Mystic Pop-Up Bar (2020)

Loved the Series!!! - Mystic Pop Up Bar

I was exploring this particular genre of "Reap what you sow" and this came in one of the recommended of one of the darker shows I had watched. Honestly, it did not disappoint. I loved it and I am glad that I picked this one. I loved the supernatural elements, the parallel worlds, the tinge of comedy and romance while the main crux of the problem revealed itself after.

There were a lot of things I really enjoyed.

The Story Line
I absolutely loved the story line . It was perfect but yet there was some want left in the end.

I loved how the drama started, pushing us to the past and how the current setting came to be. And i loved how the drama answers the questions the viewers had regarding the past. The concept of getting your grudges fulfilled is already an existing concept but adding a twist of a bar was very interesting.

I love how the backstories were introduced and many of the cases felt very realistic despite the supernatural touch.

Each of the characters were well played and likeness of each character was also well placed. I loved the little family that was beginning to form despite the truth that came in the end. It really felt like destiny played a huge part in their lives.

The moral of the drama was well utilised. That for family/love, we even sacrifice itself and that if it is true, no matter what, we will never regret it. It was very wholesome to see the main characters sacrifice for the sake of loved ones though the whole thing began on a misunderstanding and a very obvious villain.

However, there were a few points that got me a little dissatisfied.

Even though, the story had tied up all its knots well, answering all questions, there was no proper epilogue, showing a happily every after. So the emotion there got cut-short. I would have loved to see the true happiness of Kang Bae with his new found family and girl friend.

Along with that a few of the moments, especially towards the end could be explored. Like what exactly happened to the villain, what is the condition of the villains dad, did kang bae's ability disappear, what about cinnabar now that kang bae is normal. It felt a little messy when tying up the ends. Episode 12 was way too rushed towards the end.

Also I was a bit unhappy of how the villain was built. He felt way too powerful except for when it was really needed and he was defeated in a pathetic way, though i wouldn't really be able to judge that as it was not really shown.

Acting & Cast
When it comes to acting and cast, there is two things I notice majorly.

Are the Actors able to do justice to the characters?
And
Are they able to move the Audience?

All the actors were able to do a really good job and have portrayed there characters very well. I liked the leads and disliked the villain - as it should be. The only part where I would give a slight lower rating is there were moments of slightly cringe acting, maybe to give a comedic effect.

As for were they able to move the audience? Of course, I smiled at parts that were adorable like when Kang bae and cinnabar were exploring their first love. And I teared up towards the end because i hated what a grave situation they ended up in due to a misunderstanding they were in.

Over all, this drama was a really good and worth it watch for me. But I would give it a slightly lower score just for those few areas. I might watch it again if in a mood but not till the end.

P. S - my rating for music is low because there wasnt really any music except for the competition and the karaoke. So it doesnt really count.

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Heartwarming mystical dream story

●HOW I CAME TO IT
It was on my PTW for a few weeks and I suddenly netflix recommended it so I gave it a go.

●STORY
Wol ju did a grave sin in her mortal life so as the heavens punishment she is sent to living realm and settle 100000 people grudges. She has been doing this for 500 years, and is only 10 grudges more to go which seems easy but is difficult, as in modern days nobody opens up about the problem. She then hires Han Kang Bae as people start to ramble their problems when coming in contact with him. There is also Guibanjang who keeps an eye on wol ju, the three together try to achieve the quota of grudges.

●PLOT VIEW
The storyline was intriguing and uplifting. Every episode has one case of grudge settlement, which gives a very fast pace to the drama which keeps it away from getting boring and unnecessary plot fillers.
Along with that popup bar owner story gradually keeps unfolding. The climax is fab but somewhat predictable. It is smooth-flowing and consistent. It doesn't have confusing flashbacks throughout the episodes. There are no cliffhanger at end of episode which is why I liked the drama more.
Romance is just a bit in the drama but then it makes a huge impact to the story.

