Bad Memory
Eraser
나쁜 기억 지우개MBN (2024) 16 Episodes
Romantic Melodrama, Grade B+
Korean Drama Review by Jill, USA
(Some Spoilers)
A bittersweet romantic melodramatic story, with a touch of humor thrown in at times, and starring one of my personal favorite Korean actors and singers Kim Jae Joong (from the lovely film classic Postman To Heaven, and dramas Protect The Boss, Dr. Jin, Triangle, member of idol group JYJ), Bad Memory Eraser (2024) is a strange mixture of strong family dynamics, unusual quirky romance, and science fiction. Jae Joong's leading lady was the always beautiful Jin Se Yun (The Item, Bridal Mask, Doctor Stranger, High End Crush) and she had nice chemistry with him here, even though the romance was one of those slow-growing ones that you have to be patient to watch develop fully over sixteen hour-long episodes. I think this drama could have used a bit of judicious editing to condense the story into twelve episodes and then I think the flow would have been smoother overall.
The Story:
We meet a withdrawn, depressed young man named Lee Goon (Kim Jae Joong, adult; Choi Seung Hoon, teen) who used to be an upbeat, very promising tennis player in his youth until a major accident on the court occurred when he tried to protect his younger brother Lee Shin (Lee Jong Won, XX, adult; Jo Yi Hyun, teen) from an injury and got hurt himself.
The injury to his brain had changed him from a normal young man to a mentally disturbed person who is unable to cope with life, who has mixed-up bad memories from his past, plus he lost his talent for playing tennis. His family, including Dad Lee Suk Doo (Lee Joon Hyuk, The Wind Blows) and Mom Eun Ji Sun (Yun Yoo Sun, Spring Waltz), who had once been so supportive of him, turn their main attention to the younger brother and help him to become a great tennis player instead. For a time they even send Lee Goon to live with his Grandma (veteran actress Park Hye Jin) in the country because they are unable to cope with the changes in his personality. Even years later when he returns home he still feels unloved and mopes around their home, completely losing any self-esteem he once had earlier in his life. He is currently responsible for driving his now famous professional tennis player younger brother around to his practice sessions and competitions. It's not much of a life for poor Lee Goon. From being the star of the family to a worn out discarded shoe ....
Two Brothers - One Treated Like Royalty
The Other Like A Discarded Shoe
Lee Goon then meets a beautiful psychiatrist named Kyung Joo Yeon (Jin Se Yun) who works at Hanseom Hospital in Seoul in the brain research department, and she tries to help him, even though his oddly intense attraction to her as they get to know one another makes her very cautious in dealing with him. Lee Goon even gets it into his head that she might have been the first person he saw when he came to consciousness on the tennis court after his injury earlier in his life. He is desperate to learn who this young girl was because she was the first person who really seemed to care about him right after his injury. He's convinced this person is fated to be the love of his life, his first and only love (and we all know how common "first love" stories are in Korean dramas!).
To keep this strange man at arm's length Joo Yeon pretends that she has romantic feelings for a fellow doctor on staff at her hospital named Yoon Teo (Kim Jae Yong) even though Teo is known at work as a fellow who pursues lots of women, not just one. Lee Goon buys into the lie. At first, but not for long.
Joo Yeon convinces her colleagues at the brain research center to perform a special new brain operation called the Memory Eraser on Lee Goon. With the use of this novel memory eraser operation Lee Goon's earlier bad memories are erased and he is reborn with tremendous self-esteem and a new, funny, upbeat personality. These profound changes in his personality take a lot of getting used to by everyone who knows him, including Joo Yeon his doctor, his family members, and also his acquaintances at the sports agency who employ his younger brother, who is now one of the top tennis players in all of South Korea.
Meanwhile the younger brother Lee Shin starts to feel attracted to a young woman named Jeon Sae Yan (Yang Hye Jin) who is a professional translator. At one point Lee Goon begins to think that Sae Yan was his "first love" who was the first person to comfort him after his accident on the tennis court. Could it actually be true? Does that mean that Lee Goon has to fall in love with the girl his brother Lee Shin likes? What about doctor Joo Yeon, who despite her abundance of caution finds herself very attracted to her patient Lee Goon? Where does that leave her?
We slowly learn about all the major characters' past troubles with their families, and how those problems affected their personalities and their professional and personal choices in life. For instance, we learn that Lee Goon's Mom had pushed her two boys into athletic goals so hard because of her own disappointing attempt to become a professional volleyball player. It's not really fair for a mother to push her sons into athletic challenges because she herself failed at them.
After more time in therapy Lee Goon falls even more deeply in love with Joo Yeon, but she has her own troubles at work that sidetrack her from her growing affection for Lee Goon. Of course when doctors and their patients fall in love all kinds of complex, serious situations can develop, and they certainly do in this story! At one point it even looks like Joo Yeon might be fired from the hospital. Will Lee Goon come to her rescue to prevent that catastrophe from happening?
The best part for me in watching this drama was viewing Kim Jae Joong play one person with drastically different personalities, pre-operation and post-operation. I laughed out loud at many scenes when his character behaved in hilarious ways after the operation. To transform from a deeply depressed character to rather a "wild and crazy guy" was delightful for me to watch. I am sure he must have enjoyed the transformation in his character as well.
This story also made me think of what would happen to me if a "bad memory operation" was possible in real life; would I be the same person if bad past memories in my life could be erased? Probably not. I think it was a very cool premise for a K-drama. I liked that this drama was not predictable and I really couldn't guess how it would turn out by the end. After twenty years watching Korean dramas I LIKE to be surprised episode by episode. It helps keep me watching instead of checking out early.
Check out Bad Memory Eraser on VIKI HERE at this link. See if you enjoy it as much as I did.
