Jeon Yeo-been
Hong Ji-hyo
Overview
A young woman joins forces with a UFO enthusiast to investigate her boyfriend’s sudden disappearance and stumbles into a wild conspiracy.
Seasons
- Status
- Ended
- Seasons
- 1 season
- Episodes
- 10 episodes
- First aired
- Oct 7, 2022
Cast
12 people
Reviews
4 min readThe Glitch That Holds Us Together
I’ve always been suspicious of UFO stories—not because I think aliens are impossible, but because the way we tell them usually says more about us than about whatever might be out there. Glitch, the 2022 South Korean series from creator Roh Deok, understands this. It’s not really a show about extraterrestrials, though they’re certainly present. It’s about the stories we cling to when reality fractures, and the people we become when we’re forced to question everything.
The premise is simple enough: Hong Ji-hyo (Jeon Yeo-been) is a woman whose boyfriend vanishes without a trace. The police dismiss it as a runaway case, but Ji-hyo refuses to accept that. Her search leads her to Heo Bo-ra (Nana), a UFO enthusiast with a YouTube channel and a knack for conspiracy theories.
Together, they stumble into something far stranger than either expected—a mystery that blurs the line between science fiction and psychological unraveling.
What makes Glitch compelling isn’t just the mystery itself, but the way it refuses to play by the rules of its own genre. It’s billed as a sci-fi thriller, but the pacing is deliberately uneven, oscillating between moments of genuine tension and stretches of quiet, almost meandering character study. This isn’t a flaw—it’s a choice.
The show is more interested in the emotional fallout of the unknown than in delivering a neatly wrapped conspiracy. Ji-hyo isn’t a detective; she’s a woman grieving, and her journey is less about solving a puzzle than about learning to live with the pieces that don’t fit.
Jeon Yeo-been, who has a knack for playing characters teetering on the edge of collapse (Vincenzo, A Quiet Place: Day One), brings a quiet intensity to Ji-hyo. There’s a scene in the first episode where she sits in her boyfriend’s empty apartment, running her fingers over the objects he left behind. It’s a small moment, but Yeo-been makes it devastating.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsBehind the Scenes of Glitch (2022): A Sci-Fi Mystery with Queer Undertones
Netflix’s Glitch (2022) arrived with a tantalizing premise: a woman’s desperate search for her missing boyfriend, intertwined with UFO conspiracy theories and a shadowy government cover-up. Directed by Roh Deok and starring Jeon Yeo-been and Nana, the series blends sci-fi, thriller, and comedy—with a dash of queer subtext that fans have eagerly dissected. But what went into making this unconventional K-drama, and why did it spark such divided reactions?
The Creative Vision: Roh Deok’s Genre-Blending Gamble
Roh Deok, known for her work in romantic dramas and thrillers (Very Ordinary Couple, 2013), took a sharp turn into sci-fi with Glitch. The series marks her first foray into the genre, and she brought a distinctively offbeat tone to the project. According to snippets from Grokipedia, the show was written by Jin Han-sae (also credited as Gin Han-sai), whose script balances mystery with dark humor—a rarity in K-drama sci-fi 
.
The decision to center the story on a UFO-watching club, rather than a traditional investigative team, was a bold choice. It allowed Glitch to explore fringe theories while grounding the narrative in emotional stakes. As Wikipedia notes, the series follows Hong Ji-hyo (Jeon Yeo-been) as she teams up with these eccentric enthusiasts to unravel her boyfriend’s disappearance, which coincides with a mysterious flash of light . The blend of conspiracy, comedy, and sci-fi was a gamble, and critics were split on whether it paid off.
Casting Choices: Jeon Yeo-been and Nana’s Dynamic
Jeon Yeo-been, fresh off her critically acclaimed role in Vincenzo (2021), took on the lead as Hong Ji-hyo, a woman whose grief and determination drive the plot. Her casting was a major draw, given her ability to convey both vulnerability and intensity. Nana, the former K-pop idol turned actress (Justice, The Good Wife), played Heo Bo-ra, a UFO club member with her own secrets. Their chemistry became a talking point, particularly among fans who read their relationship as queer-coded.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q_3FVjPvCg
YouTube analyses, like one titled "Yes, Glitch is a queer love story—here’s why" , argue that the show’s subtext leans into a romantic tension between Ji-hyo and Bo-ra. While the series never explicitly confirms a romantic relationship, the emotional intimacy and lingering glances between the two characters fueled speculation. Whether intentional or not, the ambiguity added a layer of intrigue for LGBTQ+ viewers.
Supporting cast members, including Lee Dong-hwi (Reply 1988) and Ryu Kyung-soo, brought levity to the UFO club’s eccentricities, balancing the show’s darker themes 
.
**Mixed Reactions: Why Glitch Divided Audiences**
Glitch premiered on Netflix on October 7, 2022, and reactions were polarized. Sci-fi fans praised its fresh take on alien conspiracy tropes, while others found the pacing uneven or the tone too inconsistent. Scifi Dimensions described it as a "wide range of reactions from critics and viewers alike," noting that its blend of genres didn’t always land smoothly .
On SensCritique, the series holds a modest 6.1/10 rating, with some viewers criticizing the ending as rushed or unsatisfying . MyDramaList lists it as a 10-episode thriller-mystery with comedic elements, but the comedy’s reception was hit-or-miss—some found it charming, others distracting .
Despite the mixed reviews, Glitch carved out a niche for itself. Its queer subtext, in particular, resonated with audiences hungry for more LGBTQ+ representation in K-dramas, even if it remained subtextual.
The Verdict: A Flawed but Fascinating Experiment
Glitch may not have been a runaway hit, but it’s the kind of series that lingers in discussions—whether for its genre-blending ambition, its queer-coded relationships, or its eccentric UFO club. Roh Deok’s direction and the cast’s performances kept it engaging, even if the execution wasn’t always seamless.
For fans of offbeat sci-fi or character-driven mysteries, Glitch is worth a watch—if only to decide for yourself whether the UFO club’s theories hold water.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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