See You in My 19th Life (2023)

An amazing take on human emotions/complexity when dealing with past

Yo I can’t even begin to say what I love about it.

First off if you are looking for lovey Dovey romance go watch King The Land.

Be ready to go on an emotional roller coaster and get your soul go through a blender. If you are not a Korean speaker you better take a shot of espresso before watching as this show deserves your undivided attention.

I like Shin Hye Sun from Mr. Queen now I am full on in love with her and I will watch anything she is in going forward, Ahn Bo Yun also does an amazing job throughout and their chemistry is just next level.

Everything about this show slaps and I am looking forward to rewatching this and exploring more layers and dimensions of this amazing work.

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You are more likely to like it better if you did not read the webtoon

8/10 is my rating. This is a 2023 South Korean paranormal romance drama with 12, 70 minute episodes. It is based on a very popular webtoon of the same name.

First I provide a synopsis then review.

Synopsis

If you not only reincarnated but were able to remember all your past lives you would excel at many things but feel isolated and lonely. Ban Ji-eum (Shin Hye-sun) considers her "ability" a curse until something haopens in one of her lives that changes her mind. After reincarnating for nearly 1000 years Ji-eum meets someone in her eighteenth life that makes her happy she can remember. When her life is cut short by an accident, she vows to find him, Moon Seo-ha (Ahn Bo-hyun) and make him fall for her again. It is not easy though because Seo-ha experienced a lot of trauma from losing his mother at a young age, the accident and feeling guilty and responsible for Ji-eum's death. So when the ever persistent Ji-eum shows up he is now t sure he wants to entangle himself with this odd woman. But fate and familiarity will have their say and the 19th life may be the one that counts.

Review

When I read some reviews I noticed a trend where those that read the webtoon were, in general, less satisfied with tge direction things took in the last part if the series. This started really well. I loved her confident, spunky, knew how to do about everything personality. Her relentless pursuit of Seo-ha was entertaining. The 2nd couple was also cute. I did not read the webtoon but even for me it felt like they destroyed the story toward the end. Watch it for the interesting story and slow build romance for both couples. It is heavy in the 1st love aspect. It is a deep thinking topic for anyone interested in reincarnation. It also visits several historical points in her flash backs to previous lives. It is a happy ending if you can accept the strange twist it takes.

Spoilers*
My daughter read the webtoon and said that female lead character did not reincarnate due to a revenge arc like was portrayed in the drama but rather she lost her twin sister through murder and was reincarnating to be reunited. So that was very different. In the drama anyone who found out she was reincarnated suffered bad consequences such as strange ailments. It was weird within the drama as there was no sensible reason that would be the case. And apparently that was never a thing in the webtoon., there were no ill consequences of finding out she reincarnated. In the webtoon Ha Do-yoon (Ahn Dong goo) was her reincarnated sister and that was a surprising twist. In the drama. He was not her reincarnated sister he was a man in her 1st life, a side character, and he looked exactly as he did in her 19th life. In her 19th life her sister had reincarnated as Yoon Cho won (Ha Yoon kyung) and she also looked exactly as she did in her 1st life. There is also a character in the drama who murdered Ji-eum in her 1st life, who also was continually reincarnated and remembered his past lives. He got close to Ji Eum and wanted her to remember so they could break the cycle because, in the drama, Ji Eum created the situation where they reincarnated and remembered as she vowed to not forget and get revenge. In the drama Seo ha's mom had reincarnated and was watching over him to remedy an injustice around his attempted murder. So it makes it seem like remembering past lives is common. In the webtoon there was just her and another character. Then, the reincarnated mom, makes a decision to do some ritual somehow the murdery guy knew about where she stops remembering past lives. Main female lead sees her after and it was like, not only did she no longer recall, but her personality was different. Somehow that makes lead girl decide to do the same. Supposedly it fixes all those suffering harm from knowing about reincarnations if you are just willing to do some weird ritual that makes you selectively forget. And lead girl is like yes I struggled to get everyone to like me and accept that I reincarnated but now I just want to forget all about all of that. It was cool she knew so many languages, had so many skills and had historical knowledge, it added a lot of depth to her character but then that is all wiped clean. So then this now different person who somehow remembers how to be an engineer from her 19th life but not where the ring on her finger came from. But all the people she met in her 19th life remember her and all that but now it doesn't make them sick somehow. So then he relentlessly pursues her. But there was this slow build romance to that point with him and the super cool her who could do all these things but niw there is this renewed her that he is determined to make love him. If you can completely suspend your belief that things you experience shape who you are I guess you could buy off on that. Realizing some changes need to be made to adapt it to drama but many just seemed unnecessary.

