Bulgasal: Immortal Souls

Has left me broken to pieces

Speechless. To me, this was absolutely devastating and kind of life-altering.


The acting is stellar, complemented by beautiful plotlines and scenery, culminating in the most satisfying ending. I felt both empty and incredibly fulfilled at the same time.


I loved every second of it and almost wish I could erase it from my memory just to experience it all over again from the beginning. I cried, laughed, and screamed, as I was left on the edge of my seat at the end of every episode.


Bulgasal, an impossible-to-kill creature, is a mythical immortal monster that feeds on human blood. Based on Korean folklore, this drama beautifully intertwines a mix of emotions: hate, resentment, revenge, love – both familial and romantic – and obsession.


The storyline is quite convoluted and weaves together the characters throughout, which might seem confusing until the end. That didn’t deter me; I was very invested in uncovering the origins of the Bulgasal curse, and the revelation exceeded my expectations. Although some may consider the romance aspect unnecessary, I thought it was essential to the story and wouldn’t want it to be omitted.


Lee Jin Wook and Kwon Na Ra did an amazing job, embodying their characters with depth and authenticity, which was evident to the viewers. The supporting characters were also incredible; I don’t think the drama would have been complete without them.


Given that this is a supernatural drama about a monster that eats humans, it’s important to note that it is very gory and bloody. At times, it can be painful to watch, as it depicts self-harm, death, murder, and suspenseful scenes with shocking outcomes.


Overall, I thought this was a masterpiece. While the plot can be confusing, it is well-crafted, and the conclusion effectively ties up all loose ends.


Side note --> those OSTs! Immediately added to my playlist, they were so good!

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Great cast, mediocre writing

I thought this was pretty slow moving up until about episode 8, it took that long to build enough backstory to make it interesting. I know a lot of reviewers liked the beginning and the later episodes less. I also didn't like the way some of the plot twists were written to MF with the audience. Yes, I know it's a common K-Drama plot device. I did not like the Finale, it was rather depressing and the reunion felt rushed and incomplete. A darker but happier full circle ending might have been interesting.

I did enjoy the cast, the ladies were so pretty. LOL. I'm sure the female viewers enjoyed the pretty boys too. The detective and the 'Housekeeper' were great as well. I really liked Kwon Na Ra, although I admit she was not my favourite in Itaewon Class. I also noticed Gong Seung-Yeon's eyes, as mentioned by other reviewers.

The plot was Goblinesque, I will rewatch Goblin one day, but not this show. I would watch a season two if it ever happens, but I can't imagine where it would go from here, perhaps we would get the romance that never bloomed this time.

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Had High Hopes for this

It is a unique dark and gory folklore fantasy supernatural drama about immortality where the characters reincarnate through time. The characters either were related or have interacted with each other. I was enthralled in the first half of the drama, it was sufficiently dark with excellent cinematography with an OST that was so good. The acting was good as I had seen some of the S. Korean actors and actresses in other series before and they are talented. The Villain Dark Hole stood out where he layered aspects of childish desperation, insatiable greed, and centuries of hatred for the ML and FL. The film artistry with the historical scenes, settings, and costumes were excellent.

This is a big budget drama but it didn't save it from the bad plotting and scattered storyline that really unraveled in the second half of this. Why??? Noooooo... It kinda broke me a little when the storyline started to fall apart and got messy. It felt rushed towards the end sort of like GoT's final season. I watched this to the end and refused to drop it but it did hurt a bit when it could have been executed a lot better.

We need more unique dramas like this but with a tighter narrative storyline.

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Wanted to like it, but the plot makes the characters seem like simpletons

The "waiting hundreds of years for revenge" plot has been done before, but I was very happy to go through this iteration because the cast looked scrumptious. However, a few aspects concerning the show preclude true enjoyment:
1. The story is actually rather slow -- although there is fighting and lots of dramatic dialogue, little actually happens that has any emotional resonance (esp. in the first two or three episodes)
2. POINT CONTAINS SPOILERS:
SO MUCH of what happens, and some of the major dramatic turning points, make the main characters seem like complete simpletons. For example: The main character goes through hundreds of years thinking that one monster killed his family and it turns out that it could be another one. Really? For hundreds of years this assumption was not checked? In episode 9 the Other Bulgasal becomes incapacitated by our heroes WHO THEN JUST LEAVE HIM THERE. Really? How about restraining him and taking him along SINCE YOU WANT TO FIND OUT INFORMATION FROM HIM AND WILL TRY TO CATCH HIM AT A LATER DATE? One could make an argument that, being immortal, the Bulgasal do not have a need for brains in order to survive, but the human characters do not have such an excuse. If the show aimed for a sillier tone (e.g., Korean Odyssey) then this would be easier to overlook, but its mood is very firmly in the "serious drama" category, so that does not fly.
Maybe I am aging out of being able to enjoy fantasy shows, but this point is making me doubt if I can finish watching the show....
Just a few episodes to go....

