Who else is gonna save these souls?
Mystic Pop-Up Bar (쌍갑포차) is a 2020 South Korean television series starring Hwang Jung-eum, Yook Sung-jae and Choi Won-young, based on the Daum webtoon Twin Tops Bar by Bae Hye-soo. The show revolves around Weol-ju, a spirit who must help 100,000 people before her term of 500 years runs out. She does this by running a magical pop-up bar, using magic to enter the dreams of troubled customers. When Weol-ju's bosses become impatient with how slowly she's progressing, they tell her that she has a month to help the final ten people, or she'll perish in hell for eternity. At the same time, she comes across an unassuming employee at the local supermarket, with an unusual ability. Together, they may be able to solve each other's problems.
If Weol-ju's temper doesn't scare him away first.
Mystic Pop Up Bar contains examples of:
- Action Girl: Yeo-rin. Weol-ju is also a decent fighter, with some Super-Strength for good measure.
- And the Adventure Continues: Weol-ju and Gwi eventually choose to go back to Earth and continue helping people as spirits instead of reincarnating. The final scene of the series shows Kang-bae reuniting with them at the pop-up bar.
- Asshole Victim: Frequently the problem of the week is being caused by someone being awful, ad this gets resolved by Weol-ju gleefully doling out punishment.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Weol-ju and Chief Gwi are often bickering and fighting with each other, but they are also often the first ones to jump in and protect each other. Taken up to eleven of course when it is revealed that Chief Gwi is actually the afterlife spirit of Prince Yi Hon, who has given up his own security in the afterlife to reunite with Weol-ju and help her find peace.
- Been There, Shaped History: Weol-ju is responsible for the happy endings of some well-known Korean
folktales, as well as for helping General MacArthur come up with the idea of landing at Inchon. - Berserk Button: Weol-ju is pretty hot-tempered in general, but she really, really hates people spreading lies and gossip to harm others - since her own downfall began with ungrateful villagers spreading rumors about her relationship with Yi Hon.
- Big Bad: Kim Won-hyung, who was responsible for Weol-ju being Driven to Suicide in the first place and is still around causing trouble as an evil spirit.
- Break the Cutie:
- Young Weol-ju was a rather sweet and innocent girl who loved helping others, before a series of disasters turned her into the bitter, jaded woman she is at present.
- Literally in the case of the Cinnabar, the spirit of a sacred rock who fell for the wrong guy and ended up being shattered as a result.
- Brought Down to Normal: Kang-bae, eventually - like he wanted in the first place.
- Celestial Bureaucracy: What we see of the afterlife is very much like that. They even moved from handwritten to digitalized records a few years ago (courtesy of Steve Jobs).
- Cosmic Deadline: If Weol-Ju’s doesn’t help 100,000 souls to solve their grudges within 500 years, she’ll go to hell. At the beginning of the series, she has a month left.
- Demonic Possession: Won-hyung does this a few times, most notably to his father, Yeom.
- Deus ex Machina: Wasn’t Gwi supposed to go to hell? And wasn't Weol-ju lost forever in the darkness under the spiral stairs? Well, everybody in Heaven likes them, so never mind that!
- Does Not Like Men: The Cinnabar, following Won-hyung’s betrayal, is generally suspicious of men. Weol-ju helps her to get over it.
- Don't Fear the Reaper: Grim Reaper Yeom is a rather friendly figure, who is obviously just doing his job to the best of his ability.
- Dream Walker: Weol-ju’s main power, carrying over from her days as a shaman.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: Yeo-rin wears her ponytail differently depending on what she's doing. When she's working, she ties it high at the back of her head. When she's out in every day, she ties it lower, and when she's at home she ties it at the base of her skull.
- Freudian Excuse: Won-hyung blames his father not giving him enough attention while he was growing up for how he'd turned out. Given the extent of his crimes and his general maliciousness, this excuse seems a tad flimsy.
- Friendless Background: Kang-bae, due to his powers making normal human connection pretty much impossible. He does seem to be on reasonably friendly terms with some of his coworkers.
- Girl's Night Out Episode: A late episode revolves around Weol-ju and Samsin taking the Cinnabar on a girl’s night out to get over a literal bad breakup.
- God of the Dead: Yeomra, Queen of the Underworld, unusually depicted here as a woman instead of a man.
- Hates Being Touched: Both Kang-bae and Yeo-rin, for different reasons.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Kang-bae agrees to work part time at the pop-up bar at the condition that once she fills her quota, Weol-ju will take away his spiritual vision and let him live a normal life.
- I See Dead People: Weol-ju and Gwi, who are spiritual beings themselves, can see ghosts. Kang-bae is warned that his dealings with them may cause him to develop this extra unwanted ability. It eventually does.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Gwi/Yi Hon has every intention of assisting Weol-ju fulfill her mission and reincarnate into a new life without ever revealing his true identity to her. He doesn't mind not getting her back as long as she gets her second chance.
- The Little Shop That Wasn't There Yesterday: The pop-up bar works like this sometimes. Being a pop-up tent, it's less conspicuous than usual.
- Living Lie Detector: A variation with Kang-bae. When people touch his skin they immediately start to divulge all their secrets, meaning that pretending to be fine around him is often a useless endeavor.
- Luke, You Are My Father: Kang-bae is the reincarnated soul of Weol-ju’s and Yi Hon/Gwi’s unborn child.
- Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Yeo-rin is a tough bodyguard with extensive martial arts skills, while Kang-bae is a sensitive, empathetic Non-Action Guy. This also works on a spiritual level, since she turns out to have an excess of masculine Yang energy (stemming from the Cinnabar) while he has feminine Yin.
- Mistaken for Spies: A variation. The pop-up bar team somehow manage to convince Yeo-rin they work for the CIA.
- No Guy Wants an Amazon: Yeo-rin thinks this is what caused her bad experiences with men, although the real reason turns out to be The Cinnabar’s power actively repelling potential suitors due to her past life trauma. Kang-bae certainly doesn’t mind.
- No-Sell: Yeo-rin being completely immune to Kang-bae’s power is the first hint there is something unusual about her.
- Parental Abandonment: Kang-bae is an orphan.
- Power Incontinence: Kang-bae suffers from this for his entire life, but it gets worse near the end of the series – instead of being triggered by touch, even looking at people makes them spill all their secrets to him.
- Power Nullifier: Yeo-rin, unwittingly. Death's powers don't work near her, she is immune to Kang-bae's touch and can go toe-to-toe with powerful evil spirits even though she is supposedly a normal human. This is due to her status as the reincarnated Cinnabar.
- Red Is Heroic: The Cinnabar. The pop-up bar tent is also red.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Prince Yi Hon, AKA Gwi.
- Suicide is Shameful: Weol-ju hanging herself from the Sacred Tree defiled it and brought ruin upon the kingdom, an act she is still trying to atone for.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Gwi can briefly turn into other people.
- We Help the Helpless: What Weol-ju and co. do, with problems ranging from workplace sexual harassment to institutional nepotism to various personal issues.
- When She Smiles: Yeo-rin's usual expression is flat and serious, to go along with her dour personality. But when she does feel genuinely happy and smiles, it's clear that she's very beautiful.
