My Liberation Notes (2022)

Good But Not Without Its Problems

I’ll be honest here. I definitely had mixed feelings before I started writing this review with what to put. I guess that I should probably start with my overall thoughts on the show.

Personally I thought that ‘ My Liberation Notes’ was definitely well done from a screenwriting perspective . ( I mean what do you expect from the same writer of ‘ My Mister’?.) There was enough angst to pluck at your heartstrings but also a few opportunities here and there to explore lighthearted respite or focus on building up the characters as the plot went on.

HOWEVER, I have to say that while I honestly adore our main cast ( especially our main heroine played by Kim Ji Won) the show didn’t always possess a necessary spark for me in initial episodes. I’m not entirely what this was down to exactly. Maybe it was the acting slightly. That’s not to say that I thought the acting was bad at all. I was really impressed by the main cast as I said before and I can’t deny that Son Seok Koo really slammed the ball out of the ball pitch with his performance. ( Not a familiar face for me but I’m glad that ‘ My Liberation Notes’ has opened up my knowledge of some impressive actors)

Although while I do have a lot of things to praise by the acting here even I must admit early performances didn’t do a lot to really elevate these characters to life. To be fair I don’t think it was entirely the acting as pacing and writing maybe also played a key.

The first few episodes of the series were really bogged down on character introductions. I don’t think this is always a bad thing but rather than really giving us a lot of insight into the characters being built up, it felt a bit repetitive in this first part of the series before the action kicked off. Did I think this affected later episodes? Slightly. If I’m honest I thought that the second half definitely picked up and took note of these early mistakes but it didn’t always offer leeway to spicing things up. This isn’t to entirely be really negative though. I honestly did like how the plot panned out and the unexpected plot twists which played out here.

I’d say the filming was pretty good here. There were maybe a few moments here and there which felt as though they could’ve had a BIT more attention to detail but alongside the OST, I didn’t think this was entirely bad. Just a little incomplete in parts.

Overall thoughts; You can definitely tell this drama is cut from the same cloth as ‘ My Mister’ and considering it’s the same writer it is no surprise. I had my issues with writing and editing here and there but aside from my complaints, I thought that this was a surprisingly well balanced series with touching moments and intriguing characters. A strong 8.0/10.

Lire davantage

Good concept executed poorly

I know this drama is highly beloved by the people who've watched it. And I understand, there are certainly many parts of it that are lovable. However, I don't think it managed to carry the wheight of what they set out to do, all the way to the end. The beginning was brilliant, but ending did nothing for me personally.

The best part about this drama was the acting. All the actors played their characters like they were real people. They all felt so incredibly real. Even when they said and did and thought things that didn't seem like someone would say or do or think in real life, they still acted it very believably.

I even enjoyed the overall concept of the drama. A story about ordinary people trying to make the best out of their own situation.

What made me dislike this drama however, is that too many episodes, especially in the middle, felt stagnant. They did not further the story very much, and was mostly the inner musings of the main characters. I understand some people like that, but I mainly watch dramas for the escapism. And there was very little of that in this drama. You can't fault it for its realism. But you also can't fault me for finding it very boring.

The final nail in the coffin was the ending though. The entire drama had about the same pace all throughout. But suddenly in the last 3 episodes or so they sped it up way too much. Entirely skipping over some important conclusions, to get to their final ending. I would much have preferred it if they'd shortened the middle part and lengthened the ending parts. That way it would have felt less boring during the middle, and less rushed at the end.

I understand why people love this drama so much. But I don't.

Lire davantage

Love is not really all you need... but its nice to feel loved

If you are looking for something that will make you feel good, have your heart flutter and I don't know make you just all warm inside then back away... and go watch more or less anything else.

This is a drama that you watch for its dialog, its monologs, the subtle slightly dark humour, sound of silence... and so on and so on. Beautifully filmed extremely well casted I am not really sure what story this is here to tell or how lovable the characters are but one thing I do know is that this is a drama packed with humans, the type of humans you can relate to, The type of humans that you may even dislike from the bottom of your heart yet still find yourself rooting for them since they are just so easy to relate too and present the more common not so lovable sides to being human that you, or at least I rather not admit to.

Not a single person here is pure, good or positive all the way, nope not even the motherly figure, every one has their flaws and struggles and I may not love them for it but I love the drama for this beautiful display of lacking and overly honest figures. There are several annoying characters that bring out ones angry side (in a good way), but not a single comic relief with too big gestures type of person.

This is a true slice of life presented in fragments with an unclear timeline, even if there are no mind blowing twists ala I am actually your childhood friend, we where separated at birth, he killed your father, let me harvest your organs type thing...
Having the timeline being presented in fragments not knowing what is past, future or present has a dare I say mind blowing affect of keeping the viewers brains activated and curious throughout out the whole drama.

