See You in My 19th Life (2023)

September 17, 2023

Our Take: Despite the unique premise, the storyline gets lost along the way and ultimately misses the mark. 

Ban Ji Eum (Shin Hye Sun) can remember the memories of all her past lives. At the age of 9, a young Ji Eum (Park So Yi) gets hit with the realization that she's currently living her 19th life and has been reincarnating with her past memories for nearly a thousand years. After remembering that her 18th life was cut short by a tragic car accident, she seeks to reconnect with Moon Seo Ha (Ahn Bo Hyun), her childhood friend and playmate when she was Yoon Joo Won (Kim Shi Ah). 

But unfortunately, in this life, she gets dealt a difficult card. She lives in poverty and has an abusive father who wastes all his money on gambling. Ji Eum is forced to go on various TV talent shows to make money to support herself, but her father steals all her money. Out of desperation, she runs away to restaurant owner Kim Ae Kyung (Cha Chung Hwa), her niece in her 17th life. With some coaxing, Ji Eum convinces Ae Kyung that she is her uncle Kim Jung Ho (Lee Jae Kyoon). With Ae Kyung's support, Ji Eum eventually finds her way back to Seo Ha when he's a high schooler. 

But, shortly after his mother's death, Seo Ha moves to Germany to work in an offshore branch of his father's company. As the years pass, Ji Eum joins the auto division of the company Seo Ha's family owns in hopes of seeing him again. Just as she's about to request a transfer to Germany, Seo Ha returns to Korea to revive his mother's hotel, MI Hotel. Without hesitation, Ji Eum also applies to work at the hotel, leading them to reconnect again. By Seo Ha's side is his secretary and best friend, Ha Do Yoon (Ahn Dong Goo), as well as a landscape architect and Yoon Joo Won's younger sister, Yoon Cho Won (Ha Yoon Kyung). 

The reincarnation premise is fairly straightforward — Ji Eum remembers every single one of her past lives except her first, giving her a wealth of intelligence at a young age. But, her uncanny ability also forces her to carry the weight of all the emotions from her good and not-so-great lives. As Ju Won, she happens to meet someone who saves her from the boredom of reincarnating over and over again and grief from losing those she loves. We also see glimpses of her previous memories, such as when she was an acrobat, a flamenco dancer, and a survivor of the Japanese invasion of Korea. 

In her current life, Ban Ji Eum is resilient, brazen, and thick-skinned. She does not care what others think of her and exudes confidence and strength. Using all the life lessons and knowledge she's accumulated over centuries, Ji Eum survives an abusive father and makes a name for herself despite her family circumstances. Even while carrying all her past trauma and grief, she is caring and protective of those around her. 

On the other hand, Moon Seo Ha struggles with the trauma and guilt of losing his mother at a young age and seeing Ju Won die in his arms. After the incident, he becomes partially deaf, which in some ways symbolizes his lost childhood. With no support from his aloof and distant father, he rarely smiles, and his only confidant is Do Yoon, who is also grappling with his own struggles.  

Together, Ji Eum and Seo Ha have a unique relationship. In her past life, Seo Ha gave Ju Won room to be a child and enjoy life. But in this life, Ji Eum's resilience and love bring out Seo Ha's vulnerabilities and heal his childhood scars.

We also see this reverse dynamic between Ji Eum and Ae Kyung. In her 17th life, Jun Ho took Ae Kyung under his wing when her parents passed away and cared for her like his own. In this life, Ae Kyung becomes a mother-like figure to Ji Eum and her closest family member.

Despite their limited screen time together, Yoon Cho Won and Ha Do Yoon's love story almost overshadows Bang Ji Eum and Moon Seo Ha's. Cho Won and Do Yoon are kindhearted and genuine people who like each other, but unfortunately, they come from very different backgrounds. Because South Korean society places heavy emphasis on social status and family background, Do Yoon distances himself from Cho Won to protect her from gossip and hate. Seeing them overcome this major barrier in their relationship was heartwarming as their love felt more earnest.

The concept of sonder is wonderfully done in this drama. Each of Bang Ji Eum's previous lives is vivid and complex, just like her current life. With each reincarnation, she gains more dear memories but also more trauma. While she has had lifetimes of happy moments, she can't erase the pain and loss she's endured from constantly losing loved ones. But, in her current life, she is on the receiving end, watching those she loves grieve over losing her in her previous lives when she was Ju Won and Jung Ho. 

Ji Eum's relationships with her past family and friends run deep. However, the execution and motivations of each character felt lackluster. Although Ji Eum's relationship with Seo Ha was pure and genuine, their chemistry wasn't fully there. It seemed as if they were meant to be together because of destiny and not necessarily because they fell in love with who they are today. The backstory for why Ji Eum can remember her past lives was also underwhelming. With so much buildup to the reveal, seeing how everything unfolds at the end felt disappointing. 

Additionally, certain subplots felt unrefined and didn't give us proper closure. It's as if the writers were creating a complex puzzle, but not all the pieces fit together. Kang Min Ki (Lee Chae Min) plays a pivotal role in helping Ji Eum remember her first life, but his backstory and motivations are unclear. A large chunk of the drama gets spent on revealing who caused the car accident involving Seo Ha, Ju Won, and Do Yoon's father, but the perpetrator's reasoning and the aftermath of his actions feel unrealistic. Seo Ha set out to rebuild his mother's hotel to its former glory, but we never find out if he ever accomplishes his goal. The finale also uses the amnesia trope, but it's full of plot holes and doesn't wrap up the drama neatly. 

Our Verdict

See You in My 19th Life has an intriguing premise and captivating start but is riddled with inconsistencies. With each episode, the storyline becomes more convoluted, while the character development feels muddled at best. By the end, the drama leaves you feeling frustrated as there are so many unanswered questions left.