K-Drama: Another Chance to be a Mother

The Good Bad Mother | 나쁜엄마 (2023)

JTBC | The Good Bad Mother

Lee Do-hyun is back as the main lead in The Good Bad Mother, and kills it again! This time he plays prosecutor Choi Kang-ho, who after a brutal car crash, has left him with the mentality of a seven-year-old child. Kang-ho’s mother, Jin Young-soon (Ra Mi-ran) had it tough when she got pregnant with him. Her husband was murdered, an aftermath of protecting their pig farm. Unfortunately, the reason for this was their lack of money. For a fresh start, she moves to a different village out in the countryside to make sure the hardships would never be repeated for Kang-ho ever again. This leads Young-soon to raise him very strictly, with the ultimate goal of him becoming a prosecutor. It got to the point where Young-soon wouldn’t let Kang-ho eat too much. "If you're too full, you will get sleepy and that means you won’t be able to study well." It was love that she obviously had for her son but very much ‘tough love’ that Kang-ho did not take well 🥺

JTBC | The Good Bad Mother

Kang-ho ends up getting kicked out of home for missing his high school exam, suneung (수능). In Korea, this exam happens once a year and it's a huge deal! It's believed to shape the high schoolers’ future. After all, it’s the determining factor of getting into university. Kang-ho moves to Seoul, passes the exam a year later, gets into law school and finally becomes a prosecutor. Cold-hearted and calculated, Kang-ho grew up to be unlike how his mother want. Instead of siding with the helpless, Kang-ho's clients are rich and he'll only take cases as long as there's money involved. This k-drama's written it in a way where we can't but think is this because of how Young-soon's raised her son?

JTBC | The Good Bad Mother

As for Kang-ho and Young-soon’s mother-son relationship, well it's practically non-existent. Until, Kang-ho is left paralysed after a terrifying car crash. So when Young-soon has to take care of him 24/7, they are forced to heal and repair their relationship. The first thing Kang-ho remembers was what his mom instilled in him since he was a kid - making sure to not eat until full. After realising the effect that this has on Kang-ho even till now, Young-soon does her best to reverse it all. Watching their emotional interactions, Young-soon's regret and attempt to overturn all these lessons had me sobbing. Practically raising her son again, it's interesting to see the huge affect it has on Kang-ho's personality. He’s bright, cheerful and loves to joke around, a complete 180° to how he was prior to the accident.

JTBC | The Good Bad Mother

This k-drama seems emotionally intensive but the bright and optimistic villagers certainly give you a few laughs to add some balance. It’s warming to see how close-knitted they are and always looking out for Kang-ho when Young-soon is busy with the pig farm. This k-drama really gives you a mixture of emotions as you cry and giggle all in one episode - the best kind of k-drama if you ask me 🥲 And for the romance? Kang-ho is reunited with his ex-girlfriend! It has all the genres you want yet still feels very relatable and heartwarming. It's a big thing to say but so far, this is the best k-drama I've watched. Give the trailer a watch here or start the episodes on Netflix.