Family By Choice Korean Drama Review – Kdrama Kisses
Family By Choice is a healing drama about three people (Jung Chae Yeon, Hwang In Yeop, Bae Hyun Sung) who are not related that lived like they were a family when they were teens, and they reunite 10 years later.
Jung Chae Yeon plays Yun Ju Won. She is outspoken, positive, and strong-willed. Through her childhood and teen years, she draws close to the “brothers” who have become part of her atypical family, but after a long separation, she has many issues to deal with.
Hwang In Yeop is Kim San Ha who is smart and well-mannered but deals with a lot of guilt. He suffers a loss in his family as a child and then is abandoned my mom. He and his dad end up forming a psuedo-family with their neighbors.
Bae Hyun Sung plays Kang Hae Jun who is good-natured and fun. He is abandoned by his mom too and is taken in by Ju Won’s dad.
We then have Yun Jung Jae (Choi Won Young) as Ju Won’s kind-hearted dad and Kim Dae Uk (Choi Moo Sung) as San Ha’s nice but emotionally distant dad that round out our family unit.
Family By Choice was such a lovely drama. It’s a healing story of an atypical family unit formed a group of people who have all suffered loss. The group is made up of three teens and their two fathers. Ju Won, San Ha, and Hae Jun develop a sibling-like relationship as they grow up.
We watch as these three slowly bond and grow closer because of their shared experience of loss. They share the joys and sorrows of life throughout different stages. Sometimes they are closer together than others, but they always care for each other.
I liked that we explored each of their own individual journeys. Each of them lost a mother, but in very different ways. Ju Won lost her mother at a young age. San Ha’s mother chooses to leave because of her own issues. Hae Jun’s mother leaves for unknown reasons. They each had a lot of issues to overcome and healing to do. I loved seeing them support each other sometimes through advice, sometimes through hanging out, and sometimes through tears. It was a beautiful bond that they had.
I also really enjoyed the dynamic of the kids with their two fathers. These two men offer stability and love for them. While Dae Uk can be a bit emotionally distant, he is and kind-hearted and will do anything for the family. Then Jung Jae Is possibly the most caring and selfless man you could imagine. Not only is he an amazing father to Ju Won, but he steps in as a father figure for San Ha and Hae Jun without hesitation and raises them as his own. He was such a gentle and kind soul.
Of course, we do get some romance later on in the drama. We see Ju Won and San Ha deal with the complicated transition of their relationship from one of siblings to one of lovers. It’s a nice progression and I enjoyed watching watching them take their relationship to a different level. There’s a little secondary romance involving Hae Jun too. It’s a bit of a slow burn, but it’s very sweet and has a nice progression.
While the drama has a sort of slice of life vibe, it has a few more dramatic parts, particularly surrounding the two mothers who left. They both have quite a few issues to be addressed not only themselves but also their children are left to deal with all kinds of emotions from sadness to grief to guilt. Being abandoned leaves a huge mark on them that follows them throughout life.
While slice of life isn’t always a genre I love, this one worked very well for me. The drama opens with Ju Won, San Ha, and Hae Jun as children, and then we get two major arcs, one during their teenage years and one during their adult years. It had great pacing all the way through. The relationship developments were satisfying, and reveals were well timed on all fronts.
Family By Choice is one of those dramas that just feels good to be in. I loved the family dinners, the bonding moments between our trio, the bonding moments between the parents and kids, the issues explored, and the healing journeys of everyone involved. The drama has so much heart with a nice balance of humor and serious. I truly enjoyed it all the way through.
My Rating: 8.5/10
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