Oh My Ghostess Review

Oh My Ghostess (2015) 

I will start off by pointing out that this drama had me on my nerves from episode 1 to episode 12 and this is a 16-episode drama; can you believe that?. But it wasn’t in a bad way, I am just keen on dramas with happy ending and I was curious at how the whole real-love relationship would end up. I mean, you would want someone to love you for you and who you really are, and not by the ghost inside of you right?   

Oh My Ghostess is a drama about a timid girl, Na Bong Sun (Park Bo Young) who works at a restaurant as an assistant chef and becomes possessed by a virgin ghost named Shin Soon Ae (Kim Seul Gi) who is in the search for some steamy action before going to heaven. But when those around her, especially her boss star chef Kang Sun Woo (Cho Jung Seok), notice her sudden change in personality, irreversible bonds will be made, and shocking links will surface. 

Considering the short amount of episodes and the complexity the main conflict could have provided, the story line was well paced and put together. It didn’t feel slow nor rushed and every knot was loosen up. In addition to the main conflict, the writer, Yang Hee Seung, provided side conflicts that, in reality, contributed to the backstory of the characters. This is one of those dramas that screams “it’s a small world” in your face. [SPOILER: One thing I found odd at the end was the way they all ended up working in different places. Was there a need or a reason for it? I could understand Kang Sun Woo’s decision of opening a new smaller place so that the Sous chef could be the main chef, but did she have to work at a different place? I would have liked it if he had helped her get her own restaurant. Otherwise, what was the point of going abroad to study the culinary arts to later come back home and work at the corner restaurant? That she wanted to help Soon Ae’s father? I get it, but she could have done so still. I guess I am just not satisfied with that matter] Obviously the story was well accompanied by great acting.

Park Bo Young’s performance of having to act with two completely different personalities was stunning. Her double personality felt genuine and real to the core. Just as with Cho Jung Seok reaction in the receiving end. I mean, it felt like I would have reacted the same way he did to the entire situation, so I think the Writer and Jung Seok did great with portraying that. Now, I want to state the obvious here: Lim Ju Hwan is a great actor, specially with two-face roles. He played Choi Sung Jae, the perfect husband with an unfortunate story. Beside the main characters, I enjoyed the interactions between the guys at the restaurant, specifically Seo Joon (Kwak Si Yang)’s with Bong Sun; it felt like a brother-sister relation and his cool demeanor was refreshing in that mass of weirdness.

Speaking of weird, the special effects weren’t weird at all; they were pretty good. I think at this point I should stop being surprised by the quality of Korean cinematic and media production. The effect of Soon Ae entering and leaving the body seemed natural, and the makeup effects of the evil spirits was terrifying in a good way. I will point out that the restaurant set up was nice -I would even like to visit the place- but for Kang Sun Woo being a star chef, it felt weird that he lived in such a small space above the restaurant. Is not the part that he lived above the restaurant that bothers me but the fact that the space was so small. I also liked the terrace above the restaurant but again, something felt off.

The drama concluded, to my delight, with a good happy ending. I am not sure if some details were rushed at the end [SPOILERS: like the fact that he found out late in the episodes that she was the author of his favorite blog, and Soon Ae’s brother finally getting off his butt and help his dad with getting a job] but these weren’t very significant things that bothers the plot.

My rating for this drama is: ♥♥♥