Korean Drama Bulgasal: Immortal Souls Ending (Spoilers!!!)
Want to know what happens in the end? Then check out the spoiler post for the Korean Drama Bulgasal: Immortal Souls on the blog now!
Scene of the Korean Drama Bulgasal: Immortal Souls Ending
1000 years ago, Hwal and Sang Un were the only Bulgasals in the world and they were a couple, living far from the humans, until Sang Un found two orphans and she decided to leave Hwal and live with them until they grow up.
Those two were Shi Ho and Do Yoon and they lived with Sang Un and Hye Suk, until the siblings witnessed Eul Tae…
ok so, this is all just what ive seen in the 12 episodes so far, a deep dived/ rabbit hole and trying to connect stuff. I feel like a crazed person with a board with pictures and strings all connecting stuff.
Time line: so the show begins in 2021. We have a few different times that have been given or tossed at us but they are important with history and connection to dynasties, religion and important symbolism in art. The first 2 are the “600 years ago” and the “1000 years ago” we are often told. With some simple math we know that all this ish started in 1021. This is the Goryeo period for Korea. Eul Tae’s character, of unknown age but an adult, is the older son of an important figure head of a village. He is sickly and has found out his father is planning to abandon him and take his younger son and look for more opportunities for power and financial growth. He has managed to lure his brother out into the woods and murders him. He is spotted in the act and is accosted by the OG Sung-un bulgasal* (ill get into more about why i dont think she is a bulgasal). Eul Tae lies to his father about his brothers death. Thanks to episode 12 we learn that OG Hwal was around and a grown man and a bulgasal* and makes Eul Tae into the monster is he now with the black hole and also takes his soul, making Hwal a human before dyng. Hwal, as we know him pre-bulgasal and as a child, was born in 1394. He is born from a dead mother and shaman lady states that he should have died, for it would have ended the curse/retribution. Skip 27 years later he becomes the bulgasal we all know and love/hate currently. At this time it is 1421 and thus the “600 years ago”. Before he becomes bulgasal he believes OG Sung Un is the bulgasal that has killed his family and amry bros, I am unsure at this moment why she is bathed in blood and runs him through with a sword but she takes his (Eul Taes) soul by accident and becomes human (she looked dumbfounded as to why this happened), Hwal stabs her twice with two swords. Before she died she cureses him and pretty much tells him she’ll be seeing him again. 199 years pass and Japan is up to their historical bullshit and invading korea, and we learn that Hwal is feeding off animals. Good for him for keeping his promise. 3 years later we get our first mention of Sung-un being reincarnated but aling with that info we learn she is also being hunted by “black hole” aka Eul Tae and that the monsters Hwal hunted down are now following her because she has Hwal’s soul, Which is actually Eul Tae’s soul. Skip to present day and we learn that Sung un is actually a twin. Sung-un is the bearer of Eul Tae’s soul and has the ability to sense monsters (also is able to black out and beat the shit out of monsters is she is stabbed, cool defense trick) while her sister sung yeon has all the memories and curse mark from her previous lives. We also learn that they are on their 8th reincarnation and wont reincarnate again after they die. Shenanigans ensue and Sung yeon and her mother are both murdered by Eul Tae but we learn that Sung Yeon did something to Sung Un’s soul/ body/ being that makes it impossible for Eul Tae to kill Sung Un. Present day episode 12 and Sung un still doesnt remember anything on her own except for what reincarnated shaman lady states or her sister si-ho sees from her soul memories, until she is attacked by a cop and is stabbed. After she sees her stitched up wound and touches it we get some interesting flash back memories and she proceeds to stab Hwal. Let me just say, full on monster looking hwal was hott.
Important art and religious connections: if the writers did their research on art symbolism and art through history then oh my god.
Here are some shots and angles of this painting that is always in the background. This painting was done after the monster hunting era, so its a Joseon style painting and the main religion during this time was Buddhism. I was an art major in college and took several religious studies classes while in college and i squealed when i saw this. Its beautifully drawn and there is so much symbolism in this painting outside of the obvious stuff. If you look past the monsters you still see many things. Lets looks at the bigger details. You have the monsters that hwal hunted and their respective human forms/ shapes. The hand in the center in the water, the charka symbol stands for balance or balancing your chakra/soul. Everything is near or surrounded by fire, and when used in paintings symbolizes purifying or cleansing. This is also great because the mythology of bulgasal is its either immortal or can be killed by fire. The way its written in chinese means its “impossible to kill” and if you change out one of the letters its becomes “killed by fire” We see two caves that are in close proximity to the two haloed figures. We see these caves in the show being used as residence of the bulgasal*.