#ShinHyeSun
#AhnBohyun
#SeeYouInMy19thLife.

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Quite nice!

I finally watched this – been wanting to do it since it first aired! Overall, this was an acting masterclass from Shin Hae Sun, she was so marvelous to watch; the best performance of the show to be honest. I don’t mind the ending all that much because Ji Eum finding peace and happiness without the burden of her past lives felt very right and important to me. This show also made me cry so much!! The first 3 episodes were really nice, but after that… the middle did not feel as good anymore, it picked up again towards the end. I am overall a little bummed that I didn’t love it, but it is not a bad show by any means. Brownie points for the stunning cinematography and the beautiful OST!

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Genuine relationships are ultimately what make life worth living

This show is certainly one of a kind. The story is relatively simple, with some underlying philosophical messages. It is simply about a woman who doesn't want to let go of her relationships and her inner struggles with identity, as well as healing the emotional trauma her death set upon her loved ones. Everything else barely matters tbh. Several scenes had high artistic value and were shot with tender care, making sure the emotions would seep through the screen into the viewer's heart (with the exception of way, WAY too many pool scenes). It's quite evident that the directors intentionally chose warm color palettes with the goal of visually pleasing shots.

The biggest flaw of the show is that the show makers do not seem confident enough in the storyline (probably thinking it won't attract enough viewers), so they added sideplots that they thought would increase the tension but will only fall flat. They even tried to lead viewers into thinking the show was some kind of makjang at one point. Fortunately by the last episode we realise it is not the case, with the FL remaining a sensible character. Which makes you wonder what even was the point of the those flashbacks taking up the screentime. Nonetheless, since the core of the show really speaks to me, those elements did not drive me away from but dragged it down from a solid 9/10.

On the other hand, the ending is possibly one of my favourites in recent years. The slight but significant change in the FL's demeanour, more youthful clothes and behaviour, shows the burden lifted off her shoulders. It successfully relayed the message that letting everything go and starting anew is not as scary as it seems; rather, dwelling on the past would prove to ultimately mean nothing and only bring everlasting pain. And that when someone willingly carries your burden and makes the effort to start a relationship anew, without you ever knowing of it, that is love. Sisterly love and romantic love. The last scene was both quirky and heartwarming, making the FL have a taste of her own strangeness at the start of the show.

This show had an amazing ensemble of talented child actors, whom I've seen in other great works. Shin Hye Sun's "eyes speaking louder than words" has won me over, changing my view of her from "an actress to look out for" to "an actress to watch no matter what". From restrained but subtle emotions to explosively dramatic scenes, she pulls them all off. Ha Yoon Kyung is coming off very likable with "contagious" acting. While both male leads held their own, they didn't get as much to work with.

As many have mentioned, some musical choices were odd at some points but I didn't notice much of it apart from a handful of scenes. The majority of the soundtrack has been great and enhance the scenes.

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Good Enough

Korean Drama " See You in my Nineteenth Life " is a fantasy melodrama with a cute spin to it.

The drama combined perfectly comedy with a more melodramatic mood when it came to the characters, their past and their struggles.

The story, in addition, is nicely paced, with the romance being enjoyable to watch, though predictable. The side couple were adorable though.

But the highlight of the drama is the main female lead. She was excellent as always and she proved once again that she can transform into any character she is given to flesh out.

However, there were some plotlines that got boring to follow. But the ending was unique.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

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The start of my love for Korea

That was the first Korean series I watched and it taught me something really interesting and, above all, surprising: that I have a lot more facets to myself than I thought. I had never considered Asia as a culture before and suddenly I immerse myself in a completely new world and am enchanted.

At the beginning I found the plot a bit long-winded, but in hindsight you understand why it is needed. What I liked most was that there were so many unexpected and suspenseful moments. I liked the young Ban Ji-Eum the most! She's really talented and I'm looking forward to seeing her in hopefully many more series.

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Loved it but is missing an episode

WOULD RECOMMEND !

