In the Goryeo era, there existed monsters who lived off human flesh. The monsters possessed different powers, and humans lived in constant fear of them. Bulgasal is known to the people as the most dangerous monster of them all, but no one has seen it. It is because whoever sees it does not stay alive. What exactly is that monster? Let’s find out why this monster became the most feared of all?
‘Bulgasal’ Episode 1: Recap
In the late Goryeo era, some villagers are running away from the Japanese pirates who have attacked their village. It’s late in the night, and they are walking through the snow-capped mountain when they hear a noise. They see a monster and stop right there quietly, but one of the women among them starts approaching it. She is pregnant, and her husband follows her, but other villagers stop him. The monster could’ve eaten her alive, but when she goes near it, the monster runs away. She says that the baby in her belly is cursed by Bulgasal, so the monster ran away. She hangs herself to death the same night, but the baby falls out of her body.
The cursed child’s father abandons him when he is grown a little and leaves the village. The child is surviving somehow, but one day, when an entire family is killed suddenly, people think that Bulgasal has come back. The shaman tells them that Bulgasal will knock on every home and kill people until it finds the cursed child. So, the villagers decide and go to kill the cursed child. After a long chase, they finally catch the child, and when they are about to kill him, a Goryeo General intervenes and takes the child with him.
Is Hwal Cursed Or Blessed By Bulgasal?
The Goryeo General names the nameless child ‘Hwal.’ He takes him in as his adopted son and trains him in the art of war from childhood. He grows to become an excellent fighter and has even excelled more than his father. Yet, his subordinates see him as lowly and a cursed entity. He has helped his father and his military in destroying the monsters. Hwal has become especially skilled at killing the monsters, killing most of them with his own hands.
The General has spent his life killing monsters and now wants his son to carry his legacy. Hwal has become so skilled in killing monsters that people have started calling him blessed by Bulgasal rather than saying cursed by it. His father thinks the same, but Hwal does not. He thinks that he needs to kill all the monsters, including Bulgasal, and his work here will be done. He has a son who carries his curse as well. His newborn baby dies prematurely, and his wife blames him for that, and he accepts the blame.
‘Bulgasal’ Episode 1: Ending
General has killed all the monsters with his military except Bulgasal. General does not believe in Bulgasal. He thinks that it is just people’s imagination. However, Hwal believes otherwise. He sets out to hunt and kill Bulgasal with the General’s military. Hwal even takes his wife and son with him. He wants his son to be free from the curse as well. They go back to the village where Hwal originally came from. The shaman recognizes him and provokes villagers that Bulgasal will come back to get Hwal. The villagers attack the military, and while the fight is going on, Hwal sees someone that he has been thinking of for a while. He sees the woman who had saved him from villagers when he was younger. They had killed her back then, but she was still alive. He guesses that she must be Bulgasal, but he lets her go.
At night, he goes into the forest alone to kill Bulgasal, but he has no idea what is happening back at their camp. Bulgasal attacks the camp and kills every soldier one by one. When Hwal’s wife understands the situation outside, she takes their son and runs away to the forest. Her efforts go in vain when Bulgasal finds and kills them. Hwal sees the condition of their base and starts looking for his family when he hears his son calling him, but it is too late when he finds him. Bulgasal killed Hwal’s family, and in the end, attacked Hwal. Bulgasal, who is no one but the woman that Hwal had seen earlier, passes a sword through Hwal’s body. Hwal does not die, but he turns into a Bulgsal.
In Conclusion
Bulgasal has no soul. Thus, it cannot be killed, nor can it kill anyone. It sucks the blood out of a body, causing them to die. Hwal is the last living monster searching for the woman (Bulgasal’s human reincarnation) for the past 600 years. The monsters are gruesome, and though the scenes are not all that scary, a few jump scares can be expected. This horror/thriller has started with quite a lot of bloodshed. The upcoming episodes will tell if Hwal will cause the same bloodshed after turning into a Bulgasal himself.
Bulgasal is a 2021 South Korean Fantasy Thriller Television Series streaming on Netflix.
