My Liberation Notes Review: Engaging, Intriguing And Comforting

My Liberation Notes (나의 해방일지) is a 2022 Korean Drama directed by Kim Seo-yoon and written by Park Hae-young. The writer is popular for their 2018 Korean drama My Mister for which they won the Best Screenplay Award at the 55th Baeksang Awards. My Liberation Notes is a slice-of-life drama starring Kim Ji-won, Son Suk-ku, Lee Min-ki and Lee El and it runs for 16 episodes.

Netflix describes the series as:

THREE SIBLINGS, EXHAUSTED BY THE MONOTONY OF DAY-TO-DAY ADULTHOOD, SEEK TO FIND FULFILLMENT AND FREEDOM FROM THEIR UNREMARKABLE LIVES.

– My Liberation Notes Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –

My Liberation Notes Plot Summary

Three children of the Yeom family- Gi-jeong, Chang-hee and Mi-jeong, all in their thirties live with their parents in a small town called Sanpo in the Gyeonggi district, just outside Seoul. All of them work in Seoul and commute four hours in total daily. They cannot stay out late like their colleagues living in Seoul because they have to catch the last train to Sanpo at night or the other siblings have to wait for them to take the taxi home as it is too expensive. They are tired of their lifestyle but don’t have a solution for it. They cannot leave their parents behind in Sanpo.

The siblings help their parents with farm work on the weekend and their father also runs a sink shop. He hires a mysterious man who calls himself Gu for his help. They don’t know where he came from and why doesn’t he have a first name but they like him because he is quiet and does his work properly. He doesn’t even leave his house and spends his night away drinking alcohol. The youngest daughter of the family, Mi-jeong is tired of her life and finds Gu the same as her. The first time she talks with Gu, she asks him to worship her and makes Gu curious.

As the days pass by, all the siblings and the Yeom family start treating Gu like their own family members. Mi-jeong’s father has already been planning to hand over his sink factory to Gu after him. However, after certain events, Gu has to go back to his previous lifestyle, leaving Sanpo. Right after he leaves, the Yeom family goes through a tragic event which changes all of their lives. Why did he leave and what happened to the Yeom family after he left?

Also Read: Woori The Virgin Episode 7 Recap: Raphael’s Heart Wavers For Woo-ri

My Liberation Notes Review

Other than the story, the characters and the acting, the most notable part of the series would be the background score. The scenes and the dialogues wouldn’t have felt the same if the background music wasn’t there. In some parts, just the background music told us the story and the characters didn’t need to speak a word. Our main leads, Gu and Mi-jeong are both quiet and even their conversations are very less, in this case, the music fills the void and conveys the emotions.

The series is subtle in every way, be it acting, music or dialogues. The three siblings and Gu have done a great part in acting. All of them have shown their uniqueness in acting as if they have absorbed and become the character itself, which is what makes their characters memorable. Son Suk-ku and Lee El have won the category of the expression. Gu speaks less but his expressions, be it romantic or enraged will pierce your heart. Son Suk-ku has carried the role with expression more than the dialogues. Lee El’s Gi-jeong expresses every emotion- happy, sad, embarrassed, awkward, humiliated- all with great ease.

The solitary life in Sanpo and the chaotic life in Seoul have been portrayed perfectly and the cinematography of Sanpo will take you to Sanpo through the screen. The small details about life in a small town, working on the farm and sitting in silence hearing the chirping of birds while watching the mountain are calmful. The bustling life of Seoul looks pleasing but feeling lonely while being in a crowd of people is the other side that Mi-jeong shows us.

The series starts off with a gloomy story and characters who feel stuck in their own life. As the days pass by, their lives see changes but not it does not change dramatically. The change isn’t always a positive change but it shows that change is necessary. As suited to its slice-of-life genre, the drama takes us through the detailed lives of the character as if we are reading a book. Nowhere is it rushed or is left off on a cliffhanger. Except for some continuous episodes with peak climax, the series runs calmly, revealing the developments in the characters.

Also Read: Woori The Virgin Episode 8 Recap: Is it A Dream? Or Something Else?

Final Thoughts

My Liberation Notes comforts us in an unexpected way. One would want to think of the series as sad and depressing judging from the first few episodes but it changes the track and exposes us to a variety of emotions through different characters. The show tells the stories of people like us and around us. Life can not be perfect but the small moments make up a big part of it. It is not a usual drama with exciting twists and heart throbbing, extravagant scenes. The series has a happy ending but it leaves us to introspect about so many things in our lives.

My Liberation Notes is available to watch on Netflix.

Liked My Liberation Notes Review? Read the series recaps here.

Also Read: My Liberation Notes OST: 5 Songs To Comfort You On Lonely Days