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find that light, where life and death depends on your destiny
"hoping that we would never see each other again"After i've watched the drama moving last year, now i realized why this has must to be must watched, especially the director and writer from this drama are the same as the drama moving! Also, this has been one of my greatest top-tier kdrama of 2024 for me. Very heartwarming and as I kept watching it, made me now realize why they were in a dark area, as they were very unconscious, laying on a hospital beds in the ICU while they altogether experienced the same traumatic tragedy. The ending was pretty clear, that they shall find light, and that hope from its light depends on your destiny and future.
There was no ost, but the storyline was very unique, it was like from the drama moving, where from that drama each family has their own superpowers, while in this drama it was all about passing through generations of taking in charge of the darkest world where everyone (not all specifically) are unconscious and finding answer through unexpected short-comings. The storyline was very clear, there were no plot holes and as everyone's story was connected one by one. Park Bo Young's role (Kwon Young-ji) from here is very remarkable and yet, as she understood everyone's experiences that actually she came from her own experience of life and death. She was like the so called "bridge" of hope and light, despite the light shop owner, Ju Ji-hoon who had a similar tragedy experience way back in his time, (played by jung won-young) was there to keep eye on new "lightbulbs" where it gave as the life of those people who were in between life and death. Each of the victims from that incident find each of their light, as they depend if they go back to their current path, or they'll left behind. At the last episode, everything for me actually makes sense, despite the short episodes allotted for this series, everything went well and all of my answers have been answered.
One of the highlights for me was definitely knowing that on behalf of the lightshop owner, he recognized his daughter, who survived from the incident of the apartment collapsing, as he brings the lightbulb and gave her a source of life during that incident. As they met in the light shop, every moment the time her father (the owner) realized that actually they met again, and they'll stay forever as both of them died in a form of accident. The ending was clear, they stayed together in the light shop as they had their mission to give lightbulbs to those who want to see their path again. It was pretty clear and yet I love how it was a sign that there would be another season to come (hopefully) :')
Also, the end-credit scene gave us a clue of how the timeline of Moving and Light Shop were all the same!! I really love that series so much because of how cool the concept and the story is. Jang Hee Soo (played by Go Young Ju) made a promising appearance in this drama!!
The ending was pretty clear, most of them had reborn to their new life, while others stayed behind, waiting for their final moments to end. "hoping that we would never see each other again":') Kudos to the cast who were so good in portraying their characters, especially to Shin Eun-soo whom I adored so much from her previous drama, twinkling watermelon, as well as Park Bo Young for choosing this drama that fits for her role as she was very promising and had so much potential <333
Overall, really a good watch, I really love the storyline and the cast from this drama. Knowing that the directors and writers from this drama has so much potential to write another series/story, I do hope that they continue to shine with their own talent and skills in making the drama both Light Shop and Moving a remarkable and yet unforgettable one!! Really recommended for beginners and totally rewatchable. Everything was very emotional, despite the thriller and mystery genre, I was totally satisfied with the story being told.
Rooting for the casts future roles!! Hoping for another season definitely.
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The best kdrama of 2024
I don’t use the word “masterpiece” easily because it’s no easy to create a film or tv show that’s literally perfect but that’s the only way to describe Disney+ kdrama Light Shop.Actor turned director Kim Hee Won makes a perfect directorial debut with this very human and heartfelt Korean gothic ghost story.
Light Shop is a masterfully crafted production, every detail full of significance and important to understand the story as it progresses. No character is unimportant, all playing a key role in the lives of each other; and the performances of each actor nuance. Never giving away too much but managing to connect with the audience at the same time.
The technical aspects, such as cinematography, lighting and special effects, are simply some of the best you will ever find in a Korean drama.
This is the kind of kdrama you want to watch without knowing anything beforehand, but you should know the first four episodes are key for the world building and then, it twist and turns in order to take you on one of the most beautifully made ride.
Perfect.
