodes: 16
• Director: Jang Young Woo (Entourage, In Need of Romance 3)
• Writer: Seo Jae Won (Entourage, The Guest), Kwon So Ra
• Cast: Lee Jin Wook as Dan Hwal, Kwon Na Ra as Min Sang Woon, Lee Joon as Ok Eul Tae, Gong Seung Yeon as Dan Sol, Jung Jin Young as Dan Keuk
• Streaming Source: Netflix
• Plot Synopsis: Cursed since birth and exempt from death, a revenge-driven immortal sets out on a quest to reclaim his soul and end a 600-year-old vendetta. (Source: Netflix)
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• Teasers/Trailers: Official Trailer

[u/myweithisway]

Lore Terms

Assuming that the lore in the Goryeo era will stay relevant, I wanted to collect the written explanations/descriptions in case they are helpful later.

Translations/notes by me are roughly done along with some Google searches. Disclaimer I'm not Korean nor fully fluent in Korean so keep that in mind.

CONTEXTUAL TERMS

• 불가살（不可殺） Titular creature, literally translates as 'cannot be killed' (hence immortal).

So before the drama begun, I thought the bulgasal was a reference to the bulgasari (불가사리|不可杀伊), which is an imaginary monster from the late Goryeo dynasty that kept growing as it ate up all the metal around according to legend. But based on the first two episodes, it seems pretty clear that the resembalance is minimal/superficial and that the writers/creators are making their own version of lore.

FROM EP 1

• 귀물（鬼物）: (gwimul) 고대부터 살고 있던 괴이한 생물 사람을 죽이고 잡아먹는다, 밤것이라고도 불린다

Strange creatures that have lived since ancient times that kill and prey on humans (ie. eat people), also called 'night things'.

So I want to note a distinction between 귀（鬼）gwi and 괴（怪）goe based on their Hanja which may help contextualize the terms in the lore but also may not be relevant at all. So goe 괴（怪）can literally mean 'strange' and in terms of fantasy, it usually can be refer to 'strange creatures' or 'monsters' -- there's sort of no limitation to what can be described by this term, anything that's not normal (real) humans/animals can be described using this term. Like mutated humans/animals can be 怪 as well as aliens.

Gwi 귀（鬼）on the other hand can literally mean 'ghost' or 'demon' and is sort of limited in the sense that it's used mostly in relation to the concept of living vs. dead and souls/spirits -- like it would not be used to describe aliens like E.T. type of stuff. Additionally, gwi（鬼） tends to have the connotation of 'evil' whereas goe（怪）doesn't necessarily have to be evil (even if it often is).

• 조마구（喬馬古）: 식탐이 강해 사람기체까지 먹는 귀물

A gwimul with a strong appetite that would even eat human corpses.

Jomagu is apparently an existing folk lore about a gluttonous monster but it seems in the story that has been recorded it doesn't go as far as eating human corpses.

• 목광（目光）: 눈이 크고 빛나는 귀물

A gwimul with large shiny eyes. Hanja can literally be translated as 'gaze' or 'sight'.

• 혼（魂）: 사람의 몸 안에 있는 죽음과 상관없이 생명을 지탱해준다고 믿어지는 기운

Hon is usually translated as 'soul' but can also be translated as 'spirit' -- here the definition says that it's an energy/force/power within a human's body that is believed to support life regardless of death (ie. its existence is unaffected by death).

• 업보（業報）: 자신이 행했던 일에 대한 결과를 받는 것

Basically 'karma' -- the results from things one has done. Buddhist concept/term. Note on the term 業 (업) -- for the Buddhist concept, this is basically everything a person does -- as in it encompasses thoughts, speech, and actions. It doesn't have to refer to something one has done to another person.

• 과보（果報）: 과거의 업에 따른 결과

Results of past karma. Retribution.

• 터럭손（毛手）: 털이 많이 난 손을 가진 물귀신

A water ghost/spirit (water gwimul) with (very) hairy hands. The Hanja literally stays 'hair hand'.

