My Unfamiliar Family (2020)

Very emotional, sometimes hard to understand but really really relatable.

I am not an user who usually write reviews but this drama has a weight some of us will feel deep...
Eun Hee's family is something most people with a bigger family will understand. We care about others, we feel their pain, we hide a lot and show a lot, and even if we spend years appart we still are family. We always have things we will want to hide, and we don't really know the person who are living with us, but at the same time we know, by our own perspectives.
Maybe I'm rambling but the story of the drama made me feel really like if it was my family. There's a lot of stories happening all the time, sometimes we discover something but there's so much hidden behind.
I feel myself with my sister at Eun Hee and Eun Woo relationship, they both care about each other but have different ways (very different) to show it, they both love each other but they never say it because it isn't necessary (I think most of us can relate to it to...)
I think I'm not helping too much. But if you wanto to watch the drama, it shows beautifully what a family is about, and what happens if you don't talk or try to hide what you are feeling for a long amount of time. The relationship between their parents feels real, real like my parents and my grandparents, there are things about them just them really know.
I highly reccomend it, it's not about romance but about love.
I hope you can watch it, have fun, worry and most important feel the story like I did, it will worth you time!

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A meaningful drama teaching you the true value of family

This drama was an emotional roller coaster that I looked forward to every. single. week. from the first episode. I was so sad that it ended but I guess all good things must come to an end. Every single one of the actors from main characters to support roles did an extraordinary and fabulous job portraying their prospective characters. It's hard to pinpoint what drew me and many others to this drama, nonetheless it was very well-written, directed, and acted. I could not bring myself to hate any of the characters because they were all so crucial to the plot . Very heartwarming and emotional-- shows you the reality of family and teaches you how to cherish it. " Families are like branches on a tree, they grow in different directions, yet the root remains as one."
I cannot recommend this drama enough.

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Heartwrenching family drama

Likes
1. Beautifully written, i felt like i was a silent friend of the family. Seeing them at their worst, and rooting for them to be a family again.
2. At the start i didnt like some of the characters like mom and Eunjoo but later on i grew to understand them and loved them. Everyone has their own faults and everyone needs to make an effort to be part of the family. There will always be misunderstandings and some grudges within family. And we may also have our own lives to live, but just like the ending said, "As complicated as it was, we have family."
3. Loved the relationship between Chanhyuk and Eunhee. It took a long time for them to realize their feelings and bravely tell them, but it was all worth it! (The amount of kisses they shared in the last episode made up for the 13 episodes of push and pull)
4. Mom and Dad's story was heartbreaking but im happy that they have rediscovered their love before it was too late. Now that they are free from their kids, they can do whatever they want together.
5. Eunjoo was one of the saddest characters in this drama, but life moves on. I know she will just be better than ever, esp now she has learned to be more empathetic to other people.
6. Jiwoo has always been the maknae but im sure he will find his own path once he matures.

Dislikes
Hm, i cant really think of any. The first few episodes you might hate the characters or their decisions but that's what makes watching this drama all the more meaningful because we see their growth and their happiness at the end. Probably what i didnt like was all the fake outs during the last part of the episodes that will shock you, then it will be reversed in the next episode (but in a good way).

Rating: 9.5/10

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An eye opener!

How well do you really know your family? How well do you really know your friends? How well do you really know your self?

These were the constant questions and eye-opening moments that popped up throughout the show. It was emotional to watch everyone's stories play out as a whole and as individuals, but beautiful to see it all turn around through true communication and understanding. Misinterpretations can constantly occur due to misccommunication. Growing up and growing old doesn’t mean that you know everything, there are constant lessons.

I loved this kdrama!! From the very first episode, I felt hooked and finished it in 2 days. It felt so real. It makes you think about your own life, look back on your own family, your own relationships, and yourself.

I RECOMMEND THIS KDRAMA TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE. You think the story will play out one way but then it turns out to be something completely different. It won’t be a disappointment. You will be hooked till the very last episode!

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A blatantly weak life/family drama

This drama was a one big exhibition of petty fights with a lot of noise and little to no substance. These arguments and fights were the main driving element of the drama and it's important for it to be supported by a good dialogue. Unfortunately, nothing profound came out of any of them. Most of them were "fixed" by clearing misunderstandings from the past. It didn't feel it provided a real development and growth for these characters. Especially for repeated offenders. None of the characters/relationships were appealing. There was no place for romance but they insisted on shoving it in for the last 1/3 to pair everyone. They should've kept it about the family only. I didn't like how they ended most episodes with a scene that wasn't resumed until 15 minutes of the next episode.

