Superior Shaman Ga Doo Sim 우수무당 가두심 [2021]

[stroppyse]

The episodes are so short! I guess that's why the drama is moving so quickly, though. I also think that because of the brevity of the episodes, the scenes feel a bit choppy for me.

 

However, I LOVE the chemistry between Kim Sae Ron and Nam Da Reum. Heck, I could possibly even ship them, if I tended towards ships. I definitely think the two of them should go on some dates or something and become besties, even if they are both pretty young to be in any serious relationships.

 

As for the story, the grandmother was a powerful shaman, but the mother is a weak shaman which is why she's using her daughter Doo Shim who also inherited the talent to be a great shaman. Also, why the grandmother seems to have focused on Doo Shim rather than the mother. I keep getting the feeling that DS' mother resisted becoming a shaman until she ran out of ways to make any income for herself, though since we don't know anything about DS' father, who knows.

 

Anyway, it's cute. I'll keep watching for DS and WS.

 

Btw, in my fascination with k-drama titles, both WS and DS' names are in the title of this drama. In Korean, it's phonetically "Woo Soo Moo Dang Ga Doo Shim", so on the one hand, "woo soo" does mean great or the best and "moo dang" means shaman which is why the English name is "The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim". However, I think it's cuter in Korean to think that Woo Soo is in the title as well as Doo Shim, so it's really a story about the two of them.

[stroppyse]

From @mademoiselle's post.

 

Relationship chart translations:

 

The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim

Inside top box with caption  *The Family of Three Generations of Shamans” :
Grandmother Myo Shim
Mother Hyo Shim - takes care of her beauty
Doo Shim - a girl who has been fated to be a shaman

Outside of the box:
Woo Soo’s Mother
Woo Soo’s Father
Woo Soo - a boy who has started to see ghosts

Hyeon Soo - a ghost with big unresolved issues

In the bottom box captioned *SongYeong High School* :
Gyeong Pil - SongYeong High School Principal
Il Nam
Soo Jung

Captions of relationship lines:

Arrow from Mother Hyo Shim - VIP Clients ->  Woo Soo’s Mother, Woo Soo’s Father

Bi-directional line between Doo Shim and Woo Soo - Evil Spirits Fighting Duo

Bi-directional line between Doo Shim and Hyeon Soo - Spirit friends

Bi-directional line between Woo Soo and Il Nam - BFF

Arrow from Soo Jung to Woo Soo - One-sided crush

 

 

Since I was doing it, here are the character descriptions that were put out as well.

 

Doo Shim (Kim Sae Ron) - An 18 year old girl, she wants to live an ordinary life, but she has that “mystical talent” that can’t be hidden. She protests against her fate to fight the evil spirit which 10 years ago her grandmother wasn’t able to capture, however, she doesn’t run away, but fights.

Woo Soo (Nam Da Reum) - Good looking and from a good family, SongYeong High School’s #1 overall student. Thunderstruck from the first time he sees her, he’s confused at himself even as he gets closer and closer to Doo Shim. Still, as he stands in Doo Shim’s world, he opens his eyes to a world that he didn’t even realize existed before he met her.

Hyeon Soo (Yoo Seon Ho) - 10 years ago, because he wasn’t a good student, he died at the hands of the evil spirit, however luckily (?) he was able to stay in this world. He wants to see his mother once before he finally leaves… The soul of a high school student with many unresolved issues.

Il Nam (Yoon Jung Hoon) - He is good looking boy who matured early, but also realized early that he did not have a head for studying. Even though he’s frequently telling Woo Soo off for being mean, however, he is a sincere friend who really likes Woo Soo.

Soo Jung (Lee Ji Won) - A classmate of Doo Shim and Woo Soo. She has a crush on Woo Soo who is good looking as well as has good grades. She feels a lot of jealousy towards the transfer student Doo Shim who is becoming closer to Woo Soo.

 

[mademoiselle]

 

[mademoiselle]

 

[mademoiselle]

New stills

 

[mademoiselle]

I think after this episode, I feel I'll have to stop and let it accumulate and watch it in one go. 20 minutes is too short and very unsatisfying.

 

Long story short, I thought it was the male ghost who possessed Woo Soo and hugged Doo Shim. Turns out it was Grandma. They both disappeared together 10 years ago so I thought they went to the afterlife. But it looks like they've been wandering for the past 10 years, in which Grandma never appear until now.