This was OG sung uns cave.
This is hwals cave. (im sure to budgeting reasons they reused the cave but to stick with the paintings they are two separate caves.
Next we see the two main figures. The first and slightly more centered is the female, dressed in red with gold lotus flowers and a golden halo. Within Buddhism halos are seen as an aura of sanctity, or perceived goodness/holiness. Its also given to individuals who are deities within korean mythologies. The female is positioned in a way you notice her first and for koreans red is used to ward of evil and bad luck but to wear red is a sign of bad luck it is in opposition of the color blue. In korean art the golden lotus symbolizes creation, birth, reproduction and livability. This is interesting given that its on an individual who is supposedly immortal and seen as a god like being. Next we have the male who on the right and slightly further back. He is turned away and is presented as aloof and mysterious. He clothing is simple with only a belt. He also has the same halo and in the same colors. He is also seen as a deity/godlike. Blue stands for the element of wood, the east and is the balance to the color red.
let me mention that all these symbols in this painting were probably drawn and painted by Eul Tae himself. He has been around to witness all the monsters being killed. What i find interesting is that he didnt insert himself into this painting given his ego and narcissism.
i got a closer picture of this painting because i wanted to focus on the halos and the color symbolism. this painting was painted by a reincarnated monster. He states he saw Sung un and was captivated by her beauty and had to paint her after killing her. Sung un is clothes in black and gold. In buddhism, black is used for primordial darkness and mysteriousness. It is the color of hate. She wears a grown of gold and jewels upon her head and body. This is a status marker. The painter is stating she is powerful. She is once again painted in flames and surrounded by monsters, stating she is either cleansing these monsters or that she is surrounded by bad luck from these monsters. She is painted with halo rings, and for this painter he has perceived her as good and holy, another deity. This reincarnated monster got the feeling that she was an older being that which held a lot of power and hatred.
(edit) I want to talk more about symbolism with colors. We see a lot with OG Hwal and OG Sung un the constant use of reds and blues for their respective characters. If we look at Eul Tae’s pin board we use the use of colored strings. Red for Sung Un and blue for Hwal. if we look closer at it we see that sung un has a lot more connections to hwal than the other way around. Sung un plays a heavier roll in hwals life than the reverse. There is like, 3-4 stings max of hwals connection to sung un where as we see half of the stings pinned to hwal are from sung un. i just thought it was interesting. Also if we look at the old paintings they belong to hwal.. meaning Eul tae has been following hwal around since the beginning. (Im only saying they belonged to hwal because of the ink and flow style of the drawings are soooo similiar)
(im going to be inserting pictures from different episodes and not following episode order so spoilers if you havent watched all aired episodes yet)
So in the very beginning, we learn that the bulgasal curse is a blood curse as well as the stab would on the right hand. Hwals mother KNOWS that her child is cursed but we are not explained to as to HOW she knows. She offers her child to the jomagu monsters on the mountain while she is pregnant and the monsters want nothing to do with it. They can sense something is wrong. The mother hangs herself and then hwal is born. After that we get this from the resident shaman.
This bit confused me because of this…
if no soul then why did OG sung un get a soul after stabbing Hwal? was it because he wasnt supopsed to have a soul but had OG Eul Tae’s soul? It would explain her confusion. When Hwal was a child and being tormented by the other villagers OG/OOG (because at this point we dont know unless her eyes are glowey what she is) she steps in and saves him, JUST to end up getting stabbed in the back when trying to shield him.
Right after this hwal gets adopted and leaves the village. 17 years pass by and he returns to the area in hopes of killing bulgasal. At this point he doesnt know who he is looking for but through coincidence he meets OF sung un again and she hasnt aged.
Arrows going flying and they both get hit, and she bounces. Hwal and the military group make camp with hwals family. Hwal leaves to go in search of bulgasal and while he is away shit hits the fan. At this point we know its Eul Tae but hwal doesnt. I dont know what happens while Eul tae is killing everyone but Sung un appears and guts Hwal. Like, wtf, what happens between her getting shot at with arrows to 2 seconds before she stabs him that she is covered head to toe in blood. Was she fighting Eul tae or other monsters under Eul tae’s employment? Anyways, these two have a telepathic/non-telepathic convo and she tells hwal that essentially she has cursed him and because of him the retribution will continue… and hes dumb and blows a raspberry before peacing out.