I was expecting a proper "life" drama grounded to reality but shoving too many tropes ruined it (miscarriage, misunderstandings, amnesia, birth secret, illness, cheating, friends to lovers, hidden past, ex-spouse comes back ..etc). This is a melodrama in disguise!! There was one particular really stupid misunderstanding that lasted over 30 years. The writers weren't even trying! However, the worst part of the drama has to be all the scenes of Eun Hee talking about her love life with Chan Hyuk, these were mind numbing. This drama doesn't have much to offer other than some pretty visuals.

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Some incomprehensible and distasteful behavior, but liked the older sister's character very much

On a second view, I found very appealing the older sister, I like snarky character. The boss was a sleaze who I despised. I was particularly repulsed by the fact that he tried to act as if his behavior was completely normal, by telling her that if he was not a coward his heart would explode, and pretending that the ask here was to be perfect all the time, rather than, say, to tell his girlfriend in no uncertain terms that he wanted to split up, as he then effortlessly did. The guy repeated this hogwash multiple times.

Another disturbing aspect was the way he acted to his girlfriend as if he didn't cheat because they had split up, but otherwise acknowledged that they didn't to Eun Hee. Also disturbing that the latter and her friend/future lover first joke about her boss' shamelessness, then she agrees to become his mistress, despite having just told him that she had been cheated on in the past, after an almost decade long relationship. She was even accused of cheating, and even has a flashback to the event, asking herself what changed... well, what changes was that at the time you didn't cheat, and this time you did. The scumbag even hid the fact he was in a relationship from her, which ought to have been a deal breaker in and of itself.

Now, the presence of his girlfriend limits the damage as she essentially "blocks" them, but that's besides the point. Her attitude is what it's impossible to understand. She tells her boss that since she was not the reason for the breakup she does not feel burdened. However by the same token the "other woman" she despised and has now turned into could have used the same excuse. Lastly, to break a spear in her favor, I can see why she would break up with her friend, given the latter tells her that her relationship was not guaranteed: that's not why she was complaining, it's not about the relationship being broken, it's about not being lied to for three years and humiliated.

All in all, I don't really like her friend going along with what she does, rather than telling her how effed up it is. Particularly given the parallels between it and what destroyed her family, or her sister's family: the way her behavior mirrors those other situations, or the one with her ex and his "other woman", who are all treated, correctly, as lying scum. Double standard much?

Returning to the boss, it's impossible to understand why one should take seriously him uprooting his entire life and going to Korea, the importance meeting his pen pal had in all this, with the fact he doesn't bother to break up with his girlfriend before that, and deceives his pen pal (no reason, it would have been easier not to do that, and it could have lead to said pen pal not wanting to have anything to do with him anymore, when this situation was so easily avoidable). Also, I would have liked clarification regrading the accusation of him touching his drunken subordinate inappropriately (it's something rather important to disprove, I would guess). And the fact that apparently he had cheated in the past. Not to mention the fact that he had been the one to beg his ex gf to stay with him three years prior, and now he deceives/hurt/humiliates her by cheating on her, and not even having the courage to own up to it.

All in all, I feel that the "evil gf" trope was kind of abused (personally, I like to see the ex gf "counterattacking", despite this not being a LN). She was made to act crazily, while in reality, factually speaking, she had more than enough to complain, what with her boyfriend cheating on her in the past, harrassing her into not leaving him, and then cheating on her right before breaking up?

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An immediate comfort drama for me!

I wrote notes down while watching this drama, but my overall thoughts came out a bit scattered! I guess I'll just preface by saying I really do love this drama, if my 10-star rating didn't make that obvious already.

This is easily my favorite family drama I have ever watched. Every episode gave me a reason to keep on watching, and on top of that, every episode felt like its own movie in a way, in terms of direction. I would say this is a more serious family drama, I watched most of it with my grandmother, who despises most comedic relief humor that is often found in family dramas, and she enjoyed the tone and pacing of this one a lot. I'm not saying that this drama doesn't have any lighthearted moments or parts that you might throw a chuckle at, but the drama leans towards a more melodramatic feeling. I think this is very fitting especially given the rather controversial topics that this drama covers. These topics were never treated as a joke or laughing matter by the writers and I really enjoyed that a lot. This drama was realistic but not in a way that was ever painful or felt like they were exploiting these topics for views, it was just tackling issues that exist in society.

Now, onto the characters. I loved all of the siblings in their own ways, Eunhee as the classic mediator middle child, Eunjoo as the cold yet misunderstood older sister, and Jiwoo as the youngest who tried to match both of his sisters. I thought the family dynamics were super realistic and profound. The parents storyline was interesting too, you could especially see how heavily their respective traumas had impacted how they carried themselves in their older age. You could tell how much they wanted to understand each other yet their past kept preventing them from moving forward. I will say, that the fathers character was probably the one I had the most problems with. I won't spoil too much, or rant, but he is certianly a tough character.