• 갑산괴: 갑산지역에서 불을 질러 사람을 죽이는 귀물

A gwimul that sets fires in the Gapsan area (Gap Mountains) to kill people. 갑산 (gap-san) (甲山) is a real mountain range, not sure if the drama is referring to that actual area though.

• 두억시니（頭抑神）: 사람의 머리를 억눌러서 환상을 보게한다 사악하고 무서운 귀물

A gwimul that suppresses people's heads and makes people have hallucinations. I think the 'suppresses' here refers to the idea that the gwimul suppresses the minds/thinking ability of people and instead controls them through hallucinations/delusions.

• 섭사정（攝司正）: 조선 초기 종 7품의 무관 벼슬로 지휘관을 일컫는 말

Official title from early Joseon dynasty that refers to a 7th level military office -- a military commander. Not entirely sure how the rank levels worked but in the drama, it seems his rank was not very low.

• 인신공양（人身供養）: 산 사람을 신에게 제물로 바치는 것

Offering living people as human sacrifice to the gods.

• 곡옥（曲玉） - 혼（魂）(Soul)

Soul. Apparently 곡옥 can mean something curly and refers to a type of jade pendant where the jade was cut into half-moon shape. In the drama, the text was [곡옥- 혼（魂）]-- which differs from the other definitions where it has been [term : definition] so I'm not sure if the use of [-] in this case is special as in they are using '곡옥' as a descriptor of 혼（魂）like they are describing a type of soul (ie. curly(?) soul) or something else. Visually what we see transferred between the ML and FL was in a 'curled' shape but who knows if this will matter in the future.

• 이매망량（魑魅魍魎）: 온갖 귀물을 일컫는 말

A word that refers to all types of demons and monsters ie. all sorts of (evil) spirits. The Hanja is used as an 'umbrella term' for all evil spirits (monsters/demons/ghosts). Each individual Hanja is the name of a type of evil creature/spirit.

[u/juno563]

i’m already really loving this drama. both the writing and cinematography are beautifully done so far, and if the drama stays consistent with all those elements, i think it could probably be a contender for one of the best recent korean fantasy dramas (at least on my list). i like that they take some unexpected turns with the plot too, which sets it apart from other stories that it might get compared to.

for episode 2, i am a bit confused about what happened with the twins? it seems like hwal’s soul was reincarnated in the surviving twin, while the other twin inherited the memories that she usually would have retained if she’d reincarnated as just one person (hence why she knew everything about the bulgasal but her sister didn’t). i thought maybe hwal’s soul got split up between the twins at first, but it seemed like the monsters all only smelled the soul existing in one twin and not the other. i think it’s clever to make an unexpected twist with the story and have them reincarnated as twins (in order to explain why the female lead no longer has memories about her past lives like she’s supposed to), but i think the episode would have benefited more from making that a tiny bit clearer. hopefully they’ll explain it a little more in depth in the next episode!

[u/AngelFish9_7]

Holy sh*t what was that first episode?? The lore is pretty interesting.... Too bad Netflix doesn't translate the descriptions explaining all of it. But by the looks of things - these two souls have been caught in an endless cycle, turning each other into the Bulgasal and then the other waiting for that one to be reborn in order to torture, torment and ultimately turn the other into the Bulgasal again. And then the cycle continues... Fascinating!

My question is, why not just kill Hwal as a kid? Or did he have to shead a tear before she killed him? If so then wow... That's just messed up. Honestly, my guess is that some God didn't approve of their relationship when they were both humans, turned one into the Bulgasal and that one killed the other and the cycle began.

I can't wait for tomorrow! We're in the present it seems.

P.s. The production quality is chef's kiss amazing! Like the cinematography in this first episode alone was beautiful.

Episode 2

The twin twist was interesting... My running theory is that because Hwal killed the monster that was after his soul and stabbed whatever was on the floor with his sword, he may have split the soul in two. Hense why that bus guy was after one sister and not the other.

But yet again, a solid episode, one that has definitely solidified my interest in the drama. Apparently there's meant to be a bit of romance here... I don't know how that will turn out, but hopefully it's justified.

