Hotel del Luna (Korean: 호텔 델루나) is a South Korean television series starring Lee Ji-eun and Yeo Jin-goo as the owner and manager, respectively, of the eponymous hotel that caters only to ghosts. Produced by GTist, written by the Hong sisters and directed by Oh Chung-hwan, it aired on tvN from July 13 to September 1, 2019.
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Synopsis
Hotel del Luna (originally known as Guest House of the Moon) is a supernatural hotel that caters exclusively to ghosts. Hidden from ordinary human view during the day, it can be seen in its true form only under special circumstances. Its guests are spirits who have unresolved matters from their former lives and remain there until they are able to move on to the afterlife and reincarnation. The hotel's staff are likewise bound to the premises, many of them having remained there for decades or centuries because they have not yet resolved their own lingering grudges.
An exception is the position of general manager, which is always held by a human. Because the hotel must occasionally deal with the living world, the manager acts as an intermediary in matters such as finances and requests involving the ghosts' surviving relatives or acquaintances.
The hotel's owner is Jang Man-wol, who has been bound to it for more than a thousand years as punishment for a grave sin committed in the past. Through the intervention of the deity Magu, Man-wol makes an arrangement with Gu Chan-sung's father: in return for sparing his life, Chan-sung is promised to the hotel twenty years later.
Although his father attempts to prevent this fate by taking him abroad, Gu Chan-sung eventually returns to South Korea after his father's death. By then an accomplished and rational hotelier, he becomes involved with Man-wol once again and is compelled to honor the agreement by taking up the post of general manager at Hotel del Luna.
As Chan-sung adapts to his new role, the history of the hotel and the truth about Man-wol's past are gradually revealed.
Cast
Main
Lee Ji-eun as Jang Man-wol
Kim Gyu-ri as young Jang Man-wol
The moody owner of Hotel del Luna (Guest House of the Moon). She was condemned to this fate in order to atone for the sins she committed 1,300 years ago. Alternating between being aloof and bad-tempered, she is known for her love of extravagant things, particularly luxurious outfits, fast cars, and expensive champagne.
Yeo Jin-goo as Gu Chan-sung
Kim Kang-hoon as young Gu Chan-sung
The new general manager of Hotel del Luna. He is a Harvard MBA graduate hired as an assistant manager at one of Korea's top hotels. However, due to a deal his father made with Jang Man-wol twenty-one years earlier, Chan-sung is forced to become the general manager of Hotel del Luna. Being stoic and rational puts him at odds with Man-wol, particularly when he curbs her spendthrift and extortionist tendencies.
Supporting
Jung Dong-hwan as Noh Joon-suk
The hotel's general manager for 30 years and Chan-sung's predecessor. He considers Man-wol a sister, daughter and friend.
Shin Jung-geun as Kim Seon-bi
The employee who has been at the hotel for the longest time and the Sky Bar's bartender. In life, he was a Joseon scholar who died just as he passed the state exam.
Bae Hae-sun as Choi Seo-hee
The housekeeper and room service provider with an extrovert personality. She lived 200 years prior during the Joseon era as a nobleman's wife but met a sticky end.
Pyo Ji-hoon as Ji Hyun-joong
The hotel receptionist. He is nice and polite, but does not like his job. He was a student who died at the height of the Korean War after being drafted; he is waiting for his younger sister, who is still alive, to pass from old age.
Kang Mi-na as spirit of Jung Soo-jung / Kim Yoo-na
A rich and arrogant student whose body ends up being inhabited by the spirit of Jung Soo-jung, a schoolmate whom Yoo-na bullied and accidentally killed. When Yoo-na's spirit is destroyed, Soo-jung decides to remain inside Yoo-na's body and assumes her identity.
Lee Do-hyun as Go Chung-myung
A Later Silla royal guard captain who becomes a friend of Man-wol and Yeon-woo.
Lee Tae-sun as Yeon-woo / Officer Park Young-soo
The co-leader of the bandits and Man-wol's adopted brother. He is reincarnated as police detective Park Young-soo.
Special appearances
Oh Ji-ho as Chan-sung's father
Kim Won-hae as a mayor
Lee Chae-kyung as a hotel CEO
Nam Kyoung-eub as Chairman Wang
Lee Joon-gi as a priest
Lee Si-eon as an astronaut
Jo Hyun-sik as a hotel guest
Hong Kyung as a baker
Kim Mi-eun as Lee Soo-min
Lee Yi-kyung as Yu Oh
Pyo Ye-jin as an actress
Kim Jun-hyun as himself (Ep. 6)
Park Jin-joo as Gyeong-ah
Nam Da-reum as Spirit of the Well
Sulli as Jung Ji-eun
Choi Yoo-song as the spirit of Chan-sung's mother
Seo Eun-soo as Veronica
Hwang Young-hee as Hwang Moon-sook
Lee Seung-joon as a doctor
So Hee-jung as the doctor's wife
Kim Seung-han as the doctor's son
Lee Min-young as a ghost
Kim Soo-hyun as the new owner of the Guest House of the Moon, renamed "Hotel Blue Moon"
Original soundtrack
Viewership
The series aired on tvN, a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).
Adaptations
On June 24, 2020, Studio Dragon announced that it would co-produce an American remake of Hotel del Luna with Skydance. Alison Schapker will be in charge of developing and producing the series. She will be working with Miky Lee, Jinnie Choi and Hyun Park of Studio Dragon, and David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Bill Bost of Skydance Television.
On January 27, 2021, the theater company Showplay announced that Hotel del Luna would be adapted into a stage musical that premiered in South Korea in 2022.