Tired of cookie-cutter revenge thrillers? 'A Shop for Killers' offers a refreshing dose of action

A scene from "A Shop for Killers" / Courtesy of Disney+

By Hankookilbo

• Published Aug 15, 2026 11:47 AM KST
• Updated Aug 15, 2026 1:42 PM KST

Jeong Ji-an (Kim Hye-jun), who lost both of her parents as a child, grew up with her uncle. But when Ji-an is a 21-year-old college student, her uncle dies by suicide. He had always kept her at a distance, and she is so angry that he died suddenly without saying a word that she cannot even cry.

Then, immediately after the funeral, the truth about her uncle, Jeong Jin-man (Lee Dong-wook), begins to emerge.

Even his occupation was a lie. The agricultural hose shopping website he ran in a rural village was merely a front for "Murderhelp," an online weapons store for assassins.

As Ji-an struggles to believe that her uncle was an arms dealer, killers with old scores to settle with Jin-man begin surrounding her home, intent on eliminating her and taking over the store.

Season 1 of the Disney+ series "A Shop for Killers," released in 2024, followed Ji-an's struggle for survival while trapped inside her home and surrounded by assassins. She solved a number of mysteries, but the season ended with her uncle returning alive, suggesting that many secrets remained hidden.

The series returned with its second season last month.

A mystery thriller wrapped in smart action

"A Shop for Killers" can easily be mistaken for a straightforward action series. From the word "killers" in its title to posters filled with weapons, it has all the trappings of a conventional action drama.

But based on Kang Ji-young's thriller novel "The Killer's Shopping Mall," the series is closer to a mystery thriller. From the uncle's suspicious death and the shopping mall's strange rules to people whose allegiance remains impossible to determine, nearly everything is shrouded in mystery.

All the while, bullets are flying from every direction.

Ji-an survives each crisis by piecing together the lessons her uncle always began with the phrase, "Listen up, Ji-an." The reasons behind his unusual parenting methods, including training her to use a slingshot and practice shooting, gradually become clear.

The carefully constructed plot moves between past and present, revealing secrets one by one and drawing viewers deeper into the story.

The action revolves around battles of wits. Instead of the conventional action formula of determining "who is stronger," victory depends on "who is smarter."

The killers hunting Ji-an meticulously seize the initiative with cutting-edge equipment including gun-equipped drones and quadruped robots, while Ji-an and her allies fight back by ingeniously using sofas and other household objects and tools.

There is no superhuman protagonist single-handedly overpowering everyone, nor is there the familiar catharsis of a revenge hero indiscriminately beating and smashing enemies.

Instead, the series turns the characters' choices and ingenuity in their fight for survival into intelligent action, adding density to its narrative. For viewers tired of the flood of cookie-cutter action shows that followed the rise of streaming platforms, the series can feel like a cool breeze on a hot day.

Reduced to its basic premise, the series tells the story of "a woman in her 20s who suddenly becomes the target of assassins and survives through ingenuity and help from those around her."

In male-centered action stories, women still frequently serve either as people men must protect or as devices used to justify male revenge. Ji-an, however, gradually transforms from a "victim who needs protection" into an active survivor.

Women without the 'female assassin cliché'

After learning the truth about her uncle and the shopping mall, she chooses her own path. She later becomes the strategist behind the fight against the global mercenary corporation Babylon, taking control of the battlefield.

She sometimes tries to escape the world of assassins and struggles with guilt over killing, but she grows into a leader who does not turn away from responsibility.

Eventually, Ji-an turns the words she heard throughout childhood back on her uncle: "Listen up, uncle."

Another key pillar of the story is So Min-hye (Geum Hae-na), an elite "S-class assassin." She comes to protect Ji-an under the rule that members of the shopping mall must protect its operators, Jin-man and Ji-an.

Min-hye defeats her enemies through fluid action and clever strategy, completely dispensing with the familiar "female assassin cliché" of leather outfits designed to emphasize sex appeal.

One of the highlights of Season 1 is a sequence in which Min-hye uses her surroundings inside a dark warehouse to eliminate more than 10 male mercenaries one by one.

Previously little known to the public, Geum gained recognition through the role, earning the nickname "Korea's Angelina Jolie." She won best supporting actress at the Blue Dragon Series Awards for Season 1.

Season 2 expands the roster of female assassins. While all of Babylon's mercenaries in Season 1 were men, female leaders have joined the organization in the second season.

Kusanagi Jin (Jung Yoon-ha), from Babylon's Japanese branch, takes charge of its Korean branch, while Q (Hyunri) serves as a team leader, with both portraying ruthless assassins.

The Season 2 press conference last month also featured an unusual sight for an action series: an equal number of female and male cast members. Four women — Kim Hye-jun, Geum Hae-na, Jung Yoon-ha and Hyunri — attended alongside four men — Lee Dong-wook, Jo Han-sun, Kim Min and Masaki Okada.

The production team's sensibilities are also apparent in its treatment of its female characters. Director Lee Kwon again handled the adaptation and direction following Season 1, while filmmaker E.oni, Lee's wife and the director of films including "Missing" (2016) and "Love in the Big City" (2024), participated as a creator.

Performances that make foreign characters convincing

The foreign assassins are also memorable characters.

Min-hye is Chinese, while Pasin (Kim Min), Ji-an's Muay Thai instructor and Jin-man's longtime colleague, is Thai.

Chinese and Southeast Asian assassins in action productions are often portrayed as inexplicably brutal killers. Here, however, Min-hye is depicted as a woman who remains committed to both her obligations as a member of the shopping mall and her personal loyalty. Pasin is portrayed as a humorous mentor with exceptional martial arts skills.

The series gives dimension to their pasts and internal conflicts instead of using them merely as background characters to make the protagonists look better.

Strong performances also make the series feel plausible rather than like a comic book or fantasy.

Kim Hye-jun and Lee Dong-wook anchor the story with performances that are neither overly solemn nor exaggerated.

Many viewers were particularly surprised to learn that Geum, who convincingly speaks Korean with a Chinese accent, and Kim, who draws laughs with Korean-style humor delivered as though by a foreigner, are actually Korean.

Many viewers are already waiting for a third season.

"We're thinking about Season 3, but as you know, the decision isn't mine," director Lee Kwon said with a laugh at the Season 2 press conference.

Whether viewers will get to continue watching Ji-an's growth now rests with Disney+.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.