“Welcome2Life” ~ In This World, You’re the Good Guy!

“Welcome2Life” is a 2019 Korean drama series, has 32 episodes, and can be categorized as Crime and Mystery, Supernatural or Fantasy, Rom-Com, Romance, and Comedy. It’s perfect for fans of Rain.

♦ If a Parallel World Did Exist, Then …

In “Welcome2Life”, Lee Jae-Sang had a choice. Become a public prosecutor and fight for the right and justice. But you might not make a lot of money. Become a lawyer for a well-known private law firm, get paid a lot of money. But you will have to tell a lot of lies and cover up crimes. What? This is easy. Go with the law firm.

Lee Jae-Sang chose to work for a private law firm and he became the one they called in whenever there was some wealthy person who needed their crimes covered up. In choosing to work for the law firm, he made a sacrifice. He lost, Ra Shi-On, the woman who loved him. She is a detective and can not stand what he has become. There was once a time when she respected and admired him. She thought he would use his legal expertise to make a better world. Instead, he ruins all the investigations where she has worked hard on trying to bring criminals to justice. How? Using legal tricks so they won’t get convicted and serve time for their crime. It makes her so angry!

But this one time … Sometimes your conscience just won’t let you do some things. The lead of the law firm where he worked committed murder. She told him everything he needed to do to conceal her dirty deeds and even found an innocent person to frame for her crime and send to prison. This case was going to be super easy! All Lee Jae-Sang had to was whatever she told him to do. Instead, Lee Jae-Sang recorded their conversation. Then he told her that he intended to expose her to the world.

Not sure what he was thinking. Did he really think his boss would let him walk out of the company with that incriminating recording and turn it over to the authorities? Well if that is what he was thinking, he was wrong! She sent people after him to kill him. The plan was to kill him in a car accident. Not just kill him, CRUSH HIM!! Be sure he does not survive.

You know how when it’s your last few minutes on earth, they say your whole life flashes in front of your eyes? Well, it was supposed to be Lee Jae-Sang’s last few minutes of life, however, he woke up in a parallel world. He literally woke up in bed, in his pajamas, and his cheery wife came into the room greeting him. WAIT? WIFE??? But Lee Jae-Sang wasn’t married! Of course, his wife, Ra Shi-On, thinks he is joking. She tells him to get dressed because it’s an important day for him as a public prosecutor. PROSECUTOR?? Since when?!!

Lee Jae-Sang races out of the house to go to the law firm he works for and … ??? … everybody at the law firm is wondering why he’s there. He tells them he works there and they have him thrown out of the building. When he gets to the prosecutor’s office, everybody, including his wife, wants to know why his behavior is so insane! He needs to get it together because he’s working on an important case!!

The last thing Lee Jae-Sang sort of remembers is that … he was about to die! But … ??? … he’s not dead. He is also not living the life he was living before he thought he was going to die. OK! So! Is he now a noble prosecutor who fights for law, order, and justice? Does he work alongside a female detective to win these cases? Is he also happily married to her? But they broke up!!

WHO? WHAT?? WHERE??? WHEN???? HOW????? He can not explain what happened to him, but he realizes enough to know that he needs to adjust to his alternate life in a parallel world. Will he be able to return to his other life?  Does he have another life to return to?

Main Characters:

• Lee Jae-Sang (played by Jung Ji-Hoon aka Rain, “Ghost Doctor”, “My Lovely Girl”, “Come Back Alive”)
• Ra Shi-On (played by Lim Ji-Yeon, “The Glory 1 and 2”, “The Killing Vote”, “Lies Hidden In My Garden”, “Spiritwalker”, “The Royal Gambler”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 7.2 out of 10 stars
• MyDramaList: 8.2 out of 10 stars
• Google users shared a public rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars
• Viki viewers rated this series 9.6 out of 10 stars

My personal rating is 8.5 out of 10 stars.

My reason for watching this Kdrama series was because the South Korean actor known as Rain is one of the main characters. In 2024, he will star as a bodyguard in “Red Swan” (trailer below), a Korean drama that will be streamed on Disney Plus. I am not sure if or when this series will be available in the US. However, I got so excited by watching the trailer for “Red Swan” that I decided to watch another Kdrama with Rain to keep me calm while I wait for its release in the United States. LOL.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

“Welcome 2 Life” Continues To Lead Monday-Tuesday Dramas With Increased Ratings | Soompi

‘Welcome 2 Life’ Review: This is a Fun New Fantasy Romance to Watch | Silver Petticoat Review

An Honest Review Of The Fantasy Romance “Welcome 2 Life” | KDramaStars

K-Drama Review: “Welcome 2 Life” Entices Audience By Exploring Second Chances & Parallel Worlds | Hello KPop

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

KOCOWA TV. “Jung Ji Hoon ‘I Need You to Cure My Mental Illness’ [Welcome2LifeㅣTeaser Trailer].” YouTube Video. YouTube, July 26, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rky4dpsRv0.‌

♦♦ DisneyPlus Hotstar. “Red Swan | Official Trailer | Streaming 3 July | DisneyPlus Hotstar.” YouTube Video. YouTube, June 14, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD7k7IUFrUs.‌