This is a little different from the others we've watched. Not as intense with life and death situations, but is instead a romantic dramedy that is actually ALL about life and death. This is going to be a little long, but it helps to initially understand a little about what is going on.
We meet a woman (Man-wol) that been the owner of the "Guest House of the Moon" for 1000 years since the deity Mago gave her that job. Mago created the guest house as a place where people who had died could spend some time getting used to the idea. This also gives them time to let go of their grudges and resentments before going on to the afterlife. So this is a hotel for ghosts.
But Man-wol, while not dead, is still over a thousand years old, as her life has sort of been suspended. She, too, has some really big grudges and things to atone for, but the details are only revealed very slowly over the 16 episodes.
The hotel does exist in the real world, but it only appears as a small old building that most people pass by and never take notice of. And sort of like Doctor Who's Tardis, it is bigger on the inside than the outside.
Some ghosts end up staying at the hotel and become the staff. There are 3 main staff characters, and it also takes some time before we find out why they are stuck there and have not moved on. It also turns out that if you have been a ghost for a long time (or you become a vengeful ghost), you can be seen and interact with "the world".
But despite this, the hotel needs a living human manager with proper ID and such to deal with licenses, taxes, and real-world matters. And so we meet Chan-sung, who reluctantly becomes the hotel's latest living manager and, of course, the love interest for Man-wol.
Over the centuries, Man-wol has figured out how her hotel can make real-world money ... and she spends it all on herself. The show's budget for outfits must have been insane.
About the mythology ...
After decompressing in the hotel, the Grim Reaper (who is a chauffeur) takes you to the afterlife in a limo, driving through a tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, you walk across a river (on a bridge instead of a boat), and with every step, you forget more and more of your life. The limo has a plate that says "To Heaven", but the concept of reincarnation is also present, and so forgetting your past life prepares you for the next, if that is to be your fate.
We meet some people from Man-wol's life 1000 years ago, reincarnated today. (And conveniently for us they are played by the same actors). They do not remember their relationship with Man-wol, but she recognizes them immediately. (Remember those grudges she is holding onto that keep her tied to this world?)
We also meet a group of sister deities -- all named Mago. There may be a dozen, but we only meet about 6 of them. They each have a specific concern:
- wealth - to those she chooses,
- poverty - that can ruin a business,
- connections - bringing people together,
- fate - gives flowers to those fated for a pleasant river crossing
- magical medicines,
- and an executioner for vengeful ghosts (no walk across that bridge for them)
All delightfully played by the same actor.
So there are several questions to be answered during the series.
- What exactly did Man-wol do to make her the owner of the hotel for all these years?
- Will she ever get to cross the river, or will she turn vengeful and strike out at those reincarnated souls?
- And what about her relationship with Chan-sung? Is he destined to lose her no matter what her fate is to be? Will he return to a normal life when the deities decide his part in this is over?