The cinematography and the acting of Shin Hye Sun (Ban Ji Eum) are beautiful and perfect.
The way the series is filmed increased the beauty of the story.

The acting of the actors in general was very good but Shin Hye Sun gave one of the best performances ever. The way she cries is so heartbreaking and pure. You really feel what she feels. When she cries, you cry. When she smiles at the people she loves, you also smile.

The story itself was very well portrayed and it was quite easy to understand.

The only things that I can comment on are the plot hole and the ending. First, we never find out who the mother of Seo Ha was in the MC 1st life. Like who was she that she was also cursed and why did she also remember her past lifes ? Secondly, the ending. Personally, I think that it’s missing an episode. With one more episode, they could have made the perfect ending just like the webtoon did. But the ending made was still good.

Perfect cinematography and acting.
Good adaptation albeit the ending which could be considered an open ending (different from the actual webtoon).

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I'll definitely see you again in this life.

It's been almost a month since this ended so I can finally rate this without bias.

The series started out very great--- with a strong plot, very compelling characters (especially the child actors! ???), nice cinematography, and a realistic portrayal of the 90s. The wealthy truly looked affluent, and the middle class appeared like one.

Despite it being just 12 eps, however, it still felt draggy and long. The pacing in the first half was really good but the middle towards the end were filled with scenes with almost zero dialogue, just the character feeling the moment. The scoring didn't help too (although their OSTs still haunt me till this day).
It felt like the director focused on the start and end of the series but didn't pay much attention from the middle part leading to the finale.

Yes, I found the chemistry of the leads very good (in contrast to some who found it unappealing), but perhaps the screenwriter/webtoon writer wanted to prepare an onion-like of drama, with several layers to be peeled, only to have underwhelming parts as they kept peeling.

The drama had its greatest moments, but also meh moments. Nonetheless, I loved it. I appreciated all the efforts made to create it. And for that I'm grateful. ?
I'll always remember this as that drama whose younger version made me cry a lot (like Missing You in 2012!), and whose older versions taught me how to become a better adult.

To anyone hesitating on watching this, this is your sign to go start that first ep. I hope you also have tissues within reach, just in case. ?

P.S. Grief and loss tags are proper. It's a huge part of the story, so better prepare

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First the positives: Shin Hye Sun is a great actor, many of the scenes were beautifully staged and shot, and the premise was interesting.

Unfortunately, my list of negatives is much longer. I felt that the promising premise was squandered by big gaps in the writing and poor execution. For example, I had trouble believing that the ML would fall as quickly as he did for a FL who stalked him and said very strange things, instead of scurrying away as fast as he could on those long legs of his. Ahn Bo Hyung did a good job when the drama required him to act emotionally frozen. Except that he pretty much did that thoughout. I thought that the child actors were very good but I struggled to believe that the leads had fallen deeply in love when children. I blame the writing for that. The whole car crash subplot fizzled, primarily because it required one to believe that characters would react in implausible ways. The ending had more gaps and, “Wait, how can that be … ?” than the average drama.

I think that the drama was ruined by poor writing.

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Want to ask only one thing from the writer- WHY?

See You In My 19th Life is a drama which recounts the tale of a woman who remember all of her previous births.
After being killed in an accident in her previous birth, she now wants to be reunited with the person she loved back then.
The overall drama is story between how she unveils her past, and how she reconnects with the people from her past living in this life.
Acting:- As expected, Shin Hye-Sun and Ahn Bo-hyun are amazing. They'd amazing chemistry together. SHS was just great in some scenes. I am genuinely pleased by the acting choices of ABH. Be it playing the role of a military officer, or just a typical rich BF, he is nailing all those roles. Next in liene is Ha Yoon Kyung who is doing great in the past some dramas.

Now addressing the elephant in the room, the ending. At first I liked the ending, but now to retrospect, it isn't making any sense.
First of all, why are writers so interested in making them strangers again when there's no sequel planned. They could've devised another way for Ji Eum. But they just had to make the ending more complicated by making us show that she has lost her memory and now it's the time of Seo Ha to woo her in the same way she did.
This doesn't make any sense. Why can't a drama be left at them being hopelessly in love? Why does writers have to be so weirdly creative?

Overall, this is a dine drama, with unique plot, amazing acting, and visuals. But the ending could've been a bit more original.

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