●ACTING/CAST
Everyone acts excellent.
Hwang jung eom as Wol ju was excellent, I had always watched her in dramas where she is crying whit heavy volumes, ouch which hurt ears. But this drama she had mild cries and very humorous and energetic.
Yook Sung Jae as Han kang bae is fun and light. He gave somewhat Goblin vibes. As a living human in between the mystical creatures he surely show great lively, honest and lovely nature. His face does all the work for him.

●MUSIC
BGM is done nicely and sets the mood and soul of the scene. OST were good but the one I like is Dive by Jung jin woo, it has an upbeat music. Other songs were slow which served as good BGM but I cant remember them.

●REWATCH
It is rewatchable having light romance with hilarious and fluff story. Its not depressing.

●APPRECIATION
The amazing and funny cases, which each shows that we should act more cautiously and not hurt others by our actions and words.
The action scenes were well choreographed and the CGIs were excellent.
The awesome food in each episode, it seems so yummy and makes me hungry every-time.

●CRITICISM
The plot seems interesting, but when I started watching, it felt a mix of Hotel Del Luna and Goblin. And Yook sung jae acting is very similar like in goblin, which sometimes made me irritated.

●FAV SCENE
Lat scene of the last episode

●AFTERTHOUGHT
This drama is definitely underrated. The show has comforting story which bring a sense of satisfaction at the end of episode.

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My Soul is CLEANSED with wholesomeness

I'm speechless. This drama came out of nowhere for me - I was literally just browsing through shows and this just so happened to intrigue me with its extravagant title. Little did I know, this one click of a button spiraled down to a 12-hour long session of cleansing my soul and spirit. This charming drama was EVERYTHING I didn't know I needed.

(+) Fantastically executed storyline
(+) Unique 'mystical' theme that references into some shaman cultures in Korea 🎪
(+) Very likable main cast
(+) Great acting
(+) Plot twists done right
(+) Wholesome scenes ❤️❤️
(+) Quirky moments but never over-the-top

REVIEW
Now I can go on forever about the details, but to be honest, this is a drama you want to go in blind. I think part of what is so tasteful about the story is the discovery - like I said, this is a very well thought out story. The mystical theme introduced in the beginning may throw you off and cause some confusion but just trust the plot and you will understand eventually. Once you have a decent understanding of the main premise, there will be specific details the director will leave out until it is revealed at the right moment. These are the qualities of an effective story-telling, which this drama really excels at.

This is probably biased from me being completely whipped by this drama but there is absolutely zero reasons for you to not give this a chance - this is by far one of the most well-crafted stories I have seen in a long while, and that's not an overstatement. Unless you hate watching anything that is not 100% realistic, I'd strongly recommend to just give it a shot. I will say this drama is not perfect though, but the entire mood and wholesome intention of this drama has absolutely captivated me and won me over. And I don't consider myself an easy critic or reviewer either - which should tell you that much more about the potential greatness this drama can bring to you.

Now go on and enter that mystical tent you've always been curious about!

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You are going back and forth on earth and dream world

One of the pretty interesting fantasy dramas I have watched! Every charecter has their different storyline and were also tangled with each other in drama! Every charecter has a realtionship with every charecter in the drama which you'll slowly get to know as you move forward!! And it was not boring as all the episodes made sense . The twists in the story were so stunning that once you get to know the purpose of each character it tells you why exactly the charecter was build that way! Fantasy can sometimes make absolutely no sense but this one did!
The actors did a great job in playing their role pn point ! if you hate a charecter in the series who is doing a evil role he's doing his job perfectly!
Lastly the sweet chemistry between main leads gave the drama a different glow! At first you'll not understand who the main male lead is or is their any but once you get to know you'll feel that it was a perfect match !

