“The Cursed” is a 2020 Korean drama series with 12 episodes, categorized as Horror, Fantasy, Supernatural, and Revenge, streaming free on Tubi TV with ads.
SUMMARY: Murderers are unaware that a young girl witnessed them killing her mother. They are also unaware that she is a shaman who possesses exceptional powers to curse people. She intends to make them pay.
♦ Give Me a Photo, Their Name in Chinese Characters, and a Personal Belonging
In “The Cursed”, a shaman is a widow and the mother of a young girl. She was not a very good shaman but earned enough to support herself and her child. One time the mother attempted to use her shamanic powers and somehow ended up making her daughter sick. But after that, she discovered the child, Baek So-Jin, had exceptional powers to curse people. As a child, performing the rituals too often made her ill. The mother tried not to abuse the child’s power but she needed money to support the both of them.
The mother performed a ritual for Jin Jong-Hyun. The man had a miserable life and his mother brought him to the shaman hoping she could do something to make him successful. It seemed like the ritual worked, but the man was ungrateful. He returned with Jin Kyung, another woman who was also a shaman skilled at cursing others. Only they didn’t come to curse the mother. They came to kill her. Baek So-Jin heard sounds so she got out of her bed.
The door to their home was slightly ajar and she could see the people who had come to see her mother. She saw them kill her mother. They followed the murder by setting the place on fire. Since they did not know the young child was there, they thought they finished what they had come to do. Baek So-Jin escaped through the back door and ultimately ended up in an orphanage. Her father and mother were both dead and she did not know of any relatives or family friends.
By the time Baek So-Jin was a teenager attending high school, she was very capable of using her powers. What made Baek So-Jin so unique and different from other shamans? She only needed three (3) things to perform the cursing ritual: a photo, the person’s name in Chinese characters, and a personal belonging – anything! As for location? A shrine was not needed and they could meet in a coffee shop. Her movements were inconspicuous and unless you knew she was performing the ritual, nobody would even know what she was doing.
♦ The Shaman Meets a Reporter
Baek So-Jin approached Im Jin-Hee and told her she could curse people. She said if Im Jin-Hee ever needed her service, she was ready, willing, and able. Baek So-Jin knew that she was a reporter investigating Jin Jong-Hyun. But she did not tell her that he was the man who killed her mother. She did tell Im Jin-Hee that to perform the cursing ritual, she needed a photo, the person’s name in Chinese characters, and a personal belonging. Im Jin-Hee thought Baek So-Jin was a very strange kid. (O.o) Baek So-Jin assured her that they would meet again.
Im Jin-Hee is a reporter who was covering the story of a whistle-blower. The man was a former employee of a company owned by Jin Jong-Hyun. Her boss refused to publish her article and instead published a fake story about the whistle-blower, besmirching his character and integrity. After the boss published the story, the whistle-blower died in a “questionable” car accident. Im Jin-Hee was furious! She confronted her boss and blamed him for causing the whistle-blower’s death. Her boss also became angry and verbally and physically abusive.
When Im Jin-Hee left her workplace that day she was consumed with anger and wanted revenge. She was so enraged that she wanted to kill her boss. Before leaving his office she remembered what Baek So-Jin said and asked him what his name was in Chinese characters. He blurted out the answer. when you’re in a heated argument with someone, you don’t often think about the words coming out of your mouth. Without him even noticing, she picked up the top of his pen that was on his desk and walked out.
As Baek So-Jin had predicted, Im Jin-Hee chose to meet up with her. Im Jin-Hee confessed that she wanted to kill her boss and brought a photo, his name written in Chinese characters on a piece of paper, and the top to his ink pen. They were sitting at a table in a coffee shop. Baek So-Jin arranged the photo and Chinese characters on the table and held the top of the ink pen in her hands.
After several minutes passed, she gave the pen top back to Im Jin-Hee and said it was done. Of course, Im Jin-Hee did not believe her. But she felt a little bit better because her anger had subsided. They parted ways. Im Jin-Hee was so exhausted she went home, crawled into bed, and fell into a deep sleep. Later she heard the news that her boss was dead and he had died a horrible death!
Im Jin-Hee went to find Baek So-Jin and asked if she was responsible. Baek So-Jin explained that the horrific way the boss died was the result of Im Jin-Hee’s grudge. The stronger the grudge and desire for revenge, the worse the form of death. Then Baek So-Jin told Im Jin-Hee the real reason she had approached her. Baek So-Jin had a strong grudge and desire for revenge. She wanted to curse Jin Jong-Hyun because he had killed her mother. But she couldn’t do it unless someone asked her to curse him. Baek So-Jin wanted Im Jin-Hee to help her curse and kill the man who murdered her mother.
