I have been watching K-dramas for around 7 years now, but I have to admit that sometimes I get in a drama rut. Even if currently airing dramas are okay, I won’t feel like watching any of them, and it takes a really standout drama to pull me from the abyss (the said abyss being me rewatching Healer episodes instead of being productive). The cure for my latest rut? Cable network tvn’s Oh My Baby. (I’ve tried not to mention too many details, but a very mild spoiler alert up to episode 8 ahead!)
Although I usually like tvn dramas (Answer Me 1997 was the first drama to get me completely hooked), and I love the main actress Jang Nara (School 2013, Fated to Love You), I honestly wasn’t expecting too much from the description. Jang Nara plays Jang Hari, a 39-year-old deputy head of a childcare magazine who longs for a child of her own but has always let other things come before starting a family. A workaholic with a non-existent love life and past regrets, she decides to say skip it to the whole marriage idea with one important point- she still wants to have a baby, but she’ll do it on her own. (See the show synopsis here)
The plot could have gone into cringe territory pretty quickly, but instead of oversimplifying matters with *Kdrama Magic* or having only cliche characters, the show explores some of the real issues and double standards women face. It also talks frankly about women’s health and their role in the family and in society in a way that I rarely see in dramas with characters that feel relatable and honest.
At the heart of this show is main character Jang Hari. Though quirky and clumsy, she’s not the typical ‘candy’ female lead that lives in a rooftop apartment and still owns the latest Android phone and accessories. Although teased about her chronic single-dom from her younger co-workers, she’s well-respected and good at her job. She has a good relationship with her mom, healthy female friendships, and I am definitely here for seeing more women older than their 20s getting leading roles. Age plays a big role in this drama. In addition to others (unhelpfully) reminding her that her ‘biological clock’ is ticking, she finds out that she has endometriosis and must soon have surgery. Now facing a very real deadline, Hari rejects the insistence from her (very pushy) doctor that she has to give up on children or quickly get married and starts to explore her options. As it turns out, there aren’t many. As a single, just-barely-under-40 woman, she’s not a candidate for freezing her eggs or artificial insemination without a guardian (I know!). Basically, if she wants to go through the procedure, she has to bring the (willing) guy. Jang Nara has an ability to really make you relate to her character; whenever she cries, I cry. You truly feel her desperation, from the way she relates to the child models for her work, to the collection of baby necessities she keeps in a drawer in her room.
I also was impressed by the way that the show considers multiple perspectives , not saying any of them are necessarily right or wrong. Her mother, herself a single mom and continuously trying to set Hari up with one of the male leads, struggles to understand why she would want to go through all of the hardships in life that she had hoped to protect her from. Her younger co-workers and her ‘never having kids’ friend don’t get it either. And she faces judgment when a meeting with a potential sperm-donor goes wrong and very public and receives constant ‘you just don’t understand what it’s like to be a mom’ from the magazine’s audience. Despite all of this, Hari stays optimistic and determined. She doesn’t dismiss or judge any of the feedback she gets on her choices, even though most of it is unsolicited. Instead, she eloquently explains all of the reasons she wants a child, eventually winning her friends and family to her side. Growing up with a single mother, she’s long thought being a loving mom is one of the best things you could become. She’s confident she can love and care for her baby. And more than a passing feeling of loneliness, she wants someone she can share her life with, giving them all the goodness and support she has been given. Whether you agree with her or not, you can’t help but root for her to have a happy ending.
While Hari is busy being awesome, three potential candidates show up in her life. Pediatrician Yoon Jae-Young (played by Park Byung-Eun) is Hari’s recently divorced long-time friend who had previously cut off contact at his ex-wife’s insistence. Abandoned by his ex to raise his baby daughter alone, he mooches off moves into Hari’s mother’s house, where Hari lives upstairs. Their friendship is well-written and real, as anyone with siblings would tell you, as she treats him like the annoying brother she’s never had. Though his character often gives comic relief and blunt doses of reality, he also gives glimpses of the hardships facing single fathers. In one scene, he is shopping for baby food with his daughter and has to go to extremes to find a place to change her diaper, since men’s rooms usually don’t come equipped with changing tables. I found him a bit too obnoxious in the first episodes, but over time he continues to be there for Hari. He also goes from protective fake ‘oppa’ to showing signs of jealousy as Hari gets closer to the other men in her life.
One of those men include Choi-Kang Eu-tteum (played by Jung Gun-Joo, from the amazing Extraordinary You) who is an oblivious but earnest rookie at Hari’s company. When first introduced, he’s naive to an almost irritating degree- calling Hari ‘Aunt’ because of her age, embarrassing her in front of her colleagues, and never taking a hint even if it slapped him upside his head (which I often wanted to do). Although Hari wrote him (and his amazing physical exam results) as a potential candidate in her plan, he didn’t scream love interest for me. That being said, his puppy-dog vibe is endearing, and he is sincere in defending Hari from her haters.
Last but not least, Han Yi-Sang (played by Go Joon) is a freelance photographer who shares a studio adjacent to Hari’s magazine. At first coming off as your typical brusque male lead, his character is actually quite goofy. He’s the type to do things just because he hasn’t tried them before. I like how the show gradually shows his charming and quirky side, and it’s easy to become attached. Even though the show sets up a love triangle situation, experienced drama watchers can pick up on his main male lead status pretty quickly. The sometimes shy, sometimes frank interactions between the two are adorable, and you can almost tell the exact moment he starts to fall for her. Yet, we’re prevented from automatically building a ship with glimpses that his aloofness comes from being burned in his last relationship, for reasons that may prevent Hari from having her dream even if he can stop denying his feelings for her.
The side characters also pull their weight. Even though some of Hari’s co-workers are a bit like stock characters (the slightly bratty hoobae that doesn’t want to be there, the office-couple, the double-income-no-kids bestie) they show that woman can work together without the catty infighting that is often depicted in television. The magazine’s main photographer serves mainly as a device to push the leads together, but we also see him as a family man and one of the few people Yi-Sang opens up to. And my favorite character besides Hari is her boss and head editor of the magazine, Shim Jung-Hwa. She’s strict with a disdaining look that makes even here superiors wither from her displeasure. But we also see her vulnerable side, having recently returned from a shortened maternity leave and dealing with pressure from her male bosses and trying to maintain a work-life balance. That vulnerability- instead of being highlighted as a weakness- in a way gives her strength. She becomes a mentor for Hari, pushes her staff to do their best (even if it’s mostly because they’re a little scared of her), pumps milk in the supply closet, advocates for her writers, all in less than a span of a day. In short, she’s a boss.
If Looks could kill… 
Another thing that I find really refreshing about this show is its ‘reverse harem’/love triangle setup instead of your customary OTP with side characters and second leads thrown in to make the show longer. Usually, I will see a love triangle a mile away and abandon the show (I know there are some well-written dramas with this premise, it’s just not my thing). But this show did it so smoothly, that by the time the male leads formed into a triangle (square?), I was already hooked and committed to Hari’s journey. I’ve also enjoyed how the men in her life gradually developed feelings for her, finding her just as endearing as the rest of us. Hari is brazenly honest with everyone about her intentions, her strengths and her flaws- she never pretends to be something she’s not just so she can quickly find a date. So all these guys fall for her-not based on some manufactured misunderstanding or tragic backstory, but because of her passion and sincerity. Jae-Young starts to realize that he may have made the wrong choice in siding with his ex over his best friend. Eu-tteum’s professional respect turns into overwhelming admiration. And Yi-sang is forced to stop his mental gymnastics when he is inspired by Hari’s bravery.
While I get this drama may not be for everyone, I definitely think it’s worth checking out even if it’s just so you can take a break from the typical rom-com set-up. I wrote this just as the romance was about to enter full swing, so time will tell how well executed that will be. Whether I end up loving the ending or am tragically disappointed, I will definitely remember this show fondly for its lovable characters and empowering messages.
What do you think of this drama? Let us know in the comments! You can watch the series on Viki.com!