 

Now it made more sense that it was likely Doo Shim and Grandma in Woo Soo's body fighting the evil spirit in episode 1 and not exactly Woo Soo. Obviously I hope it is Woo Soo himself... we'll find out soon. Thanks to Grandma, Woo Soo now can see ghosts and he'll learn to understand Doo Shim and not be a jerk he initially had been.

 

[JenL]

Episode 3

 

- Heh, these episodes are so so so short, but somehow they work and there's a story being told! ..And one with good chemistry. I am approving of every episode ending with some sort of skinship  This week's she had her hand over his eyes which was more mild than the hug, but still something! 

- NDR and KSR have such good chemistry. Although the romance has come on fast, it's very cute in a way that is not sappy or forced. I'm really buying into this pairing a lot! 

- I had to laugh that NWS is being possessed by grandma though. Grandma is bringing on the skinship on his behalf by making him hug her grand daughter  I do think it's a it weird though since she'll see her grandma in him a lot...but hey, whatever creates the bond between them works for me! 

- I like how mild all the evil spirits are so I can watch this level of 'horror'. Not scary at all  The voice of the main evil cloud spirit sounded so cheesy and the upside-down ghost, though a shock to see, was barely powdered white 

- Also liking the high school supernatural element. It kind of reminds me of things like Buffy the Vampire Slayer  and Sabrina the Teenage Witch where it's the principal or teachers who turn out to be evil  The world of school is the whole world 

 

On 8/1/2021 at 6:27 PM, Alice Wonderland said:

ghost posess woo soo and hugged her, even it is so sudden, it's enough to flutter my weak heart. 

 

I know right! This one is a fluttery drama  

 

On 8/1/2021 at 6:28 PM, mademoiselle said:

Errr...you're not serious about this Tik Tok generation, are you?

 

Hahaha, I'm dead serious. There's quite a bit of research talking about the reduced attention spans of younger kids from things like Twitter and Tiktok and constant phone usage. 10 minutes on Youtube for new gen is like 2 hour movie time for us 

 

On 8/2/2021 at 1:58 AM, stroppyse said:

However, I LOVE the chemistry between Kim Sae Ron and Nam Da Reum. Heck, I could possibly even ship them, if I tended towards ships. I definitely think the two of them should go on some dates or something and become besties, even if they are both pretty young to be in any serious relationships.

 

They are so cute. I think both actors are quite good at holding an intense gaze and that's why there's a bit of electricity between them  They've also got the hard-edged, but fun banter going good. I like them so much 

 

On 8/2/2021 at 1:58 AM, stroppyse said:

However, I think it's cuter in Korean to think that Woo Soo is in the title as well as Doo Shim, so it's really a story about the two of them.

 

This is really cute! I like that connection being shown even in the title 

7 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

I think after this episode, I feel I'll have to stop and let it accumulate and watch it in one go. 20 minutes is too short and very unsatisfying.

 

Is there only 1 episode this week? I thought it was 2 per week which would make it 40 mins at least? 

Edited August 7, 2021 by JenL

[abs-oluteM]

@JenL only the 1st week it has two eps...from now just one eps per week. So strange. I almost forgot we had one. Gonna watch now 

[mademoiselle]

8 hours ago, JenL said:

Hahaha, I'm dead serious. There's quite a bit of research talking about the reduced attention spans of younger kids from things like Twitter and Tiktok and constant phone usage. 10 minutes on Youtube for new gen is like 2 hour movie time for us

LOL, I'm kind of glad I don't have kids. I still remember the older generations shake their heads at us (our gens), now I'm shaking my heads at the young kids these days. (Signs that I'm ageing ). But I kind of also don't think it's not possible for them to have short attention spans because if they watch a movie in the cinema, the movie itself is still 2 hours!

[abs-oluteM]

@mademoiselle 20mins is way too short now that we have the story going. They could have at least released 2 episodes. 

 

Woo Soo discovers that he can see ghosts and thinks this is  Doo Shim's doing. LOL...but anyhow she tells him that there's nothing she can do about it. Woo Soo did not have this ability before so halmoni using his body to communicate with Doo Shim must have opened his third eye. I wonder if he can be "trained" to become a Shaman? I supposed not right - it is like a inherited gift? And from my understanding Doo Shim is a rather powerful shaman - even more so than her grandma and mum . She just has not realised it yet. 

