Amnesia can be caused by trauma to the head, drug use or severe psychological stress. And it can happen in a variety of ways. You might forget who you are, be unable to form new memories or just forget a specific period of time, which is what happened to Ji Hyun Woo's character in a recent episode of the comedy "Trot Lovers."
There are few statistics on how many people really get amnesia because there are so many variations but one thing is certain. Real people only get amnesia a fraction of the time that k-drama characters do.
There are dozens of dramas in which characters develop amnesia to cause a complication in the plot. In the case of "Trot Lovers," Ji Hyun Woo was madly in love with Jung Eun Ji's character but he has now conveniently forgotten he ever liked her. That gives the writers several more episodes to prevent the couple from being together, and create love triangle conflict.
The same thing happened in "Boys Over Flowers." Lee Min Ho's character Gu Jun Pyo and Gu Hye Sun's character Geum Jan Di had overcome all the odds against their relationship when he developed amnesia and no longer had any idea what she meant to him.
There are so many incidences of k-drama amnesia that viewers may expect one form or another when a character is injured. Here are just a few incidences of amnesia in k-dramas:
"A New Leaf:" Kim Myung Min forgets that he is a cutthroat lawyer and has to remember the ethical reasons why he originally became a lawyer.
"Haeundae Lovers:" The public prosecutor played by Kim Kang Woo loses his memory while on an undercover mission. He thinks he's a gangster and falls in love with a gangster's daughter played by Jo Yeo Jung.
"Stairway to Heaven:" Choi Ji Woo's bad stepsister hits her with a car and she develops amnesia. Then later on, her sister hits her with a car again and she remembers everything. Spoiler alert: It doesn't do her much good because in the end she dies anyway.
Sometimes characters have amnesia more than once. This happened in "Nice Guy" and "Save The Last Dance For Me."
"Save The Last Dance For Me:" This drama features double amnesia with Ji Sung losing his memory, being nursed back to health by Eugene and then losing it again after they marry. What are the odds?
"Nice Guy:" This drama probably wins the prize for the most incidences of real or pretend amnesia. Park Si Yeon's character has a car accident with Song Joong Ki, the man she tried to murder and develops amnesia. Then she meets him again and falls in love with him, that is, until her amnesia is cured. Coincidentally, he develops amnesia too. Or does he?
Are there any amnesia dramas we have forgotten? Let us know.
