Drama Review: 'My Unfamiliar Family' (2020)
This drama is included in the list of nominees for the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards
Korean Title: <아는 건 별로 없지만> 가족입니다
English Title: My Unfamiliar Family
Network: tvN (Korea), Viki (Global)
Episodes: 16
Broadcast Period: June 1 - July 21, 2020
Genre: Slice of Life, Family, Drama
Language(s): Korean
Cast: Han Ye Ri (Hello, My Twenties), Choo Ja Hyun (Arthdal Chronicles), Kim Ji Seok (Another Miss Oh), Shin Jae Ha (Memories of the Alhambra), Jung Jin Young (Chief of Staff), Won Mi Kyung (Happy Home)
Directed by: Kwon Young Il (Suits)
Written by: Kim Eun Jung (Flower Boy Next Door)
My Unfamiliar Family is a story about a family that is on the verge of falling apart, shown in the point of view of the middle child, Kim Eun Hee (Han Ye Ri). The show tackles important issues and the misconceptions faced by people in various levels of relationships - as parents, siblings, friends and individuals.
The drama was broadcasted via tvN in Korea, distributed globally through Viki and produced by Studio Dragon. It aired during the summer of 2020 and is currently nominated for multiple awards at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards, taking place on May 13, 2021. My Unfamiliar Family has nominations under the following categories:
Best Drama
Best Director for a Television Series - Kwon Young Il
Best Screenplay for a Television Series - Kim Eun Jung
Story
The Kim Family consists of parents, Kim Sang Sik (Jung Jin Young), Lee Jin Sook (Won Mi Kyung) and their children, Kim Eun Ju (Choo Ja Hyun) (eldest daughter) a patent lawyer, Kim Eun Hee (Han Ye Ri) (middle daughter) a reader at a publishing house and Kim Ji Woo (Shin Jae Ha) (youngest or maknae) a production assistant at Golden Goose Media, a media company owned by Eun Hee’s ex-college best friend, Park Chan Hyuk (Kim Ji Seok).
The drama begins with Jin Sook gathering her children to let them know that she and Sang Sik have decided to have a “marriage graduation” - the concept of separating from one’s partner without going through the legal pains of divorcing by means of liquidating conjugal assets, dividing the proceeds in half and living separately afterwards. Although Jin Sook has confirmed that the decision is mutual between her and Sang Sik, Eun Ju recommends they either get an official divorce or work the marriage out which Jin Sook strongly refuses to do so.
At the same time, Sang Sik has been spending most of his time outside of his truck driving job hiking in the mountains - he often does not communicate where he is which Jin Sook has also gotten used to. Days following Jin Sook’s announcement to the children, Sang Sik goes missing during a late-night hike and the rest of the family use the help of Sang Sik’s friends and the police to locate him. Eventually, he is found and the family is notified he’s been admitted to a hospital nearby. Upon meeting Sang Sik at the hospital, the family learns that he’s sustained a head injury, causing him to lose a big part of his memory. As a result, Sang Sik only remembers himself as how he was as 22-year-old man.
As Sang Sik recovers to recall his memories, each member of the family learn things about him as well as each other that they didn’t know before. They realize how distant and unfamiliar the people that are closest to them in comparison to those outside of their family or recently met.
The Verdict
Overall Rating: 10/10
Family. Friends. Lovers. It’s always the easiest to fool the people you’ve known the longest.
Eun Hee
As I mentioned earlier, this show is nominated for Best Screenplay for a TV Series at this year’s Baeksangs. Now, I know I have a couple of shows left to see before I can properly make a choice for who I think should take it home, but I really have a strong feeling in my heart that the screenplay for My Unfamiliar Family will come out at the top for me.
Transparently, just reading the synopsis and character descriptions for this show will have you running for the hills at first as it does rely on stereotypical character backgrounds and has layers of makjang in it too - you know, like a typical Korean family drama. However, one of the things My Unfamiliar Family excelled in, was in its ability to make the characters relatable and human in spite of the stereotype - and that is true whether you’ve had experiences similar to the characters in the show or not.
Even if you see your family all the time, you still need to put effort into keeping it together.
Eun Hee
Coupled with the tremendous writing, directing and acting performances, one of the things I love the most about this show is how easily it shared pointers and lessons on how one can be a better parent, son/daughter, lover and friend in the long term.
Among the many lessons, my favourite is how well they were able to describe the importance of humanizing the people around you regardless of the role they play in your life. For example: In the context of parent-child relationships, My Unfamiliar Family shows how often children forget that their parents are human beings themselves who need to find security and confidence in themselves (in the same way that young people struggle with loving themselves). Every single one of us are on our first try at living life - and no matter how old one’s parents may be, it’s their first time being in their 50s or 60s and that comes with its own challenges. At the end of the day, it’s an empathy game when it comes to fortifying one’s relationships.
It’s very difficult to find a slice-of-life, family drama with just the right amount of problems, tears, laughs and character progression. Luckily, My Unfamiliar Family managed to do an impeccable job of depicting the harshest realities of managing relationships in family, romantic, friendship as well as workplace settings without making the audience feel heavy or sacrificing entertainment quality. The dialogues in this show are written and shot very closely to the quality Hospital Playlist was, so if you’re into that type of vibe, this would definitely be a good pick-up for you as well.