Fast forward to present time we learn that monsters are still gunning for Sung-un. We learn that other monsters think her soul smells terrible and makes them sick. Could it be the smell of a soul that belongs to a person who is also sick? both mentally and physically? im call you out Eul Tae! Monster attempts to kill Sung un and we see her black out for the first time. When she comes to he see that he is badly hurt and is freaking out. Wanting to know who she really is. Interesting, we’ll be seeing this happen again.
After a brief encounter and a non-murdering time between sung un and hwal we see that when sung un touches hwals blood for the first time she unlocks memories that arent originally his from this current life, and they include OG/OOG sung un.
Isnt she pretty? i think so. At this same time though we see Og/OOG hwal (but we dont know that unless youve seen ep 12 and can connect dots) He is clad in that ratty shawl and blue outfit and is inside a cave.
We know this is OG/OOG hwal because thanks to episode 12 we get these stunning looks and views.
We learn in episode 4 that Eul Tae kills/ drains the blood from his victims through biting their necks. You know who else got their necks bitten and died? everyone that died that hwals blames OG sung un’s for. Hmm. We only ever see OG Sung un get a little stabby, no bitey. Eul Tae also learns that Sung Un doesn’t remember him and he seems legit upset.
then he just decides to reverse tokyo drift his way into her heart but with murder instead of flowers. Eul Tae get a little handsy and flirty with Hwal in a tunnel and then they go on a date. What even is this show at this point. At this point we learn, or think we learn, that Eul Tae knows the real reason why Hwal was turned and we also learn that Eul Tae has been around for longer than Hwal. This makes us think that Eul Tae is an OG bulgasal but nope. In ep 11 or 12 we learn he is half bulgasal and he tells hwal that its OG Sung Uns fault he has the black hole curse buuuttt like everything Eul Tae, its a lie. OG Hwal in all his almost dead glory is being begged by Eul Tae to be turned to what ever Hwal is. Eul Tae no longer wants to be sick and not important. He wants to have a normal life and not be abandoned, but oops. Hwal died immediately after ripping out his soul and absorbing it. Bring on the life wheel of fortune.
We are made to believe he is bulgasal but i dont think that is what he and OG sung un are. Hwal digs his fingers into Eul Tae and takes his soul and gives him that black hole curse. The curse is given to him by hwal, not sung un but that makes things complicated because of Sung Yeon making it impossible for him to hurt Sung Un. i dont know what the hell to think, i just need the next 4 episodes to clear some shit up.
anyways, im gonna skip the whole road trip and spending the night together in a single room.
We learn that OG Sung-un was around when Eul Tae murders his warrior brother and blames her for it. We get that slow motion reveal with nice dramatic music so that we know its from his POV and le-gasp, shes beautiful but also indifferent towards him. Just dont kill in her woods!
She also has the same ratty shawl as the OG hwal. im diggin it.
in Episode 10 we learn that Eul Tae was the bulgasal that killed his family and he is out to do it all again if he cant get Sung Uns soul AKA Hwals soul AKA Eul Taes soul. All this hot potato is getting annoying.
In the next episode we see that hwal is now hell bent on killing Eul Tae for what he did to his family and those he cares about. These two meet at hwals well and attempted murder happens, we learn that bulgasal are born as pairs and that Eul Tae is only half a bulgasal due to OG Sung Uns curse. I dont know if Eul Tae was spinning lies again but she declares that hwal is to blame for all of this mess and that OG Sung un has been trying to get them to kills each other. Hwal cuts the conversation short and Eul Tae flings them off a bridge into an aqueduct.
the only flaw in this is that Sung Un has human emotions and has fallen in love with Hwal, thus ruining the plan. In order to kill a bulgasal another must be used and they kill each other. Sung un, now with the ability to understand love towards a man, no longer wants hwal to kill Eul Tae because this means he too will die. Oh No! Time for another plan. Eul Tae hasnt made it out of the forest yet, looking like a corpse, he waits for hwal to come to him. Hwal finally appears and they talk for a bit. Eul tae tries to bargain for Sung un with knowledge and answers but hwal doesnt care about them, and proclaims he wants to save sung un. Here we learn that 1000 years ago OG hwal had a one sided love towards OG sung un and that he gave up his life for her and protected her. Eul tae begs for Hwal to choose him and stay with him, all while buying time for a bad cop to show up and try to murder sung un. We see again Sung un black out and this time has beaten up a cop.