Im Jin-Hee had seen a demonstration of a curse. Now that she was fully aware of Baek So-Jin’s exceptional shamanic powers, should she help her? Im Jin-Hee said she was an investigative reporter. Her job was to expose the truth and get justice. BaekSo -Jin told her that if that method worked her mother wouldn’t be dead. So is she going to help her curse Jin Jong-Hyun or not?
Main Characters:
- Im Jin-Hee (played by Uhm Ji-Won, “Jung_E”)
- Baek So-Jin (played by Jung Ji-So, “The Glory 1 and 2”)
- Jin Jong-Hyun (played by Sung Dong-Il, “Hijack 1971”, “The Chase”, “Curtain Call”, “Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days”, “RV: Resurrected Victims”, “The Grand Heist”, “Han River Police”, “Ghost Doctor”, “Sisyphus: The Myth”)
- Jin Kyung (played by Jo Min-Soo)
Where to Watch: Tubi TV
Viewership and Rating:
- IMDb: 7.1 out of 10 stars
- My Drama List: 7.8 out of 10 stars
- Google users shared a public rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
My personal rating is the same as the same as IMDb.
This is one of those rare times when I agree with IMDb. One of the reviewers said that shamanism in this series was not “Western-like” and was closely related to Asian culture. OK! As a Westerner, for a Korean horror TV series “The Cursed” kept my attention for 12 episodes. But these statements by another reviewer bear repeating:
“… our antagonist here is literally the devil’s reincarnate. The use of social media by the antagonist to gather people’s hatred in order to remotely control and kill them is scary, although it’s not too much a far-fetched idea. We’ve seen how social media kill (just look at some of the K-pop idols killing themselves due to malicious netizen comments), or manipulate people’s thinkings and honestly I think the world has gotten more dangerous than ever.”
LINKS OF INTEREST:
The Cursed Drama Review | Kai2Cents
Drama Review – The Cursed (tvN, 2020) | The cat that watches TV
The Cursed Season 1 Review: Gore and gumption in equal measures | Times of India
TRAILER/TEASER:
CJ ENM Global. “The Cursed.” YouTube, Video, 19 Oct. 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtS6-4wuTwQ.
♦
You Might Also Like:
♦
“The Cursed” is a 2020 Korean drama series with 12 episodes, categorized as Horror, Fantasy, Supernatural, and Revenge, streaming free on Tubi TV with ads.
SUMMARY: Murderers are unaware that a young girl witnessed them killing her mother. They are also unaware that she is a shaman who possesses exceptional powers to curse people. She intends to make them pay.
♦ Give Me a Photo, Their Name in Chinese Characters, and a Personal Belonging
In “The Cursed”, a shaman is a widow and the mother of a young girl. She was not a very good shaman but earned enough to support herself and her child. One time the mother attempted to use her shamanic powers and somehow ended up making her daughter sick. But after that, she discovered the child, Baek So-Jin, had exceptional powers to curse people. As a child, performing the rituals too often made her ill. The mother tried not to abuse the child’s power but she needed money to support the both of them.
The mother performed a ritual for Jin Jong-Hyun. The man had a miserable life and his mother brought him to the shaman hoping she could do something to make him successful. It seemed like the ritual worked, but the man was ungrateful. He returned with Jin Kyung, another woman who was also a shaman skilled at cursing others. Only they didn’t come to curse the mother. They came to kill her. Baek So-Jin heard sounds so she got out of her bed.
The door to their home was slightly ajar and she could see the people who had come to see her mother. She saw them kill her mother. They followed the murder by setting the place on fire. Since they did not know the young child was there, they thought they finished what they had come to do. Baek So-Jin escaped through the back door and ultimately ended up in an orphanage. Her father and mother were both dead and she did not know of any relatives or family friends.
By the time Baek So-Jin was a teenager attending high school, she was very capable of using her powers. What made Baek So-Jin so unique and different from other shamans? She only needed three (3) things to perform the cursing ritual: a photo, the person’s name in Chinese characters, and a personal belonging – anything! She didn’t even need to be at a shrine. She could be sitting in a coffee shop. Her movements were inconspicuous and unless you knew she was performing the ritual, nobody would even know what she was doing.
♦ The Shaman Meets a Reporter
Baek So-Jin approached Im Jin-Hee and told her she could curse people. She said if Im Jin-Hee ever needed her service, she was ready, willing, and able. Baek So-Jin knew that she was a reporter investigating Jin Jong-Hyun. But she did not tell her that he was the man who killed her mother. She did tell Im Jin-Hee that to perform the cursing ritual, she needed a photo, the person’s name in Chinese characters, and a personal belonging. Im Jin-Hee thought Baek So-Jin was a very strange kid. (O.o) Baek So-Jin assured her that they would meet again.
