To paraphrase Ji Hyun Woo at the end of "Angry Mom," we could not have done it without the moms. Moms make real life better and they also contribute a lot to k-drama plots. To celebrate "Mother's Day," we have chosen our five favorite k-drama moms. They are not all good. But they don't need to be. It's a drama, not real life. They are all just wonderful in their own way.
1. Although "Secret Garden" is almost five years old, Park Joon Geum is still one of our favorite k-drama moms. She dresses like a princess and acts like one, making life miserable for Hyun Bin and Ha Ji Won. She has played plenty of spoiled and silly moms since then, playing Lee Min Ho's supposed mom in "The Heirs" and Choi Jin Hyuk's meddling mom in "Emergency Couple."
2. Song Ok Sook in "Missing You" wins the most determined and optimistic mom award. She was abused and lost her daughter, but she goes on to make a life for herself, caring for her stepdaughter and her daughter's friend. She also played Jang Nara's no-nonsense mom in "Fated To Love You." But Lee Mi Sook, who played Yoona's selfless mom in "Love Rain," and Moon Geun Young's mom in "Cinderella's Sister," would be the runner up.
3. Kim Hee Sun in "Angry Mom" wins the toughest k-drama mom award In this recently wrapped up drama, Kim Hee Sun plays a mom who is so upset by her daughter's bullying that she puts on a school uniform and vows to take those bullies down. She starts out using physical strength to defend her daughter and winds up having political clout.
4. For most evil mom, we have to give an award to Lee Hye Young, who was so mean to Gu Hye Sun's family in "Boys Over Flowers." A close runner up would be Kim Mi Sook as the bad stepmom who throws her stepdaughter and disabled brother out on the street in "Brilliant Legacy. And then there is Kim Sung Ryung, who plays Jang Geun Suk's coldhearted mom in "You're Beautiful.
5. To end moms on a positive note, we also liked the brave single mom played by Park Si Yeon in "The Greatest Marriage." She is an unusual mom in k-drama, a woman determined to have it all, to be valued for her work and still enjoy motherhood. Although more moms exist like that in real life, k-drama moms tend to be either hard-working selfless saints or cold-hearted divas.
A fun way to celebrate "Mother's Day" is to marathon one of these dramas.
