Light Shop

Presentation

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Overview

Synopsis

A man runs a small and extraordinary light shop where dead spirits trapped between life and death visit. Each of them has his own story to tell.

My Opinion (No Spoiler)

When I heard that Light Shop was adapted from Kang Full’s webtoon – aka the author of Moving – my expectations rose to the top. And the drama didn’t disappoint me one bit! The universe is dark and gloomy with a beautiful cinematography playing on lights and shadows. Though it’s supposedly a horror drama at first, Light Shop slowly turns into a deep show with an intricate storyline that ties characters together under one common theme: Life and death. The drama explores the impact death and grief have on people, one’s will to live, the unfortunate events that can radically change your life overnight, but first and foremost the fringe between two worlds deeply intertwined that we all navigate at some point. Characters’ stories are heart wrenching and tragic, but the note of the drama is rather hopeful, emphasizing that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. This drama is a gem, you should definitely watch it! And if you’ve watched Moving as well, then the ending of Light Shop will delight you!

Analysis

• The setting
  The neighborhood
  The light shop
  The rules of the afterlife
  The ICU
  Near-death experience
• Characters
  1. Bus accident
  The driver
  The high school teenager
  The lovers – Sun Hae and Hye Won
  The mother and daughter
  Kim Hyun Min and Lee Ji Young
  2. The other victims
  Yang Sung Sik
  Kang Byun Jin
  3. The keepers
  Jung Won Young
  Kwon Young Ji
  Hwang Seok Hui
• The link with Moving
  
  

The setting: Light Shop opens up with an eerie and gloomy setting. The ambiance is rather unsettling in this dark neighborhood where light can’t be found anywhere. Ghosts are roaming the alleys and terrifying people. Though the drama starts as a horror show, it slowly turns into a more meaningful one that tells the stories of the dead and the living.

The neighborhood: In this dark neighborhood, there are 3 different types of people who wander around. First, you have those who died a sudden death. These are recognizable because they carry the marks of their accident (one woman is bleeding, another man is constantly wet, etc…). By night, the dead awaken and populate the neighborhood. Opposite to them, you have the living. They can’t see the dead and are living their lives peacefully, unbeknownst to them that there’s another world parallel to them. Those two categories of people do not interact. The third type of individuals in the neighborhood is those in a coma. Their physical body still belong to the living world, but their souls are lost in the afterlife. Like the dead, the wounds related to their accidents are more or less visible (a broken ankle for instance). They also live in the shadows of the night, and their only way to come back is to go into the light shop and find their light. As these people are in the in-between, some dead can linger around them, generally to get them out of the afterlife.

The light shop: Piercing through the darkness of the neighborhood, you have the illuminated light shop. The owner is as mysterious as the place itself. Wearing sunglasses to protect his eyes from the brightness of the room, he keeps an eye on his unusual clientele. Anyone can enter the light shop, whether it’d be the dead, the living, or those in a coma. The only rule is that no one can touch light bulbs carelessly. For the living, the owner sells one to them. The dead are prohibiting from touching. The in-between people are only allowed to touch their own light bulb. That’s because the twinkling lights present in the shop mirror their flickering lives in the living realm. Though this place is disturbing and raises questions to those entering, its role is crucial. It’s a bridge connecting two worlds; a tunnel that allows you to come back. At the end of the drama, you also get to have a broader vision of the afterlife itself. Turns out there’s not only one light shop, but several scattered across town. That’s only because the dead and victims of accident can be found anywhere across the city. Finally, the drama offers glimpses at the logistics behind the shop. The owner is a sort of middleman who himself receives light bulbs by other creatures of the afterlife whenever new accidents take place. This means that the afterlife is a business with employees of its own.

