WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Gyeongseong Creature season 2.
Gyeongseong Creatureseason 2 finally answered the question of who Jang Ho-jae is and what Park Seo-joon’s role is in the second chapter of the Netflix series. Initially, Park Seo-joon played Jang Tae-sang, owner of The House of Golden Treasure who had a close-knit network that allowed him to get anything he desired. Tae-sang played a vital role in the liberation and destruction of Ongseong Hospital in 1945 Gyeongseong (Seoul), butGyeongseong Creature’s strange time shift left viewers confused as to who Park Seo-joon’s character isin theNetflix K-drama’s latest season.
InGyeongseong Creature’s season 1 ending, Park Seo-joon was revealed to be playing the role of Jang Ho-jae in the show’s next installment. While this move made sense for the surprise time jump, the return of the likes of Han So-hee, who would continue to play her character Yoon Chae-ok, added a lot of confusion as to whereGyeongseong Creature’s story would take it in its modern setting. Fortunately,Gyeongseong Creature2 addressed this pressing question very quickly, revealing who Jang Ho-jae is and what role Park Seo-joon plays in the rest of the series.
Jang Ho-jae Is Jang Tae-sang’s New Identity In Gyeongseong Creature
His Survival Came With A Cost
There were manytheories aboutGyeongseong Creature2following the first season’s dramatic conclusion, and many of them centered around Park Seo-joon’s new character. Some thought that Ho-jae may be an entirely new character that would revive the story in an entirely new life. Others suggested that Ho-jae was perhaps even a relative of Tae-sang, particularly due to their shared family name. Fortunately, another popular theory proved to be true asGyeongseong Creatureseason 2 confirmed that Jang Ho-jae is actually Jang Tae-sang.
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The catch, however, is thatJang Ho-jae has no memory of his former lifeas the master of the House of Golden Treasure. Tae-sang has been living as Ho-jae, a private investigator who catches couples having affairs, for around a year before the beginning of the Netflix K-drama’s second season. His new identity looks to have been crafted by those around him, including his business partner Kwon Yong-gil (Heo Joon-seok), hoping to keep Tae-sang’s memories of his past life at bay. Unfortunately, this does not last long thanks to the surprise reappearance of Yoon Chae-ok in 2024.
How Jang Tae-sang Is Still Alive In 2024 In Gyeongseong Creature
Though Jang Tae-sang initially survived the events of season 1’s finale, things did not stay well for long.Claudia Kim’s return as Lady Maeda inGyeongseong Creature2is a shocking twist that sees the Japanese woman continue the research started at Ongseong Hospital. However, her quest for revenge also looms overGyeongseong Creatureand plays a pivotal role in how Jang Tae-sang lives to see the modern day, despite being from the 1940s.
Lady Maeda paid a visit to The House of Golden Treasure after having been presumed dead in the explosion at her husband’s funeral. As an act of revenge, she orders the Kuroko warriors to destroy The House of Golden Treasure and kill Gu Gap-pyoung (Park Ji-hwan), Beom-o (Ahn Ji-ho), and Mrs Nawol (Kim Hae-sook). As a kindness to an old friend,Lady Maeda spares Tae-sang by infecting him with a najin, keeping him alive for years. Yet, as a cruel price for his new life, his first victim is heavily implied to have been Mrs. Nawol, who survived the brutality.
What Happened To Tae-sang Between 1945 And 2024
“Ho-jae” Seeks Justice For The Victims Of The Past
Other than the brutality that occurred at the House of Golden Treasure,not much else is known about Jang Tae-sang’s whereabouts of Jang Tae-sang between 1945 and 2024. However, the events of the tragedy give a clear timeframe as to when Jang Tae-sang became infected with a najin. The House of Golden Treasure stood as strong as ever during Korea’s independence from Japan, which happened on July 27, 2025, which was only a short time after the destruction of Ongseong Hospital.
Park Seo-joon’s Gyeongseong Creature Role Is The Perfect Callback To His Hit 2018 K-Drama
Park Seo-joon’s role as Tae-sang in Netflix’s horror series Gyeongseong Creature is a great callback to one of his most famous K-drama characters.
The events at The House of Golden Treasure take place during the United Nations Commission on Korea. This happened two years after Korea’s liberation from the Japanese, revealing that Jang Tae-sang most likely stayed in business for those two years. It is confirmed thatJang Tae-sang was infected with a najin between 1947 and 2023, allowing him to live without aging. During this time, it is implied that Jang Tae-sang continued to try and thwart Lady Maeda’s plans as he is thought to be the motorcyclist seen at the start ofGyeongseong Creatureseason 2.
Jang Tae-sang’s network of allies remains as steadfast as it did in the past.
In 2023, Jang Tae-sang was forcefully separated from his najin after being caught by the Kuroko and Jeonseung Biotech. This forced him to take on the identity of Jang Ho-jae, as those who lose their najin lose all the memories of their previous life. Because of this, he lived and worked with Yong-gil at Bugang Company in the remnants of The House of Golden Treasure. Despite his lack of memory, Jang Tae-sang’s network of allies remains as steadfast as it did in the past, with many descendants of his old friends choosing to help him both as Ho-jae and Tae-sang.
Does Tae-sang Regain His Memories In Gyeongseong Creature Season 2?
His Fate Mirrors That Of Chae-ok’s In Season 1
Fortunately,Jang Tae-sang does regain his memories inGyeongseong Creatureseason 2. The process for the return of his memories initially starts slowly as he crosses paths with Yoon Chae-ok, who retains her full memory of her life in 1940s Gyeongseong. As Ho-jae, Tae-sang experiences small deja-vu-like flashes that bring his memories from the past back in small doses. However, these memories are only glimpses and/or feelings that he struggles to make sense of. But the more he runs into Chae-ok the more his previous life seems to return to him.
Jang Tae-sang fully regains his memories in season 2, episode 5, after he becomes reinfected with a najin. This allows him to retake the regenerative and powerful abilities that the parasites give to their hosts, while also restoring all the memories the businessman had lost from the past. Jang Tae-sang retains his memories for the duration of the series and remains one of the few characters to still be infected with a najin at the end of season 2.
Future seasons ofGyeongseong Creaturehave yet to be confirmed, but the post-credits scene in episode 7 suggests there is more to come from the story.
Although Tae-sang gains his full memories back with the use of the najin, it’s unknown whether he would have continued to regain his memories without it. There is a potential for this theory to be explored ifthriller K-dramadecides to pursue further seasons, as the absence of Yoon Chae-ok’s memories could be triggered through references to her life in the past. However, this is not certain. Plus, there is always the chance that if Jang Tae-sang’s najin is removed again, he could become Ho-jae again or even take on a new identity inGyeongseong Creature’s potential future seasons.
Gyeongseong Creature
Cast
Gyeongseong Creature is an action horror-thriller television series that Kang Eun-kyung and Chung Dong-yoon created for Netflix. Set in 1945 during the Japanese occupation of Korea, Jang Tae-Sang, a wealthy informant in the heart of Gyeongseong, and Yoon Chae-ok, a highly skilled investigator, come together to face a literal creature created from the cumulative greed of humanity.
