My Liberation Diary: My Liberation Notes
May 31, 2022 3:59 PM - Season 1 (Full Season) - Subscribe

Three siblings, exhausted by the monotony of day-to-day adulthood, seek to find fulfillment and freedom from their unremarkable lives.

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Jagran TV review: 7 reasons to watch this crazily self relatable K-drama for introverts & youths -- "The thing about Netflix new age K-drama My Liberation Notes is that if you can't connect with the characters, you're not going to like it. You'll think it's a buzz kill, but it's actually a pretty true picture of a generational problem of feeling alone, of being boycotted, the FOMO and not accomplishing anything every time you leave the house while everyone else seems to be making progress. You have your own joyful moments, but they aren't enough; you aren't sad, but you aren't satisfied with your life either. The drama is about feeling and relating to oneself, and if you are unable to do so, you may not like this Korean drama."

MSN.com Review: Kim Ji-won, Son Suk-ku Starrer is a Comforting Cup of Tea Not All Will Enjoy -- "Starring Kim Ji-won, Son Seok-koo, Lee Min-ki, and Lee El in the lead, My Liberation Notes keeps the wave of realistic dramas going strong but brings the storylines closer to home, tackling several subjects sensitively. My Liberation Notes revolves around three siblings, struggling with their respective issues in life. While the eldest sibling Yeon Ki-jeong (Lee El) is heading into her forties, single but hopeful to find love, the second sibling — Yeon Chang-hee (Lee Min-ki) is struggling with making it big on the work front. Meanwhile, the youngest of the three, Yeon Mi-jeong (Kim Ji-won) is shown as an introverted, strong-willed person who feels empty inside. They live with a father who rarely speaks and a mother is ensure the peace is kept in place."

South China Morning Post review: My Liberation Notes is a rich and rewarding journey like few others -- "Over the weekend, the acclaimed slice-of-life drama My Liberation Notes reached its finale, which achieved a rating almost triple that of its lowest-rated episode. In the lead-up to its concluding instalment, writer Park Hae-young faced a difficult question: how do you end a series about life's endless small struggles? Giving Mi-jung (Kim Ji-won), Ki-jung (Lee El), Chang-hee (Lee Min-ki) and Mr Gu (Son Suk-ku) happy endings would have gone against the show's raison d'Etre. The other option would have been to give these characters the tools to deal with their daily trials, the mental strength to brush them off and move on. But even that could come across as a cop-out, since life isn't something that can be fixed. Instead, Park opted to combine these options, but stopped short of providing us with conclusive endpoints. Some of her characters get what they wanted but not in the way they expected, while others embark on surprising new beginnings. Some seem hopeful as we leave them, others uncertain."
posted by oh yeah! (3 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I loved writer Park Hae Young's "Another Miss Oh/Oh Hae-Young Again", haven't watched her "My Mister" yet, though I get the impression that one is probably more alike in theme/tone with "My Liberation Notes"

Overall, I liked this show. It has a slow start, but it has moments that are kind of sublime.
posted by oh yeah! at 5:22 PM on May 31, 2022


The start seemed so slow and mundane that I worried it would be a long and depressing 16 episodes, but as soon as Mi Jung made her audacious request that Mr. Gu “worship” her, I was all in. I loved his quiet gestures of worship, and then in one grand gesture he was transformed from a dull-witted alcoholic to an enigma (but still an alcoholic). Towards the end I was prepared for something tragic, like the death of Gu or worse, the death of Mi Jung due to Gu’s drinking/associations. My response to the closing shot was, you’re ending it there? – what happens next? – does Gu get the professional help he needs to stop drinking??? It took me a little time to accept that the ending was more realistic by not tying it all up with a bow.

The stories for the other siblings were also interesting and their characters were more complex and sympathetic than they appeared in the opening episodes. Overall, I thought the show was really well written, acted, and filmed. I don’t know that I’ll go back and rewatch the whole show (like I've done with some other Kdramas), but there are specific scenes that I want to revisit, especially for the dialogue.
posted by kbar1 at 2:25 PM on June 4, 2022


oh yeah! - Have you had a chance yet to watch "My Mister"? I think it's my fave kdrama ever if I ignore the subplot (though I'm fairly new to the genre, if we can call a whole industry a genre).

As for "My Liberation Notes," I'd happened to force myself through "The Heirs" (b/c of its cult status) shortly before watching MLN, so seeing Kim Ji Won in this kind of role was a nice surprise. Can't wait for whatever Park Hae Young does next.
posted by paperback version at 12:24 AM on November 3, 2023


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