The rules of the afterlife: Considering that the afterlife runs as any company would, there are rules that need to be respected such as:
1. You can finish your life in the afterlife if your existence has brutally come to an end too soon; meaning that old people who’s enjoyed a long existence go directly somewhere else where they can restart their lives. Others get to finish their life in the afterlife first.
2. In the afterlife, you’re not deaf or mute anymore. You retrieve your senses as if nothing had happened to you.
3. No one is allowed to touch light bulbs otherwise this would mean that the dead can influence the lives of others. This is not permitted and the owner is in charge of making people abide by the rule.
4. If you’re in a coma, you must go to the light shop and find your own light bulb using your own will. No one can find it for you. The dead can help you get to the light shop, but getting out of the afterlife is entirely up to you.
5. As you’re the only one who can find your light bulb, lights are not supposed to come out of the shop. Only 2 exceptions can be mentioned: the owner took a light to save his daughter, and the mother took it to do the same.
6. If you’re dead and causing problems in the living world (by attacking those from the other realm), hitmen from the afterlife will come and fetch you. You’re not allowed to break the barrier between both worlds.
7. The dead who passed in the same accident as those in coma can help them get back within a 3-day period. This 3-day period corresponds to the time it takes for the dead person to go through their funeral. After that, they won’t be able to speak to the other victims. There’s a way to extend that period (which is done in the drama) by postponing your funeral.

The ICU: If the light shop is a gatekeeper in the afterlife helping people to cross over, the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) has the exact same function but in the world of the living. It’s a border between life and death where nurses take care of bodies while people’s souls wander in the afterlife. Nurses are like the shop owner, helping those in a coma retrieve memories and instilling in them the will to come back (using music for instance). They are in a way calling them back from the dead. The ICU is also a place where those who just died can move on to the afterlife. Nurses guide them onto the right path.

Near-death experience: The drama explores the tragedies that led to people crossing from one world to the other, but it also offers a perspective on life after you come back. Patients who had near-death experiences all say the same. They found light at the end of a dark tunnel. In the drama the dark tunnel is the neighborhood and the light is the light shop at the corner of a street that brings them back. But what’s more interesting is what comes after. Those who wake up never really forget their brief passage into the afterlife. Some even remember perfectly well like the nurse or the high school girl. Upon their return, they have clear recollection of the owner of the light shop and the place they’ve been to. They can also see ghosts as their spirit is more open to the underworld now. Most patients tend to get treated for delirium, as nightmares from that dark place attack them every night. Though doctors say this symptom is typical for people who wake up from a coma, the drama emphasizes that it’s a clear reminiscence of the afterlife. Along with near-death experience, Light Shop also deep dives into the grief and emotional pain families of the bereaved go through when an accident occurs. The wait, the uncertainty and the fear take a toll on patients’ families who also deserve attention. The scene when patients of the bus accident are coming out of the surgery room one after the other, while their families await outside is the perfect epitome of that feeling.

Characters: In my opinion, characters can be categorized into 3 main types. The drama sheds light on each character’s story which gives more depth to the narrative. I also found it amazing how each person in the coma is linked with a specific object/item peculiar to their own story.

1. The Bus Accident

The driver: On the day of the accident, driver Oh Seung Won (Park Hyuk Kwon) knew that something was off with the bus brakes and called the company. They told him that he would have to pay for the repairs. As he couldn’t really afford it, the driver made the decision to take one last batch of people before going back to the garage. Though he intended to take only a few of them at the bus stop, he ended up carrying others out of helpfulness (he was the last bus of the day). The accident occurred on a bridge. One tire detached itself and the brakes didn’t work. The bus plunged into the river, killing the driver on the spot. As a ghost, he wandered around the neighborhood, begging for forgiveness to those who had died and trying to get those in coma to the light shop (the teenager with the basketball, Hyun Joo and even Sun Hae). I had a lot of empathy for this character. I believe he’s not entirely responsible for what happened. I can understand he didn’t want to pay for the repairs of the bus (that’s not his responsibility) and tried to convenience those who needed to take the bus to go home. He never thought an accident may actually happen. If he’d known, he’d surely would’ve gone to the garage directly. Although his actions started out of good-will, they caused a tragedy instead. Even as a ghost, he feels guilty and repents for what happened by saving as many as he can.

