Presentation
Korean Title: (아는 건 별로 없지만) 가족입니다
Aired in: 2020 (16 episodes)
Channel: tvN
Grade: 10/10
Actors: Han Ye Ri, Choo Ja Hyun, Won Mi Kyung, Jung Jin Young, Shin Hae Ja and Kim Ji Suk
For more…
Han Ye Ri:
– Nokdu Flower
– Age of Youth 1&2
– Switch: Change the World
– Minari (movie)
Kim Ji Suk:
– When the Camellia Blooms
– Top Star Yoon Baek
– 20th Century Boy and Girl
– Another Oh Hae Young
Family dramas:
– Mother of Mine
– My Father is Strange
– Homemade Love Story
– Once Again
Preview
Synopsis
Kim Eun Hee belongs to a rather dysfunctional family. She has a cold older sister she hasn’t spoken to in 5 years and a baby brother. Moreover, her parents have grown distant to each other over the years. One day, her father gets lost while hiking. When he is found, he only has his memories from when he was 22. The event creates chaos in the family.
My Opinion (No Spoilers)
Such a beautiful drama! First, it was broadcast on tvN which is, in my opinion, one of the best channels there currently is in South Korea. Second, the director Kwon Young Il has some well-known pieces in his closet like Suits and Search WWW. Finally, Kim Eun Jung (who wrote Sweet Stranger and Me) managed to deliver a relatable story with such finesse and subtlety. I simply loved that family melodrama that follows the ups and downs of this atypical family, while tackling some serious societal themes. I seriously thought about some potential criticisms I could evoke through this review, but I didn’t manage to find a single pain point that could have annoyed me in the drama.
It has been a very long time since I have watched such a great family drama (and by that, I mean a content different from the usual 50-episode SBS family dramas). One thing is certain with that drama, there is a high possibility you will find resemblances between the characters’ family and yours (like it happened to me)! Anyway, I highly recommend it!
Analysis
- What is family?
- Characters
Kim Eun Joo, between torment and suffering
Kim Eun Hee, the people-pleaser
Kim Ji Woo, independence at your fingertips
Lee Jin Sook, the pillar of the house
Kim Sang Sik, the voice of the past - Other topics depicted
What is family? The entire drama revolves around one simple question: What is family? Kim Eun Hee (Han Ye Ri) actually asks that question several times in the drama, as characters’ go through major life-changing events. The drama starts with a depiction of a rather typical family: You have the mother Lee Jin Sook (Won Mi Kyung), who is a 60-year old housewife and the father Kim Sang Sik (Jung Jin Young), who drives a truck day and night. Together they have three children: The cold Kim Eun Joo (Choo Ja Hyun), the lively Kim Eun Hee and the baby brother Kim Ji Woo (Shin Jae Ha).
At first glance, everything seems normal. But a closer look at the family dynamics clearly makes us understand that it is quite dysfunctional. There seems to be a lot of misunderstandings, miscommunication and resentment. By the end of the first episode, we discover that Eun Hee and Eun Joo haven’t spoken in 5 years, after Eun Hee’s break up with her 9-year-long boyfriend. On another level, both parents appear to be unable to speak to one another without being angry. This pushed the mother to ask for a marriage graduation, as she can’t breathe inside the house anymore. The first episode establishes the foundation of the entire melodrama, as each episode thereafter peels off a new layer of the family’s relationships. The whole drama turns into a journey for everyone that we witness through Eun Hee’s eyes. Each family member grows up and matures as he/she look for an answer to that great question: What is family?
I really had the impression that the drama was a quest that is individual and collective as the same time. The goal is to correct past mistakes, clear misunderstandings and learn how to move on as one entity, while respecting everyone’s individuality. The final answer to that question seems to be quite simple as well: A family is an entity made up of various members who love and respect each other. It doesn’t matter if you share the same blood, the same opinions, beliefs or if your personalities are complementary or not. The most important is that you know these people are here when need be and that you accept to consider them as your family. A beautiful message, that the Kim family took some time to uncover and set into motion.
