See You in My 19th Life

Another webtoon turn K-drama has retaken hold of all of us. First, it was What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, then it was True Beauty, next we couldn’t stop talking about All of Us Are Dead, and now everyone is talking about See You in My 19th Life. So let’s get into these First Thoughts.

See You in My 19th Life is about a woman named Ban Ji-eum,  who, between the ages of 8-12, begins to remember all of her past lives. In her 19th life, she sets out to reconnect with a lost love from her 18th life, which was cut tragically short.

Why I Wanted to Watch

1. I love K-dramas that have the whole spiritual world element. One of my favorite recent dramas is Mystic Pop-up Bar which has the same vibe. I like these shows because you get to see a bit of Korean culture regarding the spiritual worldview, and it gives me something to Google to find more information. Additionally, I think anyone that believes in past lives knows that your spirit transcends any cultural affiliations. But many Korean shows seem to only focus on Korean past lives or how the show is written implies that your past lives will always be from one cultural group.  But this show posits that our past lives can be from any culture. There might be one culture that our spirit is more comfortable with, obviously, in this case, it is a Korean show; therefore, Ji-eum has had more lives in Korea. But Ji-eum has a range of past lives, from all over the world. I’m really interested to see how the show unpacks that.

2. The show stars Shin Hye-sun as Ban Ji-eum. I’ve seen Shin Hye-sun in so many shows as a side character, such as Legend of the Blue Sea (which also has a past life element that I enjoyed). She was so funny in that show. She has great comedic timing, and is good at physical comedy, particularly in how she uses her face to convey emotion. You really get to see her comedic timing in Mr. Queen which she was spectacular in. If you haven’t seen it, I highly, highly recommend it. 

The same reason she was so good in Mr. Queen, is that Shin Hye-sun is able to embody these other characters with just a slight change in the tone of her voice or the movement of her lips. So in Mr. Queen, you really think she is a man trapped in the body of a Joseon-era woman. And while it may seem obvious to do, one can see how this kind of acting can come off over-exaggerated and unnatural. Not with Shin Hye-sun.

You can see her ability in this show. Without giving too much away, in the first episode, Ban Ji-eum remembers her lives and goes to find her niece from her 17th life. Her niece of course is a grown woman now, but when she interacts with this character, she interacts with her as an older man (which is what she was in her 17th life) and you believe her acting. When she interacts with her main love interest from her 18th life, she acts more childish and full of wonderment and the switch is natural and easy. Like personality expressions and not acting. 

3. Studio Dragon is the production company on this show. Studio Dragon has so many shows on Netflix including some of my favorites: Crash Landing on You, Crash Course in Romance, Hometown Cha Cha Cha, It’s Okay Not to Be Okay, Vincenzo, Mr. Queen, The Uncanny Counter, and more. So I think it is safe to assume this show will be entertaining.

Where We are so Far/ the Set up of the show

This is just an overview of the first two episodes of the show. There aren’t too many giveaways, but anywho, SPOILER ALERT.

Between 8 and 12, Ban Ji-eum remembers her past lives. This happens around the same age range in every life and she keeps those memories with her. In her 19th life, she’s been born into a poor family with a gambling-addicted father. When her mother abandons the family, in order to make money, Ji-eum uses her talents from her previous lives including flamenco dancing, marketing herself as a child prodigy. Her father takes all of her money. Deciding that this 19th life is going to be a hard one if she doesn’t make a change, Ji-eum decides to see if her niece from her 17th life is still alive. In her 17th life, Ji-eum was a man named Kim Jung-ho who was raising his young niece, Kim Ae-gyeong. Ji-eum finds Ae-gyeong and convinces her that she is the reincarnation of her uncle. Ae-gyeong takes Ji-eum in and raises her. 

Ji-eum’s next mission is to find the love of her 18th life. In her 18th life, Ji-eum was a young girl named Yoon Ju-won. Ju-won is 12 and remembers all her past lives. She is just going through the motions when she meets and befriends Mun Seo-ha. Their friendship blooms into young love but Ju-won’s life is cut short. At the end of all her lives, Ji-eum wished not to be reincarnated again but at the end of her life as Ju-won she decides that she wants to return to be with Mun Seo-ha. 

Now as 9-year-old Ji-eum, she finds Seo-ha who is now an older teenager in his last year of high school. He eventually leaves to live abroad. Ji-eum decides to create a life path that leads right to Seo-ha. She becomes an excellent engineer and is able to get a job in Seo-ha’a father’s company.  When Seo-ha decides to return to Korea to run his late mother’s hotel, Ji-eum hilariously lands a job at the hotel. Now she is in hot pursuit, trying to get Seo-ha to remember who she is. 

Thoughts So Far

I’m really looking forward to seeing how Ban Ji-eum’s romance unfolds with Mun Seo-ha.  Ju-won’s younger sister is grown up now and seems to be in love with Seo-ha. So this will present a foil and a question I think the show will try to tackle. 

The question: What is the meaning of fate?  

In the traditional reincarnation concepts, people just feel drawn or repelled by each other, but Ji-eum has the power to make things happen based on previous knowledge, but does she have the right? Is she supposed to? Maybe she isn’t supposed to be with him until her 20th or 21st life? 

Predictions

• Seo-ha’s mother dies of an illness, I’m assuming cancer. As the show goes on, we will find out that Seo-ha’s father successfully killed his mother and tried to kill Seo-ha, or Seo-ha’s stepmother tried to kill him unsuccessfully. I don’t want to say any more than that.
• I think Ju-won’s sister Cho-won is going to figure out that Ji-eum is the reincarnation of her sister before Seo-ha and this is going to cause tension between them. As Ji-eum might think her sister will step aside but Cho-won might decide not to.
• I also think, Ji-eum is going to meet someone who is like her and is going to warn her off of pushing the relationship with Seo-ha, because I think this concept of fate is going to be important as the show goes on.
• My last prediction, Ji-eum or Seo-ha are not going to be able to get together. I think one of them will die and both will be reincarnated again. If not, there is going to be some kind major accident where Ji-eum is near death and she forgets everything while Seo-ha remembers. I don’t know. It’s going to be something that will make me cry.

Well, that’s it. I can’t wait to see how this show unfolds and if my predictions are accurate. Oh, and ask me if I am simultaneously reading the webtoon. You’re right I am!