(Following Interview ①) The writers of "Mother and Mom" expressed deep gratitude to the lead actors Jeon Hye-jin and Jo Min-soo, as well as the supporting actors Kim Gwak-kyung and Ahn Tae-rin, including the child actors.

The Genie TV original "Mother and Mom" concluded with its final episode (8th episode) broadcasted on ENA on the 25th. Recently, at the KT Studio Genie office in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, the writers Seong Yoon-ah and Jo Won-dong met with domestic reporters for an interview.

"Mother and Mom" is a drama depicting the competitive life of three generations of women, centered around a passionate working mom Jung-eun, who entrusts her daughter to academy riding ahead of her "7-year-old exam." Jeon Hye-jin plays the role of Jung-eun, and Jo Min-soo plays her mother, Jia, realistically shedding light on the social phenomenon of the "7-year-old exam."

In the interview, writer Seong Yoon-ah, who was introduced to the original work, mentioned the character of the protagonist, Jung-eun, noting that it represented "the most common type of mother seen in Daechi-dong." He said, "Many people think that if their child follows along and does well, they could be slightly less harsh, thinking that they can be a bad mom for a while. I thought that those kinds of people might appear less hateful."

Regarding the romantic relationship of the elderly portrayed by Jo Min-soo and Jung Jin-young, he emphasized, "It was something from the original and I did not want to remove it. In reality, many grandparents also go riding." In particular, writer Seong added, "To preserve that aspect, we kept Grandma Tae-rin, Jang Mi-chun (Kim Gwak-kyung)." Jo Won-dong, the writer, chimed in, calling Mi-chun "an oasis-like character" with a smile.

Writer Seong Yoon-ah expressed her deep gratitude for the actors' performances, saying, "We truly cheered loudly." He noted, "As this was my first work, there were many parts where the lines were not smooth. There were characters I struggled with until the end. However, the answers to the dilemmas I had were shown and completed by the actors' performances. I was thankful to each and every actor."

Jo Won-dong also remarked, "Since they are all veterans and exceptionally skilled, there were times they performed beyond what I did, and there might have been things I hadn’t thought of. Even the kids performed well, and the director said they were so good on set that additional filming was done. They were all so adorable," he said with a laugh.

Writer Seong Yoon-ah noted that "Tae-rin had to learn the dialect. I cautiously told her mother, 'If it’s hard, I can change it,' and she responded, 'I will try it.' In fact, the child who usually speaks standard language had used Chungcheong dialect in the previous work but used Jeolla dialect this time," he expressed with surprise.

Amid the excellent performances of the actors, what story did the writers want to tell? Jo Won-dong stated, "In a way, it's similar to what the director mentioned. It involves a 7-year-old, family, grandmother, mother, and granddaughter, depicting the conflicts, understanding, reconciliation, and love that arise between them. That was the story we wanted to tell, and it has a desirable ending." He added, "A 'happy family,' what you want to do for your child, or what you don't want to—questions that Jung-eun and Seo-yoon, Jung-eun and Jia also talk about. There is regret for what hasn't been asked, and Jung-eun, who hasn’t expressed it, apologizes. There is communication."

In conclusion, writer Seong Yoon-ah commented, "While it's similar, while I was researching, I really came to understand the hearts of mothers. 'How can I not make my child compete when they do so well?' I understand too well, but the idea that a child’s success is because 'my mom likes it, because mom and dad like it' might lead them to give 120% or 130% of their effort. I hope this drama can be an opportunity where you might ask if it wasn't too tough at least once. I hope this leads to plenty of discussions with your child."

[Photo] Provided by Genie TV.

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