Also, for viewers that are fans of romance (like myself) rest assured, although the romance in here is slow-burn, it is very complex at the same time. Eunhee and Chanhyuk are now one of my favorite couples I've ever seen in a drama. I typically am not a fan of friends to lovers (unless it is done very well like here) And honestly, they are more like estranged friends to lovers if we're being honest but that made the angst even better since they had a somewhat ambiguous past. Their chemistry as friends is wonderful but you can always feel the romantic tension underlying, the soft will-they-won't they lingering in the background.

The twists and turns kept me watching as well, I enjoyed not knowing everything ahead and having to guess what was going to happen next. This was one of the perks of watching it pretty much spoiler free. it made each truth that much more gratifying once it was finally revealed.

I was actually upset to watch the last episode! I felt a sense of emptiness once I realized I would never see more content from these characters again (ahem, tVN if you ever want to make a spin off showing all of Eunhee and Chanhyuk's past, I'd sell my soul for that, I don't care if they look too old to be students!) On a serious note, this is a drama that I could see myself rewatching one day, and picking up on all the little things that I'm sure I missed the first time around. But the ending was satisying too. Overall, I love this drama and if you are considering watching it, give it a try :)

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Came for Kim Ji Suk...

Stayed because of....well....Kim Ji Suk. BUT also because of the way the relationships between each character was portrayed. The interactions between this family felt so authentic and relatable. A realistic look into family dynamics, and the story was both raw and lovely. It's about flawed people. And how those people love each other, hurt each other, drift apart from each other, begin again, discover themselves, and so much more. It's about restoration, growth, healing, saying goodbye, and moving on.

A messy and beautiful, underrated drama that is totally worth a watch. (Just make sure you hydrate and have a box of tissues handy.)

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Horrible Characters

The drama started out interesting. I will admit, I do like lighter dramas and with low angst, but if it’s done right, I can get into a Melodrama. One of my favorite, slow pace melodrama is My Liberation Notes, so I went into My Unfamiliar family with an open mind.

The first 7 episodes was interesting, but then I started to realize, the theme and pacing of the drama wasn’t for me. There was a lot of issues I had.

The drama is about a family, Mom and Dad with Older Sister, Middle sister and younger brother. Each person is neither good nor bad. Everyone has flaws and as much as I like a complicated character, I needed SOMETHING to root for, but I didn’t have that.

The pacing was VERY slow. Everyone talked in circles and you really wanted to get to the root of the problem, but it too forever to have it come out to the open.

The drama would convey / portray a certain message they wanted you think and feel, but when it’s finally reveled, it’s not what you think. Everything about the show is about perspective and that really annoyed me. Like getting mad at someone for doing something, but holding it in for YEARS and finally letting it out. Well, they didn’t have fun doing that thing you got mad at them for. It just seemed very contrived and frustrating.

A LOT of problems could have been resolved if they just Communicated. Yup, just talk it out!

Each episode ended on a cliff-hanger ending, which is how typical dramas are done, however, you never know if it was a REAL cliff-hanger ending or it was just something they showed but changed it to something else on the next episode. That really annoyed me too.

It’s trying too hard to force emotions on the audience.

The storylines at some point got kind of predictable and once I figured out what was going on, it was hard to grasp my interests.

Like I said, I didn’t like any character.

The father seemed too abusive and they always portrayed him as horrible, but like I said, the drama isn’t about good or bad characters, it’s all about perspective.

The older sister seems really endearing, but she says some REALLY mean stuff to the younger sister and that’s when I started to stop caring for her.

The younger sister is probably the worst character ever written. I hated how immature and wishy-washy she was. I couldn’t stand her at all.

Overall, I probably should have stopped watching after the 7th episode, but I wanted to finish the drama. I usually like to end on a high note, but I can’t think of anything I liked in this drama. Maybe the hairstyles? I liked that.

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Definately worth watching.

Such heart warming family drama. Really touched my heart, made me nostalgic at times. Storyline is so beautiful and real. I related to so much in this drama which made it realistic.
Acting was on point, no complaints at all.
It's an eye opening drama to family relationships, the good and the bad. You get to see all sides of family relationships.... Parent - Child, Siblings, Couples, Friends.... Loved it.
Has so many different topics going on... Divorce, Suicide, Scamming, Cheating, Children out of Wedlock, LGBTQ..... All of this in one Drama and yet it all works together so well. The write of this story deserves award.

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