Ra Mi-ran on depicting heartfelt mother-son relationship

Actress Ra Mi-ran has made herself known through a series of comical roles, like Madame Cheetah in the hit series “Reply 1988” (2015) and a lawmaker in the comedy film “Honest Candidate” (2020).

But in her recent series, the actress has taken on a more serious role, playing a hardened widow, Jin Young-soon, to tell a heartwarming story of a mother and a son.

“It’s not easy to take a role where the character has been through a lot of hardships. The series might seem a biographical narrative of Youngsoon, but it has stories of different kinds of moms within it. And there are also stories about different perspectives of life,” Ra said in an interview with The Korea Times, held at a cafe in Gangnam District, southern Soul, Thursday.

“I felt when else would I get a chance to do a piece like this. It’s not easy to come across a work that’s interesting and lovely so I felt I should do it.”

The fourteen-part dramedy series, which ended with its highest viewership rating of 12 percent on Thursday, revolves around a single mom and pig farm owner, Jin, and her son Choi Kang-ho (Lee Do-hyun). After her husband’s death, Jin becomes a strict mom, hoping for her son to have a better life than she. He becomes a successful yet cold-hearted prosecutor.

When a tragic accident leaves Choi with the mind of a child, the two are forced to live together after years of estrangement, which puts them on a journey to recover their mother-son bond.

Jin has gone through a turbulent life, losing her parents at a young age before she lost her husband. When she finally gets time with her son to make amends for her overly-strict parenting, she is diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer.

Although she did not agree with Jin’s harsh parenting, Ra said she tried to understand Jin’s background to put herself in the character’s shoes.

“I tried my best to put myself in Young-soon’s shoes while acting. But (her actions) were beyond what the real-life Ra Mi-ran could imagine. I wouldn’t have done what she did,” she said.

“I think it was more about understanding Young-soon, rather than depicting a mother figure. There are different types of mothers and motherly love. I just thought Youngsoon had lived her life in a way that leads to such decisions and judgments. The story unfolded as she makes mistakes, apologizes, and forms a relationship. Although her situations were too much to bear, I felt that she is more grateful for her life than overwhelmed by feeling.”

The series ends with Jin dying from cancer. Despite her character’s death, Ra expressed she is satisfied with the ending.

“Young-soon says she is happy to learn everything that values in her life before passing. And I think she really did. Since you can’t turn back what already happened or miraculously heal a person, there was no ending better than this,” she said. “I’m satisfied that she left with such a happy heart. I felt really relieved and happy. I couldn’t ask for more.”