Mystic Pop-up Bar (2020)

What A Rollercoaster

Lately I had found myself dissatisfied with dramas but this one revived my love for them! It was a rollercoaster of emotions where you can go from weeping into your blanket, to laughing out loud , to sitting at the edge of your seat cheering on the characters.
The parallel storylines where beautifully written and merged seamlessly, I was invested in every characters story arch and constantly asking myself who is who until it was all finally revealed. I especially loved how big moments where carefully spread throughout the entire drama instead of saving everything for the final episode.

After becoming used to predictable K-Drama story lines, this was something unexpected and completely welcomed, I highly recommend it!

Lire davantage

Beautifully written, with a lot of heart (and a side of gummy smiles by Yook Sung Jae)

This drama had everything I like in a drama plot : a portion of its story set in historical times, a tragic backstory, fantasy, reincarnation themes and star-crossed lovers. And it lived up to my expectations.
While this drama is far from perfect, it has a whole lot of heart and sincerity to it. The meaning of this story is so beautiful. The acting is really good, the leads were great and the side characters were also pretty good. I often found myself being touched by the stories of the side characters and their grudges were very relatable, for the most part.
Side note: Yook Sung Jae has the biggest gummy smile of any Korean actor change my mind. His smile light up my heart everytime, guaranteed.

I definetely recommend this drama.

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When nothing goes right, go to sleep ?

Hwang Jung Eum in hanbok was the main reason to start this . I liked her in she was pretty, loved her in Kill me Heal me and it kept growing in this drama. 2 actors of (oh ri jin and manager) as main leads in this should convince you to watch this drama ❤️
Story- Unique story of living realm and afterlife which you would have never seen anywhere (first ep people might compare with De luna but it’s totally different). The pace is great . Every ep has kinda mini stories along with main plot line which keeps it interesting throughout the drama.
There’s Comedy, Drama, Mystery & romance which will keep you emotionally invested.
Go for this drama - it has the secret of how to resolve your grudges???

Lire davantage

Brilliant fun!

Short: If there was ever a role that suited Hwang Jung Eum, this is it. Many good fun moments, general warm message of helping people through their "grudges". Some good music, and an original story with interesting characters played by a superb cast make this one an easy win.

Detailed:
So much fun :)

It's 12 episodes, which allows it to remain punchy and stay on point. Many amusing moments come out of Wol joo's character being something of a brat, constantly acting up and bossing people around, particularly her faithful sidekick.

It just looks like the cast, directors, writer had a blast - there's a lot of energy in it and numerous times that some interesting scenes were in there that perhaps didn't even need to be (like one scene where she turns to face the camera, breaks the fourth wall and sends out some facts to the viewers, or another where they subtly introduce 'the new guy in heaven' - Steve Jobs of Apple, who's sitting there taking one bite out of an apple in just *that* place) - but the presence of them just made it all the more fun.

It has a good message, everything you do reflects on you later, whether it's big or small, good or bad, it will come back to you later.

If there was ever a role that Hwang Jung Eum's very extrovert acting style suited this one is absolutely it, even if you haven't appreciated her as much in other roles give this one a shot, it's spot on :)

I particularly enjoyed Jung Da Eun's character, Yeo Rin, the security guard. She takes no prisoners, she's tough, but she's still a person and shows warmth as well.

Highly watchable, definitely recommended :)

Why only 9.5 and not 10? It's not "goblin" good or "crash landing" good, but I can't bear to give it even a 9, so i've gone for 9.5 :) There's no science there at all! :)

Lire davantage

Despite being in a drama slump, I managed to start this & the fact that I even got past the first 5 mins says a lot! I hadn't heard anything about this drama prior to airing and only started this on a whim because my favourite kdrama twitter account loved the first episode. And let me tell you, I'm so glad I did! There was a perfect balance of comedy, romance and angst as well as some action here and there. The cast all did amazingly well bringing this drama to life and had me very excited to watch upcoming episode to see how the story would unfold. I'm definitely going to miss this family, even the side characters who made their own way into my heart :( I definitely recommend watching this!

Lire davantage

Very well executed

This drama doesn't have complicated plot with bunch of plot twists, everything you see is at it is. I pretty much figured the whole story line after episode 3. However I didn't enjoy the drama any less because of that. I actually liked how straightforward it was. Each concerns of the guest characters were quite simple however very relatable and they also managed to create a connection of those stories onto our main characters.
In dramas I often see a large amount of characters being introduced but then end up doing nothing for the story. This drama deserves an applause for actually being able to do the opposite. Every character had a purpose and were somehow connected to each other so it made sense why they were introduced into the story. The actors and actresses have done a good job portraying their characters, Yook Sungjae has once again proven that there are idols who can act.
Some may have complained that this drama was too short as it had only 12 drama, but personally for me I thought it is the perfect amount of episodes. The drama didn't feel too draggy or too short. In the end everything has been explained and there are no remaining questions. Overall this drama is pretty lighthearted and doesn't deal with any heavy topics. It is just a story about love and misunderstandings. It is a very well executed drama. I highly recommend this drama to the beginner viewers.

PS. Special mention for production and special effect team. It is admirable how they have managed to incorporated special effects into this drama without making it look tacky like some of other fantasy dramas. I have read that they have spent 6 months working on the the sacred tree scene (kudos to them). I have especially enjoyed the fighting scenes.

Lire davantage

each episode is a refreshing glass of a cold drink!

