[drama 2007] Catch A Kangnam Mother 강남엄마 따라잡&#44592

[Guest yee731]

The drama starts MONDAY & TUESDAY (25th & 26th) on SBS

BT download:

http://www.mjbox.com/u/yee731/[bbs[1][1].1...%90%A7].torrent

And the chinese sub as followed

BT download:

Ep.01

Ep.02

The Sub team:

http://www.ppxtv.cn/read.php?tid-2829.html

[Guest jahye]

Episode 3: megaupload (rmvb file)

Sometimes I will update the first post with links for new episodes but I will not make a new post so check the first post for updates.

Episode 4 will probably be up tomorrow.

I actually like Ha Hee Ra's son more. I love his baby face! and who wouldn't love such a dutiful son?

[Guest jjwwhafa]

Thank you for great work.

Good Show. Getting interesting.

[koalabear]

related article..credits to Rubie

Drama reveals lives of Gangnam mothers

A sensitive dispute has been going on for a long time over the educational gap between the Gangnam and Gangbuk areas in Seoul, with students from Gangnam, or the district south of the Han River, showing better academic performance.

Secrets behind this phenomenon are being revealed through a TV drama that clearly discloses the powerful and adventurous lives of mothers in Gangnam who take every possible means to get their kids into the country's prestigious universities.

SBS primetime drama "Gangnam Mothers," which airs every Monday and Tuesday at 10 p.m., brings the secretive lives of extremely devoted Korean mothers to light with a touch of slight sarcasm and comedy. The drama, which also carries a number of sensitive issues involving the country's education policy and improper relationships between teachers and parents, became an early success by garnering a 16.6 percent share last week, according to TNS Media Research. The drama, however, has also stirred heated criticism that it has overly-parodied mothers in Gangnam.

"I wouldn't deny the fact the drama depicts a substantial amount of reality. But it still bothers me, because not every Gangnam mother is like that," said a mother living in Gangnam requesting anonymity. The producer of the drama said he never intended to make people in Gangnam look more superior or make comparison with mothers in Gangbuk (north of the river), and it was the reality that he wanted to show.

"Because the drama depicts reality, it makes viewers uncomfortable," said Hong Chang-wook, producer of the SBS primetime drama.

"Nobody blames if the drama deals with fantasy. The drama shows the problems with presenting gifts (money) to teachers for taking extra care of their children, describes the fall of the public education system and the rise of private education, hard-core mothers in Gangnam, and parents moving their houses to Gangam in order to offer the best education for kids. And these are certainly not fantasies," said Hong.

The drama tells the story of Hyun Min-ju (played by Ha Hee-ra,) an extremely devoted mother who moves to Gangnam to offer her son the best education in the country.

Min-ju is a hard-working woman -- working as a waitress in the afternoon and designated driver for hire at night -- who takes care of a son after her husband died of a tragic accident. Although her single parent status makes her struggle, when compared to other housewives driving expensive cars and wearing high-class fashion, she finds happiness when seeing her smart son who takes the top grades at his school even without attending any private education courses.

Min-ju never believed in the power of Gangnam education but decides to move to the area of the privileged after Jin-woo, her son, failed to get a good mark on an English test for which a lot of students from the Gangnam area demonstrated their superior language skills, developed by specialized classes in the area.

Although the two move to Gangnam, things don't get any easier. Experiencing an enormous financial gap, Min-ju fails to be a part of a group of Gangnam mothers. The group forms a secret team to separate their kids from other groups at a hagwon and specially organize classes according to their grades and parents' social ranks.

Min-ju's old high school friend Yoon Soo-mi (played by Im Sung-min) stands at the center of the secretive group and has two kids who are doing great in school. Although Min-ju nearly begs Soo-mi to let her in her circle, Soo-mi blocks her from being a part of the network. At the end, Min-ju declares war on Soo-mi, saying she will do better than her.

The drama is likely to stir up other controversies as it is scheduled to deal with sensitive issues, such as teachers manipulating grades in exchange for receiving bribes from parents, or the teacher evaluation system proposed by the government.

Asked about the intention of bringing up those contentious issues, the producer said: "It is to tell that there are other ways to be successful rather than sticking to the title of the university. I am ready to get fierce responses from viewers. But I did my best to portray the lives of Gangnam mothers by meeting teachers, mothers in the area as well as researching related information and documents involving the area."

