In See You in My 19th Life, Yoon Cho-won was Ji-eum’s sister in her 18th life, but their connection goes back to Ji-eum’s first life. Ha Yoon-kyung plays Cho-won.
Yoon Cho-won lost her older sister, Ju-won, at a very young age, but she never stopped missing Ju-won. Years later, when Seo-ha decides to renovate the MI Hotel, she applies for the job of a landscaping architect there and meets Ji-eum.
After meeting Ji-eum, Cho-won gets another chance to be with the sister she lost when Ji-eum, who remembers all her past lives, reveals that she was Ju-won in her 18th life.
The unbroken bond
The accident from 24 years ago made Cho-won lose not only her sister but also Seo-ha. At Ju-won’s funeral, Cho-won blamed Seo-ha for Ju-won’s death, as she believed that her sister died because she was with Seo-ha.
Cho-won grows up and tries to mend her relationship with Seo-ha, but he keeps pushing her away. Due to this, Cho-won applies for the job at MI Hotel under an alias. Her application is selected, but she soon realizes that she is not welcome there.
Against her better judgment, Ji-eum comforts her, and the two women become friends. Ji-eum often reminds Cho-won of Ju-won, but she dismisses the thought. When Cho-won witnesses Ji-eum finding the things that Ju-won had hidden at their beach house, Cho-won can no longer dismiss the thought.
Having no logical explanation, Cho-won assumes that Ji-eum is trying to take advantage of her. She is using her to be more like Ju-won in order to win Seo-ha’s affection. Ji-eum cannot see Cho-won upset, so she decides to reveal her secret to her.
Initially, it is hard for Cho-won to believe that Ji-eum remembers all her lives and that she was Ju-won in her past life. However, as Ji-eum knows the things that only Ju-won would know, she decides to believe her and accept her as her sister.
Cho-won is more than happy to get her sister back. Furthermore, her relationship with Seo-ha also improves. He admits to Cho-won that she made him think of Ju-won, and that is why he avoided her, but he does not do that anymore.
Love at first sight
When Cho-won was in school, Seo-ha had asked Do-yun to give her an umbrella. Do-yun gave her the umbrella, and Cho-won fell in love with him. She has been in love with him for years now.
Cho-won finally asks him to go out with her, but he refuses because he does not think that she is the right person for him. Soon after, Do-yun admits to Cho-won that he likes her, but he is not going to date her.
Do-yun does not come from a rich family like Cho-won. People humiliate him for being seen with Seo-ha, and he is used to it, but he is not fine with it. He cannot afford to think about being in a relationship with her.
He asks her to stop pursuing him, and even though it breaks Cho-won’s heart, she respects his wishes. She maintains her distance but defends him when her rich friend humiliates him. Do-yun was the one who asked for this, but he is equally heartbroken.
Cho-won’s past life
When Ji-eum finds out that reconnecting with people from one’s past life is going to harm them, Ji-eum tries to remember her first life in order to resolve the problem. Ji-eum then finds out that she first met Cho-won in her first life.
Cho-won was named Seol and was Ji-eum’s sister. In Ji-eum’s first life, Cho-won was sick, and Ji-eum tried to save her by stealing the shaman bells from a shrine. However, the sisters were caught, and Cho-won was killed by Min-gi.
Ji-eum had to watch her die, and the grief made her determined to avenge her death. She tried to kill Min-gi but failed. Ji-eum was then shot with an arrow, but before dying, she swore that she will never forget this day and will get revenge.
In this life as well, Ji-eum reconnecting with Cho-won might lead to Cho-won’s premature death. Min-gi tells Ji-eum that fond connections from one’s past life should be left in the past and forgotten, but Ji-eum brought her past to her present by reconnecting with Cho-won and revealing her secret to her.
