The Midnight Studio actor Joo Won
The Midnight Studio actor Joo Won (Photo Credit: ENA)

The Midnight Studio Episode 1 Recap: How Did Joo Won’s Curse Help the Dead?

The Midnight Studio episode 1 premiered on ENA on Monday, March 12, 2024. Starring Joo Won and Kwon Na-Ra, the new K-drama revolves around a photographer running a photo studio where his clients are ghosts.

The first episode begins with Joo Won’s Seo Ki-Joo showing around his photo studio. He welcomes a male customer and clicks his picture through an ancient camera. Once it clicks, the person transforms from a tidy man to a ghost covered in blood. Ki-Joo narrates that he has the ability to see ghosts and take photos of their last memories that they couldn’t while they were alive.

The business has been passed down to him. The episode further takes viewers back to the time when the curse began. 

The Midnight Studio episode 1 spoilers: Photographer Joo Won captures one last memory of the dead

A long time ago, a nobleman steals Grim Reaper’s belongings, which turns out to be a camera. The belief is that this object can bring back people from the dead. Hence, the nobleman brings it to his dying son. However, the Grim Reaper appears and looks angry. The sad father begs the Grim Reaper to take his life but save his son. 

The Grim Reaper grants his wish, stating that his son and his descendants will live for 35 years and deal with ghosts all their lives. At the moment, the nobleman thinks it is a wish, but soon, it turns out to be a curse for the following generations. Joo Won’s Seo Ki-Joo comes from the same family and thus can see and talk with ghosts.

He runs the photo studio with Assistant Ko (Yoo In-Soo) and Baek Nam-Goo (Eum Moon-Suk). Both of them are ghosts. In The Midnight Studio episode 1, an incident with an angry ghost gets the trio kicked out of their apartment. While searching for a new office space, Ki-Joo arrives at a building where he faces several unhappy spirits. One of them tries to kill him in the elevator when Kwon Na-Ra’s Han Bom appears. To his shock, the ghost is now unable to harm him.

Later, Ki-Joo finds a place in the same building where Han Bom lives. Their paths cross once again when they deal with the same client. Han Bom is an attorney whose client is the wife of Ki-Joo’s ghost customer. Joo Won’s character helps the couple have their last photograph together before the husband crosses over to the world of the dead.

The Midnight Studio episode 1 ending: Kwon Na-Ra enters the ghost studio, shocks Joo Won 

In The Midnight Studio episode 1, Han Bom (Kwon Na-Ra) is a part-time lawyer and doesn’t earn well. Her rent is due, and her landlord wants her to move out. When she realizes that her place has been rented out to someone else, she sneaks in to find out.

When she enters the room, she notices an “open” sign. Interestingly, the sign can only be seen by ghosts or Seo Ki-Joo (Joo Won). Han Bom gets curious when she sees lights behind a closed door. When she opens it, she is surprised to witness an entirely new passage. Suspiciously, she enters the room.

Although Han Bom is shocked by this new finding, she seems happy with the scenery and ambiance. The Midnight Studio episode 1 ends with Ki-Joo noticing her while leaving his magical photo studio. Shockingly, he asks, “What’s with you? Are you dead?”

Meanwhile, viewers can watch the premiere episode on Viki. The Midnight Studio K-drama airs twice a week on Monday and Tuesday on ENA.

Movie News

Marvel and DC

X