49 Days

Gullible yet cheerful Shin Ji-hyun (Nam Gyu-ri) is living a perfect life: she is the only daughter of wealthy, doting parents and is surrounded by supportive best friends. She is also engaged to be married to the perfect man, Kang Min-ho (Bae Soo-bin), in just a few weeks. Meanwhile, Song Yi-kyung (Lee Yo-won) is in an existential crisis following her boyfriend's tragic death. She works third shift at a convenience store, sleeps in the afternoon, and often spends what little time she has left in the day contemplating suicide.

One fateful day interweaves the two characters' stories as Yi-kyung attempts to kill herself by walking into oncoming traffic. A bystander saves Yi-kyung by pulling her out of harm's way. However, a massive pile-up ensues from her actions. Ji-hyun fails to hit the brakes as she approaches the collision site and crashes into a truck. When she regains consciousness after the accident, she shockingly finds that she could neither make physical contact with the people crowding around her car nor could any of them hear her protests. She also sees her own body being carted into an ambulance. A motorcyclist nearby seems to be the only person who can see her. After Ji-hyun leaves him to follow the paramedics attempting to revive her body in the ambulance, she meets the cyclist again at the hospital. The cyclist reveals to her that he is indeed the "Scheduler," an angelic being charged with guiding souls to their final destinations. He explains that since it was not yet her time to die, she is given the chance to recover from her comatose state and live again. The offer is contingent, however, on the completion of a mission: Ji-hyun must gather three teardrops shed out of pure love by three people not related to her by blood within the next 49 days. Elated by the seemingly easy task, Ji-hyun immediately thinks of her fiancé and two best friends and is certain she will live again. She then finds herself in the body of the suicidal Yi-kyung for which she will remain for the duration of her quest.

Ji-hyun proceeds by seeking employment as a waitress at a restaurant owned by her high school friend, Han Kang (Jo Hyun-jae). While in the process of obtaining her proof of employment at a hotel where the real Yi-kyung worked, Ji-hyun's memory begins to return to her. Before the accident, Ji-hyun had agreed to meet up with her best friend Shin In-jung (Seo Ji-hye) to show her the bridesmaid dress Ji-hyun had chosen for her. Ji-hyun's excitement is muted when she makes an significant discovery that reveals the deception around her. She painfully realizes her life was less than perfect, and that it won't be as easy to find people who truly love her.[3]

49 Days explores interconnectedness of all things, such as fate, exorcism, and other spiritual topics. This TV series was inspired by the Korean Shamanism "Bardo" that a soul usually wanders the earth for 49 days and then moves on to the next life, thus frequently referencing relevant Buddhism (once a majority religion of Korea) ideas such as reincarnation and karma. Location names also have theological rhythm— such as Han Kang's restaurant Heaven and Mountain Destiny, where Ji-hyun and Min-ho first meet. However, Christian themes like true love, forgiveness, resurrection, loving the enemy, and the quantity of three (reminiscent of the Trinity) are central to Ji-hyun's obtaining the genuine tears. These themes are recurrently exploited throughout the drama under the manifestation of the relationships of the characters. When Ji-hyun asks whether the Scheduler is male, he answers that such discrimination is not practiced in the afterworld, a concept in Matthew 22:30. The Scheduler also mentions that "knock and the door will be opened to you," echoing Matthew 7:7. The "unutterable secret of the heavens" (천기누설) that Scheduler speaks about is similar to the mysteries of the kingdom of God that "man is not permitted to tell" (2 Corinthians 12:4, Mark 4:11, Matthew 13:11). When Ji-hyun desperately prays to God to save her, her tear necklace attains Han Kang's tear. God also has a tear-collecting bottle in Psalm 56:8. Ji-hyun's last name, Shin (신), means "God" in Korean.

• It aired in Japan on KNTV in summer 2011, and on Fuji TV in fall 2011.[11]
• It aired in Singapore on Channel U beginning June 22, 2014. After that, KBS drama "Good Doctor" replaced the Sunday 9 pm schedule.
• It aired in Thailand on Channel 7 beginning December 25, 2013.[12]

It was also aired in the Philippines on ABS-CBN Channel 2. It became a successful Korean drama hit in the country. In year 2014, ABS-CBN remade this Korean drama with a title “Pure Love”.

ABS-CBN produced a Philippine remake under the title Pure Love (since the 49-day Korean after-death tradition contradicts the 40-day counterpart in the Philippines), starring Alex Gonzaga, Yen Santos, Joseph Marco, Matt Evans, Arjo Atayde, Yam Concepcion and Sunshine Cruz.[13] The series premiered on July 7, 2014. The series were also re-aired on Kapamilya Online Live and Jeepney TV, it premiered January 18, 2021.

• 49 Days official SBS website (in Korean)
• 49 Days at HanCinema
• 49 Days at IMDb