Oh My Baby

Presentation

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Analysis

Synopsis

​Jang Ha Ri is 39 and dreams of having a baby. However, she still hasn’t found the right man for her and just discovered she has endometriosis, reducing her chances of getting pregnant. She is given 6 months before her surgery to find someone and get pregnant. When she believes everything is over for her, three men enter Ha Ri’s life and change the game. 

​My Opinion (No Spoilers)

Oh my God! Loved it! Excellent acting, excellent story, very good themes highlighted. I simply loved it. Plus, thank you for making me discover Go Joon, I literally fell in love with that actor. His chemistry with Jang Na Ra by the way is incredible!

​Analysis (Spoiler Alert)

Characters: Jang Ha Ri (Jang Na Ra) is a journalist specialized in babies. She works for the review called The Baby and is very passionate about her work. She is 39 and still hasn’t had the chance to meet the perfect man for her. Thus, she can’t fulfill her greatest dream: becoming a mother. At the beginning of the drama, Jang Ha Ri discovers she has endometriosisand needs surgery. However, this would considerably reduce her chances to get pregnant. Therefore, she is given a 6-month window before the operation, in order to find someone and get pregnant. Throughout the drama, we follow her adventures, as she navigates through the numerous stumbles on her path. Ha Ri is sweet and understanding. She is also very kind and devoted. Her bright personality and positive attitude attracts the interest of three different men.

The first man is Han I Sang (Go Joon), my favorite. He seems cold and distant, refusing to make connections with anybody. He takes some time before realizing he is actually in love with Ha Ri. Before that, he doesn’t want to give in for some mysterious reasons. Indeed, at the very beginning I could see the chemistry between the two characters. They both appeared attracted to each other, but I Sang was not prepared to engage in the relationship. Later on, a twist in the plot (a great one by the way) teaches us that he can’t really have kids. Indeed, he has been for 17 years with the same woman, who left him in the end because of his infertility. Since then, he has given up on the idea of having kids and has resigned himself to a life of solitude. Yet, meeting Ha Ri completely disturbs his plans, bringing hope and light in his life. Her dream and devotion are so strong, that he can’t help but wishing the same thing. 

​Meeting I Sang is also a life changing moment for Ha Ri. Finally, she has met someone she gets along with and with whom she is clearly compatible. However, discovering about his infertility, added to her own, makes her question seriously their relationship. Even though she refuses to give up on him to get a baby, I Sang still wants to give her some time to think. Despite the fact that they spend some time apart in the last episodes, this distance is essential to make them understand they can’t live without the other. This realization put the drama out of the story, I think, because they accepted the fact that a couple can be happy even without children. Of course, it is a plus, if they actually have one, but life doesn’t stop there. 

Their romance, I have to say, was very sweet and solid from the very beginning. Since the day they decided to be together, they remained strong, with some ups and downs obviously considering the difficult situation. What I loved the most is that they were never swayed by anyone else and proved that together, a couple stands stronger in the face of problems!

The second man evolving alongside Ha Ri is none other than her “brother” Yoon Jae Young (Park Byung Eun). He is not her real brother, but they consider each other as siblings, since they were raised together. Jae Young is a divorced man, taking care of his daughter, after his wife left them to pursue her career. He was quite shattered by that divorce and is some kind of a mess at the very beginning. The drama follows his evolution from being a wrack to standing back up on his feet. Indeed, the man who used to be overwhelmed by his daughter, unemployed and heartbroken goes back to his old self. He becomes a doctor again, finally manages to take properly care of his daughter and has moved on from his marriage. 

In-between, he tried to convince Ha Ri he is the best choice for her. Moreover, he tells her they can have children if they are together, compared to her situation with I Sang. I thought he was really pushy and sometimes came too much between the main couple. Yet, I understood the reaction. He considers Ha Ri his best friend and doesn’t want to see her suffer because of a man. He wants to help her fulfill her dream. Even though sometimes he kind of disrespected Ha Ri’s feelings by pushing her to break up; Ha Ri never got swayed by his wooing. In the end, Jae Young is able to see what’s best for her. Her happiness with someone she truly loves. 

The last man is Choi Kang Eu Ddeum (Jung Gun Joo). First, what a weird and hard name! This character is naïve and clueless. Ha Ri works with him and actually is his first crush ever. Therefore, he is not capable of reading the signs and confesses his love, when she didn’t even reciprocate. On the other hand, he couldn’t read the signs either, when his colleague tried to confess her own feelings; creating a sweet misunderstanding. 

I really loved how each man brought something different in Ha Ri’s life. Eu Ddeum gave her admiration, I Sang devotionand Jae Young self-confidence to make her own decisions. 

All of this allowing Ha Ri to focus on what she truly desired. 