Skip some scenes and hwal and sung un are back at his place and he stitched up and cleaned up a bloody sung un. She is in the bathroom and waitin on hwal to come back and change her bandages when she notices her stab would is in the same exact spot at sung yeons and OG sung un sword stab would. She touches it and get some interesting flash backs, of which i believe are of a different time period than when we saw her with Eul Tae.
During this memory, OG hwal is killing people, and ms OG Sung un isnt happy. I dont know the context for why he is killing or who he is killing and we see where Hwal has gotten his curse mark on the right hand. Im hoping within the next 4 episodes it explains it.
Sung un comes out of her memory but is still haunted and confused and upon seeing present time hwal with a similar haircut grabs a paid of scissors and stabs him with them, all the while seeing the OG hwal. its reflected in her eyes.
Im really curious about the whole “one-sided” love thing. Eul Tae repeatedly states that OG Sung Un hated him and hwal and for a monster/ deity can one even show love? Up till she stabbed him and accidently took his soul she never spoke to him and saved him a couple of times. Monsters and Eul Tae both keep saying that sung un is incapable for human emotions and that she is using hwal for her own purposes but this whole show is about her love for others and the idea of family that she put herself at risk for others.
I want to know about this weird triangle of obsession. eul tae has this weird obsession for hwal, even outside of him being bulgasal. He never went out of his way to harm Hwal unless he was in the way of Sung Un. he is soley fixed on Sung un. He has stated that he has regrets for what he wished for and wants to end it. Does he mean to kill Sung un just to get rid of the black hole curse and live forever or is he tired of being alive. He is so lonely and his existence is painful.
Did after OG sung un curse OG hwal did he get away hurt and injured and run into Eul Tae? Is this scene happen directly after sung un? He was shot from behind with an arrow. He could have taken Eul Taes blood and healed but he chose to take his soul and die. Did he act as a decoy for Sung un to live? i need answers!
what about Si-hos baby/ hwals baby girl that died from being stillborn. What was the connection between Do hyun getting stabbed and Si-ho having pain in her side?
What will actually happen if Sung un regains all of her past lives memories? Will her inner bulgasal/ deity awaken?
Is OG Hwal and OG Sung un the original pair? Was there another pair and Sung un isnt actually a bulgasal but a creator deity?
Why does the bulgasal eye color change all the time? Gold, yellow, red, purple and white?
Why is OG Hwal super hot when bloodied up?
This is from my main Tumblr and not my mobile account.
I’m also going to add to this since I’m here: adding to the color theory and connection between sung un and hwal. In episode 12 we see that hwal for the first 50 some odd minutes in dressed in blues and blacks. Like we have seen in every single episode and in flash backs. After he sees sung un as not his enemy and she has confessed to him he is more informant to.him than her revenge the show upticks in their blooming romance. His next shirt color is a deep purple. Just like the colored strings, he is being half of sung un’s red color.
Sung un is now dressed in a white and blue floral top. Could this be a symbol for her love of hwal?
Tune in next week for another rabbit hole and deep dive!
@mawmaartsy this was seriously a loooooooooooong read, but I lapped it all up. Very informative and concise. I like to know more about your thoughts on the paintings. I love the meta and history it contained regarding our OG’s. Thank you for sharing!
- I’d like to chat with Ms. Min Si-ho too. - I doubt she’d want to talk with you. She hates Monsters like you. - What? You’re one to talk. - You’re right. She hates me too.
I don’t understand why I’m so worried about that kid. I can’t believe I’m actually going there to save him. I watched him grow up, so maybe he meant more to me than I thought. But most of all, I’ll have no one to play games with if he’s gone. Then again, I doubt he’ll play with me ever again.
The official highlight clip explained that they are using Korean Flower Symbolism to deliver the character’s emotion, and these are the examples they gave - which means it’s official that Hwal still loves Sol.
- Once you become a human again, get married and have cute children, okay? After all, you’ve found your wife too. - It’s a previous life she can’t remember.
- Why did you marry me? You do not even have any feelings. Was it because my father made you? - Because you and I are the same. You are a monster just like me.
