scorecard
  1. Home
  2. entertainment
  3. news
  4. 15 details you may have missed in 'The Glory,' Netflix's hit revenge drama

15 details you may have missed in 'The Glory,' Netflix's hit revenge drama

15 details you may have missed in 'The Glory,' Netflix's hit revenge drama
Dong-eun holding a devil's trumpet flower in "The Glory."Graphyoda/Netflix
  • "The Glory" is a Korean-language revenge drama available to stream on Netflix.
  • It stars Song Hye-kyo as Moon Dong-eun, a woman exacting revenge on her high school bullies.

In the first sequence of the show, as Dong-eun drives to her apartment, there's a shot of the Jaepyeong Construction tower.

In the first sequence of the show, as Dong-eun drives to her apartment, there
The Jaepyeong Construction tower in "The Glory."      Graphyoda/Netflix

Park Yeon-jin's husband, Ha Do-yeong, is the chairman of Jaepyeong.

Both devil's trumpet and angel's trumpet plants, shown on the roof in episode 1, are poisonous.

Both devil
Devil's trumpet and angel's trumpet flowers in "The Glory."      Graphyoda/Netflix

Dong-eun's landlord shows off some of the plants on the roof of her apartment building towards the beginning of episode one. Both of the flowers that she highlights, devil's trumpet and angel's trumpet, are poisonous. Plants from both the datura and brugmansia genuses, respectively, can bring about hallucinations and, in some cases, death, per the United States Forest Service and North Carolina State University.

A brief montage in episode 1 foreshadows moments that will follow in the show.

A brief montage in episode 1 foreshadows moments that will follow in the show.
A girl falls in a montage shown in the first episode of "The Glory."      Graphyoda/Netflix

After Dong-eun's new landlady breaks an earthenware pot on the roof of her apartment building, there's a brief montage that shows various clips hinting towards other elements of the series.

They include flashes of crime scene tape, a girl falling and her body smashing into glass-like pieces on the ground, torn-out notebook paper, a young Yeon-jin peeking out from behind a nurse's office curtain, a tablet dissolving in water, Dong-eun holding a phone while seen in the reflection of a washing machine, and a man removing his watch.

Some of these are shots from later moments in the episode, such as Dong-eun's homeroom teacher removing his watch to slap her or Yeon-jin ambushing Dong-eun in the nurse's office. Shots of a girl falling seem to reference Yoon So-hee, the girl who Yeon-jin's clique bullied prior to Dong-eun and who Dong-eun asserts that Yeon-jin killed.

In episode 1, Yeon-jin's mother makes a comment that foreshadows her friends' eventual betrayal.

In episode 1, Yeon-jin
Yeon-jin's mother scolds her after she has to pick her up at the police station in "The Glory."      Graphyoda/Netflix

Yeon-jin's mother picks her up from the police station in the first episode, scolding her on the way to a temple.

"The shaman told you to avoid people with O's in their names because they'd bring you bad luck," Yeon-jin's mother tells her. "I'm talking about Son Myeong-o and Choi Hye-jeong."

It's foreshadowing — both Myeong-o and Hye-jeong eventually agree to assist Dong-eun with her revenge plan later in the series. Of course, that's to say nothing of Moon Dong-eun herself being bad news for Yeon-jin.

Dong-eun references Ye-sol's color blindness in episode 1, foreshadowing her parentage.

Dong-eun references Ye-sol
Ye-sol hanging upside down in "The Glory."      Graphyoda/Netflix

When she speaks with Ye-sol on the playground in episode 1, Dong-eun questions why Ye-sol likes being upside down while narrating.

"Is it because when the world is upside down, people will understand you even if you can't tell some colors apart?" she asks, before Ye-sol remarks that Dong-eun's green shoes are just like her mother's.

It's an early reference to the trait that Ye-sol shares with her biological father, Jeon Jae-jun, foreshadowing questions about her parentage that arise later in the season.

Dong-eun studies a flash card with the word 'glory' on it in episode 1, referencing the show's title.

Dong-eun studies a flash card with the word
Dong-eun studies a notecard in 'The Glory."      Graphyoda/Netflix

While studying at the textile factory, Dong-eun flips through flashcards with both English and Korean translations of words on them. One of those words is "glory," or 영광, seen at the bottom of her second flashcard.

In episode 2, the student that Dong-eun tutors has what seems to be a vintage French poster on the wall.

In episode 2, the student that Dong-eun tutors has what seems to be a vintage French poster on the wall.
The bedroom of a boy that Dong-eun briefly tutors in "The Glory."      Graphyoda/Netflix

During a math tutoring session with a presumably wealthy student, there's a poster of a duck wearing a fake mustache on the wall behind Dong-eun and the young man. It bears the text "inimitable Savignac," suggesting that it was created by the 20th-century French poster artist Raymond Savignac. Some of Savignac's posters are sold today for hundreds or thousands of dollars.

