[ K ] My Liberations Notes

The first thing you need to know about My Liberation Notes is – when asked, especially by a woman, do not, I repeat, do not ever say the Mr Gu is overrated.

Trust me, you can’t win this argument even if like me, you believe Mr Gu watched too much of A Streetcar Named Desire. But you know, the world generally sees the cold sullen type as deep, wise and intelligent. So for your own sake, keep quiet about Mr Gu.

Next, to understand the nuances, subtexts, etc of My Liberation Notes, you need an egg, sunny side up, and then a refresher course in geography. Remember this – Seoul is the yolk, bright like the glorious sun, everything in the surrounding is just bland as egg white. Once you can accept that if you have to commute 1.5 hr each way each day to be in the egg yolk, you will understand how it feels like to live in Sanpo, Dangmi or Suwon.

In the village, everyone knows everyone. Everyone is a bro or a sis, not because they want to, but because that’s all that’s available.

And remember, you need a car, for without one, where are you going to kiss that special someone?

If it sounds like I dislike this series, you can’t be more wrong. Park Hye-young, the scriptwriter, is someone I can worship. Remember she also penned the ultra good My Mister. If you haven’t, watch it.

It takes Park, the keenest observer of the ordinary lives, to come up with the plots and the amazing lines. Many sound like they were stolen from famous philosophers.

But My Liberation Notes is not for the smug city slickers who are too caught up with materialistic pursuits to think about what they need to be liberated from, or what they need to liberate.

Watch it if you are prepared to laugh at how some parts really resonate with you. Watch it if you have felt embarrassed after expressing your affection, got rejected, and don’t now how to deal with the aftermath.
I wrote about Mr Gu first not because he is the most important character, hardly. I also find his love interest Mi-Jeong a little annoying.

I much prefer Gi-jeong, the older sister who is so bimbo but real about her feelings. You can laugh about her hitting 40s and being left on her shelves, but you will also admire her for the guts to confront all the mountains in her way. The brother Chang-hee will irritate you too. He may be charmless but he is also real and harmless, not different from the average salaryman eyeing his promotion.

Watch it and think about if you can be liberated in any way.

Lastly, remember this – “do not give advice or offer comfort; do not pretend to be happy; do not pretend to be unhappy.”