With Mother's Day right around the corner, I thought I'd compile a list of the most evil mothers ever to grace the screens of South Korea. If you're a guy, just hope that whoever you're with or end up with doesn't have a mother like any of the ones on this list!
Jealous of every woman her son brings home, this woman terrorizes our heroine, Chae Won. She hits her, screams at her and insults her. She makes her son believe Chae Won is cheating on him. As if all that's not enough, she jails Chae Won's father, and has her committed! And that's just a partial list of this woman's crimes.
Ji Sook lives in a difficult situation, to be sure, but two wrongs don't make a right. She is wealthy, which increases the sting of shame that an illegitimate son and his mother are living in her husband's household. She treats everyone with barely concealed condescension, sparing no kind words from her husband's mistress, Madame Han; she downright insults the woman every chance she gets. She favors the older son while marginalizing the illegitimate one, Kim Tan. As the final blow, she makes a bid to take over her husband's company when he is hospitalized, scheming with the other administrators to do this. The only upshot here (if you can call it that) was that her husband even worse to our heroine than she was.
A more evil woman I can't even imagine. This woman (indeed, the whole show) adheres to the trope that all rich people are psychotic. When her son brings home a woman of the "lower classes," Jan Di, she proceeds to make this woman's life a living hell. She hires someone to seduce her, she messes with her friends, she even fakes her husband's death in order get her son to leave Jan Di, so he can step in and head the company, and that's only halfway through the series at this point!
Like the evil stepmother in 'Cinderella,' only ultra-wealthy. She gossips and laughs at other people's pain. She puts her daughters-in-law through their paces as she grooms them to become proper society wives. She harangues them constantly, even though they do as she asks. She damages one of them so much that she is perpetually sick; the other one kept to a grueling schedule such as catching fish at 4 am and setting up breakfast by 5.
Clad in the most obvious trappings of a chaebol, Boon Hong has her nose in the air and the attitude to match. She berates our heroine Ra Im for being poor, constantly insults her, and even throws water in her face. She makes it no secret that she is against the romance between Ra Im and her son Joo Won. Even at the end, when he announces his intent to marry despite her wishes, she cuts him off and charges him for the land his house is on.
Park Joon Geum portrayed quite the evil bitch in 'Heirs' and is in fine form here. Sung Sook is a woman who wants the best for her son, Chang Min, but becomes positively hateful when he decides to be with Jin Hee. The couple marry, and she cuts him off. She can often be heard screaming invectives at the top of her lungs. When being treated by Jin Hee at the hospital, Sung Sook throws a fit and slaps her. As if this wasn't bad enough, she tries to start a fistfight with Jin Hee's mother (who, to be fair, was a willing participant). Even her husband wants nothing to do with her. Only at the end of the series do we see a kinder, gentler Sung Sook.
So, whether you're contemplating a gift, a card, or taking her out to dinner for Mother's Day, you can be grateful that your mother is nothing like these women! Well, hopefully, anyway...
Bang Young Ja
A Hundred Years' InheritanceJealous of every woman her son brings home, this woman terrorizes our heroine, Chae Won. She hits her, screams at her and insults her. She makes her son believe Chae Won is cheating on him. As if all that's not enough, she jails Chae Won's father, and has her committed! And that's just a partial list of this woman's crimes.
Jung Ji Sook
HeirsJi Sook lives in a difficult situation, to be sure, but two wrongs don't make a right. She is wealthy, which increases the sting of shame that an illegitimate son and his mother are living in her husband's household. She treats everyone with barely concealed condescension, sparing no kind words from her husband's mistress, Madame Han; she downright insults the woman every chance she gets. She favors the older son while marginalizing the illegitimate one, Kim Tan. As the final blow, she makes a bid to take over her husband's company when he is hospitalized, scheming with the other administrators to do this. The only upshot here (if you can call it that) was that her husband even worse to our heroine than she was.
Kang Hee Soo
Boys Over FlowersA more evil woman I can't even imagine. This woman (indeed, the whole show) adheres to the trope that all rich people are psychotic. When her son brings home a woman of the "lower classes," Jan Di, she proceeds to make this woman's life a living hell. She hires someone to seduce her, she messes with her friends, she even fakes her husband's death in order get her son to leave Jan Di, so he can step in and head the company, and that's only halfway through the series at this point!
Lee Jung Sook
Goddess of MarriageLike the evil stepmother in 'Cinderella,' only ultra-wealthy. She gossips and laughs at other people's pain. She puts her daughters-in-law through their paces as she grooms them to become proper society wives. She harangues them constantly, even though they do as she asks. She damages one of them so much that she is perpetually sick; the other one kept to a grueling schedule such as catching fish at 4 am and setting up breakfast by 5.
Moon Boon Hong
Secret GardenClad in the most obvious trappings of a chaebol, Boon Hong has her nose in the air and the attitude to match. She berates our heroine Ra Im for being poor, constantly insults her, and even throws water in her face. She makes it no secret that she is against the romance between Ra Im and her son Joo Won. Even at the end, when he announces his intent to marry despite her wishes, she cuts him off and charges him for the land his house is on.
Sung Sook
Emergency CouplePark Joon Geum portrayed quite the evil bitch in 'Heirs' and is in fine form here. Sung Sook is a woman who wants the best for her son, Chang Min, but becomes positively hateful when he decides to be with Jin Hee. The couple marry, and she cuts him off. She can often be heard screaming invectives at the top of her lungs. When being treated by Jin Hee at the hospital, Sung Sook throws a fit and slaps her. As if this wasn't bad enough, she tries to start a fistfight with Jin Hee's mother (who, to be fair, was a willing participant). Even her husband wants nothing to do with her. Only at the end of the series do we see a kinder, gentler Sung Sook.
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