There's also a poster of the Eiffel Tower on the wall, as well as a displayed record.

In episode 2, a commercial for Yeon-jin's husband's construction company plays after her newscast.

In episode 2, a commercial for Yeon-jin
A Jaepyeong Construction advertisement in "The Glory."      Graphyoda/Netflix

During the episode, both Yeon-jin's husband Do-yeong and Dong-eun's Go partner, Yeo-jeong, are seen watching Yeon-jin's weather forecast. In the hospital lobby where Yeo-jeong is watching, a commercial for Do-yeong's company Jaepyeong Construction plays after the broadcast.

Earlier in the episode, Yeon-jin asked Do-yeong to place more advertisements on the channel.

In episode 3, Dong-eun gets coffee from the same café where she and Yeo-jeong got drinks from when they played Go together.

In episode 3, Dong-eun gets coffee from the same café where she and Yeo-jeong got drinks from when they played Go together.
Dong-eun drinking coffee from Gyodae Café in "The Glory."      Graphyoda/Netflix

Dong-eun is seen going through a car wash and drinking coffee from Gyodae Café, identifiable by the custom cup sleeve on her drink.

In episode 4, Yeon-jin sings the 2000s hit "Two of Us" by Chae Yeon.

In episode 4, Yeon-jin sings the 2000s hit "Two of Us" by Chae Yeon.
Yeon-jin singing "Two of Us" in "The Glory."      Graphyoda/Netflix

While sitting on the stage of the gym, Yeon-jin sings the song "Two of Us" by Chae Yeon, a soloist also known by the name Lee Chae-yeon (not to be confused with the Korean solo artist of the same name who was born in 2000). The song was released in 2004, fitting in with the early 2000s timeline of Dong-eun and Yeon-jin's high school years.

In episode 5, Hyeong-nam mistakenly references "Demian," a Herman Hesse novel that has enduring popularity in South Korea.

In episode 5, Hyeong-nam mistakenly references "Demian," a Herman Hesse novel that has enduring popularity in South Korea.
Hyeon-nam and Dong-eun converse in "The Glory."      Graphyoda/Netflix

Hyeong-nam quotes a novel that she initially calls "Raemian," saying that her daughter was reading it. Dong-eun corrects her on the title: it's actually "Demain," a 1919 novel by Herman Hesse.

The novel itself is popular in South Korea, according to the LA Review of Books, and has been referenced in other popular works such as BTS' 2016 album "Wings."

Yeo-jeong has Dong-eun's name saved affectionately in his phone in episode 5.

Yeo-jeong has Dong-eun
Yeo-jeong has Dong-eun's name saved as "Dong! Eun! Hoo! Bae!" in his phone in "The Glory."      Graphyoda/Netflix

Viewers get a peek at Yeo-jeong's phone screen when Dong-eun texts him, sending him into an immediate panic. He has her name saved as Dong! Eun! Hoo! Bae! (동! 은! 후! 배!) in his phone, separated by exclamation points. The term hoobae (후배) is used to reference an underclassman or junior, while the term sunbae (선배) refers to an upperclassman.

In episode 6, Yeo-jeong listens to Yeon-jin on the radio.

In episode 6, Yeo-jeong listens to Yeon-jin on the radio.
Yeo-jeong listens to Yeon-jin on the radio in "The Glory."      Graphyoda/Netflix

While driving to Semyeong, Yeo-jeong listens to Yeon-jin while she appears on a radio program. He also watched Yeon-jin's weather cast in episode 2, showing that he took notice of Dong-eun saying that she watched the segment.

In episode 7, Do-yeong compares Ye-sol to Korean soccer player Son Heung-min.

In episode 7, Do-yeong compares Ye-sol to Korean soccer player Son Heung-min.
Ye-sol after a soccer match in "The Glory."      Graphyoda/Netflix

After a soccer game, Do-yeong tells his daughter that she played "just like Sonny," using a nickname that references Korean soccer player Son Heung-min. Son plays for the Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in the United Kingdom and is the captain of the South Korean national team, which competed recently at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

In episode 8, Yeon-jin enters Dong-eun's apartment with her shoes on — just as Dong-eun had imagined.

In episode 8, Yeon-jin enters Dong-eun
Yeon-jin breaks into Dong-eun's apartment in "The Glory."      Graphyoda/Netflix

In episode 1, Dong-eun imagines Yeon-jin entering her apartment in Semyeong and scolds the imaginary Yeon-jin for wearing her shoes in the apartment.

In episode 8, when Yeon-jin breaks into Dong-eun's apartment, she doesn't remove her shoes — just as Dong-eun had predicted. Yeon-jin and her friends also don't remove their shoes when they ambush Dong-eun at her own apartment in episode 1.


Popular Right Now




Advertisement