See You in My 19th Life Volume 3 Review

Three volumes have been released so far for See You in My 19th Life, and with each volume, the author does an amazing job in giving snippets of the characters’ background, thus making the readers want to know more ASAP. Each character’s complexity is founded on their relationships and experiences while growing up, and how a small event for one of them turns into the turning point in another character’s life.

After quite a few hints, Seoha finally realises where and when he met Jieum in the past. But hold your horses if you’re thinking that he realised that Jieum is the reincarnation of Juwon. He just realises that he met Jieum when he was a high schooler and she an elementary school student. Thanks to this, we get a closer look at  Jieum’s family, and how that impacted her growing up. It’s quite the opposite family environment compared to her life as Juwon. Her mother walked out on her when she was a child, and her father and older brother are good-for-nothings who would steal money from a kid. For this many believe that the reason she wants to become closer to Seoha is just one: money. However, that’s not the case, and thankfully Seoha seems to know there is more to her obsession with him than just dreaming of a ‘Cinderella’ happy ending.

While Seoha and Jieum are clearly the main characters, by now readers can elevate Chowon (Jieum’s younger sister) and Doyun to main characters as well. Their relationships with Seoha and Jieum impacts the story heavily, both in their past and moving forward. What happened to all of them and how they come together, although unwillingly, is the starting point on dealing with their traumas. While Chowon and Jieum are pretty open with their feelings and with their thoughts, Seoha and Doyun are still closed off—they are not letting their walls down easily.

See You in My 19th Life is a romance manwha, but it differentiates from other similar series in one main aspect—for once it’s NOT the main male lead who pursues the heroine. The heroine is more than able to do the pursuing herself: she knows what she wants, and she’s not afraid to go for it. I find this narration quite empowering, and I can’t help but cheer for Chowon and Jieum to find the love they both deserve.

The relationship with Seoha and Jieum develops quite a bit in this volume, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a love confession from Seoha is on the horizon. He seems to start to realise his feelings for Jieum, although he doesn’t want to admit it to himself, even though the people closer to him can clearly see it. Chowon as well seems to make a tiny (really tiny) step forward with Doyun. He’s not as cold-hearted as he seems to be, but if he reciprocates Chowon’s love or not is still a mystery. There seems to be more to him than meets the eye, but exactly what we’ll have to find out.

Jieum has been debating for a while if she should tell the truth of her reincarnation to Seoha, but a night out makes her take a decision. While she’s meeting new people and re-connecting with family and friends from her past life, she’s still alone. I wonder if Jieum as well will be able to let her walls down and finally trust someone with her truth. But Jieum’s truth is not the only one that needs to come to light. Readers are given hints that something was off about Seoha and Juwon’s car accident… it might not have been an accident after all!

The series covers the topic of disabilities and how people are treated because of them. After the car accident, Seoha partially lost his hearing, and years later he sometimes still has issues hearing properly. For this he gets underestimated and made fun of. Some people don’t pull punches when talking about him, so please be aware if this is a trigger for you.

The illustrations are a little bit simplistic with not too many details, but the author uses a variety of facial expressions to help narrate the story and to add the comical aspect of the characters’ interactions. The cover’s illustration also seems to span a couple of volumes, with the full picture showing when Volume 3 and 4 are put together.

See You in My 19th Life is written and illustrated by Lee Hye. It started as a serialised digital comic published on Webtoon, before being released in print format by Ize Press, with Volume 4 released in October. A K-drama version of the series is available on Netflix.

Our review copy from Ize Press was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.