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Unique and awesome gender role portrayals

I'll get the cons out of the way as this series wasn't perfect. The last 2 episodes felt rushed and the wrap-up employed a deus ex machina device for the ending; this cheapened the story, imho, which was otherwise great. Part way through, we find out that Wol Jo had a child with the crown prince and this led to her 500 year ordeal now. This didn’t sit well with me as she was hired when Yi Hon was suffering from psychological and physical disturbances caused by his nightmares. This essentially gave her a quasi counsellor role in his life at a time when he was vulnerable, especially since they were meeting in his dream realms, which can leave a potent emotional impact, enough for him to fall head over heels in love with her when he meets her in his own dream psyche for the first time and he becomes besotted with her and is giddy to the point that those near him notices that he was behaving oddly. In this sense, I felt that what Wol Jo did justified the salacious gossip as she had overstepped her professional duties and acted in an unethical way. Because of their power imbalance, it could be construed that she seduced him. However, I did not deduct stars from this for various reasons. One, no matter how vulnerable he might’ve been in the mortal realm, Yi Hon would’ve been lucid enough to choose for himself in the spirit world and he eventually chose a difficult path that gave him a chance to be reunited with her. For me, his free will, which might’ve been compromised in the incarnated life, was re-established here. Two, the pros of this series far outweighs any cons.

There’s a test that sets a standard for female representation in any work of fiction (whether lit, film or series) called the Bechdel test. It has a basic two prong condition of showing two named women talking with each other about something other than a man. Mystic Pop-up bar fulfils this test easily and goes the extra mile with having a female char start the show, who is not being sexually assaulted, molested or abused when she is intro’d. Those extra two are my own personal conditions but overall, all four conditions are fulfilled by male characters in fiction easily and effortlessly majority, if not all, of the time so it’s not unreasonable to expect the same portrayal for female characters. On this alone, mystic pop-up bar earns brownie star points.

The other brownie star points are clocked up by the male tritagonist Han Kang Bae. This dude is a seriously refreshing creation. What appeals to me about his masculinity is that it is quietly confident. On his own, he comes across as a bit nervous, uncertain and easily frightened. When reunited with his soul parents he is given a platform to show his strength as his unshakeable conviction for karmic justice is displayed over and over again. He is not beyond sacrificing his own well being and safety to help others and is a sensitive, considerate, kind and introspective young man, traits not normally demonstrated by or expected in a man however, these traits are the hallmark of a true leader, which Kang Bae, in his own unassuming way, is. But it is when he finds his complementary soul partner that his masculinity really shines.

Yoo Rin is a “thank gawd for this gal!” strong female character. She may be one of the few bodyguard type female character there is which makes her that much more special in film & TV land. She has an overabundance of energy and is the potent animus to Kang Bae’s more subtle anima, the literal yang to his yin. Brownie star points are racked up like a winning slot machine with this char. Yoo Rin makes a change from the usual portrayal of strong women with facial ticks, such as the over exaggerated pursing of the lips and eyes when talking portrayed by “strong” tomboyish woman Bok Joo (Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo) and Ja-Din in Boys over Flowers. Yoo Rin has no medical or neurological condition and is your average human albeit a stronger and tougher woman because of her background in sports and martial arts. Most of all, she is feminine. Like all women, she can take or leave make-up (she leaves it). She can take or leave heels (she occasionally takes it but mostly leaves it for work) and she has long hair. What a multitasker! She is refreshing for the very fact that film and tv execs seem to finally realise that strong women are also (shock, horror, gasp) NORMAL!

And when Ms Normal meets Mr True Man, what we get is a fantastically functionally and healthy dynamic, as only a balanced yin and yang can give. There is a scene where Yoo Rin tries to amp up her tomboyishness to scare off Kang Bae, instead, he is in awe of her potency and vitality. Another scene has Wol Jo trying to speed things along between Kang Bae and Yoo Rin by getting her soul son to open a glued up bottle thereby showing his muscles. It fails spectacularly and Kang Bae thinks nothing of asking for assistance from the woman he admires. And when Yoo Rin opens the bottle top effortlessly, there was no shame or awkwardness on his part, it’s written on his face that he simply thinks she is awesome+. Quite frankly, Kang Bae’s masculinity is true and beautiful for the fact that he is never once threatened by Yoo Rin’s superior strength, vitality or assertiveness. He accepts her, completely. And that’s the true sign of a real leader and a real man. He doesn’t just stop there though. When captured by Won Hyung, Kang Bae doesn’t try to use physical strength to fight. He instead uses the biggest muscle a true man possesses to fight Won Hyung’s baiting—his heart. The maturity and insight he shows by being able to see the greater picture of his soul parents' suffering shows a depth that is rarely portrayed, or expected of, by male characters engaged in a romance story arc. I really like him. And I love his pairing with Yoo Rin. They work so very well together and both made me emotionally invested enough to finish this show despite the unethical glitch in Wol Jo’s story arc that I mention above.

