My Liberation Notes
2022 South Korean television series
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My Liberation Notes (Korean: 나의 해방일지; RR: Naui haebangilji) is a South Korean television series starring Lee Min-ki, Kim Ji-won, Son Suk-ku, and Lee El. It aired on JTBC from April 9 to May 29, 2022, every Saturday and Sunday at 22:30 (KST) for 16 episodes.[5] It is also available for streaming on Netflix in selected regions.[6]
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| My Liberation Notes | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster | |
| Hangul | 나의 해방일지 |
| Hanja | 나의 解放日誌 |
| Lit. | My Liberation Diary |
| RR | Naui haebangilji |
| MR | Naŭi haebangilji |
| Genre | Slice-of-life |
| Written by | Park Hae-young[1] |
| Directed by | Kim Seok-yoon[1] |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Kim Tae-seong[2] |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Production companies |
|
| Budget | ₩8 billion[4] |
| Original release | |
| Network | JTBC |
| Release | April 9 – May 29, 2022 |
Synopsis
The drama is set in the fictional Seoul suburb of Sanpo, Gyeonggi Province.[a] My Liberation Notes is about three siblings, (Lee Min-ki, Kim Ji-won and Lee El), all of whom have to make a long commute to Seoul, and a mysterious stranger (Son Suk-ku), who works for their father in the sticks. All of them wish to escape from their dead-end lives amid office politics, gap between rich and poor, and skeletons in their closets.
Cast
Main
- Lee Min-ki as Yeom Chang-hee[1]
- The second of three siblings. An employee at the headquarters of a convenience store franchise.
- Kim Ji-won as Yeom Mi-jeong[1]
- The youngest of three siblings. A contract employee at the design department of a credit card company.
- Son Suk-ku as Mr. Gu (Gu Ja-gyeong)[1]
- A stranger who works at the sink factory of the Yeom family, who are unaware of his real identity as a gambling manager.
- The eldest of three siblings. An employee at a research company.
Supporting
People around Yeom siblings
- Chun Ho-jin as Yeom Je-ho[9]
- Father of the three siblings.
- Lee Kyung-seong as Kwak Hye-suk[10]
- Mother of the three siblings.
- Jeon Hye-jin as Ji Hyun-ah[11]
- A neighborhood friend.
- Han Sang-jo as Oh Doo-hwan[12]
- A neighborhood friend.
- Jo Min-kook as Seok Jeong-hoon[13]
- A neighborhood friend.
People around Yeom Chang-hee
- Yang Jun-myung as Lee Min-gyu[14]
- Yeom Chang-hee's colleague.
- Choi Bo-young as Jung Ah-reum[15]
- Yeom Chang-hee's senior colleague.
- Jeon Soo-jin as Lee Ye-rin[16]
- Yeom Chang-hee's ex-girlfriend.
- A convenience store owner.
People around Yeom Mi-jeong
- Lee Ki-woo as Jo Tae-hoon[18]
- Yeom Mi-jeong's co-worker.
- Park Soo-young as Park Sang-min[19]
- Yeom Mi-jeong's co-worker.
- Lee Ji-hye as So Hyang-gi[20]
- Team Leader of Joy Support Center.
- Kong Ye-ji as Han Su-jin[21]
- Yeom Mi-jeong's colleague at the design department.
- Lee Ho-young as Choi Jun-ho[21]
- Team leader of the design department.
Others
- Jung Soo-young as Jo Kyung-sun[19]
- Jo Tae-hoon's second sister.
- Kim Ro-sa as Jo Hee-sun[19]
- Jo Tae-hoon's eldest sister.
- Kang Joo-ha as Jo Yu-rim[22]
- Jo Tae-hoon's daughter.
- Kim Woo-hyung as Park Jin-u[23]
- Director at Yeom Ki-jeong's company.
