Mr Back 2014 - Episode 1

MBC's new Korean drama, "Mr Back" achieved a rating of 14.2% for its premiere, beating out SBS's "My Lovely Girl" (5%) and KBS's "Iron Man" (4.3%) to clinch the top spot in its time slot. But I did not start this drama because of that. I watched it because my favorite singer, JYJ's Junsu sang the OST "In The Time I Love You" for this drama. XD

"Mr Back" is about Choi Go-bong (Shin Ha-kyun), a rich man in his 70s, who suddenly turns back into a young man in his 30s, and experiences love for the first time. Reminds me of the box office hit Korean movie "Miss Granny".

Choi Go-bong is a wealthy and successful CEO of a hotel corporation. On the surface, his life seems perfect, but it is not. He worked hard his entire life to get to where he is now, but he has never experienced true happiness. His son, Choi Dae-han (Lee Joon) is a ne'er-do-well prodigal. His younger siblings and their spouses curry favor with him all the time because of his money. His health is deteriorating and his doctor stops him from eating food he likes and drinking alcohol. He is an unfeeling and bad-tempered old man.

One day, Dae-han gets into trouble again. He supposedly borrowed 1 billion won from a woman in Las Vegas and got her pregnant. To stop the press from reporting this story, Go-bong tries to bury it by attending a public event at a nursing home. There, he meets Eun Ha-soo (Jang Na-ra) who is doing voluntary work. Ha-soo mistakes him for one of the old folks in the nursing home, and treats him with kindness and patience. He is attracted by her.

Ha-soo has been unemployed for a long time. One day, she is elated to receive a call telling her that she has gotten an intern job in Go-bong's hotel. On her first day at work, she runs into Dae-han who is late for work and hiding from his angry father. She is doing housekeeping in a room when he suddenly barges in. Go-bong catches the two of them together and thinks that Dae-han is fooling around with an employee. He gives Dae-han a slap and fires Ha-soo.

Later in the day, Dae-han realizes that he dropped his necklace with a gem in the hotel room. The gem is very important to him, so he gives Ha-soo a call. He promises to get her job back for her if she finds the gem back for him. She finds it and is on her way to deliver it to him. Meanwhile, Go-bong is on his way home.

There is a meteor shower and all of a sudden, a big hole appears in the middle of the road. Both Go-bong's and Ha-soo's vehicles fell into the hole. Go-bong has a heart attack and drops his pills on the ground. He accidentally picks up a shining blue pill and eats it. Meanwhile, the blue gem with Ha-soo starts to shine. I think it is a magical gem.

Go-bong's soul is taken away by a group of men in white. He begs them to let him live longer because he has never truly lived or felt happy before. He miraculously comes back to life unscathed when Ha-soo grabs his hand. He goes home and takes a bath. Suddenly, he transforms into a young man.

The first episode introduces the main characters and sets up the stage for future episodes, and I find it a bit boring. But I predict this drama will get interesting after Go-bong turns into a young man, falls in love with Ha-soo, and repairs his strained relationship with his son.