K-Drama Review: The Heavenly Idol (2023)
The Heavenly Idol is a Korean Drama Series, adapted from a webtoon, titled “Sungseureowoon Idol”, written by Shin Hwa-Jin.
This 2023 romantic-comedy-fantasy series has 12 episodes and is currently streaming on Rakuten Viki.
- Lembrary (played by Kim Min Kyu) is a loyal and pure high priest who serves the god Redlin.
When he is not ridding his country of evil demons, he is using his gift to heal others. It’s his calling. Right at the precise moment that he is about to eliminate the Devil, he gets a splitting headache. When he opens his eyes and can see clearly he is immodestly dressed in black. Immodest? OK. Shameful. Yeah. Shameful is a better description for his clothing. I mean … he’s a high priest and his bare abdomen is showing.
That’s not all. His hair is short, it’s a different color, and his name is Woo Yeon-Woo. He’s supposed to be a sexy male idol, a member of a not-so-successful K-Pop boy group called Wild Animal. Sexy? Idol? Wild? How vulgar! But what can he do? The spirit of Lembrary, the high priest of Redlin, is trapped in the body of Woo Yeon-Woo. He is totally confused but knows that he must learn how to navigate in this “new world” while trying to figure out how he can return to his own world. Fortunately, he still has his divine power. Uuumm … sometimes. Sometimes he loses his power. Kind of like a light bulb that turns off and on. It’s also kind of inconvenient but perhaps … it’s a blessing. Maybe he needs to learn that still has the gift to heal others, even without divine power.
- Kim Dal (played by Go Bo-Gyeol) is Woo Yeon-Woo’s loyal fan.
Kim Dal used to work for an entertainment company but because of her mismanagement, one of the celebrities tried to commit suicide. She blames herself and carries a heavy burden of guilt on her shoulders. One day she meets Woo Yeon-Woo (BEFORE he became possessed by Lembrary). He gives her an autographed CD and encourages her with kind words. He tells her that she’ll be alright and he knows this because he has a gift for healing people. From that moment forward Kim Dal becomes a devoted fan of Woo Yeon-Woo.
- The Devil (played by Lee Jang Woo) is also in the “new world”.
Lembrary accepts the fact that he is in a “new world” but soon realizes that the Devil he was about to eliminate before his “body switch” is also here. The Devil switched bodies with Shin Jo-Woon, the Chairman of RU Entertainment. His presence is not an accident. He has been sent from the other world to kill Lembrary. Of course, in order to accomplish this, he has an aggressive recruitment campaign. He gains followers through the typical “Sell Your Soul to the Devil Contract”.
You know the routine. The Devil says: “Tell me what you want most in this world and I’ll let you have it if you give me your soul.” Only in this case, there is actually another being in the other world who is getting humans to sign these contracts to become the Devil’s minions. This being heads up an organization called the Red Rain Battalion in the new world. It’s surprising how many humans are willing to sell their souls. Where does the RRB find so many willing souls? Uuuh … celebrities in show business. Where else?
Viewership and Rating
The Viki viewing audience rated this series 8.9. I agree. Here’s why.
The writers poked fun at the entertainment industry and in particular, K-Pop boy groups. But it was done in good humor and good taste; and not meant to be insulting or derisive.
In addition, I became a fan of Kim Min Kyu when he played the king in “Queen: Love and War”, a Viki Original series. In “The Heavenly Idol, he did a great job playing both a high priest from the other world and an idol in the new world. Since he had the lead role, I would not be willing to give the show a lower rating.
Per this user review found on IMDb: “The Heavenly Idol is quite frankly a perfect romantic comedy. It has a very wide range cast of characters that are all so much fun to watch, with each one adding a little bit of flair to the overall plot line. The story is fun, interesting, and just different enough to make it stand out from the crowd.”
I could not have said it better. Twelve (12) episodes make it easy to binge-watch.
Thanks for reading.