[mademoiselle]

25 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

I wonder if he can be "trained" to become a Shaman? I supposed not right - it is like a inherited gift? And from my understanding Doo Shim is a rather powerful shaman - even more so than her grandma and mum . She just has not realised it yet.

I'm thinking he would have to "special" (like Yong Hwa in Daebak Real Estate) to be able to be possessed by Halmoni. And it is usually the case that the FL is a much more powerful shaman than her predecessors. If not, the "powerfulness" probably just skip one generation. Bahaha.

[abs-oluteM]

@mademoiselle I hope NDR can still grow a little bit taller ...ahahahah 

 

[mademoiselle]

3 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

@mademoiselle I hope NDR can still grow a little bit taller ...ahahahah

I totally agree. I've been wishing for him to grow tall for few years now but I don't think it is happening It's a pity...

[JenL]

On 8/8/2021 at 10:53 AM, mademoiselle said:

 But I kind of also don't think it's not possible for them to have short attention spans because if they watch a movie in the cinema, the movie itself is still 2 hours!

 

Haha, it's still possible for kids to watch movies...but I think they have a hard time getting through the whole thing without opening their phones and scrolling at some point. This is why streaming sites are winning against conventional cinema with younger audiences...people like to be able to pause, or use their phone and not have someone complain about them 

 

18 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

Woo Soo discovers that he can see ghosts and thinks this is  Doo Shim's doing. LOL...but anyhow she tells him that there's nothing she can do about it. Woo Soo did not have this ability before so halmoni using his body to communicate with Doo Shim must have opened his third eye. I wonder if he can be "trained" to become a Shaman? I supposed not right - it is like a inherited gift? And from my understanding Doo Shim is a rather powerful shaman - even more so than her grandma and mum . She just has not realised it yet. 

 

Maybe he can become a weak shaman? A shaman's helper? He's helping her to exercise the demon in the start sequence so she must have instructed him somehow 

 

18 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

I'm thinking he would have to "special" (like Yong Hwa in Daebak Real Estate) to be able to be possessed by Halmoni. And it is usually the case that the FL is a much more powerful shaman than her predecessors. If not, the "powerfulness" probably just skip one generation. Bahaha.

 

Haha, in this case it seems like the powers were strong in the grandma, skipped the mother and doubled in the daughter  The mother is too concerned with appearances and business 

 

12 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

I totally agree. I've been wishing for him to grow tall for few years now but I don't think it is happening It's a pity...

 

Maybe boys have a late growth spurt? He's still like 18 or 19 right?

Edited August 10, 2021 by JenL

[Tofu]

I actually looked up NDR's height and I can't tell if he's 5'4" or 5'6". There are too many different height listed for him. I didn't realized he was short until it was mentioned here. He's still young, isn't he? He still has a few more years before he stops growing. Haha! 

 

I grew up around shamanism and from what I know (every culture has their own practice), it usually skips a generation. I remember a friend telling me that her mom was a shaman so she won't be one because it'll skip her. There was also something along the lines of, if one of your family member is a shaman, you are more likely to be one; however every shaman is chosen. 

 

 

[stroppyse]

1 hour ago, JenL said:

Maybe boys have a late growth spurt? He's still like 18 or 19 right?

 

He's 19. Some guys do have late growth spurts, but he's actually on the older side to be having much of a growth spurt. He may still get a couple of inches, but probably not more than that. Oh well, there are lots of famous actors who are on the shorter side. Also, does it seem as if KSR may be a bit taller than NDR?

 

I do think that the episodes are on the short side for storytelling, especially since they seem to spend the first few minutes of an episode essentially recapping the ending of the previous episode. I have a feeling that this is one drama where we're not going to get a lot of explanations about things. The world building is already a bit on the sketch side.

 

 

[mademoiselle]

New stills

 

[JenL]

subbed! 

