The Guest ~ Need an Exorcist, Psychic, or Detective?

“The Guest” is a 2018 Korean drama series, 16 episodes, categorized as Thriller, Suspense, Crime, Mystery, Fantasy, Supernatural, and Horror; streaming free on The Roku Channel and Tubi TV.

SUMMARY: Can exorcists, shamans (psychic), and detectives work together to stop crime caused by supernatural forces? Sometimes the evil spirit is so powerful, they have to join hands. It’s not optional.

♦ Uninvited, Unwelcome, and Doesn’t Want to Leave!

“The Guest” has a name. It’s Park Il-Do, an evil spirit that emerged from the sea, who was neither invited nor welcomed. Yoon Hwa-Pyung is from a shaman family, and he could see spirits when he was a child. He frightened the rest of the villagers, so his mother told him not to let others know if he sees a spirit and only tell her. One night, during a ceremony being performed by a shaman, he witnessed a man who was possessed gouge out his right eye. Then the spirit possessed him, and he could no longer see out of his right eye.

Two priests were called to perform an exorcism. However, during the attempted exorcism, the spirit jumped from the boy into one of the priests. The head shaman said the evil spirit had taken control of Yoon Hwa-Pyung, and he needed to be killed, otherwise he would destroy the entire village. Yoon Hwa-Pyung’s father tried to kill him, so he had to run for his life. Although he didn’t know where to run, he somehow ended up in front of the home of the young priest who had been possessed. Yoon Hwa-Pyung was standing outside, and he was terrified. Not only had he just escaped death, but he sensed something horrible was happening in that house.

That night, a policewoman was driving by and noticed him standing still. Since he was a young child, she stopped to see if she could help him. She had her son with her and told him to stay in the car while she got out to investigate. She slowly approached Yoon Hwa-Pyung and asked if he was OK. He just pointed at the house.

That priest was inside, brutally murdering his family. He was about to kill his little brother, but the murder was interrupted by the policewoman.  Fortunately, she had called the police for back-up. The brother of the priest escaped. Unfortunately, the policewoman died, saving his life. The police did not capture the priest.

♦ An Unconventional Crime-Solving Team

After that incident in his childhood when he had been possessed, Yoon Hwa-Pyung developed psychic abilities. Once he grew up, he made it his mission to find that murderous priest because horrible crimes were still occurring. He also used his psychic ability to prevent or solve crimes he knew were committed by Park Il-Do, the greater evil spirit (or by one of the lesser spirits that the demon controlled). Yoon Hwa-Pyung often ended up at a crime scene before the police because he “saw” it. He crossed paths with a detective named Kang Kil-Young, because he was at a crime scene investigating on his own.

It wasn’t easy, but he convinced Kang Kil-Young to work with him, hoping to prevent crime before it happened or solve crimes that were committed by supernatural forces. Even though she was an unbeliever, he also convinced her to work with a priest named Choi Yoon. He was the little brother who had escaped death that night.

Yoon Hwa-Pyung (a psychic/shaman), Choi Yoon (a priest), and Kang Kil-Young (a detective): the trio made for an unconventional team, but together they successfully prevented or solved a variety of crimes and exorcised evil spirits from humans they had possessed.

Main Characters:

• Yoon Hwa-Pyung (played by Kim Dong-Wook, “Along With the Gods 1 and 2”, “Seoul Busters”, “My Perfect Stranger”)
• Choi Yoon (played by Kim Jae-Wook, “Crazy Love”)
• Kang Kil-Young (played by Jung Eun-Chae, “Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born”, “Your Honor”, “Anna”, “L.U.C.A.: The Beginning”, “The King: Eternal Monarch”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 8 of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 8.7 out of 10 stars
• Dramabeans: 9.6 out of 10 stars
• Letterboxd: 3.9 out of 5 stars
• Google users shared a public rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars

My personal rating is the same as Letterboxd.

Interesting “spin”. No green vomit. When the demon is exorcised, the possessed person vomits out salt water. After all, the evil spirit is from the sea. Sure makes clean-up a whole lot easier. LOL.

Similar Korean Dramas:

• Island – A demon slayer, a Catholic priest, and a lady with special powers fight against evil lust demons who possess humans with wicked desires.
• Svaha: The Sixth Finger – A pastor and a monk track down a suspicious religious cult leader, a man who has six fingers.
• The Divine Fury  – A priest tells a man that he is suffering from stigmata. It’s not an “illness”; it’s a divine SIGN.  But why him?

LINKS OF INTEREST:

K-Drama Review: The Guest |The Kraze

The Guest: Kdrama Review | wynnesworld

K-Drama Review: “The Guest” Leaves Lingering Lessons About Hope, Sacrifice and Triumph Against Evil | kdramadiary

K-Drama Premiere: “The Guest” Invitingly Scares With Its Well-Sketched Paranormal Setting | Hello KPop

TRAILER/TEASER:

CJ ENM Global. “The Guest.” YouTube, 5 Jan. 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV-yVW2KOD0.

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