A heartfelt drama about loss and acceptance
Hi Bye, Mama was one of the first K-drama series I watched. It was such a shocker series for me, unlike anything I've seen in western tv series.The story is just perfect, about loss and reconciliation, acceptance, grief, regret, but also joy. The series has so much heart that I admit that this series made me sob the most, it really touches you.
It makes you truly think about the most painful things people go through, the loss of someone close.
The actors did an amazing job, all of them.
I did not know what I was going to watch when I started watching it, but I'm glad I decided to watch it "blindly".
It still sits in me to this day since I saw it earlier this year.
It's one of my top series to recommend to people, at least people who are open to drama series.
Was this review helpful to you?
About the content. I really loved the acting. To be honest, the emotions were perfectly conveyed and we felt each character's sincerity. I usually complain about some dramas for not showing clearly the reason why one character act a certain way but I think this drama shows otherwise because we got all the details we needed to understand each character's point of view. There were no real evil expect life's injustice, I would say? So that's a good reason to watch this drama, we can relate to it. Although I was a bit skeptical at first that the "supernatural" aspect would make it unpleasant and unrealistic, everything felt real, to me. It was neither slow nor quick, it was at a perfect pace.
So don't hesitate and watch this drama !!!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Love That Refuses to Leave, Even When We Do
Grief has never hit me the way Hi Bye, Mama! did — not with screaming or spectacle, but with these quiet, exacting cuts. The kind that show up when you least expect them: folding clothes, hearing a laugh that sounds like someone you lost, watching someone smile through pain because they don’t know how to stop taking care of everyone else. That’s the kind of grief this show understood.I didn’t start it expecting to unravel. I thought I was walking into something gentle — a touching ghost story, maybe a second-chance fantasy. But Hi Bye, Mama! doesn’t play in wish fulfillment. It sits with the ache of unfinished goodbyes, of memories that cling too tightly, and of a love so fierce it can’t bear to be forgotten.
Kim Tae-hee gave Cha Yu-ri a kind of radiance I wasn’t prepared for. She wasn’t just a mother who died too soon — she was a woman still full of life, overflowing with it, trying desperately to stay present even when the world had already moved on without her. The way she loved her daughter wasn’t soft-focus idealism. It was raw. Unapologetic. Desperate and beautiful. And when she smiled — when she chose to smile for the sake of others — I broke a little more.
What floored me most was the way the show treated death. There’s no horror here, no fear-mongering. The afterlife wasn’t a threat. It was just... waiting. Patient. Soft-edged. A space where ghosts watched the living with both joy and unbearable longing. It wasn’t cruel. It was just real. Because grief isn’t cruel. It’s just what’s left when love has nowhere to go.
Sure, not every subplot landed. Some stories felt stretched, and the pacing wobbled under the weight of its emotional scope. But none of that dulled the core. The show never lost sight of what it was about: not death, but the aftershocks of love. The kind that keeps echoing, even when the world says it’s time to move on.
It reminded me that we’re all walking around with our own ghosts — not always seen, but always felt. And that sometimes, the bravest thing we can do isn’t to hold on tighter. It’s to let go with love.
Hi Bye, Mama! didn’t ask for my tears. It earned them. Quietly. Fully. And I’m still carrying it, in all the best and hardest ways.
Was this review helpful to you?
The acting was astounding, I felt the connection and chemistry between all the actors. Prepare for many, many tears. It really does push the message to live every day like it’s your last and life to the fullest. Tell friends and family you love them as much as possible. You just never know when death may happen.
I actually really loved the ending. It was realistic, as that is how life is- it's not always a fairy tale, but obviously with the supernatural aspect.
Overall, this is just so beautifully done.
Was this review helpful to you?
“Goodbye”
leaving is hard, but it's harder to stay.he keeps showing you who he is, but you turn the other way.
you still have hope, but he's not going to change.
starting over is scary, but you have to be brave.
"Perhaps the most beautiful thing we can feel in our lives is telling someone we love that we love them and thanking someone whom we're grateful for. "
Was this review helpful to you?
I cried in almost every episode…
There was no villain in this story, just life 👩👧This K-drama presented grief in so many forms—sometimes loud and overwhelming, other times quiet and hidden, carried silently as people go on with their day-to-day lives. It reminded me that grief is not always visible, but it lingers, shaping the way we love, move forward, and hold on.
What I appreciated most was how it gave us both perspectives: the one who left, and those who were left behind. Each had their own struggles, regrets, and unspoken feelings, yet all were connected by the same longing for peace.
At its heart, the story was never just about loss—it was about healing, closure, and acceptance. About how even in the deepest pain, life still finds a way to move, to breathe, to grow.
A tender reminder that loss isn’t the end of love—it’s proof that it existed, and that it will continue to shape us 🥺
Was this review helpful to you?
this dráma IS very emotional
this story IS very sad ... this story is very sad. I even cried the part when she met her mother, it was very emotional ... the whole story I felt sorry for the main character ... it was very real that her husband started all over again. sniekyn inim thought it was selfish that he didn't think about nana, that's why I didn't have to him in this drama ..... I enjoyed her mother the most and she the story between the mother and the dead daughter, similar to Good Bad Mother, I like the family drama ... but this one was the saddest drama I've ever seen right from the first episode I had tears in the corner of my eye, a terrible drama you must watch it, it's definitely added to my favorites ... the female role was very balanced even after her departure, that's why I give her 10 / 10Was this review helpful to you?
Utter masterpiece
I feel numb. It is as though all the grief in the show is mine to dwell on. In a way it is. My soul has come to know and love all the characters. While watching I could think one thing through tears streaming down my face: we live then we die. It's the most tragic yet most sacred part of life. Through Cha Yu Ri, we see that. The preciseness of the world we live in, of the people we love.I will grieve this show for the upcoming years. I genuinely don't think anything can have such a strong impact as this. I sincerely hope your life is also altered.
Was this review helpful to you?
I just loved it soo much.
This kdrama leaves a subtle feeling to the viewers- peace! It teaches us with so many life lessons and that is to be thankful for every circumstances we encounter and to see every obstacles as a lesson. It teaches us that life is only fleeting and that we need to write every pages beautifully without regrets! It teaches us to say “Goodbye” with a smile on our faces even when it tear us apart because it gives us peace which will help us move on.Overall, this Drama is a must watch - the moment I watched the very first episode I was so committed and invested to watch the rest non stop. Every ending of each episode just makes you want to know more and watch more of it. Which is fantastic. The writer did an outstanding job, the ending left a good feeling - at least to me. Even though I was literally sobbing, it was truly an amazing story.
Was this review helpful to you?
My First KDrama and NO REGRETS!
It was a good emotional run watching this series. My first 'Korean Drama' because I wasn't really into this before, reading sub titles and all. BUTTT it woke me up and left me realizing what I am missing. It is that good!I am just pulled by the casts' superb acting. It felt like I know them personally and it did make me feel somewhat involved. (which I think is good) As the story goes, the laying down of the characters was so good, that you know each of them better.
You can tap on any characters easily and relate to them fast and effortless. I cried countless times if that counts lol.
I was drawn by how the actors appear to be so believable. The lines they throw and every tear drop was heartfelt. I even notice they cut it it quite sooner than I wanted. I wanted to cry more and I wished I had more time enduring that emotion but some scenes they just change suddenly lol.
I like the character of the mom/omma. Jeon Eun-Sook. Very relatable. I was thinking about my own mom the whole time.
It was her eyes that need not to tell more... I can replay it all in my mind over and over. Superb acting.
The casting was perfection. It felt like all the actors were really suited for the role they are portraying.
It has opened a new window for me to watch Korean Dramas after this... I really really really admire how this whole series was made. Congrats to the production! Really life changing and inspiring because it will surely leave you with thoughts, lessons, and deepened realizations. Thank you so much!!!
Was this review helpful to you?
There are many Korean dramas which are not star driven but a tour de force of all performers and this is particularly true of this cast. This brings into focus the value of all relationships , familial, marital, friendship, work.....
My advice within this review is do NOT binge watch this show. It can take too long to recover from some individual episodes. The strength of the cast and script has resulted in scenes played with subtlety are still capable of packing a heavy punch. I highly recommend watching this drama but with someone so that the phone calls/discussions add to the experience. Stay safe all.
Was this review helpful to you?
From the first seconds of the first episode you can already feel that it's going to be a rollercoaster of emotions.
They capture the relationship highlights beautifully making us believe we've been watching 10 episodes already. The story throughout the whole episode isn't dull or boring, far from it, you want it to go faster so you can see what's going to happen next. The last scenes (of episode one) were shot beautifully making you feel the emotions as if you were there. I'll even go ahead and rank this as a top 5 of my favorite first episodes ever.
If you're hoping to see a lot of action and a lot of commotion, don't- But if you are willing to see a beautifully shot drama with a storyline that pulls you in, start watching now. Let's hope the writers keep this up, as it can become a magnificent drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
