‘Light Shop’: A New Mystery K-Drama from the Creators of ‘Moving’

‘Light Shop’—starring Ju Ji-hoon and Park Bo-young—centers on Kang Full’s same-named webtoon—dense with suspense, unknowns, and insights

The poster for ‘Light Shop.’ Photo courtesy of Disney+

Light Shop quickens the pulse at once with an air of mystery and a cast led by Ju Ji-hoon playing the owner of the eponymous shop perched at the end of an eerie alley. A Kang Full K-drama, Light Shop, follows his massive hit Moving, which came out last year.

Directed by Kim Hee-won, Light Shop centers on Kang’s same-named webtoon and is dense with suspense, unknowns, and insights into the deeper implications of life.

Its teaser trailer opens with a rainy night in a creepy alley whose obscurity is offset by a warmly lit light shop. The owner, Jung Won-young (Ju Ji-hoon), says, “When night falls, different people stop by.” He’s seen wearing black shades, seated at the store to tend to his customers.

The moment shifts to views of an ominous, damp lane with elusive characters disappearing one by one while his voice persists, “There are some unusual people around. Strangers.” Short clips pop up in a row, revealing different people. We hear a girl saying it must be difficult for him to deal with the strangers, but she’s happy there’s brightness inside the shop and that he’s there; a close-up of Won-young and the girl facing each other appears.

More characters are introduced, and more mystery becomes apparent with images carrying clues to suffering, despair, and perhaps fear. The situation culminates in Won-young telling a man at his shop who asks him what kind of place it is, “The question isn’t where we are, but who we are.” The line solidifies the narrative’s profundity and foreshadows what the light shop is meant to be.

It’s the story of different individuals, each severely affected by something awful in their past. Still grappling with the fallout from those experiences, they are trying to cope with the impacts of their pasts on their present. In the process, these people are inexplicably led to Won-young’s light shop, where “life and death meet,” an event that may answer what happened, what’s happening, and what lies ahead.

Light Shop hits the spot right away for me since it’s a Kang Full story. One of the pioneering Korean webtoon artists and a screenwriter Kang has had many of his works adapted into shows and movies to date. However, his success skyrocketed globally with the sci-fi-action-fantasy thriller Moving, centered on his hit webtoon of the same name.

Moving stars Ryu Seung-ryong, Zo In-sung, and Han Hyo-joo as superhero parents who defy dangers to save their superhero kids under threat. It’s a nuanced drama about adversity that unfolds these characters through insane action, intrigue, and violence but emphasizes family relationships, friendship, and love. The series won a slew of awards, notably the Grand Prize for Television at the 60th Baeksang Arts Awards.

Light Shop simply adds to my expectations this time given it comes from the creators of Moving. I’m a fan of Kang Full’s distinct and engrossing literary world of works like Timing, Again, Light Shop, Moving, and Bridge. Interestingly, there are characters in Apartment and Timing who play significant roles in Light Shop. I’m eager to see how it pans out in the dramatization of the webtoon.

In addition to Ju Ji-hoon, Light Shop stars Park Bo-young, Bae Seong-woo, and Uhm Tae-goo, alongside Kim Seol-hyun, Lee Jung-eun, and Kim Min-ha. The drama releases on Disney+ on December 4.