A very original way of portraying the story and hardships of people. Including aspects of fantasy, slice of life and comedy this drama is a whole package!
Especially the first few episodes really show relatable characters, almost all of the characters are well written,even the minor roles,makes you feel warm inside!
The three main characters have so much chemistry, putting them in one screen is the best thing ever!
The historical elements of the show are handled really well by the writer, the past is presented perfectly, and uncovered slowly, always keeps you wondering.
The acting of all the of the cast is really top notch! I have no complains in this department, they all did an amazing job!
The music for the show was really good especially the first part of the ost. The instrumentals in the intro was really good too :)
I would like to also add that the cgi in the show unlike alot of the other show was perfect!
I didnt like some parts of the show which had ridiculous fantasy elements like (conception ball claw machine???), passwords for entering the subconscious mind(????) etc I lost interest in some parts of the story and put it off for later, which made me finish the drama later than usual.
Still was very fun and interesting drama!

Lire davantage

I'm on the fence...

First let me say that the acting is this show is great. Everyone does a phenomenal job in their respective parts. And the story is interesting.

But for me, this show was lacking, but I can't really explain why. I found myself being irritated at the flashbacks even though they were very necessary to the plot. There wasn't really enough of a romance between any of the characters to focus on that one way or another either. My favorite character was Yook Seung Jae's role, but I felt like more could have been done with it at times as well. I didn't really like the "other realm" stuff either...for me those parts were just annoying.

Overall, the drama is good and I think the parts that bugged me were more specific to me than anything else. I'm glad I binged it because if I had paused between episodes, I'm not sure I would have gone back to it very quickly.

Lire davantage

well, i really liked this drama, tbh i started because sungjae was in it and im a big fan <33.
it suprised me in a good way, i was not expecting this to be so good.
the story, the characters an even the ost i liked it all. im not very good at doing reviews because i cannot express my feelings well in words but this drama was amazing. really worth watching, i loved the trio sm and the chemistry between ye rin and kang bae(cutest couple <33)
it also had sad moments and parts that makes us think about our actions and our future wich made me love it even more.
so, if you like light and fantasy type of drama give it a go. i promise you will not be disappointed ;)

Lire davantage

Different from the Normal Cliched Drama

Mystic Pop-Up Bar or Ssang Gap Pocha is not your standard k-drama. In fact, it is just different enough, that I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to watch something out of the ordinary. It is the story of Wol Joo (well done by Hwang Jung Eum) and her tragic death five hundred years ago which means for the last five hundred years, she’s been working as a after-life employee helping people deal with their life long regrets through dreams.

STORY: Wol Joo is someone who can enter others dreams (even when she was alive and mortal 500 years ago. In the beginning, we see that she is called in to help the crown prince who appears to be in a coma because of some bad vibes. Because she’s young and pretty and so is he…..well, you know what happens. The resulting turmoil leads to Wol Joo committing a sin involving a spirit tree and a curse. Now 500 years later, she only has a few more people to help. She is aided by Chief Gwi and her friend the Sam Shin. She also finds a mortal (Han Kang Bae) who can help her and agrees to help him with his problem if he helps her with hers. I’d say more but then I’d be giving spoilers and frankly……you don’t want to know these spoilers ahead of time.

Its enough to know that Wol Joo is doing time as an afterlife government employee and over the next twelve episodes, she needs to complete her quota in order to save those she loves most. There is very little romance in the show, but I didn’t miss it (There is some….don’t worry). There is a good amount of comedy which made all the difference in the world!

CHARACTERS: Han Kang Bae played by Yook Sung Jae is actually the most fascinating character as the mortal who would love to give up his spiritual abilities and live a normal life. Is there anyone sweeter in this show? He’s nice, he’s caring, and all he wants is a family. A character such as him sometimes can be played too melodramatic making us pity him, instead I found myself cheering him on. Maybe its that super sweet smile of Yook Sung Jae, but I just loved his character and how selfless and loving he was. Watch the show just for him.

Choi Won Young plays Chief Gwi who is kind of goofy and a little mysterious. He’s also a civil servant that helps Wol Joo with her quest. We don’t find out the truth about him until much much later into the episodes (not that we didn’t see it coming). His story line is interesting, and his character is both funny and engaging with just enough enigmatic behavior to make me curious to keep watching and hoping he was who I thought he was. Okay…Watch the show just for him.

Wol Joo (great job by Hwang Jung Eum) was loud, funny, sad, strong, but NEVER whiny. Oh, how I love strong female characters and Wol Joo is up there as a strong female character. The more we watch her the more we see that Wol Joo has her heart in the right place and is willing to sacrifice EVERYTHING and I do mean everything for those she loves. This is my first show with Hwang Jung Eum in it and I will say, she’s got fabulous comic timing and I do love that she was able to be vulnerable without being weak. I have no patience for weak female characters. Now that I think about it….Watch this show just for her!

There is a whole cast of smaller characters including Jung Da Eun playing a young mortal and an old immortal (great job…by the way). Each enhance the story of the three main leads instead of taking from it. I especially enjoyed the friendship between Sam Shin and Wol Joo……again with those strong and interesting female relationships.
MUSIC: The music was good and enhanced the show. None of the songs stood out to me but its likely because there were only 12 episodes instead of the usual 16ish….barely enough time to really flesh out the characters let alone the music.

REWATCH VALUE: I haven’t re-watched it yet (because I’ve moved on to something else) but I will likely revisit Mystic Pop-Up Bar again. It’s a very interesting story that I wouldn’t mind viewing it again and again. Its doesn’t have me in the throws of obsession like some dramas (ahem…I’ve written many articles about those), but it was really well done.

OVERALL: Mystic Pop-Up Bar was a refreshing and new type of drama for me. It was a gripping story line that blended magic, mythology, and modern-day issues in a very entertaining way and I just loved all those fun characters. Heck! In the end…..I’d watch it again, just for all those enjoyable characters.

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