Midnight Photo Studio (2024) K Drama Episode 1-2

The show kicks off by introducing us to the titular Midnight Studio, a place between life and death where ghosts can be photographed and carry with them the final memory of their choice. Centuries ago, a desperate father whose son was dying stole a magical camera that was said to restore the dead to life. The grim reaper he stole it from ultimately granted his son’s life — at a cost. The man and his descendants were tasked with manning the Midnight Studio to help ghosts move on to the afterlife and cursed to die mysteriously at the young age of 35.

Our current-day hero, SEO KI-JOO (Joo-won), is the seventh to take up the ghost photographer’s mantle. At 34 years old, he’s nearing the end of his run (and thus his life), and his only friends are his two ghost assistants. Bubbly GO SUNG-HO (Yoo In-soo) has a long bucket list that includes finding his first love (whom he met online while he was alive), and he can possess living people for ten minutes at a time (this comes in handy when Ki-joo needs help interacting with other humans). BAEK NAM-GU (Eum Moon-seok), on the other hand, is mysterious and reserved, but skilled at fighting off sinister spirits.

The story proper begins when Ki-joo fails to grant one ghost’s wish (she wanted a wedding photo and kiss from Ki-joo, but he chickens out because of the gruesome wounds across her face). Enraged, she turns into a vengeful spirit and sets the place on fire, getting him evicted. Luckily for Ki-joo, an elderly woman named SO GEUM-SOON (Kim Young-ok) is in the market for a new tenant. The place is at the top of a hill, but it’s got a rooftop room plus the studio space at an affordable price, so Ki-joo moves in and sets up shop.

The arrangement is not so lucky for the rooftop room’s former tenant, HAN BOM (Kwon Nara). She’s Geum-soon’s granddaughter, but after three months of missed rent due to unemployment, Grandma kicks her to the curb. Bom used to work under a prosecutor, but hasn’t had much luck bouncing back after a vaguely mentioned incident resulted in her termination. Still, she has a few connections remaining in the legal field, and gets called in to help investigate the case of a young woman who appears to have murdered her paralyzed husband.

Circumstantial evidence adds up, and the woman readily confesses to the crime, explaining that she was exhausted and just wanted it all to end, but Bom can tell there’s more to the story. Sure enough, the dead husband visits Ki-joo’s studio and tells his side of the tale. His wife did snap under pressure and plan to kill him, but couldn’t bring herself to do it in the end. After she left the room, he managed to disconnect himself from the oxygen supply, wanting to free her from the burden of caretaking.

Separate conversations with Bom and Ki-joo convince the woman to come clean, and she gets to share one last meal with her husband inside the Midnight Studio before the couple take their final photo together and the husband’s soul moves on. That same night, while Ki-joo hangs the photo on the studio wall, Bom comes home to find she’s been evicted and someone else has moved in.

While investigating the light downstairs, she walks right into the Midnight Studio, stopping Ki-joo in his tracks. She’s definitely not dead (though he does consider the possibility), but he’s supposed to be the only living human who can open the door from this side. Add to that a previous elevator encounter where it almost seemed she saw the angry ghost he was shielding her from (and an unexplained burst of energy propelled said ghost out away from them), and this makes her a Very Interesting Person indeed.

Ki-joo’s suspicions are further supported when his next guest, a child ghost whose last wish is tracking down a limited-edition toy sword, hides in the tent Bom pitched outside her old apartment door. Bom has no trouble seeing the child, and Ki-joo is intrigued enough to share lunch with her. It’s painfully obvious that he hasn’t shared a meal with another human in a very long time, so Bom offers to be his eating buddy whenever he needs one.

The toy sword is sold out nearly everywhere, but many stores and tantrums later, Ki-joo finally succeeds in buying it at a festival. The child ghost slips away in the excitement of it all. When Ki-joo finds him with Bom, the child shies away from him, declaring him a scary stranger. Right about then, Ki-joo’s assistants arrive… with the child ghost in tow. Turns out, the kids are twins, and only one of them is dead. The older twin, our ghost, went to buy his brother that toy sword for a birthday present and was hit by a car.

The boys are also orphans, and the younger twin is about to be adopted by a family in the U.S. (Bom volunteers at the orphanage, which is why the living boy felt comfortable hanging out with her.) Ki-joo delivers the sword and then convinces the boy to come say goodbye to his brother at the Midnight Studio, where Ki-joo and his assistants throw a final birthday party for both twins.

Despite trying not to care, Ki-joo is deeply disappointed that Bom can’t see ghosts after all. But while out for a walk that night, he’s attacked by a swarm of zombie-like ghosts. Suddenly, Bom is there, pulling him out of their grasp. He lands on top of her inside what appears to be some sort of magical force field.

Overall, I’d say this is a solid opening week. It gave us a basic understanding of who our major characters are, what drives them, and how the Midnight Studio operates, while opening up a bunch of loops to explore in the coming episodes. Like what happened to Ki-joo’s uncle, why is he still classed as missing instead of confirmed dead like all the previous photographers, and is it possible Ki-joo might be able to break the dead-at-35 curse? And is Bom Sung-ho’s first love?

Best of all, though, The Midnight Studio sucked me right into caring about its characters and the poor souls they’re here to help. (I’ll admit I wasn’t as invested in the first couple, but those pint-sized twins had me in tears!) This kind of story can easily veer into heavy emotional territory, though, so here’s hoping it stays this fun and heartwarming throughout!