#Currently Watching: Prosopagnosia and Kdramas

Familiar dun ka naton ang amnesia trope ka mga dramas. Daw mas raku pa gani ang kaso ka amnesia sa dramaland sangsa real life. Recently though may emerging trope ako nga na mutikan on face blindness ukon prosopagnosia. Natabuan lang gid guro nga ang mga sa current watchlist ko may mga characters who have this condition.

Seo Do-jae (Lee Min-ki), Beauty Inside

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Prosopagnosia is a neurological disorder characterized by the inability to recognize faces. It is also known as face blindness or facial agnosia. Depending upon the degree of impairment, some people with prosopagnosia may only have difficulty recognizing a familiar face; others will be unable to discriminate between unknown faces, while still others may not even be able to distinguish a face as being different from an object. Some people with the disorder are unable to recognize their own face. Prosopagnosia can result from stroke, traumatic brain injury, or certain neurodegenerative diseases. In some cases it is a congenital disorder, present at birth in the absence of any brain damage. Individuals with the disorder often have difficulty recognizing family members and close friends. They often use other ways to identify people, such as relying on voice, clothing, or unique physical attributes, but these are not as effective as recognizing a face.

It's interesting how these aspects of the disorder are explored in dramaland stories, agudto may awareness man kita nga viewers of their lived experiences, bisan romanticized lang kis-a ang anda representation.

Here are some Kdramas that feature face blindness.

100 Days My Prince (2018)

Kim Seon-ho as Jae-yoon

Amnesia ang major trope kang series nga dya when the ML crown prince Lee Yul (played by EXOs D.O.) falls off a cliff and nearly dies in an attempted assassination. For 100 days he lived in Songjoo village as commoner Na Won-deuk married to FL Yeon Hong-shim (Nam Ji-hyun).

Ang side character nga may face blindness is Jung Jae-yoon (Kim Seon-ho), magistrate of Songjoo village and also the hidden advisor of the crown prince. Kag ka love triangle pa gid kay FL. Ang ana prosopagnosia is a plot device to move the story forward. Kun nakilala na daad ang crown prince temprano pa waay dun naglawig ang estorya. In fairness, nami man ang series ah. Makalilingaw if you're into light historical dramas with cutesy couple and lots of eye candies for royal guards. Nang alang-alang pa ako una magpadayon ka dya nga series hay daw nakulangan ako ka "princely" aura ni ML (to which I blame Mark Chao's Yehua for spoiling all crown princes for me!) but like fungus, he grows on you. Good job!

You can watch this series on Netflix, iQiyi, WeTV, and Viu.

The Secret Life of My Secretary (2019)

Kim Young Kwang as Do Min Ik

Veronica Park memes brought me here. Ang dya nga series went under my radar hay ambi ko anggid lang sanda ka Fated to Love You, What's Wrong with Secretary Kim kag iban pa nga office romcoms with cold-faced bosses and their overworked underlings. Kag anggid man gid, pay bisan ang drama nga dya is no different, what makes this a hidden gem is how well-told the story is. Simple lang. It's an entertaining watch and iconic gid man si Veronica Park. Ang may face blindness sa drama is ML Do Min Ik, ang perfectionist boss with a "heart of stone" according sa MDL description. Ang ana portrayal of the character gives us the idea of how disconcerting it is to wake up one day and fail to recognize faces, including your own. It's debilitating for somebody who prides himself with an uncanny sense of details. The drama keeps it light without taking away the graveness of the condition. This is another fun watch if you're into office romances with a siding of melodrama and hefty serving of sass from Veronica Park.

You can watch this series on Netflix, Viki, and WeTV.

The Beauty Inside (2018)

Lee Min-ki as Seo Do-jae

Ang series nga dya is based on the 2015 film of the same title, which was an adaptation of the a 2012 social Internet series developed by Intel and Toshiba. Ambi ko gani una, pagbasa ko ka synopsis, based dya sa 2012 YA romance novel ni David Levithan entitled "Every Day" kun diin ang protagonist wakes up in a different body, every day. Amo man dya ang condition ni drama FL. Troublemaker actress Han Se-gye (Seo Hyun-jin) is best known for her disappearing acts hay nagatigbaliw tana for 7-days every month. Si ML Seo Do-jae on the other hand is living with his prosopagnosia for 10 years after being injured in an accident. He hides his disorder from the world, and remembers people's habits and appearance to recognize them. Ang nakamaan lang ka ana condition is his mother kag his trusted secretary. So this kdrama is prosopagnosia with a dash of fantasy. Bothered ako anay ka expression (or non expression) ni ML pay na realize ko man nga kun amo dya imo condition kag indi mo gusto maman-an ka iban, you would put on a neutral expression not to give your self away. And he's been doing it for 10 years! Sayuron, buhay dun nga ginpanday ka panahon ang ana (resting bitch) pangguyahon, sharp jawline and cheekbones included.

You can watch this series on Netflix, Viki, iQiyi, Viu (with Tagalog dubs) and WeTV.

So far daw mga laki lang nga characters ang nalantawan ko nga may face blindness. Waay man ako kamaan kang statistics sa male kag female prosopagnosia in the real world.. basi choice lang dya ka dramaland writer-nims hay mas norm ang "cold-face" trope sa mga male bosses (especially sa office romances) sangsa female bosses. Just imagine kun iced face man si Veronica Park, she will not be as hilariously iconic as she is.

Reference:

https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/All-Disorders/Prosopagnosia-Information-Page