In See You in My 19th Life, Ban Ji-eum is a woman who has the ability to remember her past lives. As her eighteenth life is cut short due to an accident, Ji-eum tries to reconnect with a man from that life in her nineteenth life. So, what happened in the ending of See You in My 19th Life?
Throughout the series, Ji-eum has gone through painful experiences from her past life and remembers all of them. She also finds out that reconnecting with someone from her past life has consequences.
Ji-eum learns there’s a way to make her stop remembering her past lives, but even this comes with consequences again. So, what happened to Ji-eum in episode 12?
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Warning: This article contains spoilers for See You in My 19th Life. Read at your own risk!
See You in My 19th Life Recap: Who Was Behind Seo-ha and Ju-won's Accident?
A lot of things in the series happened because of an accident that occurred when Seo-ha was a child. On his birthday, he and Ju-won (Ji-eum in her 18th life) were on their way to a theme park when suddenly, a truck hit their car.
This resulted in the death of Ju-won and the driver who was Do-yun’s father. Later on, we find out that what happened wasn’t really an accident; it was something planned, and Seo-ha thought he was the target.
In a shocking twist, the man behind the accident was Seo-ha’s uncle, Director Lee Sang-hyuck. This breaks Seo-ha’s heart because his uncle is someone he’s close with.
When he confronts his uncle, Sang-hyuck explains that Seo-ha wasn’t the target. Sang-hyuck’s target was Chairman Mun (Seo-ha’s father), and he thought that he would be in the car that day.
Sang-hyuck was angry at the chairman for neglecting Seo-ha’s mother. He also didn’t like the fact that Chairman Mun was seeing Ms. Jang.
Seo-ha tells his uncle to turn himself in, and Sang-hyuck does so. In the finale, Seo-ha visits his uncle in prison and makes his peace.
What Really Happened in Ji-eum’s First Life?
The reason why Ji-eum can remember her past lives has something to do with what happened in her first life. In her first life, Ji-eum was named “Su”, and she had a sister named “Seol” (who turns out to be Cho-won, her sister in her 18th life).
Seol was sick and dying, and the only way for Su to obtain medicine that would heal her was if she would give a sacred item to the palace.
Su decides to steal the shaman bells for Master Cheon-un's (who’s actually Kang Min-gi in his past life) ritual.
After Su steals the shaman bells, Cheon-un and his men go after her. Cheon-un kills Seol, which leads Su into swearing to get her revenge on him.
Later on, Su tries to kill Cheon-un, but Master Han-ya (Seo-ha) gets in the way. Su ends up stabbing Han-ya instead, and before she could proceed to stab Cheon-un, she gets hit by an arrow in her back.
Before she dies, Su holds the shaman bells and tells Cheon-un that she would never forget that day and that she would forever remember that rage.
“Be it hundreds or thousands of years, I shall remember this and be born again. And I will get my revenge no matter what,” Su says.
So, the one responsible for making Ji-eum remember her past lives is herself.
In the present day, Min-gi/Cheon-un apologizes to Ji-eum/Su and says that he regrets what he did a thousand years ago. Ji-eum forgives Min-gi and says that she would not have done so if she were still Su.
Ji-eum emphasizes that what’s important is their current lives. Min-gi then tells her that there’s a way she would stop remembering her past lives, but choosing to do so comes with a catch. This places Ji-eum in a dilemma.
Does Ji-eum Choose to Stop Remembering Her Past Lives in See You in My 19th Life's Ending?
Ji-eum ultimately chooses to become normal and put an end to remembering her past lives. While this saves Ae-gyeong’s life, it also causes Ji-eum to lose her memories of the people from her past lives – including Ae-gyeong, Cho-won, and Seo-ha.
“Putting an end to remembering your past lives means you’ll lose the memories of the people from them,” Min-gi explains.
While Ji-Eum wants to lose her ability to remember her past lives, she also doesn’t want to forget her memories of Ae-gyeong, Cho-won, and Seo-ha.
However, Seo-ha talks to Ji-eum and tells her she’s not alone. He assures her that he wouldn’t leave her alone even after she forgets everything.
Seo-ha tells Ji-eum that he would go to her, just like how she (Ju-won) came back to him. Seo-ha believes that Ji-eum would still love him even if she no longer recognized him.
They kiss one last time, and Seo-Ha gives her a couple’s ring. Seo-ha tells Ji-eum not to worry, and they hug one last time.
And so, Ji-eum chooses to stop remembering her past lives. She goes to the bridge carrying the shaman bells and breaks the curse. Ji-eum does this with “a carefree heart that’s ready to forget everything and four words.”
See You in My 19th Life Ending Explained: What Happens to Seo-ha and Ji-eum?
After Ji-eum stops remembering her past lives and loses her memories, she goes back to her job before she joined the marketing team of MI Hotel.
Cho-won, Ae-gyeong, and Seo-ha are now strangers to her, but as the three still have their memories of Ji-eum, they look for ways to be in her life.
Cho-won intentionally goes to a shopping mall to see Ji-eum. She befriends Ji-eum and recommends a braised kimchi place that’s just around the corner.
That place happens to be Ae-gyeong’s restaurant. Ae-gyeong regains her health and continues to run the restaurant. Ae-gyeong tells Ji-eum that she should come by often, and Ji-eum responds that Ae-gyeong just won herself a regular.
As for Seo-ha, he tries to recruit Ji-eum back to the marketing team of the hotel, but Ji-eum finds this strange considering that she’s an engineer with no experience in marketing.
But Seo-ha uses the same lines Ji-eum once used on him and tells her that if she’s unsure, she should just try dating him instead. This surprises Ji-eum like how it surprised Seo-ha before.
Seo-ha points to Ji-eum’s ring and tells her that they’re wearing matching rings. Seo-ha then tells Ji-eum that he would ask her out three times (again, exactly like what Ji-eum told him before).
He asks Ji-eum to date him, and Ji-eum asks if that’s his first confession. Seo-ha responds that it’s his first confession in that life.
The show ends with Ji-eum and Seo-ha smiling and looking into each other’s eyes.
Now, it’s up to the viewers to make their own conclusions as to what would happen next. However, we do know that Seo-ha will do whatever it takes to be with Ji-eum.
After all, he did promise that he would go to her this time. Ji-eum also managed to reconnect with Seo-ha before, so Seo-ha would likely succeed in getting back together with Ji-eum.
So, while there may be unanswered questions at the end of See You in My 19th Life, we can hope that Ji-eum and Seo-ha would find their way back to each other again.
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