Beyond the living: 8 K-drama characters who can see ghosts, from ‘Phantom Lawyer’ to ‘Hotel Del Luna’

Before Yoo Yeon-seok played Shin Yi-rang in Phantom Lawyer, his Hospital Playlist co-star Jung Kyung-ho starred as Noh Mu-jin, a labour attorney who gains the ability to see ghosts after a near-death experience leads to a bargain with a deity, in the Viu K-drama Oh My Ghost Clients. Like Yi-rang, Mu-jin ends up taking on ghost clients. Unlike Yi-rang, however, he isn’t motivated by a strict moral code—initially, at least.

Tackling everything from employer negligence to wrongful death and industrial accidents, the legal K-drama blends supernatural elements with sharp commentary on social justice—resulting in a series that’s as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. Equally compelling is Jung Kyung-ho’s natural chemistry with co-star Seol In-ah, who plays Na Hee-joo, Mu-jin’s sister-in-law and capable legal assistant.

In this classic supernatural-romance K-drama, available for streaming on Netflix and Viu, IU stars as Jang Man-wol, the immortal proprietress of Hotel del Luna, a hotel for ghosts. Meanwhile, Yeo Jin-goo plays Goo Chan-seong, the hapless mortal Man-wol hires to manage her hotel. 

Forced into service for 20 years as part of the deal his father made with Man-wol years prior, Chan-seong is tasked with taking care of the hotel’s more earthly operations—like paying taxes, for example. But even in Hotel del Luna, death and taxes go together, and he ends up dealing with spirits and ghosts, much to his horror.

The series also stars Lee Do-hyun in his breakout role as Man-wol’s first love. Though mostly appearing in flashbacks, his performance was so memorable that fans continue to talk about it to this day. A post-credit cameo from Kim Soo-hyun left a similarly lasting impression.

Hotel del Luna is written by the celebrated Hong sisters, whose credits also include My Girl, My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho, Alchemy of Souls, Can This Love Be Translated? and Netflix’s upcoming loose spin-off of Hotel del Luna, Grand Galaxy Hotel. Starring Lee Do-hyun, Shin Shi-a, Lee Soo-hyuk and Lee Su-hyun, it marks an eagerly anticipated return to this beloved world.

See more: All the Go Yoon-jung K-dramas you need to watch after ‘Can this Love Be Translated?’

When you’re a shaman, seeing ghosts is just part of the job. In Amazon Prime Video’s supernatural K-drama Head Over Heels, based on the webtoon Gyeonwoo and Fairy, Cho Yi-hyun’s Park Seong-ah is a cheerful high school student who secretly moonlights as a shaman. Popularly known as the Heaven and Earth Fairy, she uses her gift to deal with restless spirits.

When Choo Young-woo’s Bae Gyeon-woo walks into her life, she falls head over heels. Determined to lift the curse that was placed on him and save him from the demon Bong-su, Seong-ah uses every trick in her shaman arsenal.

Cha Yu-ri, played by Hallyu icon Kim Tae-hee, has been dead for five years, but, unwilling to leave her young daughter Jo Seo-woo's (Seo Woo-jin) side, her soul continues to linger. When she learns that her child has begun to attract ghosts (because she has overstayed her welcome in the mortal realm), she finds a loophole that allows her to return to the world of the living for 49 days, giving her the chance to protect her daughter and keep the otherworldly presences away.

As a ghost, Yu-ri can see and communicate with other restless souls. Even when she temporarily becomes human again, she retains this ability. This makes her an excellent mediator between the dead and the living, helping fellow spirits resolve their unfinished business on earth. In the process, she begins to confront her own lingering regrets—and learns what it truly means to let go.

See more: The Kim Tae-hee K-dramas and movies that made her a Hallyu icon, from ‘Stairway to Heaven’ to ‘Hi Bye, Mama!’

If Phantom Lawyer and Oh My Ghost Clients feature attorneys who can see ghosts, the supernatural K-drama Sell Your Haunted House centres on a real estate agent who exorcises restless souls. Hong Ji-ah, played by Jang Na-ra, runs Daebak Realty, which specialises in selling haunted properties by ridding them of spirits still tethered to homes and buildings.

Meanwhile, Oh In-beom, played by Jung Yong-hwa, is a conman who poses as an exorcist. When the two cross paths on the same case, Ji-ah immediately sees through his scam—but realises he has a rare ability to act as a medium. Seeing his potential, she hires him to be her partner, using his unique gift to help her perform exorcisms safely.

The Viu fantasy K-drama From Now On, Showtime! stars Park Hae-jin as Cha Cha-woong, a stage magician who inherited his ability to see ghosts from his powerful shaman grandfather. Rather than using his gift to help people, he chases fame and fortune as the “God of Magic”, secretly enlisting a group of spirits to assist him in performing his tricks.

His lucrative gig is interrupted when he meets Go Seul-hae (Jin Ki-joo), a passionate police officer who discovers the truth about his ghostly accomplices. To keep his reputation intact, Cha-woong is forced into an unlikely partnership, using his "Magic Factory" of spirits to help Seul-hae solve cases.

In Light Shop, the Disney+ original K-drama adapted from the popular Kang Full webtoon, Park Bo-young plays Kwon Young-ji, a compassionate nurse assigned to a group of comatose patients at the intensive care unit. Having once been in a coma herself, she treats them with empathy, going above and beyond in helping them recover.

It’s devotion rooted in lived experience. When she woke up from her coma years before, she gained the ability to see ghosts. What’s more, she remembers her time in the liminal space between life and death, and her encounter with the mysterious light shop keeper, Jung Won-young. It is a journey that is mirrored by one of her comatose patients, young Jun Hyun-ju (played by Shin Eun-soo), who, it’s hinted, wakes up from her coma with similar abilities and memories.

The popular supernatural K-drama also stars Ju Ji-hoon as the light shop keeper, Seol Hyun, Um Tae-goo, Lee Jung-eun, Kim Min-ha, Kim Sun-hwa, Kim Ki-hae, Bae Sung-woo and Park Hyuk-kwon.

See more: Joo Ji-hoon is everywhere and we’re not complaining

From Phantom Lawyer's Shin Yi-rang and Hotel del Luna's Goo Chan-seong to Sell Your Haunted House's real estate agent Hong Ji-ah and Light Shop's ICU nurse Kwon Young-ji, these K-drama characters wield their ability to see ghosts to fight for justice, protect loved ones and reckon with the emotional weight of unfinished business and the bonds between the living and the dead.

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