Korean drama My Secret Terrius that aired in 2018 has been trending on social media amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-2019) pandemic.
After concluding in 2018, My Secret Terrius resurfaced as the most talked drama on SNS because of a scene in the first season's 10th episode. In the scene, there was a doctor that talks to one of the lead characters named Yoo Ji-yeon, who was portrayed by Im Se-mi. They are having a conversation about a coronavirus being mutated in order to become a weapon.
The drama broadcasted on the MBC network from September 27, 2018 up to November 15, 2018 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 (KST) time slot. It's now available on Netflix.
The story of this drama is about a secret agent who disconnects himself from the outside world after a failed operation tries to unfold the mystery behind a neighbor's death. There was a woman named Go Ae-rin, played by actress Jung In-sun, who lost her husband. Ae-rin, together with her neighbor Kim Bon, played by So Ji-sub, who was an NIS agent, tries to discover the truth behind her husband's involvement in a huge conspiracy.
We have written the conversation on the particular scene in the drama where they sort of predicted the novel coronavirus 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic. Here's how the conversation of scene goes based on its English subtitles:
The doctor informs Yoo Ji-yeon they must execute more research, but it looks like a mutant coronavirus.
Then, Yoo Ji-yeon curiously asks, "Corona? Then MERS?"
The doctor went on saying it may be "MERS, SARS, the common flu. They all fall in the same family with the same gene information. Then continued explaining that the coronavirus attacks the respiratory system. During the 2015 MERS epidemic, the mortality rate was over 20 percent."
Yoo Ji-yeon, still in a curious state, asked, "But that's not serious enough to be used as a weapon. Am I wrong?"
The doctor then explains like she said that the virus is mutant. Someone adjusted it to increase the mortality rate to almost 90 percent.
Still puzzled, Yoo Ji-yeon asked again, "90 percent?"
The doctor illustrates stating that what is even more serious is that the coronavirus has an incubation period of 2 to 14 days. This virus was maneuvered to attack the lungs directly within just five minutes of being exposed to it.
And when Yoo Ji-yeon asks if there is a cure to this virus, the doctor answers, "There's no cure or vaccine at the moment since they're not easy to develop."
The big question right now is did this 2018 drama predict the COVID19 pandemic before it even started?