I have been really surprised with the daily dramas lately on MBC this season. After the near disastrous watch of Apgujeong Midnight Sun and the waste of revenge drama called Ladies of Storm, the program director as well as the writers have been throwing us some new drama bones in the form of A Daughter Just Like You and come back here to read about the sensational The Great First Wives. It’s been awhile since I’ve come across dailies that make the “must see” list. Read on.
Stars
Kim Hye Ok as Hong Ae Ja
Kil Yong Woo as Ma Jung Ki (Ae Ja’s husband)
Woo Hee Jin as Ma Ji Sung (Ae Ja’s oldest daughter)
Lee Soo Kyung as Ma In Sung (Ae Ja’s second daughter)
Jung Hye Sung as Ma Hee Sung (Ae Ja’s youngest daughter)
Jung Bo Suk as So Pan Suk
Kang Kyung Joon as So Jung Geun (Pan Suk’s eldest son)
Jung Woo Shik as So Seung Geun (Pan Suk’s second son)
Jo Woo Ri as So Jung Yi (Pan Suk’s youngest daughter)
Park Hae Mi as Huh Eun Sook (Ji Sung’s mother-in-law)
Lee Byung Joon as Baek Min Suk (Ji Sung’s father-in-law)
Lee Ji Hoon as Baek Woo Jae (Ji Sung’s husband)
Jun Won Joo as Mal Nyun (Jung Ki’s mother)
Go Yun Ah as Baek Mi Na (Ji Sung & Woo Jae’s daughter)
Han Seung Hyun as Sung Chan
Plot
Hong Ae-Ja works as a host at a home shopping channel and she has three accomplished daughters: Ji-Sung, In-Sung and Hee-Sung. Their family interconnects with So Pan-Seok’s family and Heo Eun-Sook’s as in-laws.
Episode Count: 120
My Thoughts
A drama by screenwriter, Ga Sung Jin who hasn’t written anything since 2002? Are you serious?! What a travesty! If you are watching this drama or just after reading this, you will understand why I just said this. This drama is hitting it out the park! I’ve never been so entertained by such a diverse cast; a cast that you will be familiar with from various dramas lately. Three distinct couples that are interesting to watch and mothers that you either want to love or choke! That is A Daughter Just Like You in a nut shell!
Three couples, three sisters with totally different relationships. Of course, the story revolves around them as well as their mother, Hong Ae Ja. Ae Ja is definitely a self-made, ambitious woman. So far, she does things that she believes is for the betterment of her daughters that she loves unconditionally; however, unlike most drama mothers, there is just something about her that doesn’t make her unreasonable. Now, compare and contrast her to Ma Ji Sung, the eldest daughter’s mother in law, Huh Eun Sook. Every time this woman is on the screen, you just want to choke a biatch!! Seriously! She is the epitome of all the mothers we love to hate. Her ‘holier than thou’ attitude will not only rub you the wrong way but will make you hate this woman with a passion. But let’s talk about the couples.
Talk about a Momma’s boy letting his mother ruin his relationship and marriage? What is it with the theme this year of Momma’s boys? There must be a lot of frustrated wives and girlfriends in South Korea or something. This seems to be the common theme in many dramas (The Eccentric Daughter In Law, The Great First Wives) and one seems to be worse depiction than the other. As the eldest and never wanting to disappoint her mother, Ma Ji Sung’s marriage was arranged for her based on what her mother perceived as “her best interest”. Little did she know that this was the worse years of her daughter’s life! Her husband, Baek Woo Jae doesn’t seem to have a mind of his own. As wife and mother, Huh Eun Sook dominates all the men in the Baek household! What is a stark reminder to the casual drama watcher is that even the young daughter, Baek Mi Na knows this and sympathizes with her mother terribly. As you watch this drama, you hope to see some redeeming quality in the man; so far, he is way too gone down the road of “listening to mommy”.
The writer has cleverly introduced a past love to the story in the form of a popular disc jockey nicknamed “Blue Rain”. As his character has just shown up recently, there isn’t a lot of information yet. But, from some scenes, it looks like Momma Ae Ja was responsible for the demise of that relationship in her quest for “something better” for her daughter.
The middle daughter, Ma In Sung and So Jung Geun are cute as a button together. Their scenes are not only cute but funny as HELL! In Sung is the epitome of a strong, single woman (thank you, writer-nim!). At first, you get the impression of an oil and water relationship. Jung Geun is such a macho man and you understand that simply by meeting his father, So Pan Suk who still believes that a woman’s place is in the kitchen. Super chauvinist and proud of it! However, the evolution of their relationship changes them both, softening the lines of career woman and macho man to a love relations that rivals the daily drama, Ugly Alert. I could have posted many of their cute, loving scenes here but this is testament to the great display of affection in this drama between them. So many scenes to pick from!
The funniest scene, hands down, was the group overnight trip for the Sales Team whereby In Sung and Jung Geun ended up in the same room. The camera shots as they were drunk and rolling from one end of the bed to another was executed to a tee and wonderfully shot. Who knew drunks could move into so many positions! Good job, director!
The romance between these two is great! Not very often do we get a real good romance depicted in a daily drama. The chemistry between Lee Soo Kyung and Kang Kyung Joon is amazing! Not only do they have great comic timing but their interactions together truly makes you believe in them being a real couple. I could go on and on, singing the praises of their acting and coupling but this is one time I prefer that you see it yourself!
The youngest, Ma Hee Sung and Kang Hyeon Woo’s romance is just getting started. Now, this story arc will be interesting as Hee Sung is absolutely her mother’s daughter. She is so much like Ae Ja that it is not even funny. So, as her feeling for widower Hyeon Woo and his adorable son (his name escapes me right now) continues to develop, it will be interesting how that story goes.
Verdict?
I highly recommend this drama! It has been awhile since I’ve been able to recommend one that is actively being subbed. Though the subbed episodes are lagging behind the airing episodes, make no mistake, this is a drama that will get completely subbed and well worth the time to watch!
Where to Watch
Available on OnDemandKorea for U.S. and Canada viewers. They are running 2-3 weeks behind the broadcast schedule. It is also available a few other sites.
It's My World-NewKDramaAddict's Drama Sandbox 
Let’s not even bring up Ladies of the Storm, that drama had so much potential but kept stalling! I don’t know how to describe it lol and A Daughter Just Like You actually looks interesting 🙂 on my to do list after I watch Sound of the Desert and YunGe 🙂
eonni, another great write up! Reading it makes me wanna watch too but I will just add it to my “considering” list since I picked Great First Wives and Eve’s Love instead! LOL
Waiting for GFW review 🙂
I was hesitating between A Daughter Just Like You, Eve’s Love, Glamorous Temptation and The Great Wives, but your review convinced me to watch “A daughter just like you”, it was a good help, i really enjoyed reading it, thanks !
I’m so glad that you enjoyed. So far, to ep 100, I’m still pleased with this drama. Eve’s Love is on my watch after this is finished. I haven’t started Glamorous yet. Still have to write my GFW pre-review. So, keep checking!