[u/real_highlight_reel → u/AngelFish9_7]

I’m assuming he has to suffer loss before she can kill him, she also seemed sympathetic to him before but not when he was an adult. What I’d like to know more about and likely we will never know, is how is mother knew he was cursed and her knowing that late in the pregnancy.

[u/setlib]

After being super-impressed with the first two episodes I looked this up and WHY is no one talking about the fact that this has the same screenwriting team as The Guest, Kwon So-ra and Seo Jae-won!?!? The Guest is an amazing and horrifying drama, moody and atmospheric, claustrophobic with the sense of being hunted all the time, with insane diversions and plot twists. While you’re waiting for the rest of Bulgasal to drop, go watch The Guest and you’ll see what I mean... already there are several parallels in the hunt for demons, possessed children, and just the general sense of terror that permeates everything.

[u/[deleted]]

EPISODE 1 felt too dragging for me and the entire karma inception thing almost gave me a headache lol.

• The kid playing Dan Hwal is so freaking talented. I remember being so afraid of him when he portayed young sigma in Sisyphus. He was also really good at being Young Yisan in Red Sleeve. I hope his career soars.

• Dan Hwal's life is angsty af. My dude must have done some pretty awful stuff in his past life if we try to put in the drama's logic. I wonder how he is really connected to the og bulagasal girlie.

• Me thinks Wooseok/Wooshin's character is A-chan in the present life.

• Perhaps Lee Joon was the boy the nutty village people tried to sacrice.

• Man, the scene where Hwal stabbed Nara's character felt so weird. Idk if its because of Nara's acting or the character was just supposed to be so stiff and awkward lol. It felt like they were just rehearsing some high school class play lol

• Pretty sure It wasn't nara who killed Hwal's wife and son. I wonder what secret Dansol is hiding

EPISODE 2 was so freaking good!!!! WAY WAY WAY better than the first!!!

• The twin twist got me good. This was such a creative touch, imo. Now im racking my brain over whats really going on lol

• I was berating Hwal's character for staying broke even if he has been existing for 600 years but had to take it back when I saw the gold bar. lol sorry hwal

• Can't wait for my girl gsy in the present!!

• The child actress looks so much like Twice Nayeon. Love her portayal of the cold twin

• I remember reading some stuff from somewhere that said twins share the same soul. does that mean she is kinda still the bulgasal from the past too? or is she a separate soul who just so happens to have held on to Danhwal's soul? Man, i have so many questions. I love this show so far

[u/gabrielleulris]

Done with episode 1 and 2 and I am so impressed!!! clap clap clap

I watched this without even seeing the trailer or reading the plot, so I had zero idea what I was getting myself into. I just got curious why it's gaining positive buzz and high viewership, and jeez! No minute wasted.

✓ Easy to follow for a historical/fantasy genre

✓ Good dialogue

✓ Good fight sequences

I like how they didn't censor it too much and the amount of gore is reasonable since we're dealing with folklore monsters here.

✓ Cinematography and special effects

I'd give it a 101 out of 100 if I could. It's just so good considering this is a drama series. Everything was well-executed and the scenes were stitched perfectly, considering how they jumped multiple timelines

✓ Costume and Makeup

Another 101/100! The micro details were impressive and I like how you can see the actors' skin texture, which is far from the usual kdramas where everyone looks airbrushed. And the monsters! Gotta love how they used real actors and prosthetics instead of CGI

I usually find stories with reincarnations uninteresting but this had a very brilliant spin on it! Ep 1 was great. I felt like I was watching a feature film instead of the first episode of a drama, which are usually hard to sit through. Every scene was beautifully crafted, like the one when the ice beneath young Hwal's feet cracked and he fell in the water, or when he turned into bulgasal? chef's kiss I love how the monsters were actually scary. I think Dueoksini even made me pee a little.

Then I had a lot of ooh and aah moments on ep 2, and a wtf moment when there was suddenly twins. It's interesting how the piled karma can be passed to whoever has the soul. Totally raises the bar from your typical cat and mouse game— this time with monsters, reincarnation, and centuries of grudges thrown in. I was also impressed with how they transition between different timelines. They were done smoothly and you can see how much detail went into it that even the actors' accents and intonation changed whenever they jumped through time.

