Ju Ji Hoon supremacy: K-dramas ‘Lightshop Keeper,’ ‘Trauma Code’ hit among viewers
MANILA, Philippines — Who could say that they have two currently hit dramas on different platforms?
Korean actor Ju Ji-hoon can with two different roles in series that could potentially spawn more seasons.
Ju Ji-hoon stars as an enigmatic character who mans a light shop in Disney+’s “Lightshop Keeper,” and as a brilliant yet overly confident trauma surgeon in “Trauma Code: Heroes on Call” streaming on Netflix.
The actor manages to distinctly portray two characters in two series that were released just weeks apart.
“Lightshop Keeper” was released last December as the directorial debut of actor Kim Hee-won, whose TV roles include “My Love From The Star” and “Moving.”
“Trauma Code: Heroes on Call,” meanwhile, was released last month as a medical comedy drama.
Both only have eight episodes and are adapted from webtoons.
Legit scary
Hee-won’s decades in acting gives him the eye for what draws people in a scene.
He knows that what truly makes a work scary through the framing and composition of scenes. In “Lightshop Keeper,” dubbed a mystery thriller, he manages to set convincingly creepy scenes in its first few episodes.
He sets his scenes in light and darkness, an apt device giving tribute to his series’ title, focusing on details that elicit fear among viewers.
The first part introduced the star-studded cast, which includes Ji-hoon, Park Bo-young and Kim Min-ha. They do not know each other; Bo-young is an ICU nurse, while Min-ha is a strong-willed young woman who is looking for a new house to move in.
When the creepiness settles at the latter part of the first few episodes, the ensemble’s strength in telling a story carries the viewers until its last and eighth episode.
Each of them, from Ji-hoon’s titular lightshop keeper to Bo-young’s compassionate nurse to Minha’s character, tie in their link to the light shop. Many of them find resolutions to their dilemmas, but a couple of them can return for a promising new season.
The themes of “Lightshop Keeper” teeters between life and death, and as their divisive natures collide, so do they make the series' viewers rethink their fleeting time on earth. Is living a life free from the judgment of others more appealing than living a safe and socially acceptable life? Will true love prevail even amid overwhelming odds?
It is written by Kang Full, the same screenwriter of the hit 2023 series “Moving.” It is therefore not a surprise to see one of the most popular characters from the series make a cameo in “Lightshop Keeper.”
Another iconic fictional doctor is born
In the world of K-dramas, Kim Sa-bu is arguably the most loved. He is the titular protagonist in three seasons of the hit medical drama “Dr. Romantic.”
This year, K-drama lovers have found another charismatic doctor to love in the form of Dr. Baek Kang-hyuk, played by Ji-hoon, in “Trauma Code: Heroes on Call.”
While Kim Sa-bu is more accepting of the harshness of reality yet opts to keep his optimism or romanticism, as he says, Dr. Baek is similar in his jadedness.
Both Sa-bu and Baek are blunt and methodical. They get things done and are considered geniuses, rarities in the highly stressful and competitive world of Medicine.
Both are trauma specialists with painful pasts, marred by betrayal and loss.
Perhaps these are the reasons why K-drama viewers have come to the point of drawing comparisons between the two fictional characters, with many even asking for a possible crossover between their worlds.
Both are also surrounded by equally interesting and lovable characters.
For Kim Sabu, he has mentored four outstanding students: Dong-joo (Yoo Yeon-seok) and Seo-jung a.k.a. Crazy Whale (Seo Hyun-jin) in Season 1, and Woo-jin (Ahn Hyo-seop) and Eun-jae (Lee Sung-kyung) in Seasons 2 and 3.
Apart from the young students, Kim Sabu has a loyal set of colleagues that include Head Nurse Oh (Jin Kyung), hospital administrator Jang Gi-tae (Im Won-hee), and Nurse Park (Kim Min-jae).
Dr. Baek so far has only one mentee, Dr. Yang Jae-woon (Choo Young-woo), an acrobic intern who initially has set his sights on pursuing colorectal surgery as a specialization.
Baek, the tattooed doctor, however, has other plans in mind as he is set on fishing Jae-woon as his intern and eventual resident at Hankook National University Hospital’s Trauma Center, which he leads. Even if he is being called by other names other than his own name by Dr. Baek, Jae-woon eventually sees through the tough guy persona behind the seemingly arrogant doctor.
Jae-woon is not the only interesting character that has earned his place in K-drama viewers’ heart. There is Nurse Cheon Jang-mi (Ha-young) and anesthesiologist intern Park Gyeong-won (Jung Jae-kwang). Dr. Baek’s strong personality often clashes with most of the doctors in Hankook, including colorectal surgeon Han Yoo-rim (Yoon Kyung-ho), whose character development is surprisingly delightful.
Eight episodes of K-drama’s current hit medical comedy series seemed not enough, and the way it was ended in the typical K-drama fashion of promising and more exploratory plot points, it is open to possible more seasons just like “Dr. Romantic.”
Either way, Ju Ji-hoon is a winner because he has two possible series — and iconic characters — to portray in upcoming season/s.
But many of his fans are also wondering — and still hoping — will he ever come back to play crown prince Lee Chang and continue his fight with the undead in Joseon dynasty for the third season of the hit zombie historical fiction fantasy series “Kingdom"?
They jest that he has played a mysterious otherwordly character and a death-defying doctor, but so it might not hurt if he returns to battle the undead again in the near future.
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