Some viewers seem to have already understood the moral idea.

"Mothers will later realize what they were doing was just having a day dream. They may have succeeded in letting their kids enter one of the prestigious universities in the country, but what is really important is what happens after that. It is kids who decide what to do for their lives, not mothers," said a mother living in Gangnam, who has finished with her war after sending her two children to universities.

By Cho Chung-un

(christory@heraldm.com)

https://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/htm...00707100006.asp

[Guest cococrust]

C-sub Eps

1: http://www.sendspace.com/file/szwuxt

2: http://www.sendspace.com/file/lcn65j

3: http://www.sendspace.com/file/86ekbd

4: http://www.sendspace.com/file/u8rgiq

[bubbles]

is anyone subbing this drama?

It looks interesting and funny.

[koalabear]

credits to Rubie for the article

[TV Review]A neighborhood that’s rich in madness

July 11, 2007

If you live in southern Seoul without 1 billion won ($1 million) in the bank, drive a foreign-made luxury sedan without 2 billion won or send your child to study abroad without 3 billion won, you are insane. At least that’s the view expressed by a popular new TV drama, “Keeping Up with the ‘Gangnam’ Mothers” on SBS-TV.

I have a bitter sense of satisfaction that I do not meet any of the three conditions, especially as I agree with the Cheshire cat in “Alice in the Wonderland” who grinned and said, “We are all mad here. I’m mad, you’re mad.”

One doesn’t need a knowledge of English literature to understand the show’s premise, just a little local data. For example, the word “Gangnam” in the title means “southern Seoul,” yet it implies a critical social divide between north and south of the Han River. Apparently it’s not just the Korean Peninsula that is divided into North and South.

Southern Seoul is associated with everything upscale. Children there are rumored to have money to burn and use Gucci erasers which cost 140,000 won. Well, I have not felt any terrifying inconvenience during my several decades of living in northern Seoul. Instead I have been appalled by things like the absurdly overpriced (and amazingly insipid) soft shell crab pasta at a so-called hotshot Italian restaurant in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul. Of course, it’s not wise to generalize from a bowl of pasta or a Gucci eraser. Yet, that is precisely what “Gangnam Mothers” does and viewers seem to love it.

Southern Seoul is described in the show as a place with all the best middle schools, fathers with money, mothers with information about the best educational opportunities and where children enjoy a higher chance of going to prestigious universities.

Meanwhile, northern Seoul is described as a place with an inferior living and educational environment for the terminally un-chic.

Min-ju, the show’s lead character, dreams of moving to southern Seoul, when she learns that her ingenious son is falling behind the well-heeled children in southern Seoul. To Min-ju, a widowed single mother, her son means everything and she is ready to do anything for him, including running up debts to get a lease for an apartment near a prestigious middle school, lying to her best friend and trying to bribe her son’s homeroom teacher.

The TV drama’s online bulletin board has received a flood of messages that condemn the producers for what the protesters say are extreme descriptions. However, a change of strategy seems to be the last thing that the producers seem to have in mind. To them, the fact that viewers are reacting to the drama is a sure sign that viewers are intrigued and will keep watching. And one plaudit this show deserves is that it has stayed away from the hackneyed Cinderella formula which is currently so common.

In the meantime, I have no plan (yet) to move to southern Seoul while I’m still enjoying my life in the north.

But I have to confess that this drama has successfully annihilated my confidence about raising children in northern Seoul. It seems to be an enormous burden in this country to raise children and support them through prestigious universities.

Would it be too irresponsible for me to say that I will let my children live their lives as they wish? According to this drama, it would be. I mean, I can’t imagine ending a day waiting until 1 a.m. for my children to finish class at a private institute, which was exactly what the southern Seoul mothers were doing in the show last week. Isn’t it an obsession to force all your hope on your children like that? Well, according to the “reality check” offered by this TV drama, I would be a crazy mother who had abandoned responsibility for my children if I didn’t.

The Cheshire Cat seems to be right. We are all mad in this wonderland world.

By Chun Su jin [sujiney@joongang.co.kr]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2877858

[Guest jahye]

Episode 5: megaupload

Episode 6: megaupload

I'm enjoying this drama a lot more than I thought I would. It may be based on generalizations, but I think the drama is in between reality and stereotype. There are exaggerations about how far mothers will go to secure their child's success, but I think at the same time it reveals truths to how the rich live. It's not just a Kangnam thing, it happens everywhere, in any country. Take any populous city in America and you'll see it's divided into slums, ghettos, moderate living standards, and where the rich live and the same stereotypes and realities exists, where the rich can buy their way into success. It's not entirely true for all rich people, many do work hard for their money, but it is also a reality that there are those who breeze through life if they have the money. And the lengths mothers will go for their child's success, it's so true! If it's not sending their kids to after school schools ( ) then it's private tutoring, which the Kangnam mothers can easily afford. But seriously, it's not just Kangnam families, it's everywhere, even Korean-American families. You know you're Korean if you were tutored or if you were a tutor yourself.

[Guest tenshiii0ox]

The things they show about Gangnam (강남) on the show are somewhat true, and I know this because I have family living in that city. How do I say this... it's about pride? It's basically what you have is what you are.

[Guest smoonpie]

thank you for your hard work uploading this series. my friends and i crowd around my laptop and enjoy watching. thanks so much!

[Guest cococrust]

ep 5 c-sub

http://www.sendspace.com/file/x3u6hl

[Guest cococrust]

ep 6 c-sub

http://www.sendspace.com/file/qtofhk

OST

http://www.sendspace.com/file/65ak8n

[Guest jahye]

Episode 7: megaupload

Episode 8: megaupload

Here's the full OST, 57MB:

OST (zip file): megaupload

Updated the first post with up to date links, including cococrust sendspace links.

Anyone else having fun with this drama? I certainly am. This is probably the most unpopular opinion ever, but I actually enjoy it a lot more than Coffee Prince..

[Guest tenshiii0ox]

^:] Coffee Prince is just cute. People in America won't really know but this show is reality. In Kangnam, kids have private tutoring sessions in hotels, so that other smart students won't know. My cousin does this too. Kangnam is really crazy and competitive.

[Guest smoonpie]

i'm really enjoying this drama. it definitely does not cater to the younger, trendier demographic but there's so many nuggets of comedy in each episode and the tempo never lags.

definitely under-appreciated here at soompi. oh, well. keep up the good work jahye!

[Guest donilpark]

I think the show is already showing the signs of developing into a romance, not the one about education, real estate and inequality, even though the writer specificly said that that's what she would purposefully try to avoid.

[Guest cococrust]

ep 7 c-sub

http://www.sendspace.com/file/2xgkm9

This drama is not targeted towards the typical Soompiers I guess.

[Guest valkyrie]

ep 7 c-sub

http://www.sendspace.com/file/2xgkm9

This drama is not targeted towards the typical Soompiers I guess.

But it's really good. It showcases stuff that I've only so far read about.

Please continue to provide the c-subbed links. They're my only recourse as there aren't any english subs.

Thank u, cococrust.

[Guest jahye]

I posted this link in the first post earlier this week, but just in case you missed it..

Episode 9

Episode 10 rmvb hasn't been released yet.

I think the show is already showing the signs of developing into a romance, not the one about education, real estate and inequality, even though the writer specificly said that that's what she would purposefully try to avoid.

There may be some romance, but compared to most dramas it's barely there. Most dramas are 90% romance, 10% filler crap. Here the romance isn't the main focus. It's really about Min Joo and the moms and the lengths they'll go to for their children's education.

Besides, it's nearly impossible for Korean dramas to maintain good viewership if there isn't any romance in it. Even the sageuk dramas, which mostly cater to a male audience, have epic, tragic romances.

The only drama I can think of right now that was successful and had minimal (very close to zilch, really) romance is 하얀 거탑.

Plus, I find this puppy love quite adorable

This drama is not targeted towards the typical Soompiers I guess.

I thought so too, but the post count in here is almost non-existant. I usually don't mind hanging around quiet threads, but I'm surprised by how quiet it is in here when over 30 people download the episodes I upload. I have a megaupload account that keeps track of how many times people download from my links and every episode of 강남엄마 I uploaded, there have been over 30 downloads, close to 40.. so either these Soompiers are leechers or someone is sharing my links at another forum..

Some gifs from dcinside

^ I'm loving this pair more and more every episode, especially Jung Sun Kyung's character. And the husband is hilarious in his ignorance.

That's so ahjoomaish!

[Guest smoonpie]

thanks so much for the link jahye!