What is the Korean drama, Golden Rainbow, about?
Adopted and raised by the same father, seven orphans grew up together as a family in a town near the ocean. With the bond between them even stronger than that of blood-related siblings, they experience hardships together and struggle to succeed in the marine products industry. [source]Thoughts about the Korean drama, Golden Rainbow, so far.
Low and behold, Park Won-Suk is playing another mother-in-law that I am about to want to sink my teeth into. Wretched beast!
Episode 1 starts out with young widow, Young Hye trying to catch a peak at her soon-to-be one year old daughter Ha-Bin. Not being able to contain herself she throws herself at the mercy of her Mother-in-Law to let her feed her, as her breasts still work. She admits she doesn't have much, but she can feed her own child.
Horrible Mother-in-Law tells her in a not-so-nice way to go away and she's not her mother anymore and leaves with the child, leaving widowed mother Young Hye absolutely heartbroken.
I have no idea how the Mother-in-Law, Kang Jung-Sim, managed to legally obtain her granddaughter, taking her away from the mother but as of now I have an idea that it has something to do with Korean Mother-in-Law Guilt.
You see, from what I gather, Young Hye was an orphan. Orphans, in Korea, come from nothing and therefore have little worth [sic].
Now that Young Hye's husband has passed away (not sure how or why, yet), it's the perfect opportunity for Mother-in-Law Kang Jung-Sim to rid herself of such a "shameful" family connection. I have no idea if most of South Koreans fully believe Orphans have no worth, or it's simply for drama sake, but I will happily take an orphan off their hands and love them with every ounce of my being.
That being said, Young Hye meets up with an old friend from the orphanage and he promises to get her daughter back.
I admit, watching the police rip Ha-bin right out of her mother's arms was heart-wrenching. Absolutely heart-wrenching. Seeing her tear up and scream as her dear friend is horribly beaten in the process of attempting to reunite mother and daughter... all the feels. I can't take it.
The show, then, flash forwards about 4 or 5 years and Ha-Bin is an adorable child, now aware of her surroundings. Young Hye is back to living with the in-laws (not sure how or why), but her role in birthing Ha-Bin becomes a secret. (You know, Korean dramas and their secrets!) As far as Ha-Bin knows, she has no mother.
Suddenly Ha-Bin is kidnapped and whether Kang Jung-Sim has anything to do with it, the truth is still unknown. Ha-Bin is placed in a dirty shed and locked by some unknown kidnapper. However, with some determination, Ha-bin escapes and falls onto a rusty nail, leaving a fair amount of blood. Like any scared and young child, Ha-Bin finds her way to the ocean-side in search of her Grandmother, who she misses very much.
Next thing I know, the shed that Ha-Bin once was staying at when kidnapped was burned to the ground. The family, including Mother-in-law (Kang Jung-Sim) and Mother (Young Hye) now believe that Ha-Bin was murdered and/or drowned in the ocean.
Kang Jung-Sim cries her heart out and all I can think is that they are boo-hoo crocodile tears. While I am sure she loves her grandaughter because she is the spawn of her own son, it is still played by Park Won-Suk and she is just SO good at making you hate her and doubt everything that comes out of her mouth. So, naturally, I believe Kang Jung-Sim has something to do with the kidnapping. Although what happens to Ha-Bin after her escape from the shed, I feel, is unexpected and not in the initial plan.
Young Hye: "Do you feel better, now? Yes, I've gone mad. Which mother would be sane after losing her child? After killing my daughter, do you feel better?"Meanwhile, a local village boy who lives alone with his dying Grandmother, stumbles upon Ha-Bin and takes her home. He is caught stealing fish, to feed Ha-Bin, by the very same Kim Sang-Joon (who was arrested for trying to reunite Ha-Bin and her mother many years ago). Kim Sang-Joon takes the two home (who claim to be siblings) and discover the Grandmother had passed away in her sleep. The two young children are now orphans.
Kang Jung-Sim: You.. You killed my son.
Young Hye: "No, you killed your own son. If you didn't lock him up, he wouldn't have gotten killed while coming to find me. Your son and granddaughter .. you killed them both! They were people who would still be alive, if they stayed by my side. But you stole them from me, and you killed them. Am I a beast? Is an orphan not a human? Why have you taken everything from me?
Kim Sang-Joon grew up in an orphanage and knows the difficulty of being known as an "orphan". Not being able to send these two children off to an orphanage, Kim Sang-Joon decides to raise the kids on his own.
What's Next for Golden Rainbow?
Golden Rainbow has a cast that I am already familiar with and have enjoyed in the past. Kim Sang-Joong from Princess Hours, Do Ji-Won from I Miss You, Ahn Nae-Sang from May Queen, Lee Ji-Hoon from You Are the Best, Lee Soon Shin!, Kim You-Jung from May Queen, Seo Young-Joo from May Queen, Ahn Seo-Hyun from Baby-Faced Beauty & Heaven's Garden, and Kim Dong-Hyun from May Queen.They have definitely recycled a lot of the May Queen cast, but that is fine because I absolutely adored that Korean drama. (It was definitely one of my favorites!)
I look forward to seeing what is going to happen next! I adore coming of age stories, so this one may be one to continue watching.
What about you? Have you seen Golden Rainbow?
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