Find me in Your Memory

Presentation

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Analysis

Synopsis

​Lee Jung Hoon is a news anchor and has a special ability called hypermnesia; meaning he remembers absolutely everything. Yeo Ha Jin is a celebrity and contrary to Jung Hoon, she is very forgetful and has forgotten some years of her past. One day, they meet each other and start getting close, discovering that something from both their pasts actually bonds them. 

My Opinion (No Spoilers)

This is the kind of feel-good drama that I normally watch, when I want to see a light-hearted romance, with expected twists and turns. I liked it, but didn’t find it amazing, as it is close to a huge number of dramas I have seen in the past. Yet, the romance is sweet and the characters long for each other. They are most of the times confronted with great obstacles, but this doesn’t prevent them from wanting to be together. 

​I enjoyed the fact that this drama not only had a romantic vibe but also a more suspenseful one, since there is an entire part of the story dedicated to stalker(s). I consider it a romance with a little something more that was captivating. 

​I have to say that the drama really enchanted me at first (it reminded me at the very beginning of the atmosphere of A Piece of Your Mind), but I felt like it lost its savor in the middle, where I also lost my focus. Only by the end did I find that the romance was getting back on track. Therefore, I admit I had a moment of disinterest at some point, but what made me appreciate the drama was the interesting themes it was tackling and above all, how characters were going to deal with them. 

​A nice romance in the end, in which you will enjoy the pleasant atmosphere.  

​Analysis (Spoiler Alert)

Characters: Lee Jung Hoon (Kim Dong Wook) is a brilliant, cold and distant news anchor. He is a very difficult newsman to deal with, because he always uncovers unsaid truths about his guests and puts them in an uncomfortable situation on air (well deserved for some). He was married in the past, but his wife died. Since then, because of his hypermnesia he has troubles overcoming her passing. Indeed, any detail can remind him of her and he then has a surge of vivid emotions, as if he were feeling them for the first time. Thus, he has chosen not to bond with anyone else. He might appear as an arrogant jerk at first, but we actually find out that he is a sweet and tender lover, the more his relationship with Yeo Ha Jin advances. He seemed reluctant at first, but becomes protective and doesn’t change his mind, once he has decided to do something. He is not afraid of being vulnerable either, and I really loved how he actually lives his emotions fully, even though he knows that he may be hurting because of them in the future. Lee Jung Hoon has in reality a very soft side, that he himself had forgotten and he rediscovers it with Yeo Ha Jin. 

His affection and inclination towards his woman is very cute and heart-warming. He is such a positive character that opens up once again throughout the drama thanks to Yeo Ha Jin. 

​As main female lead, Yeo Ha Jin (Moon Ga Young) has an opposite personality as that of her boyfriend. She is very cheerful and clueless, she seems also very naive and is really kind. As a celebrity, she has a lot of people badmouthing her and her acting, but she always puts on a smile and stays optimistic. I loved how positive and strong-willed she is, either in her career or in her relationship. She knows what she wants and tries her best to get it. Compared to Jung Hoon, she is a warm and social person at first glance, just like him she feels emotions 100%; but she has also been through very difficult moments. Her memory loss had a great influence on her personality and identity I think. Indeed, she had a best friend, who died because of a stalker. That best friend happens to be Jung Hoon’s deceased wife. None of them actually knew the other, but destiny brought them together. Yeo Ha Jin feels extremely guilty, thinking she played a part in her best friend’s death, hence the memory loss. She wanted to commit suicide and couldn’t handle the pain, so her brain shut down the bad memories. 

When Jung Hoon discovers her real identity, he wants to get away from her, not being able to accept that he is dating his wife’s best friend. Yet, Yeo Ha Jin is so clingy that she somehow finds a way to his heart. It was very pleasing to see. Seeing that you can actually move on and date someone else after the death of your loved one, even if it means finding consolation and solace with someone really close to that loved one. 