Characters: Apart from turning a dysfunctional family into a happy one, the drama also manages to tackle some serious themes associated generally to one specific character.
Kim Eun Joo, between torment and suffering: Let’s start with Eun Joo. She is married to Yoon Tae Hyung (Kim Tae Hoon), who is a doctor. Even though Eun Joo seems to have it all from the outside, her marriage is in fact quite cold and unhappy. She has grown distant from her husband for a mysterious reason and she feels very lonely. For starters, I need to talk about Eun Joo’s personality, because she is very different from your typical housewife. She is as cold as ice (and I weight my words when I say that). I believe that her unhappiness is also one of the reasons why she doesn’t open up to people or share her feelings. Truth is, she has been through some very rough days (especially in her 20s) to support her family, she is independent and the oldest of three children. Therefore, she has never really complained about her pain or her situation. She has learned to bottle it up and to deal with her own problems alone. During a very long time in the drama, Eun Joo is disconnected from her family. She blames them for her past suffering and considers them a burden as well. This explains her quick wedding to a man she barely knew. She needed an escape and freedom. Despite the fact that she has suffered a lot already, she has to endure even worse thereafter. She goes through a miscarriage, she tells no one about; just to find out years later that her husband is actually gay and never wanted a family. At first, he resents her for trying so bad to have a family when she ran away from hers. Having to hide his homosexuality didn’t help either which darkened things for the couple. I felt so hurt when Eun Joo discovered her husband was gay. It was not the fact that he was that hurt me, but rather the way she learns about it (while reading a chat on his computer) and the fact that his family (his mother especially) knew about it when they got married. Eun Joo thought she was escaping her family by getting married, while she in fact entrapping herself in a new one.
As if it was not enough stuff for Eun Joo to deal with, she also happens to learn that her father (who adores her) is not her real father. Indeed, her mother was pregnant and unmarried. She met Kim Sang Sik and they got married. They swore they would never tell the truth to their children, but the father’s incident precipitates it all. Eun Joo is quite determined and strong, that’s why she eventually meets her biological father in the end. However, she doesn’t wish to connect with him (and he doesn’t want either). Instead, as she says, she prefers “not to let any loose ends”. I also think that her divorce allowed her to make peace with herself. Plus, she finally reconnected with her actual family. So, she doesn’t feel the need to complicate relationships when almost everything is solved.
Eun Joo is a tormented character, going through some heavy stuff, but her strength and cold temperament allow her to get out of this more mature than ever; and with a potential love at the end. Little bonus about her, I simply loved the way she spits the truth to her siblings or anyone else. Her words are like venom, but they hurt most of the time because they are true.
Kim Eun Hee, the people-pleaser: Then, there is Eun Hee. She is bright, lively and as the second child, she also intends to please everyone. That’s why, she hides her feelings most of the time. Even though Eun Joo had some pretty strong topics related to her character, Eun Hee happens to live some more positive events. She has had her painful moments 5 years ago and she buried this past deep down until everything resurfaces. Indeed, she was in a 9-year-long relationship, when she discovered her boyfriend had been cheated on her for 3 years. That day, she cut ties with him and her best friend Park Chan Hyuk (Kim Ji Suk), she thought implicated. Shortly after, she went to her sister Eun Joo for some consolation, but they ended up not talking to each other for years. 5 years later, she ends up in the exact same situation, endorsing the role of the mistress this time. However, she takes this condition with much more calm and distance, breaking up all ties with her lover. While doing that, she reconnects with Chan Hyuk, her forever best friend and gosh how cute they were! I simply loved their romance and rooted for them so much! At the beginning of the drama, I actually didn’t know who Eun Hee would choose and both men seemed great. Yet, the more I watched the drama, the clearer it was that Chan Hyuk and her were meant to be together. They know each other in and out and respect each other. They are able to decipher the signs when the other feels bad or has something on his/her mind. Moreover, Chan Hyuk is probably the most perfect character I have recently seen in Dramaland. He is tolerant, patient, understanding and so wise! He is never pushy. He knows what to say and when to do so. He respects everyone and gives excellent advice. He is also not afraid of being vulnerable, like when he tells Eun Hee about his brother’s death. The best part is that he is a great boss, an excellent shoulder to lean on and a forever supporter. I seriously couldn’t find any defects to that man. Finally, he perfectly matched Eun Hee’s personality!
