Written by Franz Darwin V. Ignacio
I watched quite a lot of Korean dramas but My Mister was exceptional. It offered a new and different flavor that fulfilled my taste as a viewer. Even though it was slow-paced, there was a growth of the characters in every episode. It was not a romantic love story but a story about brotherhood, friendship, forgiveness, selflessness, sacrifices, unconditional love, and healing.
The drama had an unpredictable plot, a well-written storyline, outstanding cinematography, stellar casts, marvelous script, and heartwarming OST. What made the drama stand out was its deep meanings and silent moments of the characters. It’s no doubt why it received critical acclaim, winning Best Drama and Best TV Script at the 55th Baeksang Arts Awards.
I supposed the drama was perfectly collaborated by the directors, Kim Won-seok and Kim Sang-woo, and the scriptwriter, Park Hae-young. Bravo!
My Mister revolved around the story of Lee Ji-an (Lee Ji-eun) and three middle-aged brothers: Park Sang-hoon (Park Ho-san), Park Dong-hoon (Lee Sun-kyun) and Park Ki-hoon (Song Sae-byeok).
Lee Ji-an was a quiet, strong woman and endured a hard life together with her deaf grandmother. She was facing a debt problem and depression.
Park Dong-hoon was the second oldest of the three brothers and worked as a manager at Saman E&C. He was kind, helpful, and did everything for the people he loved. He suffered with his wife and life. When Ji-an came along, she noticed how terrible Dong-hoon’s life was, and confirmed his sadness rather than teaching about what he should be grateful for. He was Ji-an’s hero.
Regardless of their age gap, they effectively made me sympathize with their struggles in life. The relationship between them was not romantic love but an interpersonal love that referred to love between human beings.
The supporting characters also played significant roles in the story. Each of them had a story.
For instance, Park Sang-hoon is Dong-hoon’s elder brother who lived with his mother and thought about ways to be happy. Park Ki-hoon is the younger brother of Dong-hoon and is dreaming to be a successful movie director. Byun Yo-soon (Go Doo-shim) is a loving mother of the three brothers. She will do everything for the sake of her sons. Yoon-Hee (Lee Ji-Ah), Dong-hoon’s wife, is secretly having an affair with CEO Do Joon-young (Kim Young-min) of the construction company. Kwang-il (Jang Ki-yong) is the one who took care of Ji-an when she was a child but it changed when Ji-an killed his father in self-defense. Choi Yoo-ra (Kwon Na-ra) is a timid, but caring movie actress, and the love interest of Park Ki-hoon. Lastly, I felt so sorry for Ji-an’s grandmother. Why did she have to be deaf and mute? I was always sad every time she was interacting with Ji-an.
Lee Ji-eun, also known as IU, is indeed a great actress. I was very impressed with her. In my opinion, this is her best acting performance. I want to applaud her acting here because of her powerful eyes; her stare made the scene more touching and gloomy.
Lee Sun-kyun is an amazing actor that can always emerge to any character. His character is very suited to him. He had conviction. He put his heart out for the role and I felt every breath of it.
It was no wonder they were nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress at the 55th Baeksang Arts Awards.
The drama also had a light moment. This was when Dong-hoon, his brothers, and their soccer team friends met at Jung-hee’s Bar. Jung-hee (Oh Na-ra) served them beers and delicious foods. It was like a meeting place whenever they would celebrate and unwind. Afterward, they walked together to their own homes.
I also liked the fact that the story did not have any romantic twist, but focused on the reality of someone’s life. The drama ended beautifully and happily. It’s beautiful because of the combined efforts of all the people who worked here.
This show really intrigued me more than any other K-drama. I cried a lot in the last two episodes. It was so heavy. It gave me life lessons and realizations after watching this such as helping one another no matter how hard the situation was.
Personally, Ji-an’s grandmother gave the most remarkable lines of the show:
If you think about it, each and every interpersonal relationship is quite fascinating and precious. You must repay them. Live a happy life. That’s how you can repay the people in your life.
In my opinion, these lines were telling us that we must value the people around us for they were the ones who can give true happiness more than the material things and achievements we had in our lives.
In conclusion, it was definitely worth watching. I agreed with everyone who watched this and said it was a masterpiece. Therefore, it needed to be praised and recognized.
Let us always remind ourselves with what Choi Yoo-ra (Kwon Na-ra) said:
It’s okay to fail. It’s nothing, really. Even if you fail, you can still be happy.
I highly recommend watching this series! You can watch it on Viu and Netflix!
My rating: 10/10
Images courtesy of tvN
You said it well. I watched this drama too and a fan of IU. I say IU was really into immersed herself and to the rest of the casts that gave life to each character. A good drama/movie not only denoting and revolving for romance but the moral lesson in reality for life is fleeting. We say struggle is real, that is why it is called a Masterpiece.
Hello. Very happy to see someone appreciate this drama. I recently stumbled upon it and was glad that I decided to watch it. All the characters are well written and played. Indeed one would have liked to see IU and Lee end up together, particularly when they appreciated and cared for each other, but because Lee always referred to IU as kid, it would not make sense for such an end. There were a lot of life lessons. The fact that IU cared so much for her grandmother was heart warming and wrench the heart to see her go through so much because of her parents. No kid should undergo this.
Should you have any other such drama to recommend, please do let me know.
Thanks. A
Yes, great article and an even greater drama. The characters are all thought out. Kudos to the writers, director, production team and of course, the actors and actresses.
The main ML is a structural engineer and his family, brothers, mother, friends and neighborhood/friends is the foundation of his character. If it was a weak foundation, his world would come crashing down. There were weak/cracks/moments in the foundation, but his family and friends, including IU’s character boosted the “cracks” and is able to withstand and internal and external forces. Thus benefiting the FL and other characters. I’m sorry for going on and on… So many characters, so simple and yet complex. We’ve seen the drama five times, and the tears always flows…
I agree with everything you said every performance every relationship everything I’ve watched it again and again and I’ve introduced several people to do kdramas recommending this drama
It was well-written ! Leads were really spectacular ! Ending was open but i don’t have any bit of complaint and i tell you that’s rare for me. Definitely Masterpiece!