Hi Bye, Mama! | Kdrama

Hello everyone! This post is a little bit late from my normal posting time because I realized that I haven’t removed the spoilers and added the images when I scheduled the post. I originally wrote this one a week after I finished it last month because I can’t shut up from talking about this to my friend, who’s not yet done watching this drama and I don’t want to spoil her. 😂

Hi Bye, Mama! (2020) is a heartwarming South Korean drama about life, family, and a mother’s love. Cha Yuri is a ghost mom who has been with her family especially to her daughter, Seo-woo, and her husband, Gang Hwa, since she died five years ago. Things changed when she was given 49 days to live and a chance to stay and become human again if she takes her place back within those days. However, how can she take her place back if her husband remarried and Seo-woo loves her deeply? What could happen? and why was she given this chance?

💭 My Thoughts After Watching

I binge-watched this drama for three days and it was worth it! It will make you laugh and cry. This is that kind of drama that will make you think and reflect on how you’re living your life and how you are in your relationships. I don’t know how this post will go, I just want to share some of my thoughts, what I like and dislike, and some of the things I learned from watching this drama.

Friends = Family

I love the friendship of these four. It’s funny watching them bicker with each other with the two women (Cha Yuri and Hyun Jung) versus the two men (Gang Hwa and Geun Sang). In times of trouble, they have each other’s backs. The problem of the other one becomes the problem of everybody. I especially love the friendships of each team. I appreciate how they portrayed that kind of friendship that is not perfect but real. The one that will always be there not only in times of happiness but also in times when your whole world collapsed. The one who will try to understand you even when you’re really hard to understand. The one who will not only do crazy and fun things with you but will also cry with you.

Not to mention that the bond that was formed between the two bestfriends, Yuri and Hyun Jung, with Min Jung have chemistry. It came in about half in the drama or a little late than that. I love their tandem and how they help Min Jung’s character development from a quiet and somewhat reserved attitude to a fighter! haha You’ll know what I mean when you watch.

Min Jung is Gang Hwa’s new wife and she loves Seo Woo like her own. They didn’t portray her as an evil stepmom which I admire in this drama. I was torn between Yuri and her. I would like Yuri to go back to her rightful place but that will make my heart ache for Min Jung because she’s been nothing but a sweet, kind, loving, and caring wife and mother. I would also like Min Jung to stay because it’s already her family but that will also make my heart ache for Yuri because she lost her life saving her daughter and she didn’t even get to hold her when she gave birth and it breaks my heart for what could have been her happy family with Gang Hwa, judging from their relationship flashbacks.

Neighborhood Ajummas

There will always be the kind of neighbors who gossips. There were really no characters to hate in this drama, but I just got a little irritated with the school ajummas. But I guess, that’s life. There will always be people who will not like you and who will always have something to say that’s not nice about you.

What I love about this is Hyun Jung. She’s that kind of person who interferes while the ajummas gossip and tells them to mind their own business. That instead of gossiping about other people, why not talk about their own life, maybe, just maybe, they can help each other in any way and find solutions to their problems.

Ghost Friends and Shaman = Family

There are the ghosts who choose to stay in the living world and refuse to get ascended because they still want to watch their loved ones. They are already dead but they are still worried about the people they left behind. It seems like they only care about their loved ones but it turned out that they also care about their fellow ghosts. At the end of the day, when things are tough, they have each other’s backs. They share their stories and regrets. They are like one big family and some of them also have their hi bye moments not only with their mothers but also with their other loved ones.

“They only realized what matters in life after they died.”

– Mi Dong, shaman

As for Mi Dong, she seems like a terror shaman haha but it turned out that she’s actually a sympathetic shaman who doesn’t want to ascend anyone without their approval. It’s hard not to sympathize once you get to know someone’s story. Don’t forget about the fact that she’s also a mom but can’t be with her family because of her duty. But, there’s also this kind of friendship that she has with Yuri. It’s fun watching them bicker and also be each other’s friend.

Yuri’s Family

At the end of the day, you have your family who will be there for you no matter what and who will always welcome you with open arms even after everything that you have done in the past. Just the thought of that warms my heart and makes me feel loved.

Husband

There’s that kind of love that is too strong that even death cannot break. It’s heartbreaking for Gang Hwa to go through grief from losing her wife and raising their daughter alone, but it’s also heartbreaking for Yuri watching the love of her life go through a dark phase in life and she can’t do anything but watch. I love their relationship. They have a lot of petty fights but you could see how they are enjoying their relationship and how much they love each other.

“Watching your loved one lose the light of his life… someone needs to shine a light for him because he’s wandering in the dark, but that person can’t be me anymore. When I realized that, I was in despair.”

– Cha Yuri

Moms = ❤️❤️❤️

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There’s that kind of love that is very unique, the one that is unconditional and powerful. The one that will do everything just to make sure that you’re safe. The one that is willing to sacrifice her comfort for your comfort. That’s the mother’s love. A love that lasts. A love that can never be replaced.

I just love Yuri’s relationship with her mom. Her mom is the last person she talked to before she died and she has been grieving silently. It shows how we all have different ways of dealing with grief and that pain will always be there no matter how long time has passed. That’s the pain that makes us realize that they’re gone.

The writer

I wasn’t surprised when I found out that the writer, Kwon Hye Joo, is the same person who wrote the other drama that I also love, Go Back Couple. They have some similarities in terms of the emotions that the drama will make you feel and the execution of the flashbacks. Both dramas are full of lessons and will make you pause for a moment and look back at how you are in your life and your relationship with your loved ones. It makes you realize a lot of things.

“Everyone who’s alive is like that. They think more about tomorrow than today. That’s why they have a lot of troubles, sigh a lot, and regret a lot too. If they thought they’d live just another day like you or other ghosts here, there’s no need to worry about it all.”

– Mi Dong

We will all be going to die but we will never know when. Oftentimes, we find ourselves fixated on what will happen tomorrow when we have enough to think about today. Let’s not neglect what we can do today to make ourselves and our loved ones happy. So let’s live our lives with the people that we love. Appreciate them, be grateful and let them know you love them. Hug them and spend more time with them before it’s too late. We only live once so make the most of it. Not everyone will get to have a second chance at life. We will never have that kind of opportunity that Yuri had.

All in all, I love this drama and I am statisfied with the ending. You will find yourself sympathizing not only with the ghosts but also with all the other characters. You will laugh with them as well as cry with them. So if you are planning to watch this drama, prepare a lot of tissues. A box is not enough.

RATING: 10/10

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I’m curious, has anyone watched this drama? What are your thoughts?

[Featured Photo | Photos from MDL and Hancinema]