The high school teenager: Heo Ji Woong (Kim Ki Hae) is an ordinary teenager who was taking the bus to go home. He’s always loved basketball and would never go anywhere without his ball. During the accident, he uses it to get the little boy back to the surface and save his life. After that, he loses consciousness and ends up in the afterlife oscillating between life and death. He doesn’t comprehend the situation at first. He goes to school with his friends and is absolutely frightened by the alley he needs to cross to get home. Afraid of ghosts, he sings to give him courage. Until Sun Hae opens the window and scares him off. However, it’s not the young woman who terrifies Ji Woong, but the ghost standing behind her. Ji Woong starts running away and shortly realizes that he can’t get out of the neighborhood and his ankle is broken (as a result of the accident). Desperate and confused, Ji Woong sits down in the alley and waits in utter shock. The bus driver is the one who takes him to the light shop he’s passed by several times already, after the Ji Woong’s basketball led him to the young boy. The driver gives him the key to get back and tells him to find his light. When he wakes up, Ji Woong is stunned and gets treated for delirium as a way to recover from his journey in the afterlife.
Item: Like I mentioned, each character in a coma has an item associated with him. In Heo Ji Woong’s case, it’s his basket ball. Not only did it save the kid’s life, but it also helped the driver finding his way to him. Even in the coma, the nurse put the basketball next to his bed to guide him back. Who knows? Maybe that’s what influenced the ball in the afterlife.

The lovers – Sun Hae and Hye Won: On the day of the accident, Yoon Sun Hae (Kim Min Ha) and Park Hye Won (Kim Sun Hwa) were house-hunting. During the visit, the real estate agent believed they were mother and daughter, when in reality they are lovers. This little remark sparks an argument between the two. Sun Hae loves Hye Won and wants to live in a world where she can freely show it. On the other side, Hye Won is more cautious because she doesn’t want others to point fingers at Sun Hae and bully her. However, this doesn’t change the fact that she loves her dearly. She proves it during the accident, when she protects Sun Hae with her entire body. She held onto her so tight that even the paramedics could not split them. Now in the afterlife, Sun Hae is looking for an apartment. But she rapidly notices that a ghost is living in the house with her. Afraid, she can’t seem to escape the house. She’s trapped inside, incapable of finding her way out. Meanwhile, Hye Won walks around the neighborhood and finds the light shop. She immediately knows that this is where Sun Hae needs to go to live. When the latter finally understands who Hye Won is and decides to get out of the house, she goes to the light shop and breaks her light bulb. She’d rather stay in the afterlife with her lover than wake up in a world where she’s not here and her love can’t be demonstrated out of fear of being judged. Their story is as sad as understandable. By doing so, I believe that Sun Hae made the decision that brought most happiness to her. And that’s clearly visible at the end when both share the apartment and enjoy their routine. This case is also a criticism of society where homosexuality is not yet accepted which forces people to hide. Hopefully, such shows will help lifting the veil of hatred and ignorance.
Item: I would definitely say that the red shoes the couple share is Sun Hae’s main item. In the living world, she throws them away on the road which causes the bus driver to stop. Without even wanting it, they get on the bus. Hye Won gets Sun Hae’s shoes back. In the afterlife, Hye Won is recognizable from afar thanks to her red shoes that pierce through the night. This pair is what Sun Hae wears to get to the light shop before coming back to Hye Won. There’s a legend that says that people will run away from you if you offer them shoes. In Sun Hae’s case, it’s the opposite. Hye Won’s shoes bring her back to her.

