422. Mystic Popup Bar 쌍갑포차 (2020) Korean

Hwang Jung Eum, Yook Sung Jae, Choi Won Young

Drama Rating: 9/10     Neck Score: A+

Oh my heart, this show was so good! The feels! Not just for the main plot and characters, but feels for all the people whose grudges they settled. It was just so sweet and funny! It's about a kid who has the power to open people's hearts. This means that when anyone touches him, they start spilling the beans, all their inner emotions, and he has to deal with their emotional dump on him. But that also means that anyone he tries to date will do the same, so all he wants is to be loved, or a family. Because he was abandoned by his parents, real and adopted, for the same reason. Then he meets the two owners of a pop-up tent bar, who specialize in settling grudges. Wol Ju's punishment for her past sins is to settle the grudges of like 10,000 (or was it 100,000?) people before her 500 years of punishment are up. She does this through dreams with the help of some water from the afterlife that helps her bridge the gap between the two worlds. She is assisted by Manager Gwi, who is supposed to be supervising her, but is more like helping her while getting bossed around. Kang Bae is enlisted to help them, since he can get people to open up so easily, because time is running short.



I love that is plays like a serial, with each episode being about a specific customer and helping their grudge, but also giving us a bit more into the complicated backstory of these people. As we learn more of the story, we see how complicated it is. How it is not so simple as to what the past sins were, as well as things not being what they seemed. And then the feels come the more you get to know everyone and everything. So many feels.

I absolutely loved the cast dynamic and the portrayals of the underworld, etc. It's a lovely blend of past and modern, since everyone has been around for 500 years, but then you see them updated to modern technology and styles, but still with hints of the past. It is definitely what I would call a found family drama, since you have more emphasis on familial relationships than just romance, although there is definitely romance too. Although it's heavy on the comedy as well, it will make you cry every episode.

I knew I had to watch it when it had both Choi Won Young 😍 and Hwang Jung Eum. I love her and feel compelled to watch pretty much everything she's in. Add to that Yook Sung Jae and the rest of the remarkable case and it was a no brainer. I also don't really regret starting it later than I meant to, because I definitely binge watched it with relish and still caught up to it to watch the finale "live." However, that accentuated how short it was. It being 12 episodes was probably a good thing plot wise. I never felt like it was rushed or draggy. It was just perfect in pacing. However, I loved it so much that I would have willingly watched it for much longer. However, I love a tightly written story, and this is just that. It's quality stuff. It also felt like all the roles were written just for these actors, they all fit them so well. I'm glad that Choi Won Young is getting more love now, as Lizabreff and Curdy are also now obsessed with him. Yes!