A con man who stumbled on a village inhabited by dead people, whose bodies have not been found yet, spins the story of Missing: The Other Side!
Go Soo, is that actor that I never had a serious fangirling spree moment even when I was younger. Interestingly though, most of his dramas I have seen because the stories are my cup of tea. Coupled with how OCN dramas tend to work ingenious materials and the respect for Heo Joon Ho, I really made my mind to keep tabs on this series.
And eureka! I did the right thing. Not only is the pilot episodes imaginative, it made me pledge a commitment to tune on it weekly. Running for 12 episodes, so far it is just right on the pocket if you want mystery, crime, comedy and drama all in one mix!
First Look Rating: 
Missing: The Other Side Opening Week Story
Not your typical hustler, Kim Wook (Go Soo) protects the poor and the weak. Together with Lee Jong Ah (Ahn So Hee) and Kim Nam Gook (Moon Yoo Kang), they are modern-day justice serving heroes.
In one of their missions, a slight mishap happened though – leading Kim Wook to an accident. He was hit by the car driven by Detective Shin Joon Ho (Ha Joon) while running away from the gangsters he scammed and kidnappers of an abduction he witnessed.
Fortunately, it was not a serious accident. However, upon discharge from the hospital, he was taken by the gangsters again to a nearby mountain. Finding a way to escape while the villains are not aware he gained consciousness, he ran for his life, but ended up falling on a cliff.
Lucky for him, a big tree saved his life and mountain dweller Jang Pan Suk (Heo Joon Ho) nursed him back to consciousness. While looking for his wallet at the spot where he was found by Pan Suk, the gangsters chasing him appear again. When they go the other way, he enters the part of the mountain that is forbidden to thread on.
Duon Village
Stumbling on a quaint looking village, Kim Wook entered a cafe and meets the blonde barista Thomas (Song Gun Hee). Slightly getting frustrated for the unavailability of telephone, he sees a woman (Seo Eun Soo) desperately finding a phone signal. He failed to catch up on her and bumps on old man Pan Suk, who nags him to leave the village.
Getting the instruction on how he can head home, Kim Wook unfortunately missed his bus and ended up staying at one of the rooms at Cafe Hawaii. The sound of crying boy disturbs his rest, so he goes to the source of the wailing. Meeting Seo Ha Neul, who keeps on crying while missing his mom, Kim Wook pledged on finding his mother.
Suddenly, he realized the missing boy poster he saw at the bus stop, Wook suspects a probable vile act conspired by the people he just met. The next morning, he plans on bringing the boy with him, but got sidetracked by an old lady who invited him inside her house.
Placing Ha Neul inside a trolley bag, he got surprised when the boy who was just inside vanished. He went back to the village and sees another bewildering sight of the grandmother he met and her house also disappearing.
Finding old man Pan Suk who is chatting with a villager, Wook finally learned about how all the people in the village are dead. Trying to process what he just heard, he witnessed another baffling moment. The man who spilled an inconceivable secret, disappeared right before his very eyes.
A resting village for the dead
Pan Suk tries to explain, but Wook runs away. When Ha Neul emerges, he instinctively asked him if he is alive. He was answered by the feisty neighborhood ajumma with a confirmation of what the vanished man said earlier. Later at night, Pan Suk affirmed the puzzling world Wook discovered. As an expert swindler, he refuses to believe his words.
Back at Kim Wook’s world, his assistants have been trying to reach him, but only found his bracelet that they all have. The detective who previously bumped on Wook successfully solved a serial killing chase. He gets transferred to the “missing task force” who currently works on Ha Neul’s case.
When the team received the voice recording of the call Wook made, he was summoned by the police for questioning when he returned back to the normal world. Thinking something’s wrong in his mind with all the accidents he has gone through, the police believes his alibi.
Mission Save Ha Neul
However, the crucial detail of Ha Neul’s scar on his wrist which was not released to the public, but he was able to tell, makes the police convinced on keeping tabs on him still. Wook also brought them to see Pan Suk, but the latter who is friends with Detective Baek tells him that Wook might be suffering mentally. The deduction was further supported when Wook mentions seeing the mom of two puppies when both the detectives can’t see it.
Forced to impose himself on Pan Suk’s house because of the gangsters who are still looking for him, Wook interacts more with Duon’s village people especially Ha Neul.
With Wook’s sharp mind and getting the picture of the rules in the world only he and Pan Suk can navigate on, he uncovers the mystery of Ha Neul’s death through the help of hacker Jong Ah.
By coordinating with Shin Joon, he was able to bring Ha Neul at a place where he can see his mom for the last time. Because the moment the missing body of a Duon villager is found, he will be freed from the limbo.
Little did he know, that he is fated to meet Shin Joon because a person close to his heart is actually staying at Duon village. A woman, that he himself, witnessed being abducted.
Opening Week Peak Points & Musings
I had to double check if I was watching an OCN drama because I teared up at the dying scenes of episode 2 in Missing: The Other Side. *chuckles
That is quite an emotion I rarely get from the network known for thrilling stories. The concept of missing dead people awaiting to be found in the world of the living, who are mostly crime victims, broke my heart. Ergo, the series reeled me in to its narrative inescapably.
Rooting for Go Soo and Heo Joon Ho as emancipators of souls at Duon village is an advocacy I can sign up for anytime. I also feel like their characters have connection somehow given the initial detail about Wook growing up as an orphan.
Heading to the story arc focusing on the abduction of Yeo Na (Seo Eun Soo) who is Shin Joon’s bride-to-be, the drama unleashes a convincing pitch worth seizing. The premiere episodes have also hinted on the villagers who would spur the side stories. Like Thomas the barista, the feisty ajumma, Wook’s instant younger brother and the creepy hot-tempered ajussi.
What to look forward in the next episodes?
In the succeeding episodes, questions of whether there are special rules to Pan Suk and Wook’s clairvoyance enabling them to smoothly interact with Duon villagers will be answered.
Consequently, preparing tissues for more harrowing stories of the villagers and their disheartening deaths would also be expected. At the same time, the closures that would be made possible by the ghost-seeing duo are certainly layers of the series to anticipate for.
One amazing thing I’d like to point out is the efficient melting of thrill, mystery, comedy and drama in the series. The latter is even packaged to the “healing trend” seen in Korean series predominantly in the last three years.
Solving crime utilizing supernatural twist is not something new in Korean crime series. But the approach to tackle the crime investigation in the living world from the clues the heroes would be able to retrieve from Duon ghost villagers serves as its driving point.
I’m picking this series up for my weekly recap, because like Kim Wook, there’s something about Duon village that keeps me wanting to discover it more.
Missing: The Other Side airs on OCN every Saturday and Sunday.
Photos: OCN
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