The mother and daughter: Every day, Ju Hyun Joo (Shin Eun Soo) is sent on an errand to the light shop by her mother. She asks her to bring a light bulb. Hyun Joo is terrified by the alley, but finds protection in the light shop and its atypical owner. As time passes by, Hyun Joo’s mother Jung Yoo Hui (Lee Jung Eun) who died in the accident, goes through the funeral process. She can’t speak anymore, so she can’t explain the situation to her daughter. Out of all the people in the coma, Hyun Joo is the last one to get her condition. She finally understands when the bus driver arrives at her apartment complex. Only then does she realize how odd her interactions with others were. In denial, she gets mad at her mother and refuses to go to the light shop again. In the meantime, her mother has gone to the shop to retrieve her light bulb although it’s forbidden. Her personal relationship with the owner allows her to bring it to her daughter and she forces her into getting back mentioning that she can’t leave her father alone. Awaken, Hyun Joo refuses to get treated for delirium in order to remember her mother. Moreover, she can see ghosts. She’s acquainted with one at her school who turns to be part of the missing cases a detective is working on. At the end of the drama, the detective puts the high school girl’s case in his drawer showing that the investigation is closed. This makes me suspect that Hyun Joo listened to the teenager’s secret and somehow helped the detective arrest the culprit.
Item: The item that connects Hyun Joo with her mother is her necklace. On it, her name and phone number can be found. Hyun Joo removes it at some point, but eventually gets it back when it’s time for her to leave. For me, Yoo Hui gave that necklace to her daughter in order to recognize her daughter if something were to happen. I would link it to her past trauma she had when she was stuck under a building as a kid and no one knew who she was or who to call.

Kim Hyun Min and Lee Ji Young: This story is probably the most heartbreaking one of the drama. Kim Hyun Min (Uhm Tae Goo) is a kind and gentle man, who’s in love with Lee Ji Young (Kim Seolhyun). She’s deaf and mute, but he doesn’t care. He deeply loves her and wants to marry her, despite his parents’ reluctance. On the day of the accident, he gets on the bus that leads to Ji Young’s apartment. He wants to propose. Meanwhile, Ji Young is packing her suitcase and intends on leaving Hyun Min. Indeed, his mother asked her to put an end to their relationship because she doesn’t want her son to live with a handicapped person. On her way to the bus stop, Ji Young witnesses the accident. She tries to call 911, but is unable to speak. She then goes to the hospital, but can’t find Hyun Min. His parents send her a text shortly after announcing that Hyun Min has died. Lee Ji Young is devastated. Without him, she doesn’t have any other reason to live. She’s an orphan, she’s deaf, she’s alone. So, she hangs herself. While expiring her last breaths, another message comes up saying that this was a lie. Hyun Min has not passed. Unfortunately, it’s too late for Ji Young. Despite her fight for life, she ends up in the underworld. There, she sits on a bench at a bus stop with her luggage and waits for Hyun Min. Every day, he passes by her but doesn’t recognize his girlfriend. Every night, his body splits into 2 parts and Ji Young carries him in his suitcase and sews him back. Now that she can hear and speak, she instills the will to live in him every single night. At some point, the nurses in the ICU start wondering how he can still be alive. The events in the other realm give us an answer. It’s Ji Young’s intervention. However, she can’t seem to make him regain his memories. Hyun Min also doesn’t seem to grasp the situation. Until then, Ji Young blocks the door of her box at the morgue in order to postpone her funeral. By doing so, she manages to make Hyun Min aware of his condition. His memories flow back and he finally gets to the light shop. When he enters, he’s been told that he needs to find his light but his will is not really there. He gets scared and panics. He then stumbles upon the one flickering light that is his. When he comes back to the realm of the living, Hyun Min is stunned. First, he can’t walk anymore. This is rather ironic when you consider that his parents rejected Ji Young because she was deaf, and now their son is crippled. He also doesn’t remember his girlfriend, although every one talks about her. His come back is tough. He has nightmares every night, has troubles sleeping and is broken. The final scene shows Hyun Min going back to his apartment in his wheelchair. In front of the door, he tries to remember the password. The light turns off and he waves his hand to turn it back on. This gestures reminds him of himself waving his hand at someone in the streets, his girlfriend. When the light comes back, he’s holding Ji Young by the throat.
Item: There are two main items that are catalysts of Hyun Min and Ji Young’s story. First, you have the suitcase Ji Young uses to transport him in the afterlife. Second, you have Hyun Min’s old phone which precipitated Ji Young’s death.

