Our Favorite Kdrama Moms (Eommas) And The Way They Nurture Through Food
They cheer on our oppas and drive the story, armed only with their wisdom and plenty of jjigae, ramyon and kimchi
Watch enough Kdramas and you'll meet the eomma. She is the warm and nurturing lady, usually middle-aged and married or widowed, who mothers the lead character (or sometimes their friends). In Filipino films, we call her Nanay, Tita, or even Manang. And she's one character trope that Pinoys relate to very easily. Her presence in Kdrama is as familiar and heartwarming as a steaming hot bowl of soup, which of course she knows how to cook superbly well.
For this article, I’d like to talk about the eomma, particularly how a lot of them remind me of my own Filipino mother and a lot of my friends’ moms. Whenever a eomma asks, “Have you eaten?” I feel it. My mom is a lot like that too, “Kumain ka na?” Whenever I see a family gather around a table groaning with so many dishes, even if they just live in a half basement, I can relate so much. I didn’t realize that I have taken the meals I’ve shared with my family for granted until I started seeing them onscreen and reading the words my mom asked me growing up in subtitles over and over again.
Food in Korean television series has always been used to communicate culture, status, power, relationships, and affection. It's a universal language, after all. But it's not just food that plays a large part in the characters’ every day life, but it’s also their relationships with the people they share the food with. It’s something that we Filipinos can totally relate to. Food is important to our culture too.
Here are a few scenes that will show you what I’m talking about. I’m sure that there are more out there. Let us know in the comments!
"Have you eaten?"
"Have you eaten?"
Reply 1988 (2016)
I found this scene in "Reply 1988" so funny and relatable because we grew up sharing our food with neighbors and family who live close by. "Reply 1988" is about a group of friends who grew up together in the same neighborhood in Ssangmun-dong.
Photo Credit: Hancinema
Reply 1988 (2016)
The moms always make it a habit to share their food with their neighbors, because love, like food, no matter how rich or poor they are, there’s always enough to go around.
Photo Credit: Hancinema
It's Okay To Not Be Okay (2020)
Every barkada has a mom who loves to feed everybody and in "It’s Okay to Not be Okay", it’s Nam Juri’s eomma (mom), Kang Soon-deok. As a chef at the psychiatric hospital where Gang-tae worked, she is especially great at cooking. Her maternal love overflows to the poor boys renting rooms at her house and the beautiful yet broken Moon-young and it showed in her food.
Photo Credit: Hancinema
It's Okay To Not Be Okay (2020)
More of a mother than a landlady, Kang Soon-deok gives Gang-tae and Sang-tae the nurturing and wisdom they need, all with healthy servings of her hearty cooking.
Photo Credit: Hancinema
Reply 1994 (2013)
Speaking of overflowing tables, "Reply 1994" had a running gag (Actually, in all of the Reply series) of Na Jung’s eomma, Il Hwa, always making too much food for every meal to feed her boarders.
Photo Credit: Hancinema
Reply 1994 (2013)
This reminds me of my mom bringing out all the food and putting them on the table whenever my friends came over. “How much food does your kitchen have?!” I remember one of them whispering to me in shock.
Photo Credit: Hancinema
The Heirs (2013)
It’s really different when your mom cooks for you. It’s somehow normal yet special at the same time. This scene in "The Heirs", where love-starved rich kid Young Do was fed by Eun Sang’s eomma, Park Hee-nam, was especially touching. Young Do has an abusive father and he lost his mom when he was young, so he never really had a meal cooked for him by a parent before. This simple motherly act gave him something that he had been missing all these years and it broke through his defenses.
Photo Credit: Hancinema
Her Private Life (2019)
Moms are moms, no matter if they are Korean or Filipinos, they want to make sure that you are eating.
Photo Credit: Hancinema
Her Private Life (2019)
In "Her Private Life", Deok-mi’s eomma Go Young-sook’s love language is expressed through food. Whenever Deok-mi has dinner at home, her mom always gives her side dishes to take home. These scenes always make me wonder how much time eommas spend cooking to make all these side dishes that are always ready to go?!
Photo Credit: Hancinema
Her Private Life (2019)
I think by now we can safely say, part of the heartwarming appeal of Kdramas is the presence of the eomma or ajumma, dispensing love, wisdom and lots of good, hearty, soulful food. Motherly love transcends cultures, and makes us feel at home.
Photo Credit: Hancinema
Special thanks to Blooey Singson (sumthinblue.com), Vince Gapit (@vinchdominic), Joel Alagao (@otonagai), and Corine Brion (@corzieworzie) for their help and insights!
Photos: Hancinema
