Based on The Killer’s Shopping Mall by Kim Ji-young, this action-thriller Korean drama (킬러들의 쇼핑몰) stars Lee Dong-wook and Kim Hye-jun in lead roles. The screenplay is written by Ji Ho-jin & Lee Kwon, and the drama is directed by Lee Kwon and Noh Gyu-yeob. The Disney+ series also stars Seo Hyun-woo, Jo Han-sun, Park Ji-bin, Geum Hae-na, Lee Tae-young and others and is expected to have 8 episodes.
Well-known Korean actor Lee Dong-wook was last seen in the 2023 sequel series Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938, while Kim Hye-jun was last seen in 2022’s Connect and 2021’s Inspector Koo.
Plot
The series follows college student Jung Ji-an, who, after becoming an orphan, is taken in by her uncle as a child. However, after her uncle’s sudden and mysterious death, she suddenly becomes a target of assassins all hell-bent on killing her. Now, vising the childhood home that she shared with her uncle, she must make use of the survival training that her uncle made her go through in order to stay alive long enough to find out the truth behind the mysterious shopping mall that her uncle ran and whether that has anything to do with the misfortune that she and her family have gone through.
A Shop For Killers Episode 1 Recap
The episode opens with a live firearm training announcement in a small town. As we glance around, we see that the place is almost empty and the broken boundary wall of one house. A group of men are next seen walking down a field with firearms while someone keeps an eye on the house. It’s clear that there’s a target everyone is extremely interested in, and that target turns out to be Jeong Ji-an, who looks traumatised as she looks around at the different assassins lying around her house.
As she tries to focus, she remembers Jeong Ji-man’s advice about using blind spots to her advantage. She lures the shooter to give away his approximate location and uses his blind spot to make an exit. She is successful and pushes the couch over to find a gun hidden underneath. Of course, she uses it to shoot the assassin down.
We then shift to a time before this mess when Ji-an gets caught by the police for assaulting a man who tried to creep inside the women’s bathroom. The police ask her to call her guardians, and she calls her uncle, only to learn about his sudden demise. As she makes her way back to her childhood home, she thinks back to Jin-man’s crazy decisions (like buying an iron wardrobe in case it rains bullets) and how he would protect her in his own way. She remembers the last thing he told her – her student ID number.
As she proceeds with the funeral proceedings in a daze, she finds a mysterious tattoo (murthehelp) on Jin-man that makes her wonder. As she sits outside the house, Bae Jeong-min stops by and helps her with finding a picture for his funeral. He tells her that he has been helping her uncle with his agricultural website and that he was the one who called the police. At the funeral, she finds a mysterious flower arrangement from Comrade Lee Yonghan. As the funeral proceeds, there are more odd things that feel out of place. At home, Jeong-min finds a cell phone in the medicine cabinet.
After a rather brutal day, Ji-an finds herself lost in memories in her now-empty home and eventually breaks down as she finds herself alone. Jeong-min makes a sudden entry with the phone, and she tearfully asks him to stay for a while. After resting for a while, she looks at the messages and finds ou that his uncle has 18.7 billion won in his account, leaving both of them shocked. She immediately asks to look at the website, and Jeong-min uses his technical knowledge to find a site on the dark web. They realise, much to their dismay, that Jin-man sold weapons.
Just then, they get a text on the website asking about a shipment, and when Ji-an informs them that the shop will be closed, they ask whether Jin-nam is dead. Shocked, they close the website, but just then someone rings the doorbell. It’s a woman named Min-hye who tries to strong-arm her way into the house. The last scene showcases Min-hye at the door while Ji-an gets a text telling her to hide and that they will be killing Ji-an.
Epilogue
We are taken back to a time when Ji-an was 7 years old. As Jin-man gets roasted by his mother and brother for not visiting, he gets into a chopstick with the little girl over barbeque meat, and he asks her to remember his name as she enjoys her food. Jin-man’s fondness for his niece is clear as he smiles at her, making faces at him.
A Shop For Killers Episode 1 Review
Well, what a thrilling start to this series! While most would find the funeral portion of the episode a bit slow, I must say that the way it went for 1 to 100 is quite fun. The episode leaves us without answers at first but the moment Ji-an puts on that tracksuit combo, viewers will be left excited with anticipation, thanks to that excellent opening sequence. I really liked the opening action; it gives us a little context, confuses us and makes us wait for the action to unravel as we are given a sneak peek.
I last saw Kim Hye-jun in Detective Koo, whose only saving grace was Hye-jun’s character and her excellent acting. She genuinely gave me the creeps in that series, although the less said about everything else, the better. Meanwhile, Lee Dong-wook has always been a heartthrob and continues to be so. His character in this series is shrouded in mystery at the moment, and he fits into the role of the mysterious man instantly.
Hopefully, it only gets better from here.
A Shop For Killers is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
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Spot-on recap. I am late to the party, having just watched episode one. The mix of Ji-An’s courageous but inexperienced lead, the play with time through fascinating flashbacks, and the riveting action all mesh for a series that has me hooked. Looking forward to more of this!