Hellbound | K-Drama | Do You Believe in The New Truth?

Hellbound is a Korean drama TV series based on a webtoon of the same name.  This dark fantasy was released in 2021, is only 6 episodes, and is currently streaming on Netflix. Would you like to know about The New Truth?

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You Should Watch Hellbound Because Yoo Ah-in is Chairman Jung

My curiosity about the Hellbound TV series was piqued because I am a loyal fan of Yoo Ah-in. He plays Chairman Jung, preacher of The New Truth. The first K-drama that introduced me to this incredibly talented actor was “Six Flying Dragons”; a series that was released in 2015.  His powerful performance as Lee Bang-Won, a real historical figure in the history of Joseon, converted me into a loyal fan.  But as Chairman Jung, he could NEVER convert me to The New Truth. Talk about preaching a doctrine of hopelessness and helplessness, doom and gloom, fear and dread, horror, and terror … and for what? To make people live more righteously? I don’t think so!!

What is The New Truth?

Before he became the beloved Chairman Jung, leader of a multitude of devoted followers who believe in The New Truth, he was just a kid who lived in a Catholic orphanage. One day, when he was a kid, he had a vision that predicted the exact date and time of his death and told him he was going to hell, i.e. he was HELLBOUND. The date of his vision and the date of his predicted death were 20 years apart! He wasn’t really sure about the origin of what he saw. So he struggled to come up with an explanation. He decided to tell everybody that the vision was a warning from God to show people what would happen to them if they did not live righteously. He doesn’t really KNOW that. But he reasoned that at least if people followed The New Truth and witnessed the “demonstration” of God’s damnation for being sinners, they would be better people. Right?

• SIDE NOTE: What is the “demonstration”?  The “demonstration” is usually a public event. It’s what people witness when someone whose time is up gets sent to hell. These three (3) gigantic ugly merciless monsters come from out of nowhere, rip the person apart, and burn their bodies to a crisp; a bright light shines to conclude the act; and then they disappear. If that doesn’t scare you into living righteously, what will?

Who are the Arrowheads?

In various religious groups, there is often a group that sets itself apart from the other disciples in the original or main group. They sort of pick certain parts of the doctrine they want to follow and then ADD ON! The Arrowheads are a group of mostly young kids who take it upon themselves to decide who is supposed to go to hell. The ugly creatures don’t show up for them. Instead, they judge people they think should go to hell and then brutally beat people to death and if they have time, they will burn the bodies. Eh! It’s a close enough “imitation” of the “demonstration”.

Could Chairman Jung Have Come Up with an Alternative Plan?

I get it! He was a frightened kid who saw a vision telling him he was hellbound, and he didn’t understand why. What had he done? Wasn’t his life already hell? He was in an orphanage, wishing for his mother to come for him; but she never came. On top of this, he gets a death notice!

• If you got an ADVANCE NOTICE of your death and you think you witnessed a “demonstration” of what“God’s damnation” looked like … what would you do?

Chairman Jung could have come up with an alternative plan. He had 20 years to work on it. Instead of inventing a cockamamie religion, he should have been trying to figure out how to get rid of those monsters. During that 20-year period, he KNEW The New Truth was just a BIG OLD LIE!! How are you supposed to convince others to live righteously, when you’re lying to them like that?? Also, before he died he committed a brutal murder. Of course, it was in the name of a sinner receiving just punishment. That’s probably why he went to hell! Maybe “somebody” knew what he was going to do in 20 years to deserve being hellbound. (Just sayin’.)

Six (6) Depressing Episodes

It’s a good thing this series was short. It was very difficult to watch six (6) episodes of “hopelessness and helplessness, doom and gloom, fear, and dread, and horror and terror”. All I can say is … I can’t believe there’s going to be a Season 2!!! WHY??? 

Hellbound Gets Renewed for Season 2 at Netflix, First Teaser Released

In Season 1, Chairman Jung came up with an answer but it was wrong! Well if his answer was wrong, then there must be a right answer to the question.  Perhaps Season 2 will answer the unanswered question, which is:

• If those monsters weren’t sent by God, where did they come from?

If that’s the case, then Season 2 would be worth watching.  But I hope it does not have a lot of episodes.  Those three (3) monsters are way scarier than Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell.

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