Im Jin-Hee is a reporter who was covering the story of a whistle-blower. The man was a former employee of a company owned by Jin Jong-Hyun. Her boss refused to publish her article and instead published a fake story about the whistle-blower, besmirching his character and integrity. After the boss published the story, the whistle-blower died in a “questionable” car accident. Im Jin-Hee was furious! She confronted her boss and blamed him for causing the whistle-blower’s death. Her boss also became angry and verbally and physically abusive.
When Im Jin-Hee left her workplace that day she was consumed with anger and wanted revenge. She was so enraged that she wanted to kill her boss. Before leaving his office she remembered what Baek So-Jin said and asked him what his name was in Chinese characters. He blurted out the answer. when you’re in a heated argument with someone, you don’t often think about the words coming out of your mouth. Without him even noticing, she picked up the top of his pen that was on his desk and walked out.
As Baek So-Jin had predicted, Im Jin-Hee chose to meet up with her. Im Jin-Hee confessed that she wanted to kill her boss and brought a photo, his name written in Chinese characters on a piece of paper, and the top to his ink pen. They were sitting at a table in a coffee shop. Baek So-Jin arranged the photo and Chinese characters on the table and held the top of the ink pen in her hands.
After several minutes passed, she gave the pen top back to Im Jin-Hee and said it was done. Of course, Im Jin-Hee did not believe her. But she felt a little bit better because her anger had subsided. They parted ways. Im Jin-Hee was so exhausted she went home, crawled into bed, and fell into a deep sleep. Later she heard the news that her boss was dead and he had died a horrible death!
Im Jin-Hee went to find Baek So-Jin and asked if she was responsible. Baek So-Jin explained that the horrific way the boss died was the result of Im Jin-Hee’s grudge. The stronger the grudge and desire for revenge, the worse the form of death. Then Baek So-Jin told Im Jin-Hee the real reason she had approached her. Baek So-Jin had a strong grudge and desire for revenge. She wanted to curse Jin Jong-Hyun because he had killed her mother. But she couldn’t do it unless someone asked her to curse him. Baek So-Jin wanted Im Jin-Hee to help her curse and kill the man who murdered her mother.
Im Jin-Hee had seen a demonstration of a curse. Now that she was fully aware of Baek So-Jin’s exceptional shamanic powers, should she help her? Im Jin-Hee said she was an investigative reporter. Her job was to expose the truth and get justice. BaekSo -Jin told her that if that method worked her mother wouldn’t be dead. So is she going to help her curse Jin Jong-Hyun or not?
Main Characters:
- Im Jin-Hee (played by Uhm Ji-Won, “Jung_E”)
- Baek So-Jin (played by Jung Ji-So, “The Glory 1 and 2”)
- Jin Jong-Hyun (played by Sung Dong-Il, “Hijack 1971”, “The Chase”, “Curtain Call”, “Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days”, “RV: Resurrected Victims”, “The Grand Heist”, “Han River Police”, “Ghost Doctor”, “Sisyphus: The Myth”)
- Jin Kyung (played by Jo Min-Soo)
Where to Watch: Tubi TV
Viewership and Rating:
- IMDb: 7.1 out of 10 stars
- My Drama List: 7.8 out of 10 stars
- Google users shared a public rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
My personal rating is the same as the same as IMDb.
This is one of those rare times when I agree with IMDb. One of the reviewers said that shamanism in this series was not “Western-like” and was closely related to Asian culture. OK! As a Westerner, for a Korean horror TV series “The Cursed” kept my attention for 12 episodes. But these statements by another reviewer bear repeating:
“… our antagonist here is literally the devil’s reincarnate. The use of social media by the antagonist to gather people’s hatred in order to remotely control and kill them is scary, although it’s not too much a far-fetched idea. We’ve seen how social media kill (just look at some of the K-pop idols killing themselves due to malicious netizen comments), or manipulate people’s thinkings and honestly I think the world has gotten more dangerous than ever.”
LINKS OF INTEREST:
The Cursed Drama Review | Kai2Cents
Drama Review – The Cursed (tvN, 2020) | The cat that watches TV
The Cursed Season 1 Review: Gore and gumption in equal measures | Times of India
TRAILER/TEASER:
CJ ENM Global. “The Cursed.” YouTube, Video, 19 Oct. 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtS6-4wuTwQ.
♦
You Might Also Like:
♦
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