I have to admit that murder mysteries are usually not my favorite "cuppa tea" in Korean Drama Land but I started this one, Face Me (2024), due to my affection for one of my top favorite Korean actors Lee Min Ki (Because This Is My First Life, My Liberation Notes, Behind Your Touch, Dalja's Spring, Shut Up Flower Boy Band, films Spellbound and Very Ordinary Couple), and I ended up majorly addicted to its suspenseful and intriguing story. I almost wished I had waited till it finished on December 12th so that I could marathon it instead of waiting week to week for new episodes.

Min Ki played a plastic surgeon in the drama who experienced a tragedy in his personal life and I felt a lot of compassion for his character. He virtually never smiled for the duration of the drama except in flashback scenes when he was with his lady love who ended up murdered. It takes a lot of courage for an actor to agree to a challenging role like this one where he rarely smiles! So when I finally saw the first scene where he smiled (a flashback in episode six!!!) I just had to grab the screen capture. LOL

There was very little romance depicted in this story, which to me actually helped the story proceed along at a good pace. It would have distracted from the main themes of betrayal and murder if there had been romance between the two leads in the drama. Our female lead was beautiful Han Ji Hyun (The Wind Blows) and at first I thought she might appear too young to play an experienced detective but she soon grew on me with a truly excellent, intelligent performance. I soon put away my previous thoughts that an older actress would have been preferable in the role. Ji Hyun actually ended up being perfect for the role. I was quite impressed!

Our second male lead was the always cool and delightfully versatile Lee Yi Kyung (Nine: Nine Time Travels, Trot Lovers, Descendants Of The Sun, Children Of Nobody, Curtain Call) who had viewers guessing throughout the story whether he was a good guy or a bad guy. I confess I hoped he was a good guy because he's ordinarily so likeable in his roles -- I didn't want to hate him here!

To delight me even more, for two episodes I got to enjoy a funny cameo appearance by one of my top favorite actresses, Nam Gyu Ri, who had played Ji Hyun so unforgettably, fascinatingly well in the masterpiece drama 49 Days. Here she was in Face Me thirteen years later and she didn't look one day older! Time stands still for certain brilliant, glowing Korean thespians! Gorgeous as always Nam Gyu Ri. Amazing! Here's a character who didn't need plastic surgery at all. :)

The Story:

Doctor Cha Jung Woo (Lee Min Ki) is a top-rated plastic surgeon in Seoul in an independent hospital clinic called KSH who is also experienced in emergency medicine, although for the last few years he has tried to avoid emergency situations, preferring to perform more standard plastic surgeries like face lifts and body contouring. We soon learn that his newer dislike for emergency surgery is due to the death of his fiance Yoon Hye Jin (Ha Young, Doona, Fix You, Now We Are Breaking Up) who was murdered, and that he felt guilt that he couldn't save her since he was hit by a vehicle while rushing to rescue her. We soon notice, in flashbacks, that the only time Dr. Cha appeared happy was when he was with Hye Jin before her tragic death.

Presently Dr. Cha is rather cold with his patients and does not usually connect emotionally with them, even when they are clearly suffering; for instance when a young patient badly wants a plastic surgery to look more like her deceased twin but the parent is angrily against it, or when a famous professional model is attacked by an anti-fan and she wants plastic surgery to restore part of her scarred face. He will coldly tell these kinds of potential patients that he no longer does emergency surgery, or surgeries desired when psychological help is called for first, and that they should go to a regular hospital or see a psychologist for treatment first.

Dr. Cha's cold bedside manner sometimes frustrates the two other plastic surgeons at the clinic, the younger Dr. Han Woo Jin (Lee Yi Kyung), who has been his best friend for years, and the older Dr. Kim Seok Hoon (Jeon Bae Su, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Dear Hyeri) who has been his mentor for years. Sometimes they try to suggest he take a case he doesn't want to, in the hopes that the clinic's reputation won't be harmed by turning too many patients away. However, Dr. Cha is loathe to listen to such wise advice. It is obvious it will take an extra-ordinary case for him to change his perspective on which emergency cases he might be willing to accept.

Then a case arises that begins to remind him of what happened to his deceased fiance. He feels he must intercede. Through this case Dr. Cha meets a female detective named Lee Min Hyung (Han Ji Hyun) and amazingly his perspective on medicine finally begins to broaden again. Min Hyung is a detective at the violent crimes division of the city police force. She is bold and fearless on the job, and very compassionate towards crime victims. Her compassion begins to remind Dr. Cha of how compassionate he used to be, and he starts to take emergency-based cases again as a surgeon. Min Hyung grows closer to him and she slowly begins to understand the wound he has held deep in his heart for years.

Then Dr. Cha learns that the man charged with killing his fiance is about to be released from jail ... and that this man happens to be police detective Min Hyung's own brother, named Lee Jin Suk (Yoon Jung Il, excellent performance!, Strongest Deliveryman) who has always steadfastly claimed he had not committed that murder. Dr. Cha begins to follow him once he is out of jail. Eventually he begins to believe that someone else had indeed killed his fiance all those years ago ... but who? It would have had to have been someone very close to Dr. Cha, who would have known his personal habits and work schedule. He also recalls that his fiance had once told him she felt unsafe, that she was being followed by someone. Could this person have been the real murderer, and not the brother of detective Min Hyung? Who had set Jin Suk up to be prosecuted unfairly for the crime? Will Dr. Cha ever be able to track down the real murderer of his beloved fiance Hye Jin? Will his life ever begin to feel normal again?

 

I will definitely be returning to watch this gripping Korean drama in future. It was that addictive and compelling. The actors were all perfect casting and delivered fantastic performances. I was never once bored while watching it, as I can sometimes be when I watch a more traditional romance story. As of this writing you can watch Face Me on VIKI at THIS LINK. Enjoy!

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