Cast of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters from season 2
By
Bill Dubiel
Published Feb 27, 2026, 9:05 PM EST
Bill Dubiel is a veteran writer, editor, and college professor based in Buffalo, NY. He has been a Senior Writer with Screen Rant since 2023. You can usually find him at a late-night double feature including the newest horror movie and latest Oscar bait.
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Warning: Minor spoilers for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 episode 1The Monsterverse has borrowed from the iconic Japanese production company Toho on many occasions, but the first episode of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 name-dropped a monster whose origins lie in North Korea that only the savviest kaiju fans are likely to catch. The second season of Monarch debuted to positive reviews, with critics praising its willingness to dive right back into monster-filled action without much buildup.
One of the early scenes in the first episode flashes back to one of Lee Shaw, Bill Randa, and Keiko Miura's early adventures from before Keiko fell into Axis Mundi, when they were still searching the globe for more evidence of the creatures that would later come to be recognized as Titans. The first part of the flashback sees them aboard a fishing boat headed for an island, trying to recollect the name of a monster they had heard about but never seen, leading to a top-notch kaiju reference.
Bill Randa Name-Drops The Korean Cult Classic Monster Pulgasari
The North Korean Monster Pulgasari
Lee, Keiko and Bill mention various traits of an unknown monster they encountered in their research, including the fact that it ate metal and looked like a cross between a bear, tiger, rhino, and elephant. Bill is the one who finally gets the name right: Pulgasari. Lee mentions that Bill spent a lot of time searching Korea for the monster after Bill also notes that it's "well-documented in Korean mythology."
The monster Pulgasari (or Bulgasari) is in fact a well-known monster from Korean folklore, and the description the Monarch researchers give of the creature matches what Korean mythology dictates. However, the real reference in the context of a show about monsters is to the movie Pulgasari, a 1986 suitmation North Korean film with a bizarre history. The movie is itself reportedly a remake of the 1962 South Korean film Bulgasari, and was intended to piggy back off the success of 1984's The Return of Godzilla.
The movie monster doesn't match the Korean myth in appearance, but it does loosely adapt the notion that Pulgasari is a protector that exists to punish those who oppress others, or evil in general. Like most gloriously wacky monster movies from the 1950s-1980s, Pulgasari is loaded with outlandish yet exciting monster action, and it's grown into a cult classic in the last few decades.
The Story Behind The Making Of Pulgasari Is Almost Too Crazy To Believe
The North Korean monster Pulgasari
What makes Pulgasari stand out isn't the monster itself or the quality of the movie, but rather the movie's unbelievable backstory. Pulgasari was directed by the legendary South Korean filmmaker Shin Sang-ok, but it wasn't originally a South Korean film. Technically, it started as a North Korean film, because Shin Sang-ok and his wife were kidnapped by North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il in 1978 and held in captivity with the intention of forcing the director to help progress the North Korean film industry.
Toho employees were actually hired by Kim Jong Il to assist with some of the elements of Pulgasari's production, and Toho is in fact listed as a collaborator on the film. Pulgasari was completed and released in North Korea in February 1986, but was quickly banned when Shin Sang-ok and his wife escaped to the United States. He created a remake of Pulgasari in the United States titled Galgameth, although it had little cultural impact.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters' season 2 reference to the Korean creature of myth Pulgasari is pretty clearly intended as a fun reference for monster movie fans, and as a nod to the iconic cult classic movie. One of the most exciting elements of the Monsterverse's companion show is how much deeper it can and does go into the lore of the Monterverse, and the Pulgasari reference is a perfect example of that, however slight it might be.
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9.0/10
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 Drama Action Adventure Sci-Fi Release Date November 16, 2023 Network Apple TV Showrunner Chris Black, Matt Fraction Directors Julian Holmes, Matt Shakman, Mairzee Almas, Andy Goddard, Hiromi Kamata Writers Al Letson, Karl Taro Greenfeld, Chris Black, Mariko Tamaki, Amanda Overton, Andrew Colville, Matt Fraction, Milla Bell-HartCast
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Anna Sawai
Cate Randa
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Kiersey Clemons
May Hewitt
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Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
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Monarch: Legacy of Monsters - Season 2
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