The leading stars of upcoming supernatural mystery Korean drama “Light Shop”, Ju Jihoon and Park Boyoung, writer Kangfull and director Kim Heewon were in Singapore for the 2024 Disney APAC Content Showcase. The press conference for “Light Shop” took place on 20th November, where the attendees also got treated to a first-hand preview of the drama.
An adaptation of Kangfull’s hit webtoon of the same name, “Light Shop” follows six strangers, each grappling with a traumatic event from their past.
“Light Shop” actually marks the directorial debut of Kim Heewon. Having worked together previously for K-drama “Moving”, Kangfull praised the veteran actor’s acting skills and also his directing for “Light Shop”. Unlike “Moving” which is mainly a supernatural genre, “Light Shop” is more of a horror genre type of drama, which is less common in Korea. Both of them worked closely to interpret the storyline, and the cast members had full understanding of their characters, so everyone on set worked really well together.
As the actors were so passionate about their work, Kim Heewon felt humbled by them, stating that he “learnt humility while directing for the first time”. With this being his first foray into directing, he felt nervous during his first day on set. Kim Heewon wanted to bring something new to the table, but he did not want it to end up being too unique, so he set a standard on how much uniqueness the drama can have, while still resonating with the public.
Kangfull stated that the original webtoon for “Light Shop” was created 13 years ago, but for the onscreen adaptation, he included some parts that were not inside the original webtoon. To him, he felt that there is much more depth in the drama version, as there are some things that cannot be visualised with just his drawings alone but he could now do so, and that feels more exciting.
As for the cast members, this is actually Park Boyoung’s third time portraying a nurse character. She was actually looking forward to acting with Ju Jihoon, however, they did not really have the chance to meet on set as he was always at the Light Shop, while she was in the hospital. As a nurse with special abilities, Park Boyoung feels that her character is like a guardian between the living and the dead.
Park Boyoung revealed that one of her close friends is actually also a nurse working in the ICU, so she helped her to better prepare for this role.
Ju Jihoon reflected on the filming process, where he praised the pre-production for being so well prepared. Because of this, the cast could act comfortably with good chemistry, without worrying about expressing their own opinions.
“Light Shop” premieres on Disney+ on 4 December 2024.
