See You In My 19th Life (2023)

interesting story, but weak execution

See You in My 19th Life - 8,5/10 -kdrama

interesting plot and story which showed much more promise than they managed make out of it. At other hand I never read source webtoon... so I cant tell if drama makers didnt manged dig out story potential or that webtoon writer.

Still its quite good drama. Alot comments I read had problems with ending, but not me. It wasnt great ending, but not even bad one.

plot - FL is weird always around 8-12 she gets to remember memories from her past lives. Now its her 19th life and she just got her memories back. She found out she found her true love in 18th life, but she died too soon too young. Her new family aint great either. She decides to find out what happened to her love from 18th life. After she finds him to be alive... she decides to get him back in this life.

genre - romance, supernatural, comedy

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Very interesting concept and could be amazing if executed better

Subjective Gut Rating: 8.25 (rounding up because I had a good time binge-watching)

The concept of “See You in My 19th Life” is so interesting that it probably attracts many viewers. There are many things I love about this drama and other areas which I would like to explore more. I did not watch the webtoon and this review is solely based on the drama. Nevertheless, this is a very easy binge and I was able to watch it all on a Saturday in one go.


What I Like:

1. Shin Hye Sun - I may not be a super fan of Shin Hye Sun but it’s without a doubt she’s a great actress. Her role as the female lead Ban Ji Eum showcases her talents so well. I usually am not a fan of girl-chases-boy but she does it in a way that I don’t find annoying. She’s assertive but not overly stalkerish and irritating. I find her teasing ML cute and not overdone. I love how she just busted out her flamenco moves. That’s hilarious! When it comes to the emotional scenes, especially the last few episodes, I can’t help but cry with her.

2. Young Actor/Actresses - Young Ban Ji Eum is adorable and smart. Her conversations with her ‘niece’ are both mature and innocent. Young Yoon Joo Won has the poise of someone who lived 17th lives, yet her appearance has such an innocent look. Young Moon Seo may not have as much screen time as Joo Won but the scenes of him trapped in the car were heartbreaking.

3. Uncle and Niece relationship - I love seeing these two individuals who technically don’t know each other, don’t have any familial love, yet come together and form their own special family.

4. Guest Stars - With 19 lives, it’s the perfect way to bring in many guest stars. I would love to see more of them (see my mixed feelings below).

5. Production - There are many scenes that are shot beautifully and in different angles. The OST has some great songs that I will add to my Spotify playlist. I also like that we see an appropriate interior of a hotel. A hotel that needs renovation and you can see that it’s not a super modern hotel, but one that has history and its own charms. I like the setup of ML’s office where it feels warm.


What I have Mixed Feelings About:

1. Pacing - I was hooked from the first episode. It has a great introduction of the characters and the background story. The pace is good in the first half but definitely slows down in the second half. I especially feel that the last two episodes are very slow and it keeps repeating on finding out the past, yet not much happens. They are the same flashbacks for 2 episodes.

2. Past 18 lives - I would have loved to see more of the different lives and the guest stars, and how their stories directly relate to FL’s personality and experiences. We mainly saw clips that lasted a minute or two. I want to see more of the person and the love story of Chae Jong Hyeop composing the love song for. I want to see more about the first life and not just the same flashbacks.

3. Romance - I wouldn’t say the chemistry between Shin Hye Sun and Ahn Bo Hyun is bad, but it’s also not amazing. There are criticisms of Ahn Bop Hyun’s acting and I think he did a fine job. I think he was quite cute when he’s being cornered and was very shy. It’s when he is NOT shy anymore that I am finding the chemistry lacking and not sweet enough for me. Oh, and they have ONE great kiss when both of them are such good kissers. I am not satisfied! LOL. On the other hand, the secondary romance is also a little lacking for me. Here, I do find Ahn Dong Goo a little bland in his portrayal of the ‘cool’ role. I am missing the micro expressions that you see from great actors when they portray someone who is ‘cold’ on the outside. I think the secondary romance could have been developed better and with better pacing.

4. Unexplored Plot - Did the drama forget about the hotel renovation after the initial episodes? I want more background story of ML’s family and the older generation as the twist about the accident is not very satisfactorily explored and explained. I want to know more about Ha Do Yoon’s (ML’s BFF/secretary) history with ML in Germany and his responsibility to the Chairman. Without going into too much spoilers, I want to know why the other lady can remember her past lives when she wasn’t in FL’s first life. Is that a plot hole or her existence is just a device to move forward with the hotel fight for power narrative?

Overall, this is such a cool concept and could be an amazing drama if executed better. Despite my criticisms, I did have a fabulous and easy time watching it. I will recommend it to those who love this type of fantasy drama but not to those who are very particular about writing and execution.


Completed: 8/20/2023 - Review #342

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it was intersting , but they should have put more effort in the ending

It was interesting at first and then boring , when u read the story and saw the trailer I thought wowww , this story is mad . I thought I would love it I reallly like the start , it felt interesting how will she live with all her memories , living around people she meet in her past life ? , what gonna happen? will people accept her ? all these doubts made me wanna this drama a lot , i started watching it i loved ae gyeong’s character moreover the drama is nice to watch but the ending is not satisfactory, they remember her , but she forgot them , it’s a bit sad ,but definitely suggested , loved the acting btw , the feeling were shown in their faces each of them had their own pain , they portrayed it perfectly, thank you bye bye ❤️❤️

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Great casting and ost, odd story

I'm a big fan of Shin Hae-sun, so I was already heading into this drama with a bit of bias towards her. I overall think that she and the rest of the cast did a great job but the backstory felt so odd to me.

