I love this! Awesome read, @babygoodnight!

This year was also the year of Drama Watching with my Mum for me too. With Netflix bringing in a lot of old favourites and some freshly airing stuff too, my mum was a lot more open to trying out korean dramas. Safe to say that she’s hooked! She started out with all the Lee Minho dramas: Boys Over Flowers, The Heirs, Legend of the Blue Sea. She thought the cringe lines and the questionable plotting decisions were hilarious and had a great time getting through those.

Fight For My Way totally captivated her, and she came to understand that feeling you get when you watch a drama and you’re just ROOTING for people with your whole soul. She cried for Aera, cheered for Dongman, talked about wanting to book a ticket to Seoul to protect Sulhee and totally boo-ed Jooman. Sorry Ahn Jaehong.

Then she discovered the fusion sageuk: she grew so fond of Goo Haeryung and The Office of Royal Decrees that she sped through Rookie Historian in a number of days. Her verdict: If Dowon is really going to be the sweetest and most loving and supportive husband, I think they’ll work out. Your father should watch and learn. (My parents have been married 25 years, and he’s definitely more of a stoic, Min Woowon type, rather than an affection Yi Rim).

Then came When the Camellia Blooms, and needless to say, my mum is now in love with Kang Haneul and is just waiting for the day I come to her with the news that his next project has been confirmed. At my local supermarket, there’s a poster of Cha Eunwoo because of some CF deal Astro has. While doing the shop for our Christmas dinner, she sent me a text message with a photo of Eunwoo attached that read: I saw Prince Dowon near the cabbages. but Yongshik still has the nicest face. LOL!

It’s been so fun watching with my mum and it’s honestly brought us together. In February my sister will be leaving home for university, and I think my mum is worried that she’s going to be lonely. But now, we have dramas to watch together, and that just makes my heart full.

Mum’s current watch list: 100 Days My Husband (she’s halfway through), Chief Kim and Hotel Del Luna 😂

I relate to this so much. Because of my Mum and Dad's health I spend a lot of time at my parents' place these days - as much as possible anyway considering they live quite far away.

This year was all about my Mum and Dad's comments and complaints about dramas. My Dad's ongoing crush on So Ji Sub. My Mum refusing to watch Crash Landing because it didn't "have His Royal Hotness in it" and my Dad and I snark watching Vagabond together while Mum slept through it, waking up every now and then to make a weirdly pertinent comment about a drama she could not possibly have been watching.

Dad and I writing the Vagabond spin-off Bullets Over Chicken (his name) and Mum complaining because Korean dramas keep being in Korean.

It's definitely been a parental year for dramas.

"My mom became my friend" isn't that a wonderful thing?
My mom was one of my best friends and I loved sharing shows, books, and music with her. Not that our taste always aligned, sometimes it was just the love of the medium that we loved. There is always a bit of sadness that I discovered dramas after she passed as I'd love to be able to share this wonderful new world with her.
Anyway, I think 2019 brought you and your mom a wonderful gift and I hope you continue your shared drama watching for many more years. I bet she cherishes it.

Before my father passed I was able to share THE GOOD DOCTOR with him and my mom. They loved the American re-make (on ABC I believe) so it was a treat to show them the original.

These days when choosing a drama one of my main criteria is "will my wife like it?" While there are some things that I watch by myself the majority of shows are with her. I was surprised at how much she has taken to STOVE LEAGUE.

I understand, my mother doesn't watch dramas with me but we share the most similar tastes when it comes to watching movies especially romances old and new, I love it. Its about time to watch Soapdish or maybe Notorious again.

Your piece made me miss my mum @babygoodnight. I haven't seen her in 4 years and wouldn't mind living with her again.

I'm sure my mum would welcome the idea of living with me after this weekend. I always, always reply her messages within a few hours if not minutes of her texting me and I missed one of her messages late Friday night but because we are in different time zones, I decided to text her back when she was awake.

Life happened then I forgot to reply altogether only to wake up in the middle of the night on Sunday with my phone blowing up with messages from EVERYONE I know(friends and family alike), asking me where I was and why I wasn't answering my mum's text. She would not let my sister(who is on the same side of the world as me) go to sleep until she had got a hold of me.

It was both hilarious and sweet.

My mom moved back to town this year, but she’s an impatient drama watcher. So I see what she’s watching as we share a Viki account. We don’t really watch anything together, but did watch a few episodes of Goblin and The Secret Life of my Secretary, which she adored as I did! I love that kdramas are something we share and can talk about. She lices Chae Soo Bin so her drama that will air in March will probably be the next thing we see together! Great write up! I enjoyed hearing your endearing stories about your mom.

Beautiful piece! Treasure those moments. ❤️

A lovely essay, I often think how much my Mom would enjoy kdramas if she were still here. I miss being able to share them with her.

My mom is also my best friend! She's the one who introduced me to dramas but since then we have only watched our shows separately. Recently, I decided to watch Reply 1988 with my mom because she was the same age as the characters during that time period. Watching it with her gave me so much more insight into the nuances of the drama and I enjoyed it even more than when I watched it the first time. Also, crying and laughing together with my mom helped us grow even closer. I hope we'll have the opportunity to watch another drama together soon!

I too watch all my dramas with mom to the point I can't imagine watching anything without her! Love your piece!!

My mother (who has passed) came to stay with me for a while in 2011. My niece and nephew (whom she lived with) needed a break and I was happy to have her keep me company. She had never watched Korean Tv. We watched "Gourmet" with Kim Rae-Won first. She loved all the food and the competitions. And then we watched "Greatest Love" which was current at this time. She had to leave before Greatest Love finished. She didn't have the ability (or the technical know how) to find the show once she got back, so I sent her a link to DramaBeans and she read the recaps. It is a good memory for me.

I didn't expect to cry and laugh at the same time after reading your post. I've always watched kdramas on my own, occasionally with my sister. My mother was too busy with work. It was when she retired that she only spent time at home. One day, I was rewatching Bridal Mask and she sat beside me making comments about what I was watching. From then on, my mom has been my constant kdrama companion. I can't watch a kdrama without her Like you, I "wasn't allowed" to watch without her. I am constantly looking for kdramas that she would want and I daresay that it is through watching kdramas that we grew even closer. Growing up, she was mostly about work and making sure that the family is up and running but kdramas were about our daughter-mom bonding. Even is she can't tell who the characters are (because she says they all look the same lol), she still enjoys them and shouts along with me. haha.

Aww that's so sweet! Here's to a new year and getting out of drama slumps. 🍾🥂