On February 7, Disney+ released the final two episodes of the South Korean series 'A Shop for Killers' about a dangerous inheritance from an uncle. We tell you what can draw you into the new project starring one of the main K-drama stars.

The popularity of Korean dramas has grown noticeably in recent years, and a significant role in this, of course, was played by the hyped 'Squid Game'. Major Hollywood streaming services quickly realized that a new film market could be monetized well by regularly importing content produced in the Land of the Morning Calm (the success is especially noticeable with Netflix, which, besides its obvious flagship, can boast, for example, of the fairly popular shows 'Alice in Borderland' and 'Hellbound').

Disney is also trying to keep up in this regard, constantly releasing South Korean series on its service and attracting new audiences in every way. The 'Mouse Corporation' even signed a contract with the label HYBE in 2022 (which includes Conchymin, Chocopai, and other members of the group 'BTS'), so the online catalog is now being replenished with documentary projects about BTS (and TXT). And now one of the most popular actors in Korean dramas, Lee Dong-wook (let's agree that I will write all names in three words like this), has fallen into the mouse's paws, but it's gratifying that they grabbed him at least in that niche where Disney is not trying to mess up as much as on its other fronts (at least for now).

What's the plot?

The series begins with a scene of a sniper attacking a country house, where a young girl named Jeong Ji-an (Kim Hye-jun) tries to avoid the bullets, guided by her uncle Jeong Jin-man's (Lee Dong-wook) words about blind spots and their locations. Using a mop with shards of glass taped to it, Ji-an figures out the approximate location of the shooter, then jumps across the room onto a sofa in a blind spot, under which she finds a sniper rifle. The girl picks up the weapon, aims back, and...

The viewers are thrown into a flashback where the main character is at a police station for beating up a pervert who brazenly entered the women's restroom (for obvious purposes). The 'victim' threatens to file a complaint, so the police advise Ji-an to call her parents. But the girl is actually an orphan raised by her uncle, so she can only call him. However, it turns out that the news on the other end is even worse—an unfamiliar voice sadly informs her that Jeong Jin-man has committed suicide. The stunned niece is now forced to return to the house where she grew up and take responsibility for her relative's funeral, observing all traditions.

Upon returning, she accidentally runs into her former classmate Bae Jeong-min (Park Ji-bin), who was the last person to see the suicide victim alive, as he was helping him with a website selling hoses (Jin-man was a businessman). The boy offers his help to the grieving girl and tries to support her, but after the funeral, the two suddenly discover that the deceased's accounts contain sums in the billions of won (you clearly can't earn that much from hoses), and the website was just a cover for a real business selling weapons and evidence disposal tools. Now that some buyers learn that the shop for killers has lost its owner, Jin-man's niece starts receiving death threats, and the house is attacked by drones, a sniper, and a squad of mercenaries—so the events of the show closely approach the scene from the beginning of the episode.

I need an endless shop

'A Shop for Killers' is an adaptation of a novel by Korean writer Kang Ji-young. Two years ago, a series titled 'The Killer's Shopping List' was already released based on her work (she apparently loves criminals and shopping), and it also starred actor Park Ji-bin (the classmate, because I understand you didn't even remember that), but more notably, the director of that drama was Lee Eon-hee—the wife of Lee Gwon, who directed 'A Shop for Killers'. According to information online, it was thanks to his wife, who became interested in the writer's work after her project, that the husband got acquainted with the book and contacted the writer to discuss an adaptation. Thus, one Korean family of directors has brought two of Kang Ji-young's works to the small screen.

However, the text had to be worked on diligently before filming. As far as I understand, the novel's plot was initially only enough for a feature-length film, but in the end, the screenwriters expanded the story with a bunch of flashbacks, which allowed them to come out ahead. First, the material was enough for a whole season (to be precise, for 8 quite engaging hour-long episodes), and second, Jin-man's role was significantly increased, giving Lee Dong-wook the opportunity to appear on screen throughout the entire eight-episode run. This was probably exactly the effect the creators were aiming for, because if the star and favorite of women of all ages had been 'killed off' in the first episode, viewers who watch the show solely for their idol in new settings (and there are probably many such viewers) would have simply trashed the series in anger.

Despite the abundance of flashbacks and a rather chaotic, fragmented plot, 'A Shop for Killers' turned out to be a good and atmospheric (and not just because Lee Dong-wook is in it, although his charisma is undeniable) thriller-action series about a profitable but dangerous inheritance. At the same time, the show has certain problems and shortcomings, such as silly dialogues, awkward editing transitions, or strange sound work, where external sources (door slams, footsteps, gunshots, etc.) are deliberately muffled for some unclear reason. Additionally, sometimes the creators' persistent efforts to stretch the runtime with excessive suspense are very noticeable, which occasionally brings some moments to the point of ridiculous absurdity (for example, when the heroine hesitates for a full 5 minutes about whether to open a file on the computer).

Due to some factors and shortcomings of the project, Kim Hye-jun's character often appears on screen as a very dim-witted girl. Most likely, in the source material, Jin-man very elegantly hid his second life and past from his niece, so she didn't suspect anything. But in the series, Ji-an is very dense, not suspecting her uncle of anything unusual, even though he gave her plenty of reasons, judging by their shared memories.

In one episode, there is an arc where the relatives go to the mountains, and Lee Dong-wook's character 'severely injures his leg and comes down with a fever,' so he sends the girl for help, giving her only a slingshot. At the end of the storyline, he appears with a combat weapon in his hands, completely healthy, and as an excuse says something like: 'Mother Nature healed me,' and the niece takes his word for it, never suspecting anything (as in many other cases).

There's a round in the chamber, just in case

Given that 'A Shop for Killers' is simply packed with secondary storylines from the past, the main plot progresses at a snail's pace and stalls heavily within a couple of locations, but on the other hand, the series uses flashbacks to perfectly develop both the main and secondary characters, such as the female assassin So Min-hye (Kim Hae-na), the sniper Lee Seong-jo (Seo Hyeon-woo), and the main antagonist Bale (Jo Han-seon).

In addition, the project is simply teeming with quite colorful and interesting characters (even if we exclude all those already mentioned): there are gloomy and silent twin killers, a stuttering underground hacker nicknamed Brother (Lee Tae-yeon), and a mysterious and charismatic Muay Thai master Passin (Kim Min).

Honestly, there are no complaints whatsoever about the cast. This mechanism works brilliantly, like a Swiss watch. And its main 'component' in the person of Lee Dong-wook turns an ordinary brand into a Rolex, making the product desirable for a huge audience of the star's admirers. Disney definitely knew which pain points to press to attract attention. Add to this all the drama's existing pluses: a tense atmosphere, an interesting and gripping story, high-quality production, excellent action sequences, and voilà—a decent and popular project is ready to be presented to fans and ordinary viewers. And if you also make the ending open... then you can spoil the impression.

The finale leaves a lot of questions and a strange aftertaste of serious understatement. The screenwriters did not close many storylines, as if hinting at a continuation. In fact, 'A Shop for Killers' could indeed be renewed, because the novel has a second book, which could [in theory] also be adapted (and would Disney miss the opportunity if the first season of the drama justifies their capitalist expectations?).

However, if they put a period at the eighth episode, it won't play into the story's hands at all, because leaving viewers alone with such questions is at least unseemly on the part of the creators. But for now, we can only wait for news and hope that the understatement is a special and carefully thought-out move, and not a serious oversight.

What's the bottom line?

If you still for some reason think that K-dramas are a sappy pastime exclusively for girls (mostly young) who love Asian aesthetics, kimchi, and listening to Stray Kids, then this situation needs to be urgently corrected, and 'A Shop for Killers' is an excellent option.

Perhaps we have already, right at the beginning of the year, received one of the main South Korean-produced series (at least it has set an impressive bar) and don't even suspect that it will enter all the final top lists of its niche. It's quite possible, so why not spend a few evenings in the company of charismatic and colorful Asians who shoot, wave knives, and toss grenades left and right? At least everyone loves Keanu Reeves, so how is Lee Dong-wook worse?

Evgeny Belousov

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