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The future circumstances brought by past

First of all i want to say a small disclaimer lol I do believe in past lives so the concept of this drama was close to the reality i imagine to be. I will try to be as objective as possible but we are all people and have our preferences so all the reviews will always be subjective based on our own likes and dislikes. So if i liked this or disliked this doesn't mean you will too :) I had a drama slump and took a break from dramas for many months :) (i thought this is important). I binged (slowly) this drama in 4 days.

Overall i liked this drama :) and recommend it to the ones who like fantasy genre. Just try not to expect much. Expectations might ruin it a lot. Also try to go passed the first 3 eps. :) Oh and i think this is more suited for binge watching rather than ongoing. Shorter review at the end.

Story:
If i were to give different rating to story/plot and the concept i would give the concept 10 and the plot 7. The concept is great! past lives, reincarnations, and how people connected in the past lives will always be connected again, that is karma, and until it is fulfilled even enemies can become relatives. (i do think this is what happens in rl too, so that might have kinda influenced the way i saw this drama) I do like that this also is taking a big span, so not just one past life, but many. On the other hand the plot that was based on this concept was sometimes inconsistent. By inconsistency i mean they waited a very very very long time to reveal us the real truth but they left out some of the big questions. I would have liked to know the answers to some but as the drama didn't give any answers i just theories my own. This is another thing, Theorizing of who is who and what is what was fun. Most of the stuff i was thinking turned out to be true (which i don't really like) but it's okay xD The real big big truth might have been underwhelming because of how "simple" it was, It was kinda the misunderstanding type of thing, i did wish for a bigger and more impactful thing, but this truth was relatable and kinda what happens all the time in our lives every second. The envy, rage, miserableness, being left behind, loving someone, wishing power, revenge... all that is something we have seen countless times, but it is what is always moving this world. Also as everything was revealed at the very end it might have felt rushed for many people. I binged this so that didn't feel rushed, it felt a little bit dragged even.
I didn't like how bloody it was. especially the start! i was going to drop it after the first ep, and then after the second too. But then it got interesting for me (and my mom). I have seen people for whom it was the other way around so i guess it is the matter of preference. The first two eps were about the past, and there was lots of blood. Then there was more blood near the end.
I liked the incorporation of the folklore demons. Though it felt like huge anime arcs squished into one ep each. The way they were introducing the demons/monsters was really anime like, it made me remember all those hyakunin ikki and stuff. Would have been better to elaborate more on them, but it might have become more draggy for a drama. If so they could have squished it more and removed some of the demons making less episodes, as they were not the main plot.
The concept of bulgasal was also nice (something like an immortal being) but they kinda merged it with vampires/zombies. which is okay i guess as there seem to be a zombie craze.
I didn't look at the actors list so i was surprised when they revealed the villain.
More weird things were when the house was suddenly a super lived in house, hurt person suddenly appearing lying outside when he was in car just now, how did he fly there remains a mystery! and some other small inconsistencies.
revenge all around, makes me remember naruto as that was the one of the best explanations of the endless revenge circle i have seen lol but still it was okay. Also the sacrifice talks also were okay for me, as that was what i thought would have been right to do too.
I think they could have dome much more and explained more in the story. But it was still okay and good for me as i fully theorized the rest. I really liked some parts of the real truth as it was indeed resonating with my own beliefs about family and enemies and karma. I would have liked if they elaborated more on the villain and the brother (i won't tell what brother) but still it was alright! so thank you for the story!
Characters/Acting:
There were few characters but they were all interesting. The ml was a bit plain for me, though the rough look, the size and everything suited the role i guess. This is purely personal preference and doesn't mean that the actor didn't do a great job. I did like the fl though. I only remembered that actress from iteawon class and couldn't imagine her as main, but i was pleasantly surprised! Min Sang Un for us is a start of everything and our hatred goes to her from the first ep. The second ep focuses more on her reincarnation "asking for sympathy towards the villain" which was really weird! Later we see her grown up, being a lovely bubbly girl, which made me feel proud of her as it is extremely hard to maintain a good personality in such circumstances. I love that kind of characters. But at the corner of our minds we keep thinking that she is bad, we mustn't like her, just like some of the side characters think. But as the story progresses we learn more and more, slowly we start to see her in different light. She was strong despite everything and followed her beliefs no matter what to protect her family.
the ml on the other hand is consistent but then slowly also changes near the end.
The villain was amazing. Acting was top notch, i remembered the gap dong days! Anyway we were slowly starting to feel sympathy for him. It was very well done, but at the end his story was a little bit underwhelming, so don't expect anything grand. It was something i would come up with if i was a writer, but i would wish something greater from a professional. But! at the same time it was very normal, i mean something like that happiness all the time and the feelings he got and the acts he did happened a lot back then. Which is just simply sad.
The side characters like mr. detective, heeseok aunty, doyoon, and shiho each of them had their story and it was interesting to see all the connections in the end. I loved it. The actors also did a great job! Shi ho is the best i love her and she is gorgeous! Though I was really frustrated at them a lot because as usual, like in any drama the side characters get always in the way and get used. So if you are weak please, just please, stay at home and don't try to act! let the strong people do stuff! that is called helping!
Addressing romance: if you plan to see romance here it's better not, but if you plan not to feel any romance here you better not as well lol. I knew there will be romance, because how can they do it without romance? XD they just neeeed it! (sarcasm) but if in all honesty, was it forced? Anyone will fall in love with a person who saves them, especially if they didn't talk with anyone before, and no one saved them before. I would too. But the love that was there did feel forced sometimes when it was too strong, though at the same time after everything was revealed i started understand why. The past connections have their influence, and the connection we see at the first two eps is like a drop in the ocean, and not the whole truth. But the overall romance is mostly around, taking care of wounds, a piggyback ride, couple of looks, and being sad of the thought of the other one dying. That's all, and i'm happy with it.

