Midnight Photo Studio ~ A 2024 Viki Original K-Drama Series

“Midnight Photo Studio” (aka “The Midnight Studio”) is a 2024 Viki Original Korean drama series categorized as Thriller, Suspense, Romance, Comedy, and Supernatural or Fantasy.

♦ I Shoot Dead People!

In “Midnight Photo Studio”, Seo Ki-Joo is a talented and passionate photographer who runs a unique photo studio. Unique? That’s a good word. For sure it can be described as one-of-a-kind. He only takes photographs of deceased people. Uuuhh … OK! Care to explain WHY? (O.o)

• To put it in Seo Ki-Joo’s words: “ … humans leave behind photos as evidence of their life … Out of the countless memories in life, there’s one we can’t photograph … It’s the memory of the last breath.”

The Midnight Photo Studio is located between the worlds of the living and the dead. Seo Ki-Joo is assisted by Go Sung-Ho and Baek Nam-Koo. But whereas Seo Ki-Joo is alive, i.e. still in the world of the living; Go Sung-Ho and Baek Nam-Koo are not.

When the deceased person ~ called a “visitor” ~ enters the studio, Seo Ki-Joo will ask them one question: “What’s the last memory you want to keep from your life?” Then he takes a photo of that memory for them. It’s supposed to be a memory the person wants to keep from their life.

In Episode 1, when Visitor Park Sung-Joon who died after a lengthy illness, entered the studio, he replied: “Please free my wife.”

Seo Ki-Joo, Go Sung-Ho and Baek Nam-Koo had never heard this answer before. The deceased person did not want a photo. Instead, he wanted them to help a living person. Park Sung-Joon’s wife had been arrested of his murder.

WHAT? They’re not lawyers or police officers. They’re supposed to take a photograph, not investigate a crime! But since it was what the visitor had asked for, the trio decided to try to help.

♦ A Lawyer Who Can’t Get a Job

Han Bom is a former prosecutor. She has been blacklisted and is finding it difficult to get hired as an attorney. On the day of a job interview, she saw a report that a woman had been arrested for the murder of her paralyzed husband.

Han Bom believed the woman was innocent. So she decided not to attend the interview and take Park Sung-Joon’s wife’s case. She forfeited a paid employment opportunity to take a case PRO BONO.

Seo Ki-Joo showed up at the police station pretending to be a lawyer for the accused. At the station, he crossed paths with Han Bom, the real lawyer representing the accused.

Seo Ki-Joo did not have malicious intent. He only wanted to convey a message from the visitor to his wife. Seo Ki-Joo delivered the words of her husband.  Then he asked Han Bom if she would use her legal skills to get the woman released so she could see her husband one last time.

That was the first time Han Bom crossed paths with Seo Ki-Joo. But it would not be her last.

Main Characters:

• Seo Ki-Joo (played by Joo Won, “Stealer: The Treasure Keeper”, “Alice”, “My Sassy Girl”)
• Han Bom (played by Kwon Na-Ra, “Royal Secret Agent”, “Doctor Prisoner”)
• Go Sung-Ho (played by Yoo In-Soo, “Strong Girl Bong-Soon”, “Alchemy of Souls”, “The Uncanny Counter 2”, “The Good Bad Mother”)
• Baek Nam-Koo (played by Eum Moon-Suk, “Duty After School”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 8.4 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 8 out of 10 stars
• Dramabeans: 8.3 out of 10 stars
• Viki viewers rated this series 9.7 out of 10 stars

My personal rating is 8 out of 10 stars.

What’s the last memory you want to keep from your life?”

What a curious question. It’s not a question I ever thought about it. I believe in the afterlife. But since I have not died I don’t KNOW this, but I always BELIEVED that we took ALL of our memories with us into the next life.

But the idea of “the last memory” makes for an interesting storyiine. It’s the same question asked over and over. However, every individual will no doubt give a different answer.

(NOTE: If you’re curious about Pollock Roe Soybean Stew, click here for the recipe.)

LINKS OF INTEREST:

• K-drama The Midnight Studio: Joo Won, Kwon Nara star in supernatural romantic comedy about a photographer and a lawyer who help the dead | South China Morning Post
• Joo Won Plays an Extraordinary Photographer in “Midnight Photo Studio” | MyDramaList
  
• Midnight Photo Studio – Weekend Watchlist: From ‘HanuMan’ To ‘Damsel’, 6 Addictive Dramas To Watch On OTT | The Economic Times (“Midnight Photo Studio” is No. 7 on this list)

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

Zone, Kdrama. “The Midnight Studio (2024) Official Trailer | Joo Won, Kwon Na Ra, Yoo in Soo.” YouTube Video. YouTube, March 2, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq7pnZ_RmKI.