K-Drama Moms: The Good and the Bad

Mother’s Day is just around the corner. What does that have to do with K-Dramas? Plenty. There isn’t a K-Drama around that doesn’t have a storyline or plot twist that revolves around a mother. Here are some moms that we love … or love to hate:

“Go Back Couple”

“Go Back Couple” is one of my favorite K-Dramas. The subject isn’t sexy, but it presents a real slice of life in a way that’s highly watchable. A late-30’s couple has gotten into a rut in their marriage. They don’t talk often, but when they do, it’s to argue over misunderstandings they don’t want to delve into. After they divorce, the husband and wife wake up in their respective childhood bedrooms. They are now college-age versions of themselves. It all seems wonderful to be young and vibrant again, without having to worry about paying bills or dealing with a nagging spouse. Jang Na-Ra is spectacular as the wife and mom, who mourns the loss of their baby who has been left behind in the future. But she’s torn between leaving the world she’s in now, where her mother (played by the brilliant Kim Mi-Kyung — Ajumma from “Healer“), is still alive. It is her mother’s selfless love that convinces her that she needs to get back to the future and take care of her child.

“Angry Mom”

Kim Hee-Sun plays the concerned mother of her bullied daughter (Kim Yoo-Jung). When the school and police refuse to do anything about it, the understandably livid mom takes matters into her own hands by doing her own version of “21 Jump Street.” She enrolls in high school as a student. Her, um, mature looks are explained away as having been caused by … a heart condition. 😂 Never mind that she looks older than the teachers who talk down to her because she’s a kid. In K-Dramaland, anything is possible. Her persistence ends up unveiling a political coverup that goes way beyond kids smacking each other around in the playground. As an aside, one of the cutest elements of this series was watching a very young Ji Soo try to deal with his crush on her, even after discovering who she really is.

“Secret Garden”

Park Joon Geum is the mother of all calculating mothers in “Secret Garden.” The elegant-looking veteran actress was positively wonderful in her portrayal of an overly-involved buttinsky mom who would stop at nothing to ensure that her son (Hyun Bin) didn’t date a poor but, of course, gorgeous stuntwoman (Ha Ji-Won). She literally had one moment of humanity — when she begged for the latter’s forgiveness over a deadly accident that impacted all of their lives. But just as viewers started to warm up to her, wham! She was back to being her usual cold self. I give credit to the scriptwriters for not creating a backstory to excuse her horrible behavior. Some people are just not nice. Park was so good playing the icy mom that she went on to play a similar role in “The Heirs.”

Let me know in the comments below which K-Drama moms you love to love … or hate!

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