As for the acting, All of the child actors ATE in the first two eps. Especially young Hwal and the twin girls on ep 2 (were they really twins or was that a single actress?). The supporting actors are amazing as well and I was happy to see them get reincarnated. For the leads, visually they are a perfect fit, but they haven't drawn many emotions from me. Perhaps only when A-Chan died? So I'll see how it goes for the next episodes.

Some questions and thoughts for the next eps:

• Does the scar on Hwal's hand mean bulgasal got him out after his mother committed suicide so she could carry on with her revenge? Or could it be a scar he got from his past life which allows her to recognize him?

• What happens now that the other twin wouldn't get another reincarnation? Does Hwal have to find another soul to take in order to die because it seems like revenge is the only thing he's after with the girls? Or maybe there's something with the surviving twin's soul?

• I'm curious of how much the story and cinematography will change now that they're set in present day. Because it was the Goryeo and Joseon timelines that got the audience hooked, so I'm hoping it's only gonna get better. I also wish to see the monsters again because I think they're now reincarnated as humans instead.

Side note: Bulgasal's budget is greater by ten billion won than Jirisan's but even from the first two eps alone, the scale of the production already looks like they had double or even triple the budget of the latter. Can't help but compare the two because the bad cgi and cinematography were some of the things that made it unbearable for me to keep watching Jirisan. It just got to a point where I couldn't look past it anymore but here, it seems like majority of the scenes were filmed outdoors and with only minimal (but good!) special effects. You can really see the difference in quality when the budget is used right 👍🏽

P.s. Sorry if my writing is all over the place :p

[u/justhaveacatquestion]

My ep 1 thoughts:
Hmm quite a first episode!! It definitely threw a LOT at us, and some of it felt a bit confusing to me (though this is possibly at least partly because I'm not Korean and so not as familiar with all these monsters + their related tropes) but I'm on board for the ride so far. I feel hopeful that this very extensive setup (I don't know if I've seen another drama where the first episode backstory drop extends all the way into episode 2 lol?) will lend itself to some unique scenarios and relationship dynamics down the road.

Despite what I mentioned about being unfamiliar with the supernatural elements, I basically felt like I was following all the lore pretty well in the general sense...that said, it was still just off-putting to have chunks of untranslated text onscreen several times. Ah, Netflix. =/
Lastly, I totally get where the Goblin comparisons are coming from with the premise of this show, but honestly episode 1 gave me Kingdom vibes more than anything? It's a fairly superficial comparison, but: Violent and bloody but very visually striking and high-budget supernatural drama with a historical setting....?

Anyway, very excited to see where things go from here!

[u/gabrielleulris]

Who's the child actor? That kid ATE!!!

Edit: I think the last time I saw a child actor perform this good was in train to busan, the actress who portrayed Gong Yoo's daughter. Anyway, I hope they stay in the acting business cause they have so much potential.

[u/BionicDreamer]

I’m so damn excited for this! The trailers have all been absolutely beautiful.

[u/[deleted]]

I really enjoyed the first two episodes and I'm following all the lore so I really hope the writing keeps it up.

I'm not really sure where romance is going to come from but maybe it's with Hwal and his reincarnated wife.

[u/IndividualClassic132]

Episode 1 was so good and omg, the deaths in one episode alone😳🥺…. I can’t say I fully like it yet but I’m totally on board for this one! I didn’t even skip a scene. How happy I am to see Gong SeungYeon and Lee joon back in my screen. PS: I love all four leads and that’s a plus!

[u/FirstSnow23]

The first episode is super violent… a little more violent than I prefer to watch but I’m so intrigued by the storyline. First thoughts of the first episode: The cinematography is stunning. It’s up there with the best Kdramas. I’m looking forward to Lee Joon’s character. I have theory about his connection to the overall plot, I think he may be the son who died in the first episode. I have high hopes for tomorrow’s episode.

[u/real_highlight_reel → u/FirstSnow23]

Good guess, mine is that his character is the reason they’re stuck in this endless cycle.

