Updated: May 27, 2023

Here’s a collection of quotes from the Korean drama, The Good Bad Mother (2023):

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“Falling down is a way for you to see another world, a world you have never seen before.”

• “Let’s not give up. We will live.” – Jin Young Soon
• “Once you study hard and become a prosecutor, no one will be able to look down on you or bully you. That’s true power.” – Jin Young Soon
• “I get sleepy when I’m full. If I’m sleepy, I can’t study. If I don’t study, I can’t become a prosecutor.” – Choi Kang Ho

“When I saw kids switching dreams every semester, I thought they were ridiculous. But it turns out, I was the ridiculous one.” – Choi Kang Ho

“Who cares if you get all As? You’re an F when it comes to social cues.” – Lee Mi Joo

• “My life? Do I have a life? This is your life.” – Choi Kang Ho
• “Why do I ruin my life because of someone else? You taught me to live that way.” – Choi Kang Ho

“You told me to become a powerful man and help those who are weak and in need. But no. You were just frustrated to live as the weak.” – Choi Kang Ho

• “So what if he’s a prosecutor? He’s so impudent.” – Guard
• “What can a son who’s been abandoned by his father do? I’ll have to find a new father.” – Choi Kang Ho
• “A father never abandons his child.” – Chairman Song

“I’ll always be your mom. This piece of paper won’t matter. I’m happy as long as you are.” – Jin Young Soon

“Food? You’re inviting me to eat when I’ve never been able to enjoy a meal with you?” – Choi Kang Ho

“I realized being like that was the worst sin you could commit. Letting others use you. And not being able to do anything about it because you have no power, money, or connections.” – Bang Sam Sik

“If I ever steal anything again, it’s going to be your heart.” – Bang Sam Sik

“He survived. And since he survived, I’m going to make him live. He’ll get up, walk, and even run.” – Jin Young Soon

“He’s seven now. He’ll be eight next year and nine the year after. I’ll raise him all over again.” – Jin Young Soon

“There’s a saying, ‘A mother can replace anything in this world. But nothing can replace a mother.'” – Mr. Son

“If you save me one more time, then I’ll let you marry me.” – Lee Mi Joo

• “I will never go anywhere without you.” – Jin Young Soon
• “I wanted to make you rich and powerful but instead, I made you into a cold-hearted monster.” – Jin Young Soon

“You should be grateful to someone who makes you want to live, not someone who saved you.” – Choi Kang Ho

“That’s how it is between a parent and a child. You don’t have to say a word. You can tell just by the look on their face.” – Mrs. Jung

• “I know it wasn’t easy for you to come. And it might not be easy, but let’s live together.” – Mrs. Jung
• “A dog named Tiger and a pig named Lion. What an odd village.” – Seo Jin

“I have you. But this pig doesn’t have a mom. I’ll be its mom.” – Choi Kang Ho

“Doesn’t it feel like we’re a family since we’re eating together?” – Seo Jin

“Was I a bad person to you, too? I hope I wasn’t. But I guess I was.” – Choi Kang Ho

“Who are we to criticize one another? We both messed up.” – Lee Mi Joo

“Was I a burden to you because I’m unwell?” – Choi Kang Ho

“To me, you’re just my mom. But I must’ve been a burden to you.” – Choi Kang Ho

“Everyone has the right to live their own life.” – Jin Young Soon

• “That’s when I met her. The one who shed a ray of warm light into my dark, cold, and rough life.” – Choi Kang Ho
• “Don’t ever let her find out how much I loved her. And please, don’t ever let her find out why our love must end so painfully like this.” – Choi Kang Ho

“Let her forget that she must forget me and let her be happy.” – Choi Kang Ho

• “What I really wanted to avenge was your life they utterly destroyed, and the pain you felt living as a bad mother to your most beloved son.” – Choi Kang Ho
• “One day, when everything ends and I can return to your side, I wish to lie in your arms and eat mung bean pancakes just as I did when I was a little boy.” – Choi Kang Ho

“If you destroy yourself in revenge, that isn’t revenge. True revenge is forgetting everything completely, even the reason you wanted revenge, and living a good life.” – Jin Young Soon

“I must’ve hurt him very deeply. That’s why he still remembers those words.” – Jin Young Soon

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Genre: Slice of life, Drama, Comedy
Also known as: Bad Mom, Bad Mother
Synopsis: A mother’s son becomes a prosecutor as she wishes him to be but one day suffers from amnesia due to an accident, behaving like a young child again.
No of episodes: 14
Cast: Ra Mi-ran, Lee Do-hyun, Ahn Eun-jin
Writer: Bae Se Young
Director: Shim Na Yeon
Network: JTBC
Streaming platform: Netflix
Date: April 26, 2023

Netflix subtitle translation:
Eun-sook Yoon, Soo-ji Kim