My Mister

Not a review....just a memory

It's been a couple of years since I watched My Mister and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't really want to commit to watching the entire series again, but every now and then I find myself clicking on episode 16 and heading towards the last couple of scenes, starting when the co-workers head into the cafe. From the moment she hears his voice until the last moment when they are walking away from each other on the street is my favorite kdrama clip. As much as I want them to have a happy future together, some things are just impossible and moments like these must be relished in the here and now for the joy they bring.

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An Emotional Masterpiece

It's really hard to explain My Mister to somebody, as I found recently when trying to convince a friend to watch it. But you really, really must. The synopsis isn't exciting - an unhappy man in a good job meets an unhappy girl in a minimum wage job and the two help each other, whilst surrounded by office politics, grim personal lives and the odd comedic moment. Where this drama really comes alive is in the acting, the characterisations and the reality. This drama is so real, gritty and sadly relatable and does a wonderful job of portraying the value of human connection.

The male lead, Park Dong-hoon, expertly portrayed by Lee Sun-kyun (LSK), is the eldest of three brothers, stoic and very much the one in his family who has "got it all together". He shows little emotion to his family and co-workers, but very quickly the viewer sees the pain he's suffering in his day to day life. He's also a genuinely good person, full of integrity and compassion, and LSK shows a phenomenal amount of emotion through his acting - largely through his eyes and facial expressions in a notably quiet character. You can't help but want the best for him.

Meanwhile, Lee Ji-an, played by the songstress IU (or Lee Ji-eun), delivers the best performance of her career living the life of a young woman in poverty, whose sole purpose in life seems to be taking care of her disabled & deaf grandma in her dilapidated studio. Barely able to scrounge a meal together for herself, she genuinely looks dead inside, and comes across as cold and guarded. It's a remarkable performance from one of Korea's most effervescent personalities. Even more so than LSK, IU's character has numerous heart-breaking moments throughout the show - they're phenomenally performed and desperately sad.

Overall, the story is incredibly hard-hitting. It really highlights problems of poverty, depression and corporate greed whilst making it clear that people can really make a positive impact on each other's lives. With Breaking Bad levels of characterisation, a wonderful supporting cast that I'll let you experience for yourselves, an amazing OST that will make you tear up months after finishing the show, phenomenal cinematography and direction, My Mister is truly one of a kind. You'll be locked in until the end, rooting for everyone to find happiness, walking away with a knot in your stomach with conflicting pain from what you just witnessed and optimism for what might become.

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I had no regrets watching this drama

My Mister is not your typical Korean drama. If I were to describe it, the story is too beautiful and enthralling that you don't want to miss a single episode. But it's also a drama that makes you not watch it with a back-to-back episode. That is because you need a lot of time to absorb and digest every episode of it. The simple, pragmatic story, the dramatic urban location, the tender yet sensible portrayal of characters will immerse you deeply into the drama and makes it hard to recover quickly. To be honest, it took me almost a month to finish all 16 episodes. Even though I have time, I couldn't watch more than one episode. Well, I tried once, but it took me more than a week before I could watch again. This is what makes an outstanding drama.

My Mister is not a typical Korean drama. It will not make you laugh. It won't make you cry either. Every episode leaves viewers a heavy feeling but makes them ponder more life and survival, and in the end, will give you the feeling of realization. One may find it depressing, but it's not. It's a healing drama and a good reminder of how one can still lead a good and happy life despite the hardships he endures.

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Just beautiful overall story portrayed by wonderful cast of actors. The various support cast has amazing chemistry with the main leads who also had alot of chemistry. Fully rounded characters except for the maybe the main antagonist but the actor did still did a great job. The young antagonist was excellently written and the actor did a wonderful job with his part of the script.

The original music was beautiful and original and really well edited into the show.

There was no lag in the middle episodes -- each episode was necessary and kept my attention.

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This is a poetic and beautifully written drama about life and its troubles. How life can be so tiresome and depressing at times and can really weigh on one's shoulder as we become adults but what this drama does is it is like a silver lining in the darkness. Although you may be lost in life and you may feel like youre barely pushing your way through it, there is hope, there is light and although it has serious moments it always shows the light and humanity in life. There is still good in people in this tough world and how the act of kindness can really change a person.

The characters become a part of your life as if you've known them for years and have lived with them in their neighborhood. You laugh with them, you cry with them and you learn about their troubles and how they are not too different from you and I, as we all have our own battles in life that we may be facing and there is comfort in knowing you're not alone in that.

Its a masterpiece and my comfort show. When I feel down in life I always come back to this drama as if it were an old wise friend of mine giving me advice and comfort as well as a chuckle here and there to help pull me back up on my feet.

The show may have a slow start for some, but when you go through it, it certainly just gets better and better.

The ambience, the soundtrack, the characters, the storyline everything beautifully comes together and paints a poetic drama that is My Mister

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While watching this I got carried emotionally by this drama. Pretty dark and sad. It made me really ponder about life which is never easy. Living your life has never been an easy task. IU's acting got delivered well and I could felt the emotions she felt. For the ahjussi whose wife who commited an affair with his friend was also heartbreaking. But the thing that I remembered the most is the monk who left his girlfriend cause he don't wanna continue suffering as Buddhism has a lesson that living is suffering. I'm glad that in the end, both of the leads live a happy life. This drama has left a good impression for me.

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A brilliant series all round

I am watching this series again, now for the 4th time, and not the last. I am writing this whilst watching the last episode, This episode has everything you could wish for in a drama, and I mean everything. I wont go into details so as not to spoil the story.

What is also amazing is the production, direction, storyline and all the actors generally. I know most drama series concentrate on the main Actors, but as I watch the impromptu football match I acknowledge all the cast, and I mean all. The music played especially now at the near ending of the drama, with Ji an grandmother telling her to be happy. I am avoiding spoilers so you must watch it
I almost feel cheated that I cannot score it more than 10 marks.
Bill

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I didn't know about this drama until I saw the results of the polls 2018. This was so good. I love IU (actress or singer) and I couldn't imagine anyone who could portray Ji An better than her. Also I really liked Do Joon Young and Kwang Il, the actors portrayed their characters very well. The other characters made the story much better.
The music was gorgeous, even if they're not the type of music I listen. I liked the old songs from this drama, as well.
Now, I want to see more dramas which could give me the vibe this drama gave to me. I will surely rewatch this someday.

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