Writer Noh Hee-kyeong Wants to Highlight the Beauty of Motherhood

"From my experience, it's easier to live life if you understand your parents. If you sympathize with their efforts in life, you will naturally come to understand yourself and those around you. I feel good when people read my works and say, 'I feel bad for my parents.' Noh Hee-kyeong's remake drama "The Most Beautiful Goodbye" began airing December 9 on tvN twenty-one years after the original's release.

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The four-episode tvN drama is about a woman named In-hee who spent her whole life taking care of her family and is diagnosed with a terminal illness. The story is her goodbye to her mother-in-law, her husband, and her two children. The original version was controversial when it first came out in 1996, but was awarded the Baeksang Best TV Award and Best Picture.

Noh Hee-kyeong explains the reason for remaking the drama. "There haven't been stories about mothers".

"Most mothers in dramas these days aren't real mothers. They lose their children, they bully people for money, and cause conflict between people. So they become distorted. This results in mothers being unwelcome. I saw this as a point for a drama about family.

In fact, "The Most Beautiful Goodbye" embodies how much the writer misses her mother who passed away from cancer. This drama has never been forgotten and has reappeared in various ways. It was made into a movie in 2011 and was also published as a reading segment in a national 12th grade mock test in 2013.

"This work is not writing, but something that "exists" for me. I have been giving it out for free to university students and small theater organizations for the last twenty years.

This remake stars Won Mi-kyung, Yoo Dong-geun, Choi Ji-woo, and Choi Minho. Kim Young-ok who was the mother-in-law in the original drama, once again takes on the same role.

"Observing actors makes me realize a lot of things. Choi Ji-woo has a gloomy side to her and I wanted to bring it out because that's her".

"Goodbye Solo", "That Winter, the Wind Blows", "Dear My Friends" and so many more of Noh Hee-kyeong's twenty or so works are filled with lines that pierce the heart. She claims calm and sincere lines are better heard than screaming and crying.

"I wondered how to make people understand what I want them to and make memorable lines. Ten years later, I realized I was a fraud. These days, I just use everyday language. I took out all the fanciness and use sincerity as a tool. It's more fun now".

Her works usually emphasize mother and daughter relationships. Children and mothers bicker with each other because their parents turn into a trauma for them. In the end, they understand and love each other. She thinks modern people are full of complexities and issues, but that they have to rely on family.

"The family in this drama isn't that warm towards each other. However, their existence alone is perfect. There's perfection in imperfection. I wanted to show people that without the fanciness. There's something about family that no one can deny".

She's currently working on a new drama for next year.

"I am still curious so I will continue to observe myself and the people around me".