Light Shop Kdrama: Who are Alive/Dead by the End of the Disney+ Series?

Disney+ recently finished airing its mystery-thriller Light Shop Kdrama series on its platform and it exceeded almost all expectations, especially because it turned out to be more of a tearjerker than a horrifying ordeal! The series is a blend of different genres, painting a vivid picture of people who have either passed on or are in between life and death and showcases what they might be going through in such a surreal time. In the midst of this emotional showcase is a light shop and its mysterious owner, Won-young, whose own experiences and circumstances will leave viewers on the edge of their seats throughout the 8-episode runtime.

Here, we discuss which characters died and who are alive by the end of the series since it takes place in the aftermath of a horrifying bus accident, that pushes a bunch of people to a place beyond time and space.

Light Shop Kdrama: Who Are Alive? Who Have Passed On?

The bus accident victims are – Kim Hyun-min, Jung Yoo-hee, Yoon Sun-hae, Joo Hyun-ju, Park Hye-won, Heo Ji-woong, Sung-sik and Oh Seung-won. The other characters include Kwon Young-ji and Lee Ji-young.

Kwon Young-ji

Status: Alive

Young-ji is a young nurse who is in charge of taking care of the accident victims in the hospital. She is empathetic and caring, especially because she herself has had a similar experience as her patients. A few years ago, she was in an accident, and it is implied that she went through a similar experience as everyone else. She visited the light shop and met with Won-young before coming out of her coma. Fortunately (or unfortunately) she is able to remember her time in that alley and her conversation with Won-young and uses it to help guide her patients out of their comas by luring them to Won-young’s shop. However, this also means that she is able to see and interact with ghosts around her.

Joo Hyun-ju

Status: Alive

Young schoolgirl Hyun-ju was travelling with her mother in the bus when they got into an accident. She goes into a coma and is transported to the dark alley where she becomes familiar with Won-young and builds a friendly relationship with him. She is tasked by her mother to get lightbulbs for her but eventually grows weary of leaving the house because of the people she meets along the way. Hyun-ju is innocent and soft-hearted and does not understand that she is stuck in limbo. Unfortunately, as time draws to a close, Seung-won tells her the truth about where she is and why. Her mother brings her her light and after having an emotional goodbye, she comes out of her.

However, she is able to remember her time in the alley and keeps her mother’s memories close to her heart. That also means that she can now see ghosts around her and interact with them.

Also Read: Light Shop Review

Heo Ji-woong

Status: Alive

Ji-woong has been walking around the alley trying to find a way to get out and is shown to be extremely scared walking in the dark. He is young and at first doesn’t remember what is happening, although he desperately wants to get out. He is shown to be walking around with a broken leg because he presumably broke his leg in the bus accident. In the end, Seung-won helps carry him to the light shop after he constantly gets lost and wakes up with no memories of his ordeal.

Sung-sik

Status: Alive?

Sung-sik is a detective who gets into an accident while trying to find the culprit who murdered a bunch of people. Although later on it turns out that the case wasn’t murder, he goes into a coma and meets Won-young while following the sounds of a scooter. It turns out that the guy he was following, Sang-hoon, was a ghost who helped people pass on to the afterlife and was desperately trying to get him out of the coma with the help of the scooter. In the end, Sung-sik takes on Sang-hoon’s role and starts to help ghosts pass on to the afterlife.

Jung Yoo-hee

Status: Dead

Yoo-hee died while protecting her daughter and throughout the episodes is unable to communicate with her daughter. As time runs out, she desperately tries to make her daughter find her light by sending her to the light shop but since Hyun-ju is not ready to leave her mother, she makes a last-ditch effort to rush to the shop herself to try and find her light. There, she meets Won-young and realises that he is his father, who saved her during the earthquake by bringing her light to her in exchange of becoming the owner of the light shop. In the end, we see her and Won-young spending the rest of their days together at the shop, happily chatting with their new dog.

Yoon Sun-hae & Park Hye-won

Status: Dead

Throughout the runtime of the Light Shop Kdrama, Sun-hae is shown to be trying to find a home to stay. She is in a relationship with Hye-won, who is uncomfortable with letting anyone know the truth about them. Sun-hae is shown to be frustrated with Hye-won trying to keep them a secret and breaks up with her, eventually getting into an accident in which Hye-won sacrifices herself to save her partner. At first she is unable to comprehend what has happened to her, with Hye-won constantly trying to get her out of the house and find the shop. However, she realises where they are towards the end and after a tearful goodbye, she goes to the shop to find her light. Eventually, she chooses to die and stay with Hye-won and spend the rest of eternity happy together.

Oh Seung-won

Status: Dead

Seung-won is the bus driver who ends up ignoring the faulty break on the bus and decides to complete his route instead of getting it checked out, resulting in a devastating crash. He is filled with regret at his choice and spends the rest of the time he is alive trying to find everyone who is alive wandering around the alley and taking them to the shop. He is empathetic and kind and apologises to everyone he comes in contact with for his one wrong choice that resulting in such devastating consequences for everyone.

Kim Hyun-min & Lee Ji-young

Status: Alive & Dead resp

Hyun-min and Ji-young are a young couple in a relationship and before the crash, it is shown that Hyun-min was on the verge of proposing to Ji-young. Although his parents disapproved of their relationship due to Ji-young’s disabilities, it is shown that he doted on his girlfriend and was enamoured with him and vice versa. Ji-young witnesses the crash and rushes to the spot, being overcome by emotion and losing her will to live. When she enquires about Hyun-min later on, his vindictive mother lies and tells her that he has died and Ji-young decides to take her own life so that they can be together in the afterlife.

Unfortunately, once in the alley, she comes to find Hyun-min and realises that he doesn’t remember her and neither does he have the will to live. He constantly collapses on the ground and Ji-young takes it upon herself to save him and keeps him alive with everything that she has. She even starts talking to make him remember her. In the end, with time running out and her funeral fast approaching, Ji-young tells Hyun-min their story and what happened to him and forces him to go to the shop and find the light, so much so that even Won-young notices that Hyun-min is not following his own will.

Once alive, unfortunately, Hyun-min is unable to live a normal life and still does not remember Ji-young. She is overcome with anger and becomes a troubled spirit as, after everything that she has done for him, he still doesn’t remember her or their relationship. Ji-young thus haunts him, refusing to leave him alone.

Also: Throughout the show, Ji-young asks why the others remember each other but Hyun-min doesn’t. I think it’s because she took her own life which severed her ties with her loved ones, a concept that we have seen in many other Korean dramas over the years. If she had died naturally, she probably would have been able to reunite with Hyun-min, just like Sun-hae and Hye-won. But since she chose to kill herself, her ties with everyone she loved was severed and she was forced to walk eternity alone.

What are your thoughts on the concepts shown in Light Shop Kdrama? Let us know in the comments below!

Also Read: Light Shop Ending Explained: Who is Won-young? What Happens to the Passengers on the Bus?