''Shopping King Louie'' () is a 2016 South Korean

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

starring

Seo In-guk Seo In-guk (; born October 23, 1987) is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actor. He launched his singing career after winning the talent reality show '' Superstar K'' in 2009, and made his acting breakthrough in '' Reply 1997'' (2012). Since ...

Nam Ji-hyun Nam Ji-hyun (; born September 17, 1995) is a South Korean actress. Nam began her career in 2004 as a Child actor, child actress in the television series ' (2004). She is best known for her roles in ''Queen Seondeok (TV series), Queen Seondeok' ...

, Yoon Sang-hyun and

Im Se-mi Im Se-mi (; born May 29, 1987) is a South Korean actress. She receives wider recognition with web series '' The Worst of Evil'' in 2023. Career In 2004, Im made her debut as Ssamzie catalog model. In 2006, she made her acting debut with minor r ...

. It aired on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 22:00 ( KST) on MBC from September 21 to November 10, 2016.

Synopsis

A romantic comedy about Louis (

), a rich heir who always spends money to buy everything that has a subtle beauty talking to his soul. One day he loses his memory and meets Bok-shil (

), a pure and energetic woman from the countryside. She is at first astounded by his spending habits. In the process of teaching him to only buy bare necessities or inexpensive small kindnesses that lighten up one's day, she also learns that bare necessities are not same for everyone as they depend on everyone's own values that shape their life and thus their shopping patterns. Both have innate innocence which bring them to care for each other, leading to undeniable love.

Cast

Main

as Louis / Kang Ji-sung (25 years old) :The last surviving heir of a chaebol chairman. Having grown up in a sheltered and pampered environment in France, he turns to retail therapy to curb his loneliness. One day, he finds himself dropped into the bustling Seoul after having lost his memory. *

as Ko Bok-shil (21 years old) :A country bumpkin from the Gangwon Province, who has a sweet personality. Though she is illiterate with technology, Bok-shil is quick on her feet and adapts well to situations. * Yoon Sang-hyun as Cha Joong-won :The director of Gold Group's merchandising department and Goldline.com. He has a prickly personality and is Louis's rival in love. *

as Baek Ma-ri :Louis' childhood friend, who has a one-sided love for him because of his title. She later falls for her boss, Joong-won.

Supporting

People around Louis

* Kim Young-ok as Choi Il-soon, Louis' grandma and the Chairman of Gold Group. * Kim Sun-young as Heo Jung-ran, Il-soon's assistant *

Um Hyo-sup Um Hyo-sup (born October 24, 1966) is a South Korean actor. Um mostly plays supporting role A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and ...

as Kim Ho-joon, Louis' butler

People around Bok-shil

* Ryu Ui-hyun as Go Bok-nam, Bok-shil's brother *

Kang Ji-sub Kang Ji-sub (; born Kim Young-sub on February 6, 1981) is a South Korean actor. He began acting in 2005 in '' Dear Heaven'', and went on to star in television melodramas such as '' Two Wives'' (2009), ''The Empress'' (2011), and '' Two Women's Ro ...

as Nam Joon-hyuk, Bok-shil's detective friend

People around Joong-won

* Nam Myeong-ryeol as Cha Soo-il, Joong-won's father *

Kim Bo-yeon Kim Bo-yeon (; born December 31, 1957), birth name Kim Bok-soon (), is a South Korean actress. Career Kim Bo-yeon graduated from Anyang High School of Arts, and on the principal's recommendation, she was cast in her acting debut, the film ''A ...

as Shin Young-ae, Joong-won's mother

Employees at Gold Group

Kim Kyu-chul Kim Kyu-chul (born April 6, 1960) is a South Korean actor. Kim spent more than a decade as a stage actor before he made his onscreen breakthrough in 1993 with Im Kwon-taek's '' Seopyeonje'', considered one of the classics of Korean cinema. Kim b ...

as Baek Sun-goo, Ma-ri's father; and the President of Gold Group who schemes to take over the conglomerate. *

Yoon Yoo-sun Yoon Yoo-sun (; born January 17, 1969) is a South Korean actress. She began her career as a child actress in 1975, and continued acting as an adult in film and television, including in '' The Story of Two Women'' (1994), ''Even If the Wind Bl ...

as Hong Jae-sook, Ma-ri's mother *

Yoon Sa-bong Yoon Sa-bong (; born June 5, 1980) is a South Korean actress and singer. She made her debut in musical show "Nonsense" (2006). She also appeared in dramas, '' The Tale of Nokdu'', '' Love Returns'' and ''Hi Bye, Mama!''. Biography and career S ...