 

 

[JenL]

Episode 4

 

-I feel like the chemistry gets better and better with each episode  Have to give it to NDR and KSR, they've both built a warm and believable super-cute romance quite quickly  I'm not sure what it is, but they both have a playful energy that bounce off each other and they seem to have that romantic tension between them 

- Haha NDR does often seem to tend to play a character that is a bit cocky on the outside, but soft and vulnerable on the inside (Start Up, Doom at your Service etc.) But I like how quickly he's shaken off the cool top student image in this series...he's already quite friendly with GDS by episode 4! Maybe because she saves him from the ghosts though 

- I also like how GDS's mum knows and admits her powers are not as good at GDS's, but still seems protective of GDS ...sometimes with these types of characters they are jealous of their own child. But I liked her concern when grandma wanted GDS transferred to the school with the evil spirit 

- Ahhhh, this week's ending hug was EVEN BETTER than last few weeks...because NWS wanted to remember hugging her and GDS was admitting that her heart was racing from this 

Glad to see you here @SilverMoonTea 

Edited August 15, 2021 by JenL

[SilverMoonTea]

Omg this is so unexpected, young oppa! Strike my heart . NDR and KSR is one pretty pair in this drama. Their chemistry no joke. The moment he laid his eyes on her, it's already so electrifying! 

 

This have Sell Your Haunted House's feeling @JenL. @abs-oluteMeven this young pair have better romance than that drama lols. I love the hugs, and the 2nd hug is just so sly. 

 

@mademoiselleTake my $$$, I will visit this thread from time to time hahaha... But why sooo short??? 20 mins and 12 eps only 

[abs-oluteM]

7 minutes ago, SilverMoonTea said:

Omg this is so unexpected, young oppa! Strike my heart .

Strike in what way ??? ahahahah I am scared when you say things like this.

Need to go watch the eps 4. Had a very long day today. 

[JenL]

Just now, SilverMoonTea said:

This have Sell Your Haunted House's feeling @JenL. @abs-oluteMeven this young pair have better romance than that drama lols.

 

Hahaha, all the dramas with "school kids" seem to have better romances this year for me. Even if there's no kissing - the energy of the couples from Racket Boys, Superior Shaman Ga Doo Shim and The Witch's Diner have been so sweet  

 

Sell Your Haunted Soul was a good story and they had the chemistry, but it lost it's potential to really engage fans when it didn't push the romance just a bit more. 

 

2 minutes ago, SilverMoonTea said:

I love the hug, and the 2nd hug is just so sly. 

 

Even Ga Doo Shim's already admitting her heart is racing! 

 

5 minutes ago, SilverMoonTea said:

20 mins and 12 eps only 

 

Yeah, I'm sad that my favourite dramas seem to be really short in episode length and number of episodes recently! 

4 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

Strike in what way ??? ahahahah I am scared when you say thing like this.

Need to go watch the eps 4. Had a very long day today. 

 

She's romancing him in her heart 

 

This episode is so sweet @abs-oluteM...it's healing after a long day! 

[stroppyse]

4 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

Strike in what way ??? ahahahah I am scared when you say things like this.

Need to go watch the eps 4. Had a very long day today. 

 

I agree with @JenL, episode 4 is actually very healing!

 

I loved the hug, and that he wanted to do it because he knew he hugged her but he didn't remember it nor how it felt. Awwww. And, then GDS' voiceover about how WS may be the one running, but it's also her heart that is racing. So, so cute!

 

My biggest complaint about this drama is that it's so short! I love the chemistry between NDR and KSR, but I also love the friendship between WS and his best bud as well as how DS is accepted into it, as when the friend wanted DS to go check on WS, and WS in turn drags DS with him when he goes to tutor his friend.

 

I'm happy that DS' mother is still protective of her daughter even if the DS is a stronger shaman, plus the grandmother's words that DS will have help to defeat the evil demon.

 

[abs-oluteM]

@JenL @SilverMoonTea @stroppyse @mademoiselle Too short. I need another episode. 

I loved eps 4 too . Just as I was getting all excited with the romance. Gosh this teenage romance sure is better than the non-existent one they teased us mercilessly with on Daebak. Did you all laugh when he got so scared? I found it so funny , though I really shouldn't because it is actually so traumatic if one's third eye  is opened! 

[Tofu]

@abs-oluteM I am more invested in this teenage romance than the college romance in Nevertheless. Haha!

 

I agreed with everyone, the episodes are too short@ I wish they were a bit longer and this episode was definitely healing. I love that Doo Shim went over to Woo Soo's home to help him cope with his new ability. Also loved the questions he asked her about it, almost like he was embracing his new ability. Woo Soo genuinely seemed apologetic towards Doo Shim for having to live with seeing ghosts/spirits everyday. Everything about this episode was just very cute. 

 

@SilverMoonTea Was this the part where he struck your heart? 

 

I finally had the time to edit the character chart that @stroppyse translated. =)

Spoiler