Kdramas are full of mamas or k-mamas as they could be called. Some are good, a few really should mind their own business and quite a few are downright evil. In fact, the worse they are, the more memorable their characters.
Probably the worst kmamas are Moon Boon Hong of "Secret Garden" and Kang Hee Soo of "Boys Over Flowers."
If Ha Ji Won and Hyun Bin didn't have enough problems with switching bodies in "Secret Garden," Park Joon Geum as Moon makes their life even more difficult by refusing to accept stuntwoman Ha Ji Won as suitable for her chaebol son.
Lee Hye Young as Kang Hee Soo in "Boys Over Flowers" takes things a step further. She not only threatens the girl that her son loves, played by Go Hye Sun, but she tries to destroy her family. And she is such a tyrant that she almost intimidates her son, played by Lee Min Ho, into complying with her evil scheme.
Kim Sung Ryung as singer Mo Hwa Ran, plays a pretty selfish mom in "You're Beautiful," refusing to acknowledge her son, played by Jang Geun Suk unless its useful to her career.
Kdrama stepmoms can also be pretty evil. In "Brilliant Legacy," Baek Sung Hee, played by Kim Mi Sook, tosses her stepdaughter and her disabled stepson out on the street once their father dies. As soon as the girl struggles to make a place for herself in the world, Baek goes out of her way to discredit her. She wins the worst stepmother award in kdrama.
And then there are the meddling moms, both good and bad. In "My Lovely Kim Sam Soon," Na Hyun Suk, played by Na Moon Hee, has no problems arriving unannounced at her son's apartment and interviewing the half-dressed girl she finds there. She tells him whom he should be dating, often changing her mind about a person based on their usefulness. She means well but she ought to let him make his own decisions.
Another meddling mom is Hwang Geum Hee, played by Jung Hye Young in "Playful Kiss." Baek Seung Jo's mom does everything she can to get him together with Oh Ha Ni, the girl she decides is best for him. Although she is right, her insistence just complicates their relationship.
The mom you may not start out liking but then is most likely to break your heart is Kim Myung Hee, played by Song Ok Sook, in "Missing You." Her character has been 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's loyal, hopeful and nurturing despite the odds.
But the best all-around kmama award should go to actress Lee Mi Sook. She played Yoona's selfless mom in "Love Rain," and Moon Geun Young's bad and yet somehow admirable mom in "Cinderella's Sister."
Whether they are bad, good or meddlesome, kmamas are memorable. Do you have a favorite? Let us know.
