Shopping King Louie and the Real Source of Happiness

My unexpected fondness for Korean dramas was one of the effects that the COVID19 pandemic brought me. Since February of this year, I have seen a number of Kdramas of different genres which were from the advice of peers from my former office; some of which became personal favorites while there are also a number of titles I can recommend to friends who just started joining the Kdrama hype. Incidentally, I am closing this year with a heartwarming rom-com, Shopping King Louie.

In Shopping King Louie, Seo In-guk plays Kang Ji-Sung, who also goes by the nickname Louie, the heir of a chaebol chairman who resorts to online shopping as a means to divert his emotions from loneliness. After a plot to kill him causes him to develop temporary amnesia, he ends up in the care of Ko Bok-shil (portrayed by Nam Ji-hyun), a poor but kindhearted bumpkin who, despite growing up in the countryside and acquiring limited education, adapts well to challenges and situations associated with city life.

Prior to watching the show, I have read a few reactions online saying that Shopping King Louie is fun to watch. Well, I must admit that the comments of strangers did not disappoint. Next to teaching me a thing or two about the wonders of eCommerce and how online shopping influenced our lives, watching this drama at some point made me think about what it means to be truly happy. It made me recall a part of the lecture from an online course of Yale University called The Science of Well Being which I took at the height of the COVID19 lockdown. The course lecturer, Professor Laurie Santos stated a fact: “we live in a culture whose economy relies on us wanting awesome stuff (in order to be happy)”. She even raised an advice that rather than investing in material things, we should focus more on investing in experiences because it is less susceptible to social comparison. 


Such advice was apparent in Shopping King Louie. The time Ji-sung spent with Bok-shil allowed him to see and experience things and situations that were unknown to him as he was raised as a sheltered rich kid. With Bok-shil as his companion, he learned how to put value and appreciate the things that truly matter; most of them weren’t even the extravagant kind that he grew up with. 


The characters in this drama were fun to watch too as they also tend to teach the audience lessons about loyalty, trust, forgiveness and the importance of appreciation and its effect on others. I also loved the “oldies” feels because the drama incorporated the songs from renowned artists that aren’t even Koreans. It’s good to hear Celine Dion’s Power of Love, Frank Sinatra’s My Way, and All You Need is Love by the Beatles in a show that’s not even of American origin (but the main character Louis speaks good English!). The final two episodes got me teary-eyed for there are scenes that are just heartwarming but there are also some scenes that retains the kilig feels of romantic-comedy dramas. I am just glad that I am closing this year having finished a Kdrama that I can recommend to some of my friends. Oh, and a tip for the ladies, if you want a powerful piece of elderly wisdom on what wearing high heels can do for you, this one would be worth-watching. 

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