Ambiance: Oh My Baby managed pretty well to combine very serious and grave themes with a certain touch of humor.For instance, Han I Sang’s obsession for Maoist heads that punctuates the drama is so laughable, as well as the pan flute music that accompanies his reflections. Jang Ha Ri’s sudden entanglement with three distinct men is quite funny as well, since she goes from alone and almost desperate to busy and overwhelmed by so much attention. 

On the other hand, as mentioned below, Oh My Baby also perfectly dealt with very serious themes, quite unknown for some, but that represent grave issues and concerns for many couples. 

 A sweet combination of heartwarming and heart-breaking moment to say it bluntly. 

What are the themes questioned?

Endometriosis: I really would like to applaud the drama for that! Big up to the screenwriter to finally talk about a very serious, yet unknown subject in women’s life. Endometriosis is a very serious condition, that actually concerns more women than we think. In general, it is associated with strong pains (during and out of the menstrual cycle) that can become quite dangerous, if not treated in time! To all the women, who experience this kind of pains all the time, please consult an OBGYN or at least your family doctor; it can be quite serious. 

Not only is it painful, but he really can turn your life into an ordeal. This condition can make it very difficult for you to get pregnant. Even though the drama exposes a rather light case of endometriosis for Jang Ha Ri (she got it at 39, she didn’t experience that much pain in reality), the degree of gravity varies a lot depending on the woman; making for some pregnancy a real miracle. 

Because it illustrates with accuracy that problem, I am very happy with the drama!

Infertility: The particularity of Oh My Baby is that infertility is not only depicted as a women’s problem. Indeed, what I really appreciated in that drama is that male infertility was also highlighted. This was by the way an excellent twist in the drama. Discovering I Sang’s fertility struggle, adding to Ha Ri’s own issue, was really interesting. I Sang went through a lot of different treatments and ended up his 17-year long relationship because none of these worked. I really empathized a lot with that character, thinking his situation was even sadder than Ha Ri’s. He knew it would be hard for him to have a baby, but still gathered his courage to tell his woman and even went to sacrificing his happiness for hers. 

To emphasize this infertility, I think the follow-up of the infertile couple during the entire drama was really interesting. Indeed, it really echoed Ha Ri and I Sang’s future relationship. 

Sperm donation in South Korea: Something I discovered in South Korea is the sperm donation system. I didn’t know that you had to be married to have access to a sperm donation. That really shocked me, because many people could actually be good parents, even as single parents. Anyway, this is the system! I believe it was really interesting to see how complex Ha Ri’s situation is and how she tries to solve it. There is also a stigma on single parents, women without children or unmarried at a certain age, that is clearly denounced in the drama. It was refreshing to have all these topics tackled here. Indeed, questioning those on a current basis through a weekly program and addressing a broad audience, is an excellent way to get rid of the prejudice associated with these themes. 

Post-partum depression: Even though it is not explained in details, I think it is also an important detail to mention. The real reason between Jae Young and his wife’s divorce is because she was going through post-partum depression. For all of those who have never heard about this term (men and women), I really suggest you look it up, since it is more frequent that we think. Quickly, post-partum is a depressive state that can happen up to a year after giving birth. It is generally due to the great life changes you experience as a parent. It concerns mothers but also fathers and the symptoms are quite varied (sadness, anxiety, irritability…). Sometimes, post-partum depression can be hard to detect creating a huge gap between parents, who don’t seem to get along after the birth of their child.

Even if it was not incorporated to the storyline, I really liked the fact that the drama mentioned that condition.

Parenthood: Parenthood was showed in my opinion thanks to all the relationships between characters. You have actually a very large representation of societal combinations. Ha Ri’s mother was a single mother, abused by her husband. Ha Ri’s father abandoned them, when she was young, cutting their relationship forever. Jae Young is a single dad, who is a bit of a mess. He split up from his wife, who had post-partum depression. I Sang’s ex-girlfriend left him after 17 years because she wanted a child. Ha Ri’s colleague is married and continuously mentions the fact that they don’t want to have any children. Ha Ri’s friend has had twins and is now struggling to get a job. Ha Ri and I Sang’s male older colleagues both have daughters (teenagers) and are devoted to them; trying to deal with their puberty crisis at the same time. Ha Ri’s previous boss was on maternity leave and couldn’t juggle between motherhood and editor-in-chief… Plus, all the back stories for the magazine, Ha Ri gets to work on. 

In a nutshell, Oh My Baby is an excellent drama, tackling actual themes; that made me hope for the miracle baby until the very end. Fortunately for me, the epilogue was the miracle I was wishing for. 

Very satisfying in the end!

P.S.: Just like for many other dramas, you should definitely go check out the OSTs, they are awesome!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsuO4qUQbWM