Ahn Bo-hyun and Shin Hye-sun star in ‘See You In My 19th Life.’
Ahn Bo-hyun plays Seo-ha in the recently completed fantasy drama See You In My 19th Life. While Seo-ha has no memory of any past lives he is mired in his own past, unable to move beyond the tragic events that shaped him.
When Seo-ha is approached by Ji-eum, played by Shin Hye-sun, she claims she can remember her past lives. She tells him that her most recent life involved loving and vowing to protect him. Naturally, it’s hard for Seo-ha to believe. Although her claims are pretty fantastic, he does eventually recognize the person he lost and learns to love again. While Ahn’s drama character is grateful for Ji-eum’s ability to remember past lives, the actor isn’t sure such an ability might be an advantage in real life.
“I thought about it multiple times,” said Ahn. “But I believe the present is more important.”
While Ahn might not want to remember every detail of his past lives, he chose to appear in the Studio Dragon drama because he couldn’t resist the romantic premise of the story, which at its core contains a hopeful message.
“The fantasy element of reincarnation formed into a drama was intriguing and captivating,” said Ahn. “Personally, I feel that the message is, ‘broken hearts can be healed.’”
Ahn’s character Seo-ha can’t believe what he’s hearing.
See You In My 19th Life is based on a Naver webtoon of the same name written by Lee Hey. It’s not the first webtoon-inspired drama Ahn has appeared in, since he played a rich bully in Itaewon Class and Yumi’s boyfriend in Yumi’s Cells. Dramas based on webtoons are increasingly popular partly because the stories are so wildly creative.
“I don’t necessarily prioritize webtoon-based shows, but there seems to be many interesting pieces with captivating themes and well-structured stories among them,” said Ahn.” I believe this is why it is gaining more popularity than before and more people want to see them.”
Ahn’s acting resume spans various genres. Last year he played a military prosecutor in the campy military legal drama Military Prosecutor Doberman and before that he was the gym owner second lead in Her Private Life. Whatever role he takes, Ahn admits to being a perfectionist.
“I usually do not allow myself to give up easily,” he said. “Because of this, even after becoming an actor, I tend to be quite self-critical and set strict standards for myself.”
His only goal as an actor is to continually deliver great performances. Ahn can soon also be seen in the film 2 O’Clock Date, a romantic comedy, co-starring Im Yoon-ah. She plays a woman with a secret and Ahn plays her neighbor.
See You In My 19th Life airs on Netflix
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