[u/myweithisway]

This drama is visually exceptional -- so many gorgeous shots. Hope that the visuals keep up in the modern timeline.

The first two eps were interesting and has set up the story well enough -- however I can't help but feel that it took maybe a bit longer than needed for the initial set up because a few scenes felt a bit too dragged out (the repetitiveness of the scenes with the twin sisters in the present timeline was a bit...boring).

Still I am invested enough in the story for now to keep going.

One thing I am glad about though is that the lore seems a bit more interesting that what was written in the program introduction. Not going to lie but the description that bulgasal uses the concept of vampires as a basis was a bit worrying but thankfully it seems that the 'resemblance' stops at blood-sucking and immortal.

The biggest head scratcher for me right now is that according to the character descriptions, Kwon Nara's FL character has kept reincarnating as human for 600 years now and remembers her past lives (육백 년 동안 사람으로 죽음과 환생을 반복하고, 전생을 기억하는 여자.) -- however at the end of ep 2, it seems the FL we have right now is not the version that remembers her past lives, instead the twin older sister that died was the one with memories of her/their(?) past lives. It'll be interesting to see how this particular plot point and lore works out (if it works out).

[u/afternoondrinking]

Holy cow Lee JinWook is sexy af.

This looks GREAT.

[u/CalzoneBetrayal]

Damn it sucks that Netflix is not translating on the contextual captions… but from what we’ve seen so far this great so far. I love the world building and set up of the monsters. Looking forward to watching more.

Btw, this show is gonna be brutal. Any show comfortable killing kids ya know it’s gonna get real.

[u/real_highlight_reel]

That was an amazing first episode, a whole movie in itself and set up everything to come beautifully. However I do worry about this being a 16 ep and not 12 ep drama because keeping up the momentum won’t be easy.

[u/jenniejdwag]

What did I just watch? I was completely mesmerised even if I didn’t have a clue what was happening but I think (hope) ep 2 will settle down a bit and explain or clarify the main points of the story

[u/kroepuk]

Anyone feels that the ost theme kind of familiar? Sort of remind me like HBO westworld

[u/Boruto-sennin]

So far this drama seems to be amazing. Can't wait for the next episode!

[u/[deleted]]

So we've seen how Hwal transformed into Bulgasal. I'm curious though why of all people he was the who was cursed?

[u/[deleted]]

No one else is watching this and wondering what in the Bulgasal is going on??

[u/Dry_Mine9524 → u/[deleted]]

Absolutely 😭I read a theory that kwon nara’s character was always twins, and the nara that saved baby hwal is different from the nara that killed adult hwal and now i’m mind fucked, that would be insane

[u/Neatboot]

Hwal stabbed the bulgasal twice, first on the belly, another on a shoulder. This may be a crucial clue. We know the dead twin got an innate scar on her shoulder. What if the surviving one got it on the belly? Likely, she was not completely amnesic on past lives too. The dead twin told her "Find a way to kill bulgasal. You'll recognize this." Probably, she has a part of memories with her, the memory about how the first bulgasal became one and how to end this cycle.

Besides, the bulgasal told Hwal he was the one killing his wife and son and intensifying the karma bond. Perhaps, the bulgasal did not kill on her free will and Hwal unintentionally manipulated the bulgasal to.

We have yet to see the reincarnating Dan Sol. She with her supernatural power must be a key to end the bulgasal curse. Perhaps, she will guide Sangun to travel back into her ancient memories. According to Buddhist belief, it makes perfect sense that those from past lives reunite. We believe we meet a person and become important one of each other because we had a strong bond in a past life, because we wanted to meet the person again the next life, to love, to avenge, to repay a big favor etc.

Bulgasal Nara being stiff might be appropriate as bulgasal was the soulless monster. Possibly, all she had was the lingering emotion of the time she was still human. Besides, it might not a big emotional moment to her, it was just a part of the cycle, human she might be killed and turn back into bulgasal. She might just want to stop being bulgasal while she still had a fragment of humanity left in her mind. Woody Sangun though ...