See You In My 19th Life is based on the eponymous Korean webcomic. When news arrived of the series receiving an adaptation, I must admit, like many readers, I was sceptical of the idea.Nevertheless, the series did offer some of the brilliant charm from the webcomic as well as offering a new take on the initial concept. However leaving out some key details did miss the mark a little, especially when it came to the execution of the series.


The drama is initially focused on nine year old, Ban Ji-eum (Park So-yi) who begins to remember her past lives. In particular, she can remember her past eighteenth life as Yoon Ju-won , the playmate and childhood friend of the wealthy heir Mun Seo-ha (Jung Hyeon-jun). When Ju-won died tragically, she was reborn as Ban Ji-eum, a girl surrounded by poverty and abuse.


Running away from home after her megalomaniacal father took away her money, Ji-eum meets restaurant owner Kim Ae-kyung (Cha Chung-hwa), and convinces her that she’s her reincarnated uncle Kim Jung-ho (Lee Jae-kyoon),as well as remembering her past incarnations .


Over the years, Ban Ji-eum takes time to cross paths with Seo-ha, the boy she promised to stay with in her past life. Now in her 20s, Ban Ji-eum ( Shin Hye-sun),has spent years trying to become a high-achieving individual in order to purposefully apply for Seo-ha’s company. However, fate has other plans. When Ji-Eun and Seo-ha cross paths, certain mysteries and deep wounds will soon emerge from the surface.


See You In My 19th Life was based on the webcomic of the same name by Lee Hey and was adapted to the small screen by director Lee Na Jung and writers Han Ah Reum and Choi Young Rim. The concept of the webcomic and the series is pretty straight forward: it is a fairly lighthearted romantic drama about boy meets girl with a fantasy twist. In typical Korean drama fashion, there are multiple surprise twists to try and keep viewers entertained, some of which lean heavily into the original work, others of which were taken into a completely different direction and leaving the series feel a little rushed in the twelve episode format.


The writers interestingly don’t really bother with the small details on the element of reincarnation for Ji-Eun. I suppose a lot of this came from the fact the premise is very straightforward about Ji-Eun possessing preternatural intelligence, skills and abilities from her past incarnations as second nature. While we do get to learn a little about her past lives, a lot of details were often absent or missed out for sake of the time frame, a shame for such a rich opportunity to explore how Seo-ha possesses so much knowledge.


The acting front was okay. Nothing particularly flawlessly outstanding, but Lee Bo-young delivered a good performance as Sang-a, the individual who help drive Seo-ha to coming back and running the hotel .


As characters, there’s a lot to unpack about the drama’s depiction. Ban Ji-Eum starts off fairly similar to her webcomic counterpart; calm, composed and collection, but the drama takes her personality in a different direction through being quite quick to fly off the handle at times. While I think it was refreshing to see Ji-Eum develop beyond just being composed and collected and have her own complex inner turmoils , it did sometimes take away from the witty charm of Ji Rum’s character and mystique. After all, Ji Eum is meant to be a tough nut to crack. Her ability to remain laidback and mysteriously charming while Seo-ha enacts as being naturally anxious and turmoil driven, allows the pairing to work. Without it, Ji Eum did not have quite the same screen time impression or character drive.


Adding to this ( and without major spoilers), there’s the issue of her reincarnations. We learn some of these past incarnations are very interesting individuals. However when addressing the biggest issue of her first incarnation ( something which was very pivotal to the webcomic), it is hard not to draw some obvious disparities between the two works. I don’t have a problem necessarily with the direction the drama took it in. After all, the series is only meant to be based on the concept, not a page for page adaptation. However, it is hard not to point out how in these late episodes, the way this past incarnation was handled and rushed did not truly give it justice for Ji-Eum’s character development and arc.


Then there’s Seo-ha. Compared to his webcomic counterpart, Seo-ha seems to play more active and dominant role in his potential romantic relationship with Ji-Eum. To some extent, this worked really well; Seo-ha is a traumatised and kindhearted individual, so it would stand to reason that he begins to connect with Ji-Eum over time. On the other hand, it is hard not to bring up the issue of how the drama tackled certain aspects of Seo-ha’s character development. Seo-ha’s mother and her circumstances, his childhood trauma and of course the ear issue, are all quickly played off at times for the romantic side, while only reappearing when it was necessary to add some drama and conflict.

Speaking of which, the issue over Seo-ha’s ear has remained a point of debate for fans and watchers alike. On one hand, I think it is a very positive step to see a Korean drama depicting a male lead with a hearing impairment even on the small screen, particularly in a positive light . However, I believe the director and writers could have easily have driven home more about the day to day issues for Seo-ha or its implications for his mental and physical well-being more than they did onscreen.


In addition to the main leads, there is also Yoon Cho Won ( Ha Yoon-Kyung), Ji Run’s sister from her past incarnation, and Ha Do-Yun ( Ahn Dong Goo). While the second leads get their screen time, it is a shame that the series cut off their subplots and potential character development in later episodes. As a result, their screen time and potential onscreen romance fell a little flat.


Perhaps one of the biggest issues of See You In My 19th Life came down to pacing. The early episodes seemed to struggle a lot with picking up a brisk pace. While it is understandable to have a slow first episode to explain the basics and establish the plot, the fact this went on for at least two or three episodes was a little concerning. After this point, the series did pick up slightly and was sable to be fairly entertaining. By the latter half , the series tried to speed run the major conflict of the webcomic. In all fairness having a twelve episode format is limiting to exploring a major plot in such a short space of time. However rather than accommodating the plot more succinctly or executing it a few episodes earlier on, the series rushes through major events ( such as the murder plot and important past life ) and seems to miss the initial purpose of some of the plot events to propel the romantic storyline. Instead, viewers are left with an odd imbalance between the romantic side of the series, and this odd thriller plot hole, leaving the themes and tone of the drama to feel a bit at odds with one another. The final episodes were a little rushed but did end on a bittersweet note.



The cinematography was fairly innovative in early episodes and did seem to pull every trick to make it eye-catching. Sadly this consistency was not the same in later episodes, but the series still possessed a fairly glossy and stylish tone. The OST was decent also with some good tracks such as “Here With Me” by Doyoung and “무음 (Silence)” by sunwoojunga.



See You In My 19th Life was a fairly standard and sweet romantic series. It was nothing particularly out of the box when considering the intriguing concept, but despite some notable issues over pacing and writing development, the drama was fairly engaging and remained a fun watch. Overall, a decent series for a binge watch.