I hope viewers will give this show a try. It’s not perfect but most pioneering shows will have teething problems. I do consider this a bit of a pioneer because of the different perspective of gender roles it was courageous enough to portray so I excused the glitches. And it is nice to see strong women portrayed as normal and feminine. Possibly the only thing I would’ve liked to have seen was Yoo Rin taking on Won Hyung. Because of her character profile, I felt she was the perfect person to fight against the amped up evil spirit. That would’ve made for a better resolution of her grudge, imho, but I can see why the writers needed Won Hyung elsewhere. Still, this definitely doesn’t take away from the well deserved 10 stars.

Oh yeah, and the Gout Lovers were FANTASTIC!!! I nearly died laughing. LOL

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I am sorry, but...

I was not planning on writing a review ever (you will understand why) to be honest with you all, but this kdrama was just... uh.
Firstly I want to apologize but english is not my first language and even tho i can understand text or speech perfectly, my writing is anything but. So please bear with me.
I know that many people have the problem with the last episode but I think I understand what they did here. If you look at it from the view of a normal kdrama watcher, lots of kdramas have 16 episodes, this one has just 12 ep. Usually the main drama is happening somewhere between 10-16, but this k-drama even with lots of deep thoughs and memories was fresh, heartwarming funny and kind on a soul for all of 11 episodes. In the last one (12 ep) happened everything what usually happens in those four next episodes. I do not enjoy the BIG drama they usually tryning to give us it is not my taste but in this kdrama i was okay with it because it lasts so little and thanks to that it remained fresh and light.
I love this kdrama they took something mainstream and added something new, something nice. You will not be bored by it and you will not be in that ugly kind of shock of "What the hell did they do with the plot again." I promise. If you want something pretty with good acting and fun moments, go for this one.

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A punishment given to a woman who commits the ultimate sin. She is to run a bar and help as many people as she can get over their hardships through their dreams. If you're looking for a heartfelt, subtle romance, and found family tropes then this is the one for you! The ending is very happy and leaves you feeling very satisfied with the whole show. I could watch this one over and over with how much I fell in love with all of the characters and their bar.

-- Spoilers Below --

Wol Joo is probably one of my favorite characters out of any kdrama I've watched so far. She's so strong, confident and stubborn, but can come off rude to others. She is very strong in her hatred for all people, this due to her terrible past, which led to her suicide. Now, she has to run a bar and help the very people she hates: Humans. Along the series, you slowly watch her open up and learn that things get better and to truly accept her feelings. You learn that her and Chef Gwi were actually supposed to be together in their past lives and now finally get to be together in their present while still running the bar. The slow burn and realization of their feelings was one of the best parts of the show, but didn't overpower any of the ongoing story already. Her relationship with Han Kang-Bae is so cute and I loved seeing her journey to actually getting to see her child and correct his soul. She took him in without even knowing it and to watch the 3 of them get closer was the best.

Han Kang-Bae has had a "power" or a curse as he would probably say that when he touches someone they have to tell him everything wrong going on in their lives. It's drained him from all of these years and he avoids any physical touch with anyone due to it becoming a huge problem. He finds it hard to build relationships and only really has a few friends from work. He lives a mundane life and eventually comes across the pop-up bar. You watch him slowly come to terms with his power and learn how it can actually be used for the better and can also help the bar as well. He also becomes super close with Wol Joo and Chef Gwi, learning that she is his mom, the ending becomes super perfect when he realizes her sacrifies were not in vain and they can continue to live happily together and continue to help people. He eventually also finds love with a security guard he meets on one of the calls for the bar and then eventually while she starts working at the store. She is immune to his touch powers which makes it easy for him to actually open up and be around her genuinely without the trauma dumping.