I love the way this is filmed, the angles, the lighting, the huge amount of shots of peoples reflections in some type of surface... I am sure there is a whole lot of artistic symbolism that I may not fully get... but it is definitely there and I like it...


Bingabilaty: high, it can be hard to follow if there is too much time between episodes.
Interesting: 10
Heart flutter: 7

This is definitely my type of drama, but I am pretty sure this is not for everyone as I said most of the characters are not very lovable, the romance is sloooow, and it does require quite a bit from the audience making it more a turn on than turn off your brain type of drama...

Lire davantage

If the drama never had Son Seok Koo...

These days I tend to hear words like toxic, red flags etc on the internet a lot to which I anticipate if were made in a drama it would be this. Its easy to criticize sitting at home behind a screen where in real world the production team works so hard for, so I tried to empathize with the efforts of the people involved while speaking up. But the level of annoyance I had watching this made me compel to come up with a negative review. The major reason for show's popularity in my opinion was the actor SSK charms (and I am not unharmed btw for if he looks into the screen and I die blushing; hot would be an understatement for this man ) So here I am taking off my SSK lens and asking viewers to take the story as what it is.

The good parts for me was the quality of direction and dialogues (whatever little it had). The silences around the characters were beautiful. The one who stood out the most was Change Hee. By no means he was any different or dare I say likeable to any extent. It was the depth of Chang Hee which was portrayed through his monologues which touched me. He knew life was not what he wanted and he exactly knew why. It takes so much of strength to admit your own shortcomings and blame no one but oneself for it. Given the choice to betray the family and live life on his own terms he would still be there doing his part for the family. He was this kind of a person and the actor suited him well. Such kind of complex character could have been done by a veteran only and respect of Lee Min Ki skills.

Coming to the sisters, one who thought being in love was her only purpose and another who complained how her parents did nothing for her yet when a man who never spoke a word to her bought her all the happiness she ever lacked. Seriously what?! If the main motive of the story was to address the superficiality and taken it as issue, I would have been up for it. However what it did was to romanticize this which really got on my nerves. Even towards the end Mi Jung and Ki Jung never admitted how mean they were to their parents who btw sacrificed so much for their kids and got nothing. The actors were good but the script lacked I guess.

I am choosing to remain silent for Mr Gu's character, period.

There was a concept of the Liberation club which was unique and intriguing, more became a club of people coming together, crying they have an issue (which btw the viewers were already aware before the formation of the club) and then nothing. What do you expect me to do? Empathize with random bunch of persons crying ?

Anyway if you want a good slice of life drama, there are way better ones out there. The very core of this drama was bs for me and would never recommend it in my sanity.

Lire davantage

A masterpiece that’s extraordinarily ordinary.

With so many drama’s airing right now, this gem of a drama really stood out. This is simply a masterpiece , where the plot is extraordinarily ordinary yet so relatable, to what anyone could feel daily or at any point in life, the characters portrayed their roles immaculately that it feels like they are just being themselves. MLN is about an ordinary family, everyday problems, work life, ordinary love, friendships and the bond of siblings.

The writing has been superb and despite a rather slow start, has settled into a really good rhythm and managed to touch on a lot of important topics. It’s slow pace but a healing drama. if there’s one thing this show has done fantastically well, it’s the symbolism and themes. The drama has done so well to keep this going throughout the episodes and it seems fitting to end on one here too, given the coin and the drain. I’ll miss this drama in terms of how unique and special it was, how memorable the dialogue was and the emotions and comfort that we felt watching this drama.

This drama was never about a happy ending, It's an open-ending but them being able to smile and start anew, having liberated from some of the things they wanted to escape and go on in their lives in pursuit of further liberation. Nothing is guaranteed, all we have is hope and that was potrayed beautifully by the ending.

A beautiful story, superb acting, the OST and BGM were really soothing, and the cinematography was simply marvelous. From the write of one of my favorite drama’s “My mister”, this drama too has definitely been added to my favorite list of dramas.

Lire davantage

What kind of life you have right now?

A journey of self-awareness, reflection, and blissfully liberating yourself to be the better version of yourself.

Each sibling had their own issues, dream, and views in life that we can relate to at least one of them. And for me, I learned something from each one of them . CH reminds me how to have empathy for others, or give your all in everything that you do. Take a leap of fate and enjoy the little things. I love his character so much. For KJ, a struggle for women who wanted to find perfect love, and if that happens, you must give it all. And MJ gives me the strength to be brave and I like her silent approach to the problems. She's not shouting or wrecking things just like in the other dramas, but here, her stare can give you chills or her inner monologue can relate to others, well because we are most like that somehow.

Each character got a very important part in the drama. Our Mr. Gu of course as well as the others like the Yeom parents, siblings friend, their co-workers, everything was memorable. Every line strikes your heart.

