[HanCinema's News] Ra Mi-ran Talks About "The Good Bad Mother"

June 8th saw the completion of "The Good Bad Mother" on JTBC. "The Good Bad Mother" has been a popular drama both on JTBC Netflix locally as well as abroad via Netflix. In a recent interview, Ra Mi-ran discussed her experience on the drama as the titular mother, a pig farmer, whose son suffers from an accident that regresses him to the mental state of a seven year old. When asked to discuss the drama's popularity, Ra Mi-ran said every day people called or texted to tell her they cried.

Advertisement

Ra Mi-ran attributed this strong emotional response to the atmosphere of the broadcast. Ra Mi-ran claimed to look for responses on social media to new episodes as they aired to see how viewers were reacting to it. Ra Mi-ran noted how scenes of apparent hopelessness could often be undercut almost immediately by funny scenes, with viewers often being bewildered by the contrast. Ra Mi-ran also said that mothers specifically had strong emotional reactions asking for the intensity to stop.

Ra Mi-ran noted with some irony that her own family was not especially interested in the drama. They would ask if they should watch, since people around them were discussing the drama, but Ra Mi-ran herself said it was fine if they didn't even to her own husband. Ra Mi-ran described the ending of "The Good Bad Mother" as being the best ending, because it understood that simply surviving wasn't a happy ending, but that the exact fate is important for an ending that is satisfying.

Ra Mi-ran explained that her character wasn't just sad, that there was a lot of happiness around her, and that "The Good Bad Mother" demonstrated that. Regarding the fate of her character's son, the emphasis is not on the pain of anticipation, but the optimism for a possible changeover. Ra Mi-ran noted with further irony that, as she is not a mother herself, she had to rely on her character's experience and expectations rather than her own for the desired effect.

Ra Mi-ran stated that despite the lack of acting plaudits likely to be attached to such projects, she could also do more mainstream dramas like "Crash Course in Romance" and "Doctor Cha" but chooses the work she does now based on the kind of meaning it brings. Ra Mi-ran claims to ask this question to every actor she works with, what meaning does a project bring to the actor. "The Good Bad Mother" ends on June 8th with ratings of 12.032%.

Written by William Schwartz

___________

"The Good Bad Mother" is directed by Sim Na-yeon, written by Bae Se-yeong, and features Ra Mi-ran, Lee Do-hyun, Ahn Eun-jin, Yoo In-soo, Choi Moo-sung, Jung Woong-in. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2023/04/26~2023/06/08, Wed, Thu 22:30 on JTBC.