Top 6 K-dramas that use the amnesia trope

From forgotten identities to unexpected second chances, amnesia has long been an amusing trope in K-dramas. Whether it brings characters closer, creates hilarious misunderstandings, or sets them on a journey to uncover the truth about their past, memory loss can add an intriguing layer to an already compelling story. If you're in the mood for a drama where a lost memory changes everything, here are six K-dramas, in no particular order, that put their own unique spin on the amnesia trope.

1. Our Sticky Love

Go Eun Sae (Ha Young) is a top prosecutor, a force criminals fear. Her shining life, however, takes a dramatic turn when she gains consciousness in a hospital in the countryside with no recollection of how she arrived there or anything about her life before waking up. Her confusion deepens when Jang Tae Ha (Jung Hae In), a local boxing coach, claims to be her boyfriend. Eun Sae is skeptical of his story from the start. Yet with nowhere else to turn, she follows him to the taffy-making village where he says they live together.

Is Tae Ha really telling Eun-sae the truth? If he is deceiving her, as she suspects, what does he stand to gain? 

Our Sticky Love is streaming on Netflix.

2. The Good Bad Mother

Young Soon (Ra Mi Ran) is a single mother who raised her son, Kang Ho (Lee Do Hyun), by making a living from her animal farm. Determined to give him a different life from hers, she became a strict, seemingly harsh mother, believing that pushing him hard is the best way to keep him from following in her footsteps.

Now an adult, Kang Ho is a prosecutor known for his cold, calculating personality. Keeping a secret to himself, he grows distant from Young Soon. However, an unexpected accident suddenly changes everything, leaving Kang Ho with the mind of a young child. He returns to his hometown, which forces Young Soon to start all over again as a mother.

Stream The Good Bad Mother on Netflix.

3. Goblin (Guardian: The Lonely and Great God)

Kim Shin (Gong Yoo) was a legendary general in ancient Korea, never defeated on the battlefield. However, the young king, threatened by Kim Shin's influence and popularity, orders his death. Instead of finding peace, Kim Shin gets transformed into a Dokkaebi (Goblin), condemned to live forever. Although he initially sees immortality as a gift, he soon comes to realize that it is actually a curse.

Nearly 900 years later, Kim Shin continues to search for the human bride who can finally release him from his eternal existence. One night, he encounters a dying pregnant woman, whose fate is to die that very night. Kim Shin saves her, but his actions prevent the Grim Reaper (Lee Dong Wook) from finding her among the dead. The woman later gives birth to a daughter, Ji Eun Tak (Kim Go Eun). 

Years later, Eun Tak, now an orphan, is a high school student who has been able to see ghosts since childhood and frequently hears them call her the "Dokkaebi's bride". After her mother's death, she is forced to live with her aunt's family, who treat her miserably. On her birthday, Eun Tak makes a wish while sitting by the sea with a birthday cake. As she blows out the candle, Kim Shin mysteriously appears behind her. 

From then on, Kim Shin repeatedly appears before Eun Tak whenever she blows out a light, despite having no control over it. Eventually, Eun Tak tells him that he is the Dokkaebi — and that she is his destined bride.

Stream Goblin on Apple TV, Netflix, Viki, and Prime Video.

4. 100 Days My Prince

Yi Yul (Doh Kyung Soo), the Crown Prince of Joseon, is a meticulous perfectionist with little patience for most nobles in the royal court. Beneath his stern and demanding appearance, however, lies a man burdened by profound loneliness. At one point, he introduces a law requiring all unmarried men and women of marriageable age to wed before turning 28.

Hong Sim (Nam Ji Hyun) is an independent, capable, and intelligent young woman who works hard to provide for herself and her father. When an assassination attempt leaves Yi Yul seriously wounded, he is taken in and cared for by the Hong family. Having lost his memory, the Crown Prince no longer remembers who he is and is able to move through the village as an ordinary commoner.

The marriage law Yi Yul himself established now puts Hong Sim in a difficult position. As the oldest unmarried woman in her village, she risks punishment from the authorities if she does not find a husband. With no other way out, Yi Yul suggests that the two of them should marry, unaware that he is actually proposing marriage to the very woman who will become entangled with his royal identity.

Stream 100 Days My Prince on Apple TV, Netflix, WeTV, Viki, and Prime Video.

5. Bad Memory Eraser

Lee Goon (Kim Jae Joong) was once a promising tennis player. But his career comes crashing down after a serious injury leaves him physically and emotionally devastated. Hoping to start over, he undergoes a psychiatric procedure known as the "memory eraser", a treatment that wipes clean his painful memories and restores his confidence.

However, the procedure brings him into the life of Kyung Ju Yeon (Jin Se Yeon), a psychiatrist and brain researcher. As a side effect of the treatment, Goon develops fabricated memories that convince him Ju Yeon was his first love. With his memories no longer reflecting reality, Goon begins to see Ju Yeon through an entirely different lens.

Stream Bad Memory Eraser on Viki.

6. Zombie Detective

Kim Moo Young (Choi Jin Hyuk) has spent the past two years living as a zombie. While hiding in a rural village, he carefully studies and imitates human behavior in order to blend in and survive. Eventually, he moves to the city, where he takes on a new identity and works as a private detective. With no memories of his life before becoming a zombie, Moo Young struggles to adapt to human society while desperately searching for clues about his past.

Kong Sun Ji (Park Ju Hyun) works as an investigative journalist. Her life changes after a witness connected to one of the cases she was working on is attacked. Shaken by the incident, Su Ji leaves her job.

Her path soon crosses with Moo Young's. She eventually joins his detective agency as a part-time employee, and together they begin uncovering the truth behind Moo Young's past.

Stream Zombie Detective on Viki.

Did we miss any K-dramas that deserve a spot on this list? Drop your recommendations below!