Oh the pleasure of watching another brilliant drama starring Kim Myung Min go down in the annals of his already amazing filmography. Miracle That We Met was partially absurd in its plot, in terms of the fantasy element present in it. However, it was definitely an amazing journey to be a part of, for numerous reasons. For the most part, by the end of it, I was entranced by how the plot looked inwards, in order to study the very characters that had been created. I won’t take too long to jump into the actual story.
The story revolves around two men called Song Hyun Chul who happen to be born on the exact same date. One is the branch manager of Shin Hwa Bank (Kim Myung Min), while the other one is a chef at a Chinese restaurant (Ko Chang Seok). Chef Song runs his restaurant with his wife, Jo Yeon Hwa (played by Ra Mi Ran), and they both wish to buy their restaurant in order to run their business more smoothly. Chef Song decides to purchase a loan to buy his restaurant and so he goes to his bank with a request form. At the bank, his loan request is rejected because according to the bank records, Chef Song has already purchased a loan. He asks to meet the branch manager, who is the other Song, who sends him away without addressing his situation. The next day, both of the Songs suffer a car accident and are taken to hospital while unconscious. The angel of death, Ato (played by Kai from EXO), arrives to whisk the spirit of one of the two men away. However, since they have the same names and the same dates of birth, it is impossible for him to tell which one he was ordered to get rid of. He ends up leaving behind the spirit of Chef Song and the body of Branch Manager Song. With his own body cremated, Chef Song enters Branch Manager Song’s body.
Since he has memories of himself as Chef Song, it is his instinct to go back home even though his family does not recognize him or accept him at first. However, his body is recognizable to his own family. His wife, Seon Hye Jin (played by Kim Hyun Joo), has led a very difficult life since Branch Manager Song has always been a prickly man, making it hard for her to live with him. While she is contemplating filing for a divorce, her life completely changes when this new spirit enters her husband’s body and makes her find love again. With Hyun Chul’s demeanour changing at home and at work, a lot takes place in the process. As he finds out the truth about Chef Song’s loans, he is put in a position where he must take some action to set things right. While setting things right at the workplace, he has a whole lot to do in his family also. In order to do right by all, he suffers a great deal emotionally, as he comes to terms with who he was in the past and attempts to connect with Chef Song’s daughter and Branch Manager Song’s children.
The whole story was incredibly warm, and the finale truly made me cry tears of joy and nostalgia. Kim Myung Min has most often played incredibly career-oriented men with a very cool and collected way of dealing with events taking place in a workplace. Seeing him as a family man was rather moving and I don’t believe I have ever gotten so many smiles out of this actor ever before. He has always been a delight to watch, regardless of his age in any drama. He always brings so much class and a certain grandness to not just his roles but entire dramas. The way he showed the growth in the character of Song Hyun Chul made me so soft and emotional that I have no words to explain it. I could watch Kim Myung Min as a father my entire life if I had to because this drama really placed the actor in an entirely different light than what I had ever seen him as previously. The man is a walking talking piece of art, and I really believe he’s one of the best actors to come out of South Korea. With that I think I need to stop gushing over the glory of Kim Myung Min. I definitely recommend Miracle That We Met, however. One of the best dramas I have watched in a while.
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