Bugonia: 7 Differences Between Emma Stone’s Film And The South Korean Movie That Inspired It

Be warned: the following reveals plot details for Bugonia. Bugonia generally follows the story of the South Korean film it’s based on, Save the Green Planet!, but makes significant changes to the characters. Both movies center around a pharmaceutical company executive who is kidnapped by a man convinced the executive is an alien.

Both films offer dark humor and a cynical look at people, and Bugonia‘s ending is just as pessimistic as the conclusion of Save the Green Planet!. However, Bugonia also includes some new and interesting elements that weren’t present in the original film’s satirical take on science fiction.

Save The Green Planet! Has Kang, Bugonia Has Michelle

A key difference between Bugonia and the South Korean film it’s based on is that it changes the gender of the central pharmaceutical executive. In the original, Save the Green Planet!, the character believed to be an alien is an older man named Kang Man-shik.

Unlike Save the Green Planet!, Bugonia features Michelle Fuller, the CEO of Auxolith. This adds complexity to Bugonia because the story includes Michelle discussing the idea of two men kidnapping a powerful businesswoman, creating a new layer of meaning.

Despite both characters turning out to be aliens and serving similar purposes in the story, they differ in their motivations. Kang appears driven by spite when he orders Earth’s destruction, while Michelle seems truly upset by humanity’s impending fate.

This difference highlights how the film portrays the various alien races. The aliens in Save the Green Planet! act like typical villains, directly killing humans as they capture Kang. In contrast, the aliens from Bugonia are more subdued and speak gently, which better emphasizes the seriousness of the events unfolding.

Teddy’s Backstory Isn’t As Tragic As Byeong-gu’s

Teddy and Byeong-gu are both driven by heartbreaking reasons to despise the pharmaceutical executive. In both cases, their mothers fall into comas due to the company’s medical trials. Tragically, in the films Bugonia and Save the Green Planet!, both sons unintentionally cause their mothers’ deaths.

Although details about their pasts are unclear, it’s suggested they had very different childhoods. Teddy grew up without a father he really knew. Byeong-gu’s father was around, but it’s revealed he was abusive.

The movie suggests Sheriff Casey may have abused Teddy when they were both younger, while Teddy attempts to avoid facing this possibility. Though Byeong-gu didn’t experience the same kind of trauma, his diaries reveal a troubled past involving violence and the death of a girlfriend during a demonstration.

Ultimately, both movies portray the main characters as people with good intentions who are also deeply troubled and unpredictable, and their past experiences explain who they are today. However, Save the Green Planet! delves more deeply into the history of its character, Byeong-gu, than Bugonia does with Teddy.

Bugonia Replaces Su-ni With Don

Both movies feature a key character who is closely connected to Teddy and Byeong-gu. Though they initially seem like innocent people caught up in the plans of those they care about, these two characters are actually quite distinct from each other.

In the film Save the Green Planet!, Su-ni is Byeong-gu’s girlfriend – a kind and somewhat naive circus performer. Later, in Bugonia, Teddy enlists the help of his cousin Don, who is neurodivergent, to manage issues with Michelle. Don receives more attention in the story than Su-ni does, and Michelle makes a conscious effort to reason with Don rather than Teddy.

This highlights a key difference in how the two characters meet their end. Although both die before their stories conclude, Su-ni isn’t killed until the climactic showdown at Kang’s factory, where the executive uses a robotic arm to kill Byeong-gu’s colleague.

Don doesn’t survive long in Bugonia. After Michelle reaches him, he becomes overwhelmed with despair and commits suicide before her eyes. This tragic event fuels the increasingly intense final act of Bugonia and deepens Teddy’s suspicion of Michelle.

The Police Officer Suffers A Different Fate

While police play a bigger role in Save the Green Planet! than in Bugonia, they don’t fare well in either movie. In Save the Green Planet!, a large-scale investigation led by multiple officers and the police chief attempts to find Kang.

The town of Bugonia has just one law enforcement officer: Sheriff Casey. He visits Teddy for two reasons – to ask about Michelle and to apologize for mistakes they both made when they were younger. Casey accidentally gets involved in the investigation and, unfortunately, is killed.

In Save the Green Planet!, Byeong-gu kills one of the detectives by covering him in honey and siccing bees on him. However, when Teddy attacks Casey with bees, Casey is only stunned. Teddy then directly kills Casey by beating him to death.

In the original South Korean movie, police officers have a bigger part than they do in Bugonia. Because of this, they witness Kang’s alien friends come to retrieve him, and tragically die before the rest of the world even knows what’s happening.

Byeong-gu Is Crueler To Kang Than Teddy Is To Michelle

Both Bugonia and Save the Green Planet! feature humans who painfully test their captives to see if they’re aliens. However, although Teddy can be intimidating and quick to anger, the way he treats the aliens is less severe than Byeong-gu’s methods.

Teddy puts Michelle through harsh and painful tests, even using electroshock. Meanwhile, Byeong-gu tortures Kang relentlessly, nearly to the point of crucifixion, hoping to get a confession. These extreme actions reveal that both Byeong-gu and Teddy have previously killed others they believed were “aliens.”

Even though both films feature violence, Bugonia isn’t quite as disturbing as Save the Green Planet!. Teddy, in Bugonia, captures and dissects people, but it’s always related to his investigation. In contrast, Byeong-gu from Save the Green Planet! kills around a dozen people, often because he’s personally offended by them. This makes Byeong-gu a much less sympathetic character than Teddy.

Byeong-gu Is Killed By The Police Instead Of By A Homemade Bomb

Both Teddy and Byeong-gu die at the end of their movies, unable to reveal the alien before it’s too late. While they both die within the CEO’s company, the details of how they die are different.

In the episode “Bugonia,” Teddy tries to get onto Michelle’s ship, and as a precaution, puts on a bomb vest. Unfortunately, the vest detonates while he’s waiting, instantly killing him and causing severe injuries. It’s a shockingly violent, yet strangely comical, end for his character.

Byeong-gu’s ending is more realistic, matching the film’s intense conclusion. He’s shot by the police and dies from his wounds just as Kang is rescued by the aliens. This creates a tragic irony: the very people Byeong-gu tried so hard to protect end up causing his death.

The Fate Of The World Is Different Between The Movies

Both Bugonia and Save the Green Planet! feature an alien emperor who believes humans are a disappointment and orders their extinction. However, the way this destruction happens differs between the two films, highlighting the core contrast between the characters of Kang and Michelle.

Okay, so in Save the Green Planet!, things get pretty extreme. The main character, Kang, basically decides Earth isn’t worth saving and just… destroys it with the help of his alien buddies. Total annihilation – everything goes! But it’s interesting because Michelle, another key character, seems to get Earth, even if she’s totally fed up with people. She appreciates the planet itself, which is a really nice contrast to Kang’s scorched-earth policy.

This decision results in the extinction of all humans, though Earth itself is saved. The film concludes by showing that while humanity is gone, animals survive, and there’s a hopeful suggestion that struggling species, such as bees, will now have a chance to heal and recover from the harm caused by people.

Both films have sad endings, but Save the Green Planet! is a more critical and unforgiving look at everyone involved. Bugonia, however, offers a more hopeful, though still sad, conclusion by allowing animals to survive. While Bugonia is a sharper satire than Save the Green Planet!, it’s ultimately more compassionate.

2025-11-01 01:04