2. The other victims

Yang Sung Sik: Yang Sung Sik (Bae Sung Woo) is a detective renowned for his keen eyes and attention to details. These qualities make him an excellent investigator who always finds the culprit. He’s also very stubborn and persistent, meaning that he doesn’t let go of a case if there’s something that still bothers him. On a personal note, Sung Sik is married and was expecting a baby. But a miscarriage put an abrupt end to his newly-found happiness. In the afterlife, he chases after a potential killer. He traces him back to his restaurant where he meets Kim Sang Hoon (Kim Dae Myung). This man is however suspicious and doesn’t really blend in. Later on, Sung Sik follows his scooter and assaults him thinking that the cook is about to make another victim. Both end up in front of a car, its headlights revealing Sang Hoon’s cat eyes. Since then, Sung Sik has a feeling that something’s wrong with the neighborhood. The main clue that drives him to this conclusion is his lighter. During the day, it’s impossible to use. But at night, the flame suddenly pops up. To understand better the situation, Sung Sik goes to the light shop where his investigation led him. In a conversation with the owner, he manages to gather that he’s in the underworld wandering among ghosts and that’s he had an accident. The owner tells him to find his light, so Sung Sik opens his lighter and comes back to consciousness. Now in the realm of the living, Yang Sung Sik can still see ghosts thanks to his keen eyes. He then goes to Sang Hoon’s restaurant and finds him. Turns out Sang Hoon saved Sung Sik from a car accident. He died and Sung Sik ended up in a coma. Now unable to pursue his job of gatekeeper between the two worlds, Sang Hoon offers Sung Sik to take over. He gives him his sunglasses and leaves. Yang Sung Sik then becomes a keeper.
Item: The lighter is obviously an immense clue in Sung Sik’s story. But there’s also another one: the names of the students at the high school Sung Sik investigates. They are all weird and uncommon. That’s because these are the names of fetuses couples generally use. All of these kids died prematurely due to miscarriages and were allowed to continue their lives in this realm. Among them, you have Sung Sik’s daughter Haetsal.

Kang Byung Jin: Kang Byung Jin (Park Jung Pyo) is another soul that roams the underworld unrelated to the bus accident. Every night, he hears a dog bark and is extremely cold. Turns out he got lost in the forest and tripped due to the rain. Unconscious, the rescue dog Max barked to signal his position to the paramedics. He also stayed with him to keep him warm. Though Byung Jin miraculously survived, Max didn’t. But even in the afterlife, he continues his job to save the victim. Hence his barking showing Byung Jin the way towards the light shop. That story was actually so moving. The dog did his duty until the end and was somewhat rewarded by being adopted by the light shop owner.
Item: The connection between the world of the living and Byung Jin is not really an item but rather the sound of barking. The last thing he heard before being in a coma and the only sound that lingers in his mind.

3. The keepers

Jung Won Young: The light shop keeper is probably the most intriguing figure of them all. The more stories we see, the more we understand his role. He works as a middleman between the two worlds. From the afterlife, he helps those in the coma recover and get back to the realm of the living. Though he may seem like a creature from the afterlife at first, he was actually human before and tragedy also befalls him. Jung Won Young (Ju Ji Hoon) got buried under a collapsed building with his daughter Yu Hui. Stuck under rocks, the little girl was unable to move. Her father got closer to her and tried to reassure her as much as possible. He then died and entered the afterlife. Desperate, he opened the door of the light shop. He begged the owner to call for help and rescue his daughter. However, the previous owner of the light shop refused, emphasizing that only those who want to can enter the light shop. Nevertheless, she could feel the pain of the father in front of her and offered a trade off. She will give him his daughter’s light bulb to save her. In exchange, Won Young would now assume the role of the shop keeper. Won Young accepted and that’s how Yu Hui was able to grow up. By the end of the drama, we learn that Yu Hui is none other than Hyun Joo’s mother who died in the bus accident. She recognizes her father and more specifically his cat eyes. The same pair he had when he brought the light bulb back to her as a kid. Just like Won Young did for his daughter, Yu Hui begs him to protect his grandchild. Won Young accepts and breaks the rule by giving Yu Hui Hyun Joo’s light bulb. Though the father-daughter story is emotional and tragic, there’s a little of hope at the end. Yu Hui and Won Young reunite in the afterlife and finally get to enjoy together all the years they lost in the living realm.
Item: The one item that helps connect the dots between past and present and both characters is the candies. As a kid, Yu Hui gave them to her father to feed him. She recognizes them in the shop and is able to reunite with her dad.