The overall concept of the 19th lives was good in my opinion, but the past lives her character had were confusing. In her first life, she had the same appearance as her 19th, with everyone from her 19th life also having the same physical looks in her first life. However, in all of her other lives she just represents completely different people? It was kind of weird to think about when in one of her lives she was an Arabian man, a young Spanish woman, a baby, a male warrior, a male circus performer, a young girl (Ju-won), and then as a young girl in her 19th life. I think this sort of backstory just didn't really make sense to me, especially once she started to regain her full memories of her first life in which EVERYONE from her 19th life was completely identical. On a side note, I also thought that Min-gi was a weirdly written character. He acted really ominous ever since he appeared but in the end all he wanted was forgiveness? I personally thought that he was going to be the main antagonist of the show based off his first few appearances but I feel like they sort of botched his character at the end.


Overall, this drama hit a lot of positive notes with the acting, casting, ost, and ending. I think that it struggled with the actual backstory of Ji-eum's past lives and lack of making Min-gi an actual antagonist.

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An OK Kdrama...

Solid kdrama. The supernatural/power parts of the kdrama were built up and explained well in the end, and it made sense in the context of the culture. I liked the characters except Seo Ha, the guy has like 2 emotions and is also the worst decision maker. Why they would make him director of a hotel is beyond reason besides being a nepo baby. I wish they would have explored the other lives more in depth. I cannot believe they shot obscure no context scenes of her life in WWII Korea, full with likeable characters and absolutely stunning settings, only to see like 3 or 4 second snippets during her flashback. Why was he playing the guitar? What was the story? Exploring the stories of the different lives would have added so much flavor to the story.

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More Episodes please!

This delightful Kdrama captivated my attention. It touches on themes of fear, language, and substances, though I found them subtly portrayed. The exploration of remembering past lives intrigued me, and I particularly admired the strong performance of Shin Hye Sun, the main actress who skillfully portrayed a character engaged in martial arts. Despite not reaching perfection, her depiction was indeed commendable.

Ban Ji Eum, portraying the tall and handsome lead actor, brought a muscular presence to the screen. The unique storyline, delving into the concept of past lives, set this drama apart from others I've watched. My only lament is that it wasn't longer; I yearned for more episodes to delve deeper into the narrative.

The contrast between the historical and present-day lives of the characters added a fascinating layer to the storyline. Gratitude extends to the producers, writers, costume designers, and all involved in bringing this captivating drama to life, from the automobiles to the homes—a heartfelt thank you for creating such an engaging experience.

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Love will always find it's way

I will just begin with appreciating how beautiful the story is written and how well the actors have played their role.
This is one of those dramas where not a single character seemed lacking to me or not needed.
I have watched Military Prosecutor Doberman which has Ahn Bo Hyun in the lead role and I really loved the show so I had been keen on watching more shows by him but didn't happen to pick on one before this. His role in this show is completely different from that in Military Prosecutor Doberman so I wanted to see this side of his where he acted in a mystery romcom and I am very happy I picked this show. He just made the character of Seo Ha perfect.
This is my first time watching a drama of Shin Hye Sun and after watching this I can only ask myself as to why it took me such a long time to watch her dramas. Her acting brought life to Ban Ji Eum's character. So many emotions needed to be portrayed by her and she accomplished it perfectly.
This is one of the shows I have watched where child actors are given a good amount of screen time and honestly it did not disappoint at all. All the child actors were exceptional in their role especially the roles played by Kim Shi Ah and Park So Yi. Their dedication to live up to the role is phenomenal.
It is not in all reviews that I mention the OST's of the dramas but this drama does need a mention. The OST in this show was very good and made me add it to my playlist.
Talking about the 1-4 episodes I would say that the child actors perfectly opened the story and made it clear from the get go as to how beautiful the bond was between Ban Ji Eum and Moon Seo Ha. All the details regarding the plot that should be given in the start of a drama were given in a proper pace and the story started unfolding perfectly. All characters that are needed to bind the story were introduced and explained from the beginning making the plot clear. The child actors played a major role in these episodes and you might honestly miss them in the later part of the show.
The 4-8 episodes had everything a viewer might accept from a beautiful romcom. The chemistry between Ahn Bo Hyun and Shin Hye Sun could be seen through their characters. There were many heart touching scenes and also this part of the showed the transition of feelings between characters. No major plot twists took place in this part of the show.
In the 8-12 episodes of the show there were many things that seemed to unfold. Many questions arose during this part of the show and one might sense that things got rushed in this part of the show. Uncovering the mysterious was a major focus of these episodes and the characters are caught up in taking important decisions. While the previous episodes had the building of the relation of the leads this part showed uncertainties in their past and present. The questions were all answered in the end and the story seemed to be completed well.

Now mentioning the points I disliked/liked and thought could be better are:
1. The story in the second half of the show seemed rushed.
2. 4 more episodes making this a 16-episode drama would have been an even better journey.
3. The ending seemed rushed, I felt that more time could be given to the leads in the ending scenes(I personally liked the ending that is given but just wanted more being a happy ending lover)
4. The relation of the characters with each other and other characters was shown very well.
5. The mystery element of the show could be explored a little earlier in the episodes.
6. I loved seeing Seo Ha's sincerity towards Joo Won but would have liked to see his time without her in the show the way Ban Ji Eum's character was shown struggling to get together with Seo Ha. More of his scenes during their time apart would bring more depth to their bond.

Overall, I would say it's a great watch, not many flaws that I could find. People who love romcoms especially some mystery element would really like the show.

P.S. Feel free to tag me or message me if you want spoilers as I tend to avoid giving spoilers in my reviews.

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