Man in a Veil ~ ASVS is a Very Rare Condition

“Man in a Veil” is a Korean drama series released in 2020, with 100+ episodes, and can be categorized as Soap Opera, Romance, Family Drama, Crime, and Revenge.

♦ When I Woke Up I Was a Genius

In “Man in a Veil”, Lee Tae Poong is “mentally challenged”. An accident happened to him when he was young. He’s slow but that does not mean he’s stupid. However, because he is so innocent and so easy to take advantage of, evil people will try to take everything away from him. His mother is a widower but she is kind of wealthy. The doctors told her she has a terminal illness and she wants to make sure that her son will be cared for when she is gone. If only she and her son were not surrounded by evil people.

Lee Tae Poong’s mother wants to build a home that cares for the disabled and the handicapped. She entered this business endeavor with a woman she thought she could trust. But when she found out the woman was stealing money from the foundation, she challenged her and demanded an explanation and an accounting.

The woman is not only a thief but she is a murderer. Her husband is only married to her because the woman he loved vanished 20 years ago. He had no idea that it was his wife’s treacherous plan to get rid of her. The plan did not succeed because the murder attempt failed. However, the woman lost all of her memories. She met and married another man and had a family with him. That man wanted to help his wife recover her memories. He kept thinking there had to be someone who was looking for her.  He investigated until he found information that led back to the husband, i.e. the man his wife would have married if she had not lost her memories. He tried to make contact with him and for his efforts, he ended up dead. The man’s wife killed him.  It was not an intentional homicide.  Nevertheless, she still tried to cover up his death, the woman framed Lee Tae Poong’s mother for committing a hit-and-run accident.

Before all that happened, Lee Tae Poong’s mother had been tricked into believing that her son had gotten a woman pregnant and so she had them marry. It was a lie. The girl was a member of the family who lived on the estate owned by Lee Tae Poong’s mother. She got pregnant by another man but lied and said the father of the baby was Lee Tae Poong.

The girl marries Lee Tae Poong, and has the baby. It was the mother’s will for her wealth to go to the foundation for the disabled and the handicapped. Lee Tae Poong’s wicked wife was trying to figure out how to get rid of the mother when another wicked woman did her a favor by framing the mother for the hit-and-run accident.

Sadly, the mother dies in prison. Lee Tae Poong’s wife liquidates the mother’s assets, gives some of the money to her family, and then hops a plane to the US to make her fame and fortune. The house Lee Tae Poong grew up in gets sold, the family moves away, and Lee Tae Poong gets kicked to the streets. But the woman who framed his mother tries to get rid of him by locking him up in a hospital. He escaped, but some men tried to capture him again. In the process of struggling with them, he hits his head and falls into the water. People assume he drowned. But wouldn’t you know it? The woman who is still suffering from amnesia, finds him unconscious and takes him to the hospital.

Lee Tae Poong is unconscious for a while but when he wakes up … he’s a genius! The doctor described his condition as “acquired savant syndrome”. He is no longer stupid and his memories are intact. He creates a new identity for himself by taking the name of a dead man who had no family, Yoo Min-hyuk. He lives with a woman and her family, gets educated, and becomes a lawyer. First, he is a public prosecutor. Then he discovered information that points toward a culprit who framed his mother. It is “someone” in the DL Group and so he manages to get a job working as the Chief Legal Advisor for that company. His mother died an unjust death in prison. The job as a legal advisor at DL Group was all part of the plan to bring the real criminals to justice.

This soap opera is really complicated because certain evil people have their own agenda. The threads get knotted up quite often. Lee Tae Poong aka Yoo Min-hyuk has to do a lot of untangling and unraveling. But no matter what it takes he will clear his mother’s name.

Main Characters:

• Lee Tae Poong / Yoo Min-hyuk (played by Kang Eun-Tak; won Excellent Actor at the 2020 KBS Drama Awards)
• Han Yoo Jung (played by Uhm Hyun-kyung, “The Brave Yong Su-Jeong”)
• Han Yoo-Ra (played by Lee Chae-Young, “Family: The Unbreakable Bond”)
• Cha Seo-Joon (played by Lee Si-Kang, “The Elegant Empire”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: out of 10 stars (No rating)
• My Drama List: 7.2 out of 10 stars
• Google users shared a public rating 4.5 out of 5 stars
• Viki viewers rates this series 8.9 out of 10 stars

My personal rating is 9 out of 10 stars.

“A Man in a Veil” has a storyline that really grabs and keeps your attention. The scriptwriters set the stage with various subplots – different families – that seem disconnected at first. But with each episode, the various family ties get woven together. The entire story is wrapped around one young man’s quest to get justice for his mother who was framed for a crime she did not commit. He realizes he is inside a treacherous and complicated web of lies and criminal activities, but he is determined to uncover the truth.

One reviewer said he was disappointed because they got rid of a few characters during the first 25 episodes. Yeah. I kind of think the scriptwriter could have stretched out their roles for at least 50 episodes. But hey! Maybe those actors had other commitments or opportunities. You know how it is in the entertainment industry.

This series gets high marks for two reasons:

1. the main character was very likable and convincing, and you wanted him to win!
2. I learned about a rare medical condition called acquired savant syndrome.

• Acquired savant syndrome is a rare condition that causes someone to develop extraordinary abilities in a field after a brain injury, stroke, or other neurological illness.

• Imagine a 10-year-old boy is seriously injured when he is hit in the head with a baseball and knocked unconscious. Rather than experiencing significant difficulty with speech or memory, he is suddenly able to compose brilliant scores on the piano. This is called acquired savant syndrome, often referred to as “prodigious savant” or “accidental genius.”

• Medical and popular literature is sprinkled with cases of savants, but less is known about acquired savant syndrome. Some scientists who study the brain and cognition are skeptical.

REFERENCES:

Smith, Stephen. “The Acquired Savant: A Look into Acquired Savant Syndrome.” Brain Injury Law Center. Brain Injury Law Center, October 24, 2015. https://www.brain-injury-law-center.com/blog/acquired-savant-syndrome/.‌

Brainandlife.org. “Studying Acquired Savant Syndrome May Increase Understanding of Creativity,” November 22, 2021. https://www.brainandlife.org/articles/understanding-creativity-acquired-savant-syndrome.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Who is Kang Eun Tak? | PINKVILLA: Korean

A Man in a Veil Review – Steven D Rowe

KDRAMA 101 – Is There A Difference Between Daily Dramas, Weekend Dramas and Weekday Dramas? | Fluent In Kdrama! (“A Man In A Veil” is a daily drama.)

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

KBS WORLD TV. “Man in a Veil | 비밀의 남자 [Teaser – Ver.2].” YouTube Video. YouTube, August 20, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biOH7YShRY4.‌