​Anyway, Yeo Ha Jin and Lee Jung Hoon form this atypical pair at first, whose relationship strengthens episode after episode and fights through the hurdles of life and the interventions of others. It is a couple that starts as a sort of contract but both characters realize little by little that they do have a lot in common, making them so compatible. Moreover, I believe that the common point (Ha Jin’s best friend and Jung Hoon’s wife) is essential in their relation. Jung Hoon needed someone to make him forget the pain and Ha Jin needed someone to remind her of her cherished friend. What’s better then than a man who can’t forget anything and a woman who remembers nothing. They heal each other in a different way: being able to lean on someone else to overcome their own trauma makes them closer. By the way, Lee Jung Hoon was able to save his beloved from the stalker (what he couldn’t do with his wife), helping him finding closure. Yeo Ha Jin on the other side was forgiven for the death of her friend by the one closest to her (Lee Jung Hoon), bringing her closure too. 

More than a romance, this drama is also about healing from previous wounds and accepting to move on and be happy again. 

​Also, Find Me in Your Memory actually gives a glimpse of different kinds of relationship, either toxic or great. The supporting couple led by Yeo Ha Kyung (Kim Seul Gi) – Ha Jin’s sister – and Jo Il Kwon (Lee Jin Hyuk) embodies another type of relationship, cute and less worrisome. However, they tackle the long-distance relationship theme and is a good epitome that it can work out. 

Choi Hee Sang, (played by Jing Young Nam) – Jung Hoon’s boss – and Kim Chul Woong (Lee Seung Joon) are the veteran married couple with a specificity: they work together and the wife is her husband’s boss. Yet, they also show that it can work out.

These are two examples of possible relationships that overcome well potential hurdles or subjects of discussion. 

​The toxic relationships that are shown on the other have in common that love is not love in reality but rather obsession. Moreover, feelings are unrequited. Both men Yeo Ha Jin’s director friend and the stalker Moon Sung Ho (Joo Suk Tae) try to force women (Yeo Ha Jin in the first case and Jung Seo Yeon (Lee Joo Bin) in the second to love them. They think that loving them will make it reciprocal and misjudge their kindness for love. All of that confusion guiding them to some extremes. 

​What are the themes questioned?

​Apart from the theme of love and relationship analyzed above, I think two other main themes are being studied in that drama: “disability” (in a sense that Jung Hoon’s hypermnesia is treated as a disease) and stalking issues. Actually, I have to say that for me both themes are deeply connected to mental issues, which englobes all of the toxic elements of the drama. 

​Stalking is a common problem with celebrities and most of them have to deal with their own crazy fans. The English title Find Me in Your Memory in my opinion is not just directed to Yeo Ha Jin (so that she gets her memory back) in the story but also draws a parallel between Moon Sung Ho and Lee Jung Hoon. Moon Sung Ho was Jung Hoon’s wife’s stalker and is also responsible for a great part of the stalking around Yeo Ha Jin. The title almost sounds like a warning and/or a hint sent to Jung Hoon to discover the mysterious identity of Ha Jin’s stalker, who is hiding in his past. 

Interestingly, the stalking is what brings the main characters together: Jung Hoon is traumatized by his previous stalking experience, which encourages him to deeply care and protect Yeo Ha Jin. In a way I found that it even helped him developing feelings for her. 

Stalkers in the drama have a central function: creating a disturbing environment to unite our characters but also showing the downsides of unrequited love and the extreme consequences it can lead to. 

​Aside from stalkers, the compensation and the balance of memories between both characters is another connecting thread. It is a message of acceptance and of not caring about the difference that is conveyed. Yeo Ha Jin and Lee Jung Hoon accept each other’s weaknesses and each is confronted with the other’s vulnerable side, connecting them even more. 

Hypermnesia is also an excellent open door on the ethical questions surrounded doctor’s discretion regarding their patients. I liked the fact that obsession was shown from different angles: one from love with the stalkers; one from work with the reporter (who is also almost a stalker let’s face it) and one from a medical field. Indeed, Jung Hoon’s doctor is so obsessed with the fact that he “cured” Jung Hoon that he thinks he can have a say in his life and decide for him, up to the point that he publishes a book on his without his consent. 

​Exposition to fame is quickly evoked with of course the stalkers but also mean comments and badmouth as well as media’s interest for private life. One of the important lessons to remember: don’t care about what others (especially media) say or think of you and your relationships!

​Finally, I put an 8.5/10 because the romance was not extraordinary but I graded it rather high because of all of these new and interesting themes analyzed throughout the drama. 

​P.S: Kim Sun Ho and Ro Woon’s special appearance in episode 1 made my heart jump!