Kim Ji Woo, independence at your fingertips: Ji Woo is the youngest member of the family. As the maknae, he is very often infantilized and considered as incapable of taking care of himself. Yet, he is not what everyone thinks of him and can do good on his own. He finds a job at Chan Hyuk’s little company and constantly wishes to prove that he is not the young baby man his family thinks he is. By the end of the drama, he decides to leave for Canada to join his supposedly girlfriend without saying a word to his family members. In the end, he gets scammed and deeply wounds his mother, who saw in that action a way for him to proclaim his family is a burden. Ji Woo eventually apologizes but the incident is a trigger for the mother, who also wants to free herself.
Lee Jin Sook, the pillar of the house: Talking about the mother, I have to admit she has led quite a hard life. She got pregnant and her man left her upon discovering it. She was kicked out of her house at 22 and had to manage a family, a house and everything on her own. She felt very lonely all that time and literally lived for her children. With time, she thought her husband was having an affair and they progressively grew apart. When the drama begins, she asks for a marriage graduation explaining that she is drowning in her house and can’t live like that anymore. This sets fire to the powder and her husband does something he almost regrets. It was very interesting to see how the mother is actually the pillar of the family. She hid her emotions all this time and let her kids’ prevail over hers. However, when she decides it is time for her to express herself, she triggers a series of events that put into question the entire dynamic of the family. Indeed, if she hadn’t talked about her discomfort, her husband never would’ve had his accident in the mountain and the family never would’ve been brought together again. Same at the end. If she hadn’t told her children that she felt hurt because of their respective actions and that she needed to leave for a time, they never would’ve been able to respect, love and feel comfortable towards each other again. I really had the impression that she was kind of the family’s savior, enabling it to stand united and together. She is also the perfect representation of fulfilling your dreams. No matter your age, as long as you’re alive, it is never too late to live your dreams.
Kim Sang Sik, the voice of the past: Finally, Kim Sang Sik, the father, is quite two-sided. In the past, and after he loses his memory, he is this affectionate and loving husband. However, he turned into a grumpy and angry old man, as he couldn’t communicate with his wife. He has spent his time working for his family and making up for the accident he had caused to a kid he hit. He felt guilty and ashamed, to the point that he couldn’t talk to his wife about it, creating the gap between them. Going back to his 22-year old self and remembering the past sends the family on the healing path, as they try to bond again. Plus, can we please talk about how cute the parents are while dating? They really are like adolescents! The romance is very sweet and also hesitant sometimes. I could feel that they were walking on eggshells but anyway, they still managed to unite.
Other topics depicted: Other themes like rape, parents accepting homosexuality, disease… are dealt with in the drama which gave even more reliability and credibility to this relatable story. The siblings’ relationships, the friends’ relationships, colleagues’ relationships, family relationships, all have a realistic print that made the drama even more concrete in its claims.
To finish that review, I would say that My Unfamiliar family is a family’s journey from disunion to harmony, that follows the ups and many downs of life portrayed in a realistic and dramatic manner and punctuated by Chan Hyuk’s various photos. The search ends with happiness and fulfillment, with freed and appeased characters who seem to now have an understanding of what family is.
P.S.: What would you say your definition of family is? Do you know other excellent family dramas worth watching?
Once Upon a Drama 