as Yeji * Kim Byung-chul as Lee Kyung-kook *

Cha Chung-hwa Cha Chung-hwa (; born on 28 April 1980) is a South Korean character actress who has worked extensively on stage, screen, and television. She has been nominated for Baeksang Arts Awards for her role as court lady Choi in tvN historical drama ...

as Kwon Mi-young * Lee Jae-kyoon as Byun Do-jin

Rooftop Neighbors

* Oh Dae-hwan as Jo In-sung *

Hwang Young-hee Hwang Young-hee (born March 22, 1969) is a South Korean actress and model. She is known for her roles in the dramas '' Queen of Tears, '' While You Were Sleeping'', '' My Healing Love'', and ''Nokdu Flower,'' and in movies such as '' The Witne ...

as Hwang Geum-ja

Special appearances

* Mi-ram as Park Hye-joo * Chae Soo-bin as Wang Mong-shil

Production

First script reading took place on July 15, 2016 at MBC Broadcasting Station in Sangam,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and filming began on July 18. The series was based on Oh Ji-young's romantic comedy script which won the Excellence Prize in the 7th Broadcasting Foundation Scenario Contest (7회 드라마극본공모전 사막의별똥별찾기), hosted by the Broadcasting Contents Promotion Foundation in 2015. Despite the common material, ranging from amnesia to corporate heirs, the drama's storyline got praises from both fans and critics. The filming location used for Louis' Castle in the first episode is the

Château de Bourron A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking reg ...

near Paris in France.

Original soundtrack

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Songs featured in the television series but not included in the original soundtrack include: * "

She She or S.H.E. may refer to: Language * She (pronoun), the third person singular, feminine, nominative case pronoun in modern English Places * She County, Anhui ** She Prefecture, 589-1121 * She County, Hebei * She River, or Sheshui, Hubei * ...

" by

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

, featured in Ep. 1, 3, 7, and 16. * "

A Whole New World "A Whole New World" is the signature song from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's 1992 animated feature film Aladdin (1992 Disney film), ''Aladdin'', with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice. A duet originally recorded by singers B ...

" by Brad Kane and

Lea Salonga Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga, ( ; born February 22, 1971) is a Filipino singer and actress. Known primarily for her work in theatre, she has starred in musicals on Broadway and in the West End. Her accolades include a Tony Award and a L ...

, featured in Ep. 2. * "

Memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembe ...

" by

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

, featured in Ep. 4. * "

Goodnight Moon ''Goodnight Moon'' is an American Children's literature, children's book written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. It was published on September 3, 1947, and is a highly acclaimed bedtime story. This book is the second in ...

" by Shivaree, featured in Ep. 5. * " I Was Born To Love You" by

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

, featured in Ep. 6. * " Perhaps Love" by

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

, featured in Ep. 7. * "

Be My Baby "Be My Baby" is a song by the American girl group the Ronettes that was released as a single on Philles Records in August 1963. Written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector, the song was the Ronettes' biggest hit, reaching number ...

" by

The Ronettes The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of the lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Ta ...

, featured in Ep. 8. * " Can't Smile Without You" by

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...

, featured in Ep. 9. * "

The Moon Represents My Heart "The Moon Represents My Heart" () is a song originally recorded by Taiwanese singer Chen Fen-lan for her album ''Dreamland'', which was released through Li Ge Records in May 1973. It was then re-recorded by fellow Taiwanese recording artist Liu G ...

" by

Teresa Teng Teng Li-Chun ( zh, t=鄧麗君, s=, p=Dèng Lìjūn; 29 January 1953 – 8 May 1995), commonly known as Teresa Teng, was a Taiwanese singer, television personality, musician, and philanthropist. Referred to by some as the "Honorific nicknames i ...

, featured in Ep. 10. * "

Reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...

" by

Richard Sanderson Richard Sanderson (born 5 March 1953 in Taplow) is an English singer, best known for his hit songs "Reality", "So Many Ways" and "She's a Lady". Career Born in England to a Scottish drum-playing father and a French accordionist mother, Sander ...

, featured in Ep. 12. * "

My Way "My Way" is Paul Anka's English-language lyrical adaptation of the French song " Comme d'habitude", released by Frank Sinatra in 1969. The original song was written by Jacques Revaux, Gilles Thibaut, and Claude François, and was first recor ...

" by

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

, featured in Ep. 15. * " I'm Your Man" by

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

, featured in the final episode.

Ratings

Awards and nominations

References

Notes

External links

* * * {{IMDb title, id=tt5994306 2016 South Korean television series debuts 2016 South Korean television series endings MBC TV television dramas South Korean romantic comedy television series Television shows set in South Korea Television shows set in France