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Acting: 100/10It’s better to have 10 mains than 10 time wasting side characters
Plot: 7/10
Sad story done before
Process: 4/10
The revelations were annoying, each ep felt episodic but each one added more to the pile
then ep5 and things are connected but then ep6 again goes in another direction and boom last ep everything is resolved
Time management: 3/10
Some things didn’t need that long of an introduction and some things were resolved so vaguely
The mom/daughter one was the most touching
I always say mdl needs a “progress, plot movement” for the rating divisions instead of just “story”
The story was touching, nothing new, but the time management was bad
Overall amazing cast, beautiful acting, touching and sad stories, but the editing and flow was a mess
They could’ve reached their point in a more linear way rather than continuously jump from one pov to another
Some things didn’t need that long of an introduction and some things were resolved so vaguely
’m the type of person that hates “tutorials”, I skip the long explanations and I like to learn as the plot goes by
You can branch out but this was a spiral, jumping back and forth
Overall amazing cast, beautiful acting, touching and sad stories, but the editing and flow was a mess
They could’ve reached their point in a more linear way rather than continuously jump from one pov to another
I feel like each story was ok in their own but together the mom/daughter one was the most touching, that story overshadowed them all
they did go overboard with the mom being the lightshop guys daughter and tbh eventho I was tearing up, I had to laugh
The bus lovers:
Tbh the story felt like another movie, the bus stop, going to his house, and I don’t remember much but it was called spellbound
It was kinda annoyingly silly to have her kill herself so quickly when she was going to leave him and for her to believe the text of literally the mom who told her to leave
Also, why did the mom say that? That was dramatic for nothing and eyeroll worthy
Mom/daughter:
Heartbreaking
Red shoes:
Meh, especially since bus lover killed herself for love, then goes and tells him to go back and gets sad about it and he remembers nothing
then they add another lovers and let her “stay behind”, like they should’ve just added that to the bus lovers, she killed herself for him, he decides not to go back to be with her…
Basketball boy:
Sweet that he saved the boy, but again something was off about the flow and the presence of the characters
Like they were connected by the bus, but then they still add the dog guy and the detective that weren’t connected to that one story
So overall the editing lacked
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The Light Shop for Lost Souls/ Finding One's Light
The thriller-suspense of the first half hooked me that I thought I was in for a mystery crime story. I was left with several questions and it increased my curiosity of the plot. I like how they started the story to how they slowly revealed the minor to major details and the connection of the characters. The individual sad stories are the usual scenarios irl but the addition of the accident and the aftermath plus regrets and guilt created a melancholic atmosphere. Accidents leave scars that will take longer to heal but no one ever wanted accidents to happen nor be in or be the cause of accidents and lose your loved ones and watch others lose their loved onesI love the concept of the story plus the acting is convincingly brilliant; it brought me to tears as the characters reunited with their dead loved ones in that other world and it was hard to accept the reality of not seeing them again when they regain consciousness (be in the real world) and accepting that they had to move on and continue living
I was very touched with the barking dog/rescue dog story and the back story of the light shop keeper/guardian of the afterlife and my guess for her daughter is correct. The mute woman and her lover was an interesting twist. What happened to the woman should leave the man's parents, in particular, his mother a memorable lesson. I was mad at her impulsiveness and insensitivity which led to the mute woman's unfortunate ending.
Ligh Shop is an inspiring and moving story.
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Best thing I have seen in ages
So, for some unknown reason this drama skipped my attention at the end of 2024 and only accidentally I stumbled upon it seeing Park Bo-young in a thumbnail and started watching.I’ve been watching K-dramas for many years now, but I haven’t seen anything as good as this, not only regarding K-drama, regarding anything I have watched in the past decades.
Just a week ago I wrote a 1.0 review for ‘heavenly every after’ being really frustrated what the writers and director did with an actually interesting and important topic like a possible afterlife. All the things that went wrong there? Were down SO right in ‘Light Shop’. I never gave a drama a 10.0 in every area, this one got the full 10.0 in all of them.
The actors in this are altogether beyond fabulous. I can’t even say who stands out as they all do. The soundtrack is so multifaceted, so sensitive, capturing not only the entire mood in the alley, but also the specific situations of the characters, sometimes only with a few keys played on the piano.
But from the start: I started watching this without reading a summary before. I watched the first episode, was mesmerized the whole time and after it finished, I didn’t have the faintest idea what is going on. Just a feeling, much like the shown characters themlseves who just seem confused. Same thing happened with the second episode – I watched it, totally fascinated, but no real idea what is happening there.
