Saying Goodbye: A Mother's Emotional Journey in "Hi Bye, Mama..!!"

A family drama with high emotional quotient. The drama hits hard on viewers and is thought provking. It stays with the viewers and make them remind of "what actually matters..!!". This drama will surely make you reminsice about the way we live daily lives.

The 16 episodes take viewers on a roller coaster ride of emotions with perfect blend of sadness, happiness, and funny events.

Year Of Release: 2020

No. Of Episodes: 16

Streaming Channels: Viki, Netflix

Watch Here Free: Dramacool

Cast:

• Kim Tae-hee as Cha Yu-ri

• Lee Kyu-hyung as Cho Gang-hwa

• Seo Woo-jin as Cho Seo-woo

• Go Bo-gyeol as Oh Min-jung

Recommended: Highly.

Brilliant Direction, Great Plot, and Good performances. Child actor Seo Woo-jin is cute as button.

One of the early few k-dramas that I have seen in which the female lead takes away all the credit for the show with her acting experience and on-screen presence.

Live as if there is no tomorrow, today is the BEST PRESENT…!!

Story-line/Synopsis

The story revolves around the female lead Yu-ri who reincarnates for 49 days and how she spents her "bonus time".

Past, the flashback:

We are introduced to Yu-ri and Gang-hwa, who meet each other and hit off instantly. It is love at first sight for both. Time flows by and both are married and expectant parents. Gang-hwa is studying to be a surgeon and Yu-ri is a freelancer glass decorator. As days pass, their daily life turns mundane with regular couple’ fight, and taking each other for granted.

Do you have a lot of time to live; Think AGAIN..!!!

Present:

We see the major characters like Gang-hwa, Yu-ri’ best friend, Yu-ri’ parents and sister are living their lives with a sense of guilt and sadness. It is as if some event is bothering them.

The Accident:

To connect these independent character plots, the story shows Yu-ri' accident 5 years back when she was pregnant. Yu-ri who is nearing her delivery date, leaves for a client assignment much to her mother’ protest and gets hit by a car at road-cross. She is taken to Gang-hwa’ hospital where she decides to save her child and succumbs post-delivery.

At the same time, Gang-hwa is in operation theater performing a scheduled surgery. So as to protest the VIP priority system in his hospital, he locks up the operation theatre and is conducting operation. He is absolutely unaware of the events unfolding outside the OT.

On learning Yu-ri' accident, he reaches at Yu-ri’ operation theater only to find her dead. He gets traumatized by this, and his entire personality changes ot of guilt, helplessness and being unavailable when it "MATTERED THE MOST".

As Ghost:

Why does she become a ghost...!!??

Post her untimely death, Yu-ri becomes ghost and stays with her dear ones for 5 years, watching their daily lives. She misses them to core.

Gang-hwa and her mother are guilty and hold themselves responsible for her death. She watches the daily struggle of her husband, parents, friend, and sister to move on in her absence.

Her husband remarries much to her parent’ wish for sake of having her daughter a mother to grow-up with. She watches her daughter growing up.

As each character hangs onto Yu-ri in their own ways, she is unable to leave the world in peace.

The entire setup is plausible.

In these 5 years, her mother daily prays “to see her daughter one more time” and which is granted 1 day. So, Yu-ri returns back from death for 49 days and tries to go back to her pre-death life.

Plot Twist: She can continue to stay as human if she returns to her rightful place; ie being mother to her daughter, a wife of Gang-hwa, a loving elder daughter, a sister and friend (if she had not died).

Yu-ri' Reincarnation:

The drama has lots of hilarious scenes which are worth watching and brings out smile/laughter. The commotion, the shock-rejection-acceptance phase of seeing a dead person returning, the conflicts, and the re-unions are shot with perfection.

Yu-ri’ struggle daily to stay by her daughter’ side, who she has not even carried once after giving birth.

She tries hards to keep away from her husband so as to not disturb his settled life, and also is in debt towards Oh Min-jung who supports Gang-hwa and Seo Woo hits the right chord.

She lives with her parents, goes on trip with her friends and stays by her daughter as a caretaker, her kindergarten cook, creating wonderful memories to cherish for.

Yu-ri leaves the world on completing 49 days. But this time, she gets to say a proper GoodBye to her loved ones. She helps them heal and gives them memories to live happily with.

Towards the end, Seo-Woo hugs Yu-ri calling her ‘Mama’ ; thereby fullfilling a mother' desparate wish before saying GOODBYE..!!

Kim Tae-hee is excellent in all the frames and just lits up the screen with her presence. She is perfect and flawless that viewers can easily connect with Yu-ri and her emotions.

Lee Kyu-hyung as Cho Gang-hwa has done pretty well to bring out struggle of a husband losing his wife suddenly. The transition in his personality post accident is potrayed beautifully.

This "Mother' emotional journey of saying goodbye" K-drama is a must watch due its relateable storyline. Give it a try if you like emotional family dramas. You won’t regret a single minute spent.

A happy Ending or Not is individual' prespective. I personally think, it is a happy ending as everyone go back to their rightful place and are content.

Yu-ri leaves being part of their lives; than being their painful past.