It's a drama that you can go back and watch whenever you are feeling empty because it reminds you that it's okay to feel like that. It's a comfort drama. A subtle and relaxed feeling.

Magnificent and Amazing is still an understatement of how to describe this unique and memorable drama.

Lire davantage

Life is tiring and this drama empathizes with it

My Liberation Notes (MLN) is the story of three siblings with a strict hard-working father who seldom speaks, and a mother who does most of the talking in order to avoid arguments at the dining table, and then a stranger living as a neighbour.

The drama is relatable on various levels, especially the mood at the workplace of the three siblings, the camaraderie between the co-workers, the after-work gossip, and the random ranting sessions.


Regardless of which side of the human spectrum you find yourself on and which character’s journey you relate to the most, My Liberation Notes hits many correct points, if not all, and makes the viewers feel relatable about the reality of life. MLN was a good drama, a slow burn with good character development, although gets very slow with pacing at times.

My Rating : 7/10

Lire davantage

Watch for the story, the characters, the direction

I don't think I will be able to say anything others haven't already said about this show. But here goes a few of my thoughts on what makes this drama so excellent.

When I started watching the show, I plunged into it deeply. However, I was surprised to read people on Twitter say that they can see how some viewers might balk at the slow pace of the show which might be boring to them. I found nothing boring or even slow about it. Somehow the pace was perfect for me.

I recognise that the pace is definitely slow but it felts more on the measured side of the scale rather than the boring side. I only harp on this because there are soooo many shots and scenes that bring forth the mundanity of life but does it in such a subtle but also impactful way that one has no option but to take notice of it. I don't know if I have ever seen anything that did this.

I loved the characters. That's all I will say. Please enjoy meeting them and getting to know each one. You are in for a treat!

One thing I wanted to highlight was the actor Lee Min Ki - not because he did better than any other actor but because this role made me see him in a new light. I watched him in Because This is My First Life but I didn't really like him then. Every time I saw that he was in a drama or a show, I would feel mehhh - and I admit I had reservations when I learnt he was cast in this drama. But he was really really good here. This is what happens when the magical formula of story, casting and acting come together!

I love how the writer made the characters flawed - not black and white. I think I am at this stage in life where I am very interested in rejections and failures and flaws. It is nice to see nice, good people, of course. But meeting people who harbour grudges, are scared, talk shit about others feels real and comforting sometimes.

I went into My Liberation Notes without research. I didn't know what the show was going to be about. I loved the experience of watching it.

I am not one to rewatch stuff. But I will get to watching this show again.

Thank you to the writer and the director. They have done an extremely amazing job.

To those who will get to watch My Liberation Notes for the first time, I am very jealous of you. :)

Lire davantage

life is hard, but you can still find happiness

As soon as I was at episodes 3-4 I got super invested and then the investment fizzled out, prob because my break from the show went too long. It’s weird but after the first few episodes, I didn’t really feel like unpacking the show despite the great things it has going for itself. The thing I loved about this drama was the script. What prompted me to watch this in the first place was a tik tok with Miyeong talking about not caring if the world ended but the way she described her fatigue for her life and people was so relatable I had to watch. One of my fave parts in the script was Miyeong talking about wanting to be worshipped. That was pure poetry right there. The way the character expressed their emotions and worded their hardships really stood out to me so props to the screenwriter. This is one of my favorite scripts now.

The characters were great too. The brother ended up being the most interesting character, even though he was the most ridiculous at first. I personally really like Miyeong and found her to be relatable for the most part. The sister was decent but her storyline wasn’t as interesting as her siblings. The liberation club was heavily underutilized and focused more on the characters than the coworker group at the beginning. I would have loved to see them hang out more together so you could feel their different journeys coming together if that makes sense. Gu was really great. The actor did a great job with portraying the demeaner and facial expressions of the character.

The ending was kind of open but I’m gad for the most part the characters decided to continue on their journey to happiness despite life not being perfect and to me that was the point of this show. The human ability to continue to live and seek happiness even when life becomes unbearable. That message in itself was beautifully conveyed.

I def recommend this drama is you’re into slow melodrama type shows as you might get a lot out of this one. I must admit this show is more of a one episode a week thing for me but feel free to binge if that works for you :)
life is

Lire davantage

Not for everyone, but really well made

This type of drama is much more of a trigger to me than Tomorrow. THIS is depression, in its sutil and real way. And it's life, folks. That being said, it’s not my favorite kind of drama. I have to be mentally prepared to watch it. I like dramas to forget about life and have a pleasant time, but nevertheless, watching this is good for self reflection, but I wouldn’t rewatch it :)

I also think they did take alcoholism and depression lightly (the second one being almost a trait of someone's personality).
One really good point is that although the story doesn't have much speed, I ate this up in two days, which means the pace is quite good (great job of writing and directing).

And beware: if you don't like realistic characters, don't watch this.

Lire davantage