And this goes on for a while, until episode 5 at least, when things start clearing up a little bit. This is a philosophically very deep, sensitive and touching take on a possible afterlife realm. Not only humans are there, also loyal pets who, beyond death stand by their humans, not giving up until they are safe.
Human souls are wandering endlessly in the dark alley until they find their way into the light shop. Only there they can find their individual soul light and move on, either to another realm in death, remaining in the limbo alley for longer, or going back to the realm of the living.
Each story of each character is very touching and combined with the extraordinarily good special effects to make the alley tangible for the viewer, I was glued to my screen the full 8 episodes without missing a single second. I think I never watched a drama where this happened. Not only were the individual stories very moving, sometimes heart breaking without any of them being attention seeking or over the top, the whole setting was thought-provoking in a deeply philosophical way, at least for Agnostics like me. Many things I saw there fit my personal vague feelings and thoughts of what might come after death. Many things depicted even fit some personal experiences I have made with death and what might come after this earthly timespan. I guess this specifically struck a chord with me.
Apart from all that I was again very moved by the death-and burial rites in Korea in general, which have so many gestures of acknowledging and respect for the deceased – something that has gone amiss totally in many parts of Europe I know at least. There death is totally avoided, and if it occurs, it’s either an emotionless factorylike thing (concerning the actions of many doctors and nurses), a grim business where profit counts at funeral homes who want to sell you absurdly expensive coffins for tens of thousands of dollars trying to convince you to spend more and more with guilty conscience speeches of the lowest order. How refreshing was it once again to see the morgue director in the hospital in this drama, who talked to every deceased person, called them by their name and told them individually with a bow, what the next step would be. How refreshing was it once again to see there just is one sort of light wooden coffin and the yellowish linen death garments that are so carefully put on the deceased.
In small but important scenes it was shown how utterly important, even life-changing in the literal sense – small gestures of good will, or small gestures of pure spite and evil in life can be. I was almost shaken, (having had a mother-in-law who her whole life through made everyone else’s life pure misery with her never ending spite, hatred and lies) when the anxious mother is waiting in front of the operation theatre after the accident and as a viewer you side with her, you feel for her as her son is in acute danger of dying in there… and then… she grabs this cell phone, the girlfriend of her son desperately tries to call him and his mother, spiteful as she is, sends this message to her, lying, that her son is dead and that it is the girlfriend’s fault he died. This ugly, hateful and nasty gesture in an instant changes your feeling towards this mother. Where there was empathy for her a moment ago, there is only disgust and disbelief about such devilish doing. And this small hateful gesture has direct consequences, not only in this life, as the poor girlfriend is taking her own life right then, also in the afterlife, for both, the girlfriend and her son who is there in limbo. As much as this emotionally bothered me, as good I found it captured what is happening in so many families between mother-in-laws and girlfriends or wives of their sons, and as true it rings to me what consequences, on a much broader sphere such behaviour could possibly have.
But there are so many more scenes, impressions, ideas in this show that touch very important topics for actually everyone as, in fact, everyone will die one day.
I am so happy that that the writers and directors of this drama decided against the current trend of just making another horror – everything explodes-torture porn – what every crass, perverted scene can we make up no one has done yet – etc.-show calculating this will probably reach the broadest most dumbed down audience and make the most money. Instead, they made a sensitive, deeply philosophical, slow-paced show, often without much or any words, where you don’t get spoonfed every little detail, but you have to just wait and feel in and think yourself what could be happening.
I will certainly rewatch this as I think, knowing what it’s about will make me sense more details and make me understand more of the story in a second go.
I recommend this for everyone - well, with a working brain, that is not dumbed down with all the rubbish that is out there in tons, for everyone who does think philosophically about topics like the afterlife with an open mind of what might come there without anyone really knowing.
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A dark fantasy horror slowburn that kept me intralled and broke me down
Whoa...whoa...and whoa!!! I have to say this immediately, I am a big nerd about history, culture, folklore, myths, and fantasy, and having been diving into K-Dramas, I must share that I absolutely enjoy watching how they share their medium of folklore and myths in their dramas. Light Shop gives us that dive into their cultural folklore and I immediately understood what was being depicted in episode one and was hooked!Without giving any spoilers, I will say, that this series starts very slow. Still, the interconnection of all the characters will give an intense dive into a dark and expansive world that connects with the human experience with light and made my eyes hurt, especially at the end with a poignant scene between our ML and one of my favorite K-actress [Lee Jung-eun]. When I say, she showed out (like I've seen her do before), oh, my gosh!!
I won't say more here, because, spoilers! Make sure to watch the final end credit though!
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MASTERPIECE ???
I just can say WOW!! This is a really masterpiece in all the extent of the sentence 👏 👏👏👏The way you can experience the different genres as you watch the episodes and the way that make you have terror in the first part of the serie are the same things that makes you cry in the second part of the story... just GENIUS ✨️✨️
The Scene of the mother that can speak and what to save her daughter WOW!! the emotional they need to give her an OSCAR!!! and the plot twist of she and the guy with glasses didn't see to come.. and gladly have my eyes like waterfalls and its ok!!! ❤️🩹❤️🩹❤️🩹🔥
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All the stars - if I could, I’d give 1000 stars!
This show gave me everything I wanted—and then some! I loved every bit of this story.I don't know what to say.
There is anguish. There is grief. There is sorrow.
I won't give away anything about this series for those of you that haven't watched it.
This series is many things. It is a tribute to friendship. It is а story about the bond between a parents and child. It is a verse to an impossible love between two people.
This is a great combination of fiction, mystery, crime thriller, horror and supernatural with multiple perspectives taking us on a tour through mysterious places, wandering around the destinies of very different characters, seeing the world from their points of view.
I tried to pick a favorite character, but honestly, I just couldn’t. Each one is so wonderfully interesen and exciting, you can't help but fall in like with all of them.
I loved every minute & word of it am sad it’s over.
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Watch as blindly as possible!
I added this drama to my list about a year ago or so solely because Park Boyoung, if she's in it I'll watch, literally anything no matter what it is or what it's about. I knew this was based on a manhwa by the same author of Moving, another 10/10 series, and I planned to read tje source material, but I never did.I came into it confused, not really knowing what was going on, scared and anxious, pretty much like one of the characters in the series. Every thing about this series is absolutely perfect, the dialogue, lighting, sounds, ambience and the subtle foreshadowing kept my eyes glued to the screen the entire time.
My advice, watch with as little information about it as possible, pay close attention every single detail is important.
There's a post-credit scene in the final episode, be sure to watch. It's awesome!!
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Good Enough
Korean Drama '' Light Shop '' is a paranormal mystery thriller.The drama has some horror elements that are limited only in the first episodes, and from then on, the drama changes into a more emotional approach, which was actually heartbreaking.
The performances were also great by all the actors and actresses in the cast, who handled their characters splendingly.
Also, the mystery was interesting, though the story was rushed. The cinematography was good as well.
So, overall, seven out of ten.
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holy fuuuuuuuccckkkkk
when i read the premise, i thought its gonna be like Haruka no Hikari (with all the light shop and shit). thank god i was dead wrong. its amazing how well the story is written, like im not really into kdramas but some of the kdramas that ive watched before, which have a high rating on this site too, doesnt even close with this. its so fuuuuuccckkkiing greeeeeaaaatttt.Was this review helpful to you?
Came for Ju Jihoon, stayed for the trauma and plot twists ??
Started this for one reason and one reason only: JU JIHOON MY KING 👑💋Also everyone was saying "omg it's so good!!” so obviously I had to check it out... and WHEW 😭 first few eps had me shaking in my seat, not gonna lie. Some scenes?? Absolutely terrifying, I was watching with my brightness on -50 and volume on mute because I was scared a jumpscare would snatch my soul 😭😭😭
Episodes 3-4?? I almost tapped out fr. Like sir why is it getting scarier 😭 but I powered through for my baby honey bunny Ju Jihoon (ilysm bebi pls marry me).
AND THANK GOD I DID 😭 because after that??? This show snaps. Plot twist hit me like a truck at 2AM. I was literally like "WAIT WHAAAT???" and then 5 seconds later "OMG THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE AHHH".
The director really said “I’ll let them cook in confusion for a while 😌” and then dropped the full recipe in the last few episodes. Genius.
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