“Move to Heaven” (무브 투 헤븐: 나는 유품정리사입니다)

By Jae-Ha Kim
Substack
July 26, 2021

Sang-Gu (played by Lee Je-Hoon)
Geu-Ru (played by Tang Joon-Sang)
↑Note: Korean names denote the surname followed by the given name.

Former firefighter Jeong-Woo (Ji Jin-Hee) and his son, Geu-Ru, run a business called Move to Heaven. They are known as trauma cleaners and they are called in to deal with the after effects of death. A young man injured on the job — but not having the money to go to the hospital — bleeds out and dies in a dingy room that needs to be stripped clean before it can be rented out again. An elderly woman dies alone in squalor. Meanwhile, her adult son who had neglected her in her old age is eager to gain control of all her assets. And in one of the more gut-wrenching vignettes, a Korean adoptee is deported to Korea after committing a petty crime in the United States.

With his meticulous eye for detail and inability to give up, Geu-Ru is like a young detective, whose brilliant mind allows him to solve puzzles that others can’t see.

After Jeong-Woo dies, 19-year-old Geu-Ru is now an orphan. He is left in the care of his gruff, estranged uncle, Sang-Gu, who doesn’t know what to make of him. Geu-Ru, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, is a perfectionist who doesn’t like to deviate from his routine. He sits in the same spot for breakfast every morning and gets agitated if his sunnyside up egg yolk isn’t perfect. Sang-Gu is rough around the edges with a chip on his shoulder. Though flashbacks will show him in a loving relationship with his elder half brother, he has nothing but contempt now for Jeong-Woo, who he believes failed in protecting him (and their mother) from his abusive father.

Bloodline has an interesting place in this K-drama. Though Sang-Gu had spent time in jail, he is considered the best guardian for Geu-Ru, because he is the young man’s only living relative. (Geu-Ru’s mother died when he was young.)  But in the story arc involving the adoptee Mattthew Green (played by Kevin Oh), his having been adopted seems to wipe out his Koreanness.

With no skills other than fighting, Sang-Gu takes part in illegal, underground boxing/MMA matches, where the only rule is to survive. The matches are run by a woman, who this series sets up as the bad guy. And she is a horrible person. But in reality, most of the men who participate in these fight clubs do so because they want (what they think is) an easy way to earn a lot of money fast. And she gives them the forum.

One of the highlights of this series is a backstory that shows Sang-Gu mentoring a high school student who had been bullied. Soo-Cheol (Lee Jae-Wook) ends up in a coma that Sang-Gu feels responsible for. And this is one reason why he almost doesn’t want to improve his life. Living a miserable life makes him feel less guilty about Soo-Cheol.

As the uncle and nephew, Lee Je-Hoon and Tang Joon-Sang (“Racket Boys,” “Crash Landing on You“), respectively, are superb. Lee plays his brutal and slovenly character with charm and humor, while Tang articulates with his movements and voice what Geu-Ru is going through. I watched this series around the same time as “Racket Boys,” where Tang plays a brash character, whose confidence was equaled only by his ability to deliver what he bragged about. Just 17, he is such a talented actor, with an incredible range.

Ultimately, Geu-Ru is able to get closure on his father’s death, which gives him peace of mind.

“Move to Heaven” is a beautiful and at times cruel series that tells so many different stories, but each is told with care. This K-drama also shows how you don’t need things to remember a person. But having a few treasured mementos can help the survivors go on with life. The way Jeong-Woo — and later Geu-Ru — picked the most important items and fit them into a box about the size of a milk crate was commendable and incredibly touching. When I think of what I’d want my family to have to remember me by, it’s not any furniture or a car. Rather, it’s photos and ticket stubs from things we shared together that are most meaningful, to me.

Airdates: Ten episodes were released on Netflix on May 14, 2021. Each episode was between 45- to 60-minutes long.

Spoiler Alert: Sang-Gu and Jeong-Woo are half brothers, who had the same mother. While in high school, Jeong-Woo tried to protect their mother and Sang-Gu from the latter’s abusive father. After both of Sang-Gu’s parents die, Jeong-Woo promises to raise him so that the child isn’t sent to an orphanage. They arrange a day and time to meet. But Jeong-Woo never arrives. Unbeknownst to Sang-Gu, the older brother had gone to a department store to buy the little boy Nike shoes for his birthday. When the building collapsed, he was trapped in the rubble. And by the time he was rescued and recovered, Sang-Gu had been taken to an orphanage. After Jeong-Woo’s death, Sang-Gu discovers what had happened to his brother, and finds dozens of new Nike shoes — each a little bigger than the previous year’s — that Jeong-Woo had bought every year for his birthday. There are also stacks of flyers from when he was desperately trying to find his brother.

The Matthew Green storyline seems to have been based on the recent cases of Korean adoptees who have been deported to Korea, because their irresponsible adoptive parents never bothered to do all the paperwork to finalize their U.S. citizenship. Most Korean adoptees who are adopted internationally are not raised to speak Korean. So it’s particularly cruel to return a person to a country where they know no one, aren’t familiar with the culture and can’t speak the language.

The series finale was perplexing. A high school girl walks up to Geu-Reu to hire Move to Heaven…for herself. There is no explanation. Does she plan to die by suicide? Is she terminally ill and wants to spare her family? The girl looks peaceful and content, while Geu-Reu looks uncomfortable and confused, much like I was.

© 2021 JAE-HA KIM | All Rights Reserved