Kwon Young Ji: In the world of the living, I think that Kwon Young Ji (Park Bo Young) plays the role of a keeper. Though she doesn’t have super-abilities, her past accident and near-death experience are enough to turn her into the perfect guide for those who come back. Young Ji works as a nurse in the ICU. 5 years ago, she almost lost her life in a grave accident, but found the will to live thanks to the MP3 music played by the ICU nurse at that time. This made her want to return and change career path. Now able to see ghosts, she officiates as a bridge between the world of the living and the dead. To those who died like the bus driver or Ji Young, she tells them to go find the light. For those who came back, she accompanies them and offers advice, like it’s the case for the alcoholic man who has visions of ghosts and Ji Woong. Kwon Young Ji is on the fringe of both worlds and interacts with everyone. She’s full of wisdom and unsuspected knowledge that she gives away when push comes to shove. Her accident changed her life, her encounter with the ICU nurse too and she wants to do the same for others. She’s a bystander, a witness and advisor at the same time who navigates the uncertain barrier between life and death. Of course, she also needs protection from angry ghosts because she belongs to the living world. That’s when Sung Sik comes into play at the end.
Item: The MP3 player is the reason she came back to life. She believes that those in a coma hear everything that you say and/or do. That’s why she talks to them about the light and encourages them to find their will to come back.

Hwang Seok Hui: We don’t know much about Hwang Seok Hui’s (Lee Hwang Eui) background apart from the fact that he’s a mortician, currently embalming those who perished in the bus accident. However, there’s also something uncanny about him. In his own way, he also works as a keeper between the two worlds and as a helper. He’s the one who prepares the body for the funeral. He listens to the dead’s final wishes and helps them move on to the afterlife by leaving behind lingering feelings. Seok Hui pays his final respects to the dead and even accepts them to fluctuate a little on the natural course of life. That’s the case with Ji Young for example, when he voluntarily doesn’t try to break open the door of her box at the morgue. He knows she has unfinished business and gives her time to do so. I really liked this character to be honest, though I would’ve loved to know more about him. My theory is that he had a near-death experience too (like Young Ji) and woke up from the coma. Like the nurse in the ICU, he chose to help the dead crossover by working as a mortician. That way, you have one keeper for the living (Young Ji), one for the dead (Seok Hui), and one at the in-between (Won Young).

The link with Moving: I can’t express how stunned I was when I saw the end of the drama. In the last scenes, Yang Sung Sik is at the police station and comes over to a colleague’s desk where a high school girl is being interrogated. A school has collapsed and she’s been taken to the police station to give a testimony. That girl is none other than Jang Hui Soo (Go Yoon Jung) from Kang Full’s other drama Moving. In the post-credits scene, there’s even more! Sung Sik goes to a building where a ghost is causing problems. There, he meets Kim Young Tak (Park Jeong Min) who also made a brief appearance in Moving. He’s the master of time whose face has remained unknown until now. During their exchange, Young Tak confesses that he too can see ghosts because they have nothing to do with the passing of time. My theory is that Young Tak can stop the living from moving, but not the dead. When he stops time, he can see ghosts because they are the only ones who are not stuck in time. That’s what I believe, but I can’t wait to see whether it’s true or not! Anyway, this connection was extremely exciting, as it showed that both universes are linked and there will be crossovers between the series. Pure genius!

P.S.: Kang Full has another webtoon left to adapt that focuses on Young Tak which is called TIMING. So, I really hope Disney+ (or anyone else) will buy the rights for a TV show! Moreover, I’m impatiently waiting for the next season of Moving and hopefully Light Shop!