I do wish there was more of the storylines with Chef Gwi's backstory (even though his is technically tied with Wool Joo's) and definitely more with Kang Yeo-Rin. Both of their characters were so likable and played such great supporting actors that it left me wanting more from them! Especially after the romance between Yeo-Rin and Kang-Bae sparks up. I loved them together so much and same for Chef Gwi and Wool Joo. All relationships in the show are so close and sweet that it made it an even better watch. The chemistry between all of them was incredible.

Will definitely be re-watching this one and it quickly became a favorite of mine.

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"Won't you have a drink with us?"

I had seen this drama pop up in my recommendations for a while, but I never wanted to check it out because the trailer put me off. I decided to check it out because of it's high ratings and praise, and I do not regret watching it one bit. It gives off Hotel Del Luna vibes due to the FL's, but I preferred this a lot more. Since there's only 12 episodes, the story didn't drag and the ending felt complete (for the most part).

This was a refreshing drama which puts life into perspective. Although people may seem put together on the outside, many are dealing with struggles inside. Each episode felt like a new rollercoaster as it focused on a new grudge but I found it to be very lighthearted and heartwarming. I immediately knew I was going to love this drama just after watching the first episode.

I really loved the trio consisting of the badass and charismatic Weolju, the calm and dependent Guibanjang, and the clumsy and sweet Kangbae. This was my drama with Hwang Jung Eum and I don't think any other person can portray Weolju than her. I have been a fan of Choi Won Young since I've seen him in many dramas, and I LOVED the SKY Castle reference!!!! And a special mention to Jung Daeun. I think she executed Kang Yeorin's character perfectly, and she gained herself a new fan! I hope to see her in more roles in the future :)

Overall, this drama provided a lot of comedic relief while also having a nice message throughout each episode. Each episode left me feeling warm and fuzzy and it reminded me how valuable life is. "No matter what's making you suffer now, things will settle and pass eventually. Hang in there until then, and you'll find yourself stronger."

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Even though this show has a decent rating (8.6 at the moment), I still feel like it is underrated/underhyped by a lot of people. Even though there is romance in it I really wouldn't describe this as a romantic K-Drama or at least not a typical one. Other aspects of the show were focused on more than romantic relationships though it was the romantic feelings that weaved these characters together.

This show did a really good job at viewing people in a very realistic way. No characters besides the main bad guy were painted as overly good or overly evil. Everyone had their regrets, their sins. Even the most kind and gentle looking characters had some "dirty secrets" in their past. It showed this balance of good and bad we all have in us and no one is perfect but you can make up for your mistakes by growing into a better person in the future. I also feel like we got to see a very wide range of characters/stereotypes throughout this show so it kept each episode fresh and worth watching. There really was no episode where I was bored, all of them were decent at minimum which is saying a lot for a K-drama.

I've seen a few people complain that in the beginning they kind of showed us these details from the past but then didn't mention them for a bit but I think they way the past and future unraveled together was quite good in this show compared to others that have a lot of flashbacks. I really like how they tied things up quickly and revealed some big shockers in the last three episodes instead of doing the "lets drag this out to 16 episodes and put in a bunch of unnecessary scenes". The last three episodes were really great and I was happy this drama didn't go into a lot of the typical clichés we see in dramas nowadays.

If you are expecting a romance K-drama, this definitely isn't for you. This drama is more about relationships in general and most importantly the relationship we have with ourselves. In one episode you get to explore the relationship between a parent and child and in the next you get to go into the relationship between friends or between lovers or coworkers. Even though this show followed a definite outline for each episode, it never got boring. In one episode you would find yourself laughing and in the next, or even the same one, crying.

I wouldn't call this some Oscar worthy show or anything over the top but it was quite good. Even though it has this very spiritual/mystical atmosphere about it, it really shows this very realistic portrayal of what many people go through in their lives. Its a simple but fun show.

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