TV: Oh My Ghost

I started watching another Korean drama, and this one is about ghosts and restaurants. It stars Park Bo-young, who is fast becoming one of my favourite actresses, as a painfully shy girl working at a restaurant who is suddenly possessed by the boisterous, over the top ghost of a recently deceased girl who can't move on from her life.

Park Bo-young plays her role(s) with a perfect blend of coy charm, argumentativeness, and tenderness. She carries the show, and does a great job of encapsulating both characters who reside in the same body. I was a little put off at first by certain elements of the show's plot and focus concerning possession and the use of possessed bodies, but it quickly shook off those elements and dove into a densely-woven plot concerning ghostly hardships, jaunty chase sequences, and sweet moments of back story - that familiar blend of goofiness, drama, and heart that seems to flow through countless k-dramas like the scent of a freshly cooked meal.

I think the background and setting of Oh My Ghost lends a particular richness to its story that is super compelling. Food is a central theme, naturally, and is intertwined thickly with the emotions and narrative of the characters. Food connects and divides them. Food and drink are used to illustrate relationships, events, memories, and the overall universe. The title sequence even uses food and steam to introduce itself. All of this gives it a visceral homeliness for me, and connects the story and characters in this direct sensory way to me and my own relationship with food.

And you bet it makes me hungry.