Conjuring Up Shamans, Ghosts And Love In ‘Head Over Heels’

Cho Yi-hyun and Choo Young-woo’s characters meet when he consults a shaman in ‘Head Over Heels.’

Prime

Head Over Heels is an engaging paranormal romance that derives much of its onscreen magic from its colorful shamanistic rituals and creatively conceived ghosts. Seong-A, played by Cho Yi-hyun, is a mudang or shaman, who offers consultations at night. During the day she’s a high school student, who doesn’t want her classmates to know she’s a mudang. Two of the people she meets at a consultation are Geon-U (Choo Young-woo) and his grandmother. They seek a talisman to counter his persistent bad luck. Unfortunately, it will take more than a few rituals to dispel what plagues him and in the interim he may have to overcome his distrust of shamans.

The Korean series is based on a webtoon, and, according to director Kim Yong-wan, shamanistic rites and practices were not a major focus in the webtoon. The writer, Yang Ji-hoon, strengthened the occult elements to incorporate them into the lead character’s narratives.

“In pre-production, we held in-depth discussions with real shamans on how to integrate these elements naturally into the story,” said Kim. “Drawing on those insights, we collaborated closely with the cinematography, lighting, art, and costume teams to highlight Head Over Heels’ distinctive shamanistic atmosphere through set design, wardrobe, lighting, and other visual details.”

The crew consulted mediums Jo Hyun-woo and Yoon Mi-young, as well as CEO Jo Ji-hoon, who previously advised on TVING’s entertainment show Shaman: Whispers from the Dead, the film The Wailing and the drama The Cursed.

“Also, Cho Yi-hyun, who played Seong-A, and key staff even attended a real rite in person,” said Kim. “I also interviewed several female shamans in their 20s to create a clear blueprint for Seong-A, who serves the lady fairy.”

Historically, politics and religion in Korea have been closely intertwined, and shamanism has taken deep root as a form of folk belief. Shamanistic elements are naturally woven into Korean holidays and ancestral memorial rites. People have long honored ‘spirits’ and ‘ancestors’ together, said Kim, as an inseparable part of daily life.

‘Shamanism has also evolved through diverse cultural and artistic forms—music, painting, performance, and film—making it both mysterious and familiar to the public,” said Kim. “Films like The Wailing and Exhuma have already captivated audiences with shamanistic themes, and in recent years, shamanism has expanded beyond horror and the occult into genres like fantasy, action, romance, and even variety shows, becoming increasingly familiar to viewers. Globally, thanks to the popularity of Netflix’s animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters, the imagery of “K-shamanism” has become more recognizable to international audiences. I believe this may be a time of unprecedented transformation for Korean shamanism—not merely as a religious tradition, but as a cultural phenomenon deeply intertwined with K-culture.”

Incorporating more rites and practices into the script was not the only change from the webtoon. Another change was making Gyeon-U an archer.

“Filming the archery scenes required building a practice range at a real school location, which was quite a challenge,” said Kim. “In the latter half of the story, there are several scenes where he uses a bow to fend off ghosts, so safety was a major concern—but in the end, I’m very happy with the results.”

Various ghosts were introduced during the first six episodes, including water ghosts, fire ghosts, baby ghosts, dog ghosts, suicide ghosts, each connecting with a character’s personal demons.

“Some ghosts—like the water ghost, fire ghost, maiden ghost, and faceless ghost—were intentionally designed to feel familiar, to help the audience understand,” said Kim. “The suicide ghost, however, was newly created: its face is like a black hole, symbolizing the heavy pull of despair, as if sinking into a swamp. The baby ghost needed to be both threatening and endearing, as its tragic backstory meant it couldn’t be presented as purely terrifying. Bok-i, the dog ghost, was the only guardian spirit.”

When designing the ghosts, the crew focused on staying true to the work’s tone and style, making sure their creations felt authentically “Korean,” familiar enough for the audience to understand them, yet also fresh and unique. They often came up with new ideas on set with the actors.

“For example, with the suicide ghost, we debated whether it should walk like a human or float as if suspended, finalizing the movement only in post-production.”

In the webtoon, the malevolent spirits were portrayed simply as black shadows. In the drama, they were realized as more human-shaped figures with a dark, ominous presence.

“Because each spirit had its own movement and a specific purpose for Seong-A to exorcise, we used real actors in black suits as stand-ins during filming.”

One of the most challenging aspects was visualizing the idea that “those fated to die enter the Buddhist temple walking upside down.” When Seong-A sees an upside-down Gyeon-U walk into her consultation room, she knows he’s in danger.

“Deciding how to visualize this was difficult; we debated whether to focus on Gyeon-U’s steps or to frame the shot more tightly on the character for a dreamlike effect.”

Kim is drawn to filmmaking because it’s a collaborative process.

“All film and video production is a collaborative process, and especially in today’s rapidly evolving technical environment,” said Kim. “I believe it’s the flexibility and communication skills of the staff and cast that truly lead to better work. Since Head Over Heels blends multiple genres—romance, school drama, sports, and occult—we encouraged each part’s head to approach their work as if they were directing their own specialty.”

At the end of one episode Seong-A and another shaman Yeomhwa (Choo Ja-hyun) perform a beautiful flower lantern dance.

‘We wanted a scene that felt more beautiful and dance-like than the traditional Korean form,” said Kim. “Our shaman masters redesigned it for two people, while the art and lighting teams created lanterns with internal lighting that reflected each character’s assigned color. This scene wasn’t in the original webtoon, but through extensive discussion, we developed a tone and style that positively influenced the entire production.”

Another example is an action scene in which Dongcheon and Flower Master battle a faceless ghost.

“This kind of action scene hadn’t appeared in the series before, but we staged it like a video game battle to highlight each shaman’s unique abilities,” said Kim. “The actors trained extensively, and the CG, stunt, and camera teams worked with precision to produce a truly satisfying result.”

Kim describes the romance in Head Over Heels as an innocent yet desperate love, a first love worth risking your life for.

“It’s not mere recklessness born of youth,” said Kim. “Both characters have deep emotional wounds from the prejudice and selfishness of the adult world, which cut deeper than any ghost. By sincerely comforting and relying on each other, their love becomes noble. Ultimately, through saving each other, Seong-A and Gyeon-U reclaim their humanity and return to an ordinary life of youth. That was the core message of our drama.”

Head Over Heels airs on Prime.