Bad Memory Eraser ~ A 2024 Viki Original Series

“Bad Memory Eraser” is a 2024 Viki Original Korean drama series, with 16 episodes, and can be categorized as Sports, Medical drama, science fiction (sci-fi), Romance, and Comedy (Rom-Com).

♦ Bad Things Happen Once But You Remember Them Over and Over

“Bad Memory Eraser” poses this question: “People say life can change in a split second. What if that moment is a bad memory?” What would happen if you could erase that bad memory?

Lee Goon was the first Korean to win the gold medal in the Junior Tennis Championships. He was on his way UP!! Then … an accident happened and in that split second his life changed. Everything from that day forward in his life was like a downward spiral. He sustained a serious injury that prevented him from playing as a professional athlete. To him, his life was over and some think he tried to commit suicide. That part of his memory is not clear. The gold medal he won had dropped into the river. Did he dive in to try to retrieve the medal OR was he trying to commit suicide? At any rate, his life was saved by a young girl. He never knew her name but he reserved a special place in his mind for her and she was designated “his first love”. Maybe one day he would meet her.

Getting Your Luggage Mixed Up is Bad

While traveling back to South Korea, Lee Goon was on the plane with Kyung Joo-Yeon, a research scientist and psychiatrist. She was experimenting with rats to prove that bad memories can be erased. Why would anyone want to tap into the human mind and erase their memories? Isn’t it obvious? Some people have had a tragic event occur in their lives and they can never move forward because they continue to relive the event over and over. Nothing works for them. Psychiatric treatment does not work. Drugs don’t work. Hypnosis does not work. But suppose the bad memories could be erased. Would they then be able to move forward and live a productive and profitable life?

Lee Goon and Kyung Joo-Yeon had a brief exchange while on the plane together and she deduced that he was trying to decide whether or not to attend a reunion where he might get the chance to meet his first love. But would she want to meet him in his present mental state? He just couldn’t decide what to do.

When Lee Goon and Kyung Joo-Yeon both arrive in South Korea, there is a mix-up with their luggage. Lee Goon brings home a suitcase that belongs to Kyung Joo-Yeon that contains her important research documents. YIKES!! She needed to make a presentation because she was requesting funding to continue her research. She finally contacts him and he agrees to bring her luggage to the hospital.

Whew! OK! Before Kyung Joo-Yeon can demonstrate the results of her experiment a tragedy occurred. The rat died! More specifically, the rat got out of its cage, ran into the hospital driveway, and was run over by Lee Goon’s vehicle. There was a heated confrontation between Lee Goon and Kyung Joo-Yeon and she angrily told him that she should never try to meet his first love because basically, he was a loser who could never move beyond his bad memory; and he was going to be like that until he died!  WOW!  That’s harsh.

What If a Good Memory Turns Into a Bad Memory

Lee Goon had asked Kyung Joo-Yeon what if a good memory turns into a bad memory? She had no answer for him. Lee Goon decided to attend the reunion hoping to meet his first love and it’s as if he predicted it. That one good memory of his first love turned into a bad memory. He saw his first love with his younger brother, Lee Shin.

When Lee Goon was injured, his parents shifted their attention and focused on Lee Shin. He became the great tennis player that Lee Goon had hoped to become. Lee Goon’s job was to support his little brother and live in his shadow. Everything that would have been his now belonged to his little brother. EVERYTHING!! Including his first love. Once again, nobody is certain whether he was trying to commit suicide but he was fished out of the river. He ended up in the operating room and Kyung Joo-Yeon was a part of the surgical team.

Kyung Joo-Yeon felt guilty because she thought her harsh words may have pushed Lee Goon to commit suicide. She got approval from the family to experiment on him and try to erase his bad memories. The operation was successful. When Lee Goon regained consciousness, Kyung Joo-Yeon was the first person in his hospital room. She asked him if he knew who she was. He replied: “Of course! You’re my first love.” Uh oh! Is this a side effect of erasing his memories?

Why Worry About Ethics and Morality If the Experiment is Successful

The family was told that to determine if the operation was successful they must not refer to any of his bad memories. They needed to know if the bad memories had been erased so they didn’t want anyone to say something about tragic events he had experienced. They agreed to follow the doctors’ instructions.

However, Kyung Joo-Yeon was already worried about the results of the experiment. She wondered if something had happened during the operation that “contaminated the experiment”. Something that created a memory during the operation that caused him to believe she was his first love. Her research team had already reported no side effects and the experiment was successful. How could she tell everyone that there was a possible side effect? She decided to lie for the sake of science and play the part of Lee Goon’s first love. After all, his bad memories had been erased. He doesn’t know she’s lying.

Kyung Joo-Yeon promised to show results using Lee Goon as the “human test subject”, No. 108. (Remember that No. 107 had been run over by Lee Goon’s vehicle.) At the same time, an experiment would be conducted using a rat, test subject No. 109. Oh, the irony! To receive additional funds to continue her experiments she had to stand before an ethics and morality commission and convince them of the purity of her research findings and its benefits to mental health patients. And now she’s LYING to continue the experiments? So much for ethics and morality.

Main Characters:

• Lee Goon (played by Kim Jae-Joong, “Dr. Jin”)
• Kyung Joo-Yeon (played by Jin Se-Yun, “Queen: Love and War”, “Grand Prince”, “The Flower in Prison”, “The Duo”)
• Lee Shin (played by Lee Jong-Won, “Knight Flower”)
• Jeon Sae-Yan (played by Yang Hye-Ji, “Branding in Seongsu”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Ratings:

• IMDb Rating: 8.8 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 7.8 out of 10 stars
• Dramabeans: 8 out of 10 stars
• Viki viewers rated this series 9.5 out of 10 stars

My personal rating is the same as the Viki viewers.

It’s OK if it’s fiction, but the idea of someone or something being able to erase my memories is terrifying. Whenever there is a way to tamper with my brain and the possibilities for manipulating my mind seem endless, I run in the other direction. Get me away from the mad scientist! Can you imagine the horrific crimes that could be committed and all you would have to do is erase the person’s memory? Let’s say somebody wants to kill their spouse but they get another person to do it and then erase their memory of the murder. That’s one example but no doubt the number of ways a “Bad Memory Eraser” could be used are endless.

• Add this series to the list of other “Bad” Korean dramas. 5 “Bad” Korean Dramas To Watch With a Bowl of Popcorn

LINKS OF INTEREST:

‘Bad Memory Eraser’ makes strong debut with promising ratings despite Olympic competition | Times of India

K-Drama ‘Bad Memory Eraser’ Wonders What’s Worth Remembering | Forbes

Here are the upcoming K-dramas of August 2024 on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Viki & more | Lifestyle Asia Malaysia

WATCH TRAILER:

manymore. “Bad Memory Eraser Official Trailer (ENG SUB) | Jin Se Yeon and Kim Jae Joong.” YouTube Video. YouTube, August 2, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F889ztqMsTY.‌

SEOUL HITS. “12 Most-Anticipated Kdramas Releasing in the 2nd Half of 2024! (July-Dec).” YouTube Video. YouTube, June 28, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otfi7zQYtVo.