The Good Bad Mother (2023) poster
8.9
Your Rating: 0/10
Ratings: 8.9/10 from 22,449 users
# of Watchers: 43,394
Reviews: 108 users
Ranked #105
Popularity #245
Watchers 22,449

Young Soon is a single mother and pig farmer who raised her son Kang Ho alone. Despite her love for him, her strict parenting caused Kang Ho to view her as a bad mother. As an adult, Kang Ho became a cold-hearted prosecutor and kept his distance from his mother. However, an unexpected accident caused him to return to his hometown and start over with Young Soon. Kang Ho's childhood friend Mi Joo, known for her warm heart and strong sense of justice, also reconnected with him after his accident, leading to a transformative experience for her. (Source: CK Warrior at MyDramaList) Edit Translation

  • English
  • 한국어
  • ภาษาไทย
  • Arabic
  • Country: South Korea
  • Type: Drama
  • Episodes: 14
  • Aired: Apr 26, 2023 - Jun 8, 2023
  • Aired On: Wednesday, Thursday
  • Original Network: jTBC Netflix TVING
  • Duration: 1 hr. 10 min.
  • Score: 8.9 (scored by 22,449 users)
  • Ranked: #105
  • Popularity: #245
  • Content Rating: 15+ - Teens 15 or older

Where to Watch The Good Bad Mother

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Cast & Credits

Reviews

Completed
yasmina
105 people found this review helpful
Jun 8, 2023
14 of 14 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

what... a MASTERPIECE... just BRAVO!

“There’s a saying, ‘A mother can replace anything in this world. But nothing can replace a mother.'” – Mr. Son

In general, you know that a drama will be one of your all-time favorites as soon as you watch the first episode. I had this feeling with this drama. The pace is exactly what I love. In two episodes only, we already had a grasp of the situation. There wasn't one episode that was boring, and it's really hard to make an episode as thrilling as possible especially when it exceeds 1 hour.

First and foremost, let's talk about the story itself. It's mainly revolving around the utterly complicated relationship between a mother and her son. What I liked about this drama is that as the episodes go by, we felt like we grew up with them. We see Kangho's birth, his first steps, his traumas, his love-life, his true passion (drawing), his coldness, his cuteness, his kindness. It's really rare to have such a complete character. We basically know everything about him and it helps us understand him more and be more invested in the story. We also have a grasp of Youngsoon's story and her reasons behind her abusive behavior towards her son (I do not condone this type of behavior whatsoever and whatever the reasons may be) . Besides her bad acts, I still like her as a human being. She suffered way too much in her life. From losing her parents and brother, her husband, her pig farm, and almost losing her son, I'm really wondering how she was able to maintain a kind soul. She is a bad mother indeed, but she isn't the type to do it willingly and without any emotions. Kangho's accident was a way for her to redeem herself. "Please let me be a bad mother once again, Kangho", she said while teaching him how to eat after his accident. She is fully aware of her doings and isn't proud of it. When she hit Kangho's calves, she healed it while he was sleeping, when she ripped his drawing, she sticked it back. Kangho is fully aware of this and this is why he doesn't hate her this much.

“What I really wanted to avenge was your life they utterly destroyed, and the pain you felt living as a bad mother to your most beloved son.” – KangHo

However, what gives life to this drama are the supporting characters, especially the Jouri village. I really got a "Reply 1988" vibe from this, and funny thing is that the trio "Kangho-Mijoo-Samshik" is born in 1988! We had different families reunited in a tiny village growing together, bickering, laughing, crying, they truly rely on each other and love each other. Each character had its time to shine, even Tiger the dog and Lion the pig had their time to shine! I really like the fact that they put up the tiny-village-family-looking trope in this drama, it lower our heart rate and makes us laugh for a tiny while. I'm personally a big fan of dramas with a variety of genres, I don't remember liking many dramas sticking to a single genre. Hence, if you're like me, you will absolutely love this show. Thriller, mystery, family, life, romance, comedy, law, and i'm sure that I forgot other genres.

Let's get into the acting. Wow... just wow. Ra Miran, Lee Dohyun, Ahn Eunjin, Choi Moosung, Jung Woongin, Yoo Insoo... and the list goes on and on. The cast was perfectly chosen. Every single actor nailed their role, every single actor was able to depict the role and give life to it. A little thing I want to add, THE TWINS ARE SO CUTE. I wish them the best in their upcoming endeavours and hope they will become amazing actors in the far future! I hope this drama will get a lot of Baeksang nominations!

A good bad mother may not be perfect, but she does her best and sacrifices everything that she has just to see her child succeed in life. Taking a step back, Youngsoon loved Kangho to death and could do everything for him, her approach to show her love was wrong. I'm just glad that during that dark time for both Youngsoon and Kangho, Mijoo was able to be his ray of sunshine that made him believe that life wasn't that bad. Love can do wonders.

“One day, when everything ends and I can return to your side, I wish to lie in your arms and eat mung bean pancakes just as I did when I was a little boy.” – KangHo

"I wanted to become the best mom for you, but you only get one life and it was my first time being a mom, so I'm sorry that I wasnt good enough. I prayed that I'd become your mom once again, and if that ever happens I promised I'll do better" - Youngsoon

I hope that Kangho and Youngsoon will reunite one day and do as Kangho and Youngsoon wished, to eat his mom's pancakes and be pampered by her. After all, we will all always be little children to our parents.

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Completed
Coolforthesummer
78 people found this review helpful
Jun 8, 2023
14 of 14 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

From Stricter to Stronger : A Tiger Mom's Path to Healing & Redemption

Watching this drama was an incredibly fulfilling experience that evoked whirlwind of emotions. From laughter to tears, anger to sympathy, I was fully immersed in this masterpiece.

The heart of the story lies in its emotional depth. Every aspect of the plot is driven by the characters' emotions creating a very captivating journey.

As an Asian viewer I felt an instant connection to the FL, who portrayed the role of a tiger mom. She exemplified the essence of Asian parents who deeply care for their children but often express it in unconventional ways.
Despite their flawed methods their ultimate intention is always the well being of their loved ones.

The drama also provided many humourous moments, particularly the scenes featuring of Mask lady & Samshik. Their antics had me laughing like maniac.

However the most emotional moment came during Young Soon's death scene. Having already endured so much in life witnessing her in such a vulnerable state shattered my heart.

The acting performances in this drama were exceptional across the board with Ra Miran delivering an outstanding portrayal. She deserves the Best Actress award at the next Baeksang Awards without a doubt.

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Recent Discussions

Title Replies Views Latest Post
episode8 spoilers by deidra 0 0 No discussions yet
episode4: yes again.... by deidra 0 0 No discussions yet
episode3 spoilers: again? by deidra 0 0 No discussions yet
episode2 spoilers: faking or not faking that is the question by deidra 2 0
deidra
Dec 14, 2023
about the theory that he's faking it(contains spoilers) by erm 6 0
Dr-NULL
Jun 4, 2023

Details

  • Drama: The Good Bad Mother
  • Country: South Korea
  • Episodes: 14
  • Aired: Apr 26, 2023 - Jun 8, 2023
  • Aired On: Wednesday, Thursday
  • Original Network: jTBC, Netflix, TVING
  • Duration: 1 hr. 10 min.
  • Content Rating: 15+ - Teens 15 or older

Statistics

  • Score: 8.9 (scored by 22,449 users)
  • Ranked: #105
  • Popularity: #245
  • Watchers: 43,394

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