To Actress Ra Mi-Ran ‘The Good Bad Mother’ Is Neither Good Nor Bad

Actress Ra Mi-ran plays Young-soon, the character described in the title of the Korean drama The Good Bad Mother. Yet she would not describe her character as either good or bad. A poor pig farmer, Young-soon wants her son to succeed, so she makes him focus solely on academics. He becomes a prosecutor, fulfilling her dream, but their relationship is strained. Does that make her a bad mother?

“Whether you make a good mother or not is up to your child,” said Ra with a laugh. “If he/she thinks you are a good mother, then you are a good mother; if he/she calls you a bad mother, you are a bad mother. Children are the ones who get to judge our performance as a parent. Nonetheless, I don’t want the mothers out there to be too harsh to themselves, thinking they are a bad mother and not good enough for their kids. You could be already doing more than enough for your kid, and sometimes if you try too hard to be a good parent, what you think you do for the sake of your children can backfire and become a burden for them.”

Young-soon is heartbroken that her son is so distant. All she ever wanted was for him to have enough power in the world not to be trampled on. She did not imagine how their relationship might suffer.

“That is partly why parenting is so hard,” Ra said with another laugh. “It is a riddle no one can ever solve. In The Good Bad Mother, Young-soon goes through her own highs and lows throughout her life, which make her a relatable character. Because of them, we grow compassionate and empathetic towards her as the series goes. I would personally like to think of Young-soon as a ‘pitiable mother’ rather than a bad mother.”

Mother and son get another chance to work on their relationship when an accident leaves Kang-ho physically impaired and child-like. Young-soon must care for him again and its an opportunity to focus on other priorities.

“The dynamics between two characters will shift drastically in many aspects,” said Ra. “Thanks to what happened to Kang-ho, Young-soon and Kang-ho get to press reset and start over their relationship completely, which Young-soon refers to as ‘a chance given from above’ in the drama. It is certainly not easy for them to rebuild their lives from scratch; they come to face many obstacles and conflicts. But they still get to cherish the precious opportunity and I want the viewers to check out how the journey progresses throughout the upcoming episodes.”

Ra could not resist appearing in The Good Bad Mother once she read the script. It’s a fairy tale of a story about second chances, but it’s also a story with a lot of emotional depth. The Good Bad Mother gives the actress an opportunity to portray a lifetime of emotions, which Ra does with her whole heart.

“While reading the script, I was so immersed in the story that I lost track of time, and no other script had me feel that way like The Good Bad Mother did. The characters were adorable and the story progressed very fast. I was honestly expecting a bit of a cliché, but I was totally wrong. I immediately said yes to the role, knowing that I would be a fool to pass up such a fascinating drama.”

To prepare for her role Ra tried to internalize her character’s story, as if it were her own.

“I could picture the footsteps Young-soon must have taken throughout her life, from her twenties to present, like a panoramic image,” said Ra. “In my life, I have made countless mistakes and bad choices that made me regret and look back on the past. And Young-soon’s life, who was only a few years older than me, looked not so different then mine. I felt like I’ve truly become Young-soon and re-lived her life while shooting The Good Bad Mother.

Ra has fond memories of working on the SLL drama set, especially with a cast of the Jowoori village characters that include drama regulars Jang Won-young, Kang Mal-geum, Seo Yi-sook and the versatile Kim Won-hae .

“There were only great memories, especially when I was shooting with the cast who played the characters from Jowoori village in the drama,” said Ra. “Every single one of them was so nice to be around. In the beginning of the shooting, I tried to keep cool and stay calm to focus on Young-soon’s emotions, but it was hard to do so around those fun people. Having them on set was surely a big comfort for me and I counted on them a lot throughout the entire process. They are part of the reasons that everything went well for me during the shooting of The Good Bad Mother.”

Ra made her film debut in Lady Vengeance in 2005 and has since appeared in more than 40 films. Her performance in the film Hope won her Best Supporting Actress at the 34th Blue Dragon Film Awards and her performance in The Himalayas won Best Supporting Actress at the 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards. She’s appeared in dozens of dramas, including Reply 1988, Melting Me Softly, Black Dog: Being A Teacher and Bossam: Steal The Fate. Despite decades of reading scripts, Ra has not settled on a formula for choosing projects.

“It really depends,” she said. “What I would call a consistent standard eventually changes with time, so I wouldn’t say there are specific things that I look for in a project. Every time I encounter great roles and offers, I just feel grateful to be even considered for those roles. I would of course have to find the story appealing in the first place to actually work in it. Yet, each great project has their distinctive strengths that make me want to be a part of them.”

Viewers who enjoy Ra’s performance in The Good Bad Mother can see her in other dramas this year.

“I will be able to present various characters and versions of myself to the audience this year, as I will return with many other projects including Cruel Intern and Strange Sweets Shop Jeoncheondang. Some of them finished shooting, and some of them are still in the making. I am putting a lot of effort into the upcoming dramas, so I would truly appreciate your love and support.”

The SLL drama airs on Netflix
NFLX
.