Music:
what can i say! music was great! <3 i loved some of the songs!

Rewatch value:
I never rewatch dramas so there is a random number there.

Overall!!
i liked it a lot :) I had a break from dramas for many months so maybe it played a huge role but i really enjoyed this one with my mom, very interesting, was something to look forward to everyday! :)

Short review:
Liked:
-her hair! <3 xD
-concept of past lives and how it was handled (for me it was much better than other dramas who did this before, if you know anything better let me know, I'd like to see more :D )
-all the connections
-monsters (nice idea but maybe not necessary here, idk)
-the fast pace

Disliked:
-a lot of driving around
-house suddenly filled with flower pots lol
-suddenly flying out of the car (idk how)
-twins (would go to likes if explained)
-ml
-too much blood!!! why >< they try to copy western shows but i hope they don't
-monsters( nice idea but maybe not necessary here, idk)
-weaklings not staying out of the way but trying to help.
-unanswered questions! too many lol i didn't think of them when i just finished as those questions were kinda active at the very start but i forgot about them later. Now when i look back, there were too many, and all left unanswered. But it's okay as the after taste was still good! i mean bittersweet.
-brother at the very start, was important as it's the start but this was left out completely.

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Bulgasal is a unique and thrilling fantasy story. I enjoy watching this drama. Lee Jinwook and Lee Joon's acting is really cool. Especially Lee Joon. As a villain he is so sexy. In each episode, I feel like I always get a twist so I'm curious about the continuation and story behind the relationship between 2 bulgasal and Ok Eul Tae. chemistry displayed by the actors in this drama successfully creates an emotional side that is felt by the audience. Starting from happiness, fear, anger, to sadness because of a separation. I love the visuals and the make-up of the monsters in this drama, it gives a real feel and makes goosebumps. Even though Min Sangwoon's character sometimes very troublesome because she often doesn't follow Dan Hwal's orders, which ends Danhwal having to fight to save her

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I must watch shows wrong

I loved this from start to finish. I read some of the other reviews and just don't see where they are coming from. Admittedly anything I watch is for entertainment I do not and cannot pick things apart unless they are blatantly bad. Having said that, yes at times it was slow but I'm use to that as most Korean shows seem to be like that. The ending could have gone many different directions and I can get behind the one that was chosen. It made perfect sense to me. I won't say anymore as I do not want to give any spoilers. Be sure to have your box of kleenex ready though.

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Just get past episode 10!!

This show is genuinely one of my favorite shows I've ever watched. I love dramas/movies that make absolutely ZERO sense until the very end when it all clicks together. I can understand why some people wouldn't like a show like that, so I'm not saying this is a must-watch for everyone; HOWEVER, I have NO regrets from watching this. I actually think I'm gonna rewatch it again soon.

The ONLY complaint I have about this show is it's ending. I think this show would gain quite a bit if it added a second season. A little bit of explanation or a little more romance is what I'd ask for. 100% recommend!

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The Ending Lost the Stories Purpose

Bulgasal: Immortal Souls is a dark, slow-burn fantasy drama that aims much higher than most genre shows, and for the majority of its runtime, it succeeds. Drawing heavily from Korean folklore, the series builds a grim, moody world centered on immortality, reincarnation, vengeance, and the emotional cost of carrying memory across lifetimes. It’s patient, often intentionally restrained, and clearly more interested in themes and atmosphere than quick payoff.

One of the show’s biggest strengths is its sense of purpose. For most of the series, it knows exactly what it wants to say. Immortality is framed as a curse rather than a gift. Reincarnation is exhausting rather than romantic. The story repeatedly emphasizes cycles; of violence, guilt, and obsession, and how difficult it is to escape them. There’s a heaviness to the show that feels earned, not performative.

Visually, Bulgasal is inconsistent but often effective. The special effects go through noticeable ebbs and flows. Some sequences are haunting and cinematic, especially those tied to folklore and past lives. Others feel undercooked, briefly breaking immersion. That said, the overall aesthetic; dark palettes, slow pacing, and eerie framing, does a lot of the heavy lifting and keeps the tone cohesive even when the effects falter.

The performances are a major asset. The leads carry the emotional weight with restraint, selling centuries of pain and fatigue without excessive exposition. Supporting characters add moments of grounding and humanity that prevent the show from becoming emotionally monotonous, even when the story gets bleak.

Where Bulgasal ultimately stumbles is the ending. It comes incredibly close to being amazing, close enough that the disappointment stings. Rather than concluding in a way that reinforces the themes and lessons the show has been building from the beginning, the finale pivots toward a romance-focused payoff that felt like it never truly got started. The emotional groundwork for that shift simply isn’t there.

The problem isn’t romance itself. It’s that the show spends so long prioritizing ideas about consequence, loss, cyclical suffering, family, and forgiveness, only to set those aside at the finish line in favor of a relationship that was never meaningfully developed and was only hinted at. The result is an ending that feels smaller than the story it’s trying to conclude; less thoughtful, less earned, and oddly disconnected from the show’s own strengths. It’s so close but ends up just unsatisfying.

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I can't say enough how much i love this drama.

This drama has been under my radar for a while now, but because of the negative reviews i felt unmotivated to watch it.
I decided to give it a chance anyways because it sounded interesting and i was curious about it.
I'm so glad i didn't listen to the reviews and gave it a shot.

STORY - In my opinion the story was very well written and paced. There was never a boring moment. Nothing was rushed nor it was dragging too much. It was engaging from start to finish.

CHARACTERS - Both the main and support characters have a special place in my heart. I got so attached to them and i miss them so much already. The actors did an amazing job at bringing their characters to life and made me feel every single emotion together with them.

MUSIC - This drama by far holds my most favorite soundtrack. I love every single song and every song makes me feel so many emotions. Especially the song 'Leave' by 4men. Whenever i listen to it and think abut Hwal and Sang Un i tear up.

OVERALL - A MASTERPIECE. Truly. This drama is by far one of my all time favorites. I don't think i wil ever move on from it. It made me laugh, cry, happy, angry. I felt so many different emotions while watching it. I'm so deeply attached to it now.

Please, if you're hesitant on whether too watch it or not, just give it a try, you might regret not watching it sooner.
I know that sounds really dramatic but this drama will forever hold a special place in my heart and i will never forget it.

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Beautiful drama

The plot is beautiful, sad and intriguing all at one and it is beautifully executed. There is reincarnation, romance, immortality, lost souls, suspense, tears, laughter, mystery, and excellent acting.
I'd rate this a 20/20 for my personal opinion to be honest and loved the background music for each theme. I cried like a baby all the way through, so many plot twists and darn right emotional moments. The ending I did not expect but it left me crying for at least an hour straight.
I really love it and highly recommend it.
It's so sad when such a good series ends

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