CAST: Ra Mi-Ran, Lee Do-Hyun, Ahn Eun-Jin, Yoo In-Soo

DIRECTOR: Sim Na-Yeon

In 1988’s South Korea. Young-soon (Ra Mi-ran) is a young woman working in an animal feed store, and one day one of the store’s customers, Hae-sik (Cho Jin-woong), comes in and proposes to her. The proposal is not without its glitches though. Hae-sik is a pig farmer, and he had strapped the engagement ring to the neck of a piglet, who runs away as he’s proposing. Young-soon and Hae-sik chase the pig through town, finally snatching it, and she accepts his proposal. A short time later, they’re living on their pig farm and Young-soon is pregnant.

The leader of their village explains that since the Seoul Olympics will be televised and the torch will be passed through their town, they’ll appear on TV, which sounds great, a wonderful sign of progress and patriotism for everyone in town. But soon, a group of thuggish workers from a local construction site come to the farm and explain that they’re going to need to tear it down; it’s an eyesore and will be the laughing stock of the country if a dirty pig farm is broadcast on TV. When Hae-sik refuses and challenges the thugs, their leader, Song Woo-byeok, apologizes and leaves peacefully, but he comes back later and burns the whole farm down with the pigs inside. A trial ensues, but there’s not enough evidence to prove arson, with witnesses recanting their stories. Hae-sik learns that his neighbors were shaken down by Song, and he tells his lawyer, Prosecutor Oh, he wants to file an appeal.

He doesn’t realize Oh secretly works for Song, so Oh tells Song that Hae-sik is still a problem. Song kills Hae-sik and stages it to look like he hung himself.

Hae-sik’s wife, Young-soon, pregnant, and caring for the one pig, also pregnant, survives the arson, takes what little money she has and vows to care for her unborn child and not let him live a life of poverty the way she and her husband had.

She works hard to create a new farm and continues with her life.

The day she gives birth to her son, Kang-ho (played as an adult by Lee Do-hyun), another girl is born in the village, Mi-joo, and the pair grow up together, eventually becoming boyfriend and girlfriend in high school.

Young-soon is a domineering mother who only allows Kang-ho to focus on school work so he can become a lawyer and live a better life than the one she can give him. He’s not allowed to have fun or attend school functions, and when he has to fill out a form explaining why he won’t be attending a school trip, his answer is, “Bad Mom.”

Young-soon, a pig farmer, explains in the opening moments of the show that pigs are actually a clean, intelligent animal, but years of being raised by humans in poop-filled pigpens have bred them to be seen as unclean and aggressive, when really, they’re just misunderstood. She is constantly rejected by her neighbors, she struggles to get by, and she too is misunderstood. It makes sense that she wouldn’t wish that life on her child. This metaphor stays with the show and gives the audience an indication about what will come next.

On the day of his college entrance exams, a moment Kang-ho has studied his entire life for, Mi-joo is struck by a motorbike and Kang-ho skips the exam to bring her to the hospital. Young-soon is not understanding, and they argue, she tells him he’s weak for missing the exam. Kang-ho tells his mother that he has never had his own life, and he even suggests that this better future that she has in store for him is simply just her wish for him to become just like the rich, powerful, thuggish bullies who killed his father.

A few years later, Kang-ho is indeed a powerful prosecutor who is trying a case against the same construction company whose CEO, Song Woo-byeok, killed his father. But in the final moments, we learn that Kang is actually a corrupt lawyer himself, and he’s now working for the bad guys.

The world of this mother and her son is established very quickly in the show. The hooks keep you going on and even when there is a lot happening in the show, you keep waiting for the next big thing that creates emotional hooks for the audience with its drama and comedy.

With two episodes dropping every week on Netflix, this show is for all of you who love wholesome Kdramas with some amazing actors and engaging storyline.

The opening scene of the show is Kang-ho’s accident that leaves him mentally impaired and we cannot wait to see how that twist plays out later.

Watch it on Netflix.