Ra Mi-ran relates to role in 'The Good Bad Mother' like never before

Every person has reasons why they are the way they are, and this is the key to understanding Ra Mi-ran’s character in the recently-wrapped JTBC drama “The Good Bad Mother.” Also streaming on Netflix, “The Good Bad Mother” ranked third in...

Actor Ra Mi-ran plays Young-soon, a mother who is harsh and demanding on her son and a woman who has experienced great tragedies in her life, in the JTBC drama ″The Good Bad Mother.″ [C-JES STUDIOS]

Every person has reasons why they are the way they are, and this is the key to understanding Ra Mi-ran’s character in the recently-wrapped JTBC drama “The Good Bad Mother.”

Also streaming on Netflix, “The Good Bad Mother” ranked third in the non-English language show charts for two weeks, after it started its 14-episode run on April 24. The last episode of "The Good Bad Mother" recorded a nationwide viewership rating of 12 percent. Ra, now a veteran actor who debuted with “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance” (2005) and has had a long career in theater and well as in film and drama, plays the titular mother Young-soon, who seems overly harsh toward and demanding of her son. When her son Kang-ho, played by Lee Do-hyun, gets in an accident, it results in a chance for Young-soon to amend their turbulent relationship.

Main poster for ″The Good Bad Mother″ [JTBC]

“I personally cannot see myself doing all the things my character Young-soon does to Kang-ho — forcing him to study so much to become a prosecutor,” said Ra during a group interview with reporters at a cafe in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Thursday. “But if you look into Young-soon’s life and see that she has been robbed of a good, comfortable life due to a series of tragedies that happened to her, why she seems so harsh and expectant of Kang-ho can be understood.”

Because Ra herself has not lived the way Young-soon has, there is of course a limitation to understanding the fictional character, but Ra has come to terms with the rationale behind how Young-soon is written.

Actor Ra Mi-ran as Young-soon in the JTBC Drama ″The Good Bad Mother″ [JTBC]

“My character thinks that becoming someone with professional skills and becoming someone people cannot easily ignore is the way to live life happily, and she wants that desperately for her son,” said Ra. “That is why she pushes him so hard to become successful. It is not until they both fall hard in that path toward success that Young-soon realizes that true happiness does not lie in social or economic success.”

While Ra has had critically and commercially successful roles such as in “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance,” “Thirst” (2009), “Reply 1998” (2015) and many others, playing Young-soon in “The Good Bad Mother” was the first time that the actor found herself frequently crying on set.

“I had to really toughen myself up and hold onto my composure to play Young-soon,” said Ra. “I found myself crying so much reading the script, crying so much acting the scenes. It was very hard. I think even though Young-soon and I are different kind of mothers, I empathized and identified with her in a profound way.”

Actor Ra Mi-ran [C-JES STUDIOS]

Regarding some criticism among viewers that the story of “The Good Bad Mother” is too clichéd, Ra said that such a point may be warranted but that she nevertheless found the series entertaining.

“I think cliché or not the important thing is whether the story is engaging and the series is entertaining,” said Ra. “Whether or not there are some trite portions of the story, if that story draws you in and has meaning and room for interpretation that is the important aspect.”

Actor Ra Mi-ran as Young-soon in the JTBC Drama ″The Good Bad Mother″ [JTBC]

Also addressing the recent changes in how audiences view content and viewership ratings among broadcasters not being as high as before the advent of streaming services, Ra expressed hopes for more shows like “The Good Bad Mother” to garner high ratings and good reviews.

“I was able to show a lot of different sides of myself as an actor through ‘The Good Bad Mother,’ and I hope more dramas like these are made,” said Ra. “I know that it is a hard time for the content and entertainment industry. But I believe with good stories and characters we can still reach the hearts of viewers.”

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]