[K-drama Lessons] Found family

by Guest Beanie

I watched my first kdrama (Mr. Sunshine) in 2019 and returned a year later to begin watching in earnest. The pandemic allowed me to indulge my newfound interest at a great pace and Dramabeans has been my constant companion and guide through this delightful world. Though I don’t post often, I am often laughing aloud at the witty recaps and the hilariously snarky comments of my fellow Beanies. What an absolutely wonderful bunch of humans, I often think.

And that’s one of the things I love the very most about K-dramas. I love that K-dramas take the time to develop characters, not just main characters. And I love when they show how characters come together because of something (be it pain meds, books, coffee, or buildings) and transform into intergenerational found families. The lesson that K-dramas teach me is that a little acceptance and care bring together the most unlikely people. They model the power of belonging.

In Just Between Lovers (a.k.a. Rain or Shine), the most meaningful and poignant scenes for me take place when the Grandma is hospitalized. Over a series of scenes, we watch all her “clients” take care of her, coming together around her bedside as a family. Later, they are there for each other as they each return to Grandma’s place.

In I’ll Find You on a Beautiful Day, a tiny but reoccurring snippet of the show is the book club that takes place in the bookstore. This group is a wonderfully odd bunch of characters who come together to read, recite, and discuss poetry and literature. The montages of watching each one of them enthusiastically prepare and leave for the bookstore heighten the enjoyment of the whole show for me. The way they care for each other is beautiful.

Would You Like A Cup of Coffee brings the same elements of camaraderie and care through the regular cohort of coffee customers and friends who look out for each other. They are all at different life stages with different problems, but they all care about the details of each other’s lives.

A slightly less warm and fuzzy example is the hilarious development of the squad in Vincenzo, as they go from being suspicious and standoffish tenants to a killer team full of hidden talents. While most of the group dynamics turn on comedy (the French Revolution “painting” was epic!), what runs underneath these laugh-out-loud moments, is the story of a man learning to become part of a family after being an abandoned outsider for much of his life.

I realize this is often the unspoken thing I’m waiting for in a drama. I’m hoping that I will see a found family gather. I’m hoping to see the unexpected: to watch people transcend outer differences in age, stage, status, and more to bond in their shared humanity. Those moments where a diverse group comes together to support each other, to enjoy each other’s company, and to experience rest and peace in each other’s presence, are some of the most beautiful moments in K-drama. They teach me what is possible in real life and make me want to create these same kinds of spaces in my spheres of influence.

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[K-drama Lessons] Found family