- Choi Min-chul as Mr. Baek[24]
- Kim Min-song as Sam-sik[25]
- Lee Shin-seong as Hyeon-jin[26]
- Jung Won-jo as Hyuk-soo[27]
Special appearance
- Jung Young-joo as woman at restaurant (Ep. 15)[28]
Production
Development
On September 24, 2021, Chorokbaem Media announced that it had signed a contract with JTBC Studios to produce and supply the series with "8 billion won worth of budget for a total of 16 episodes".[4]
Filming
On October 5, 2021, it was reported that filming is currently in progress.[29]
Original soundtrack
| My Liberation Notes | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |
| Released | May 29, 2022[30] |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Language | |
| Label | |
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Be My Birthday" | Naiv | 9duck | Ha Hyun-sang | 3:14 |
| 2. | "Be My Birthday" (Inst.) | 9duck | 3:14 | ||
| Total length: | 6:28 | ||||
Part 6
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "We Sink" | Naiv | Naiv | Sway | 3:26 |
| 2. | "We Sink" (Inst.) | Naiv | 3:26 | ||
| Total length: | 6:52 | ||||
Part 7
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "My Spring" (나의 봄은) | Seo Dong-seong | Park Seong-il | Lee Su-hyun | 4:12 |
| 2. | "My Spring" (나의 봄은; Inst.) | Park Seong-il | 4:12 | ||
| Total length: | 8:24 | ||||
Part 8
Part 9
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Kind Of Confession" (일종의 고백; Female Ver.) | Lee Young-hoon | Lee Young-hoon | Hen | 2:58 |
| 2. | "A Kind Of Confession" (일종의 고백; Male Ver.) | Lee Young-hoon | Lee Young-hoon | Kwak Jin-eon | 3:56 |
| Total length: | 6:54 | ||||
Part 10
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Think I Know" (알 것도 같아) |
| 9duck | Hong Isaac | 3:24 |
| 2. | "I Think I Know" (알 것도 같아; Inst.) | 9duck | 3:24 | ||
| Total length: | 6:48 | ||||
Part 11
Reception
The series drew attention for its dialogues and monologues with deep metaphorical meanings, and realistic and relatable storyline.[50][51] Novel concepts of "worshipping" (Korean: 추앙; RR: chuang)[b] and "liberation" (Korean: 해방; RR: haebang)[c] brought up in the drama were well received by the audience.[52][53][54] The series was also praised for its depiction of social pressure that captures the frustrations and challenges of young adult life in Korea.[55]
Pierce Conran writing for South China Morning Post stated "With four intricate and distinct lead characters, terrific dialogue and a bounteous array of intimate moments for all the smaller characters in the cast, My Liberation Notes is far and away the best drama on TV right now"[56] and gave 4.5 stars out of 5.[57] Park Han-na of Korea Herald described the series as "a portrait of a generation trapped by the preconditions set by themselves and the society".[54] Seo Byeong-gi of Herald Business praised the writer Park Hae-young for drama's stimulation of empathy in everyday life.[58] During the broadcast, actor Gong Yoo on Instagram, recommended his fans to watch My Liberation Notes[59] and after the series finished airing he left a review in his fancafe, praising its direction, screenplay and performance of actors.[60]
Viewership
The series enjoyed modest viewership share: the first episode recorded a nationwide viewership rating of 2.9% and reached the highest rating with the last episode, which recorded the 6.7%.[61] My Liberation Notes topped TV popularity ranking in last four weeks of its eight week run[62] while Son Suk-ku and Kim Ji-won took first and second place respectively in drama performers popularity ranking for five consecutive weeks.[63]
The series debuted at number nine on the Netflix's Global Top 10 for non-English television in the list issued for May 16–22, 2022,[64][65] ascending to number five in the following week.[66][67]
| Season | Episode number | Average | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | |||
| 1 | 0.651 | 0.622 | 0.574 | 0.538 | 0.579 | 0.900 | 0.769 | 0.902 | 0.848 | 1.006 | 1.000 | 1.212 | 1.149 | 1.462 | 1.443 | 1.545 | 0.950 | |
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share (Nielsen Korea)[68] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nationwide | Seoul | ||
| 1 | April 9, 2022 | 2.941% (5th) | 3.057% (5th) |
| 2 | April 10, 2022 | 3.018% (5th) | 3.236% (3rd) |
| 3 | April 16, 2022 | 2.552% (8th) | 2.862% (6th) |
| 4 | April 17, 2022 | 2.325% (7th) | 2.292% (8th) |
| 5 | April 23, 2022 | 2.766% (7th) | 2.874% (5th) |
| 6 | April 24, 2022 | 3.832% (4th) | 3.971% (4th) |
| 7 | April 30, 2022 | 3.306% (5th) | 3.541% (5th) |
| 8 | May 1, 2022 | 3.876% (4th) | 4.155% (4th) |
| 9 | May 7, 2022 | 3.625% (1st) | 4.259% (1st) |
| 10 | May 8, 2022 | 4.594% (2nd) | 5.242% (2nd) |
| 11 | May 14, 2022 | 4.142% (2nd) | 4.583% (1st) |
| 12 | May 15, 2022 | 4.969% (1st) | 5.603% (1st) |
| 13 | May 21, 2022 | 4.760% (1st) | 4.981% (1st) |
| 14 | May 22, 2022 | 6.073% (1st) | 6.547% (1st) |
| 15 | May 28, 2022 | 5.943% (1st) | 6.720% (1st) |
| 16 | May 29, 2022 | 6.728% (1st) | 7.616% (1st) |
| Average | 4.091% | 4.471% | |
Reception
In the fourth week of May, Good Data Corporation reported that My Liberation Note had topped the TV-OTT Drama Buzzworthiness chart for four consecutive weeks. The show's buzzworthiness saw a 26.84% increase from the prior week, breaking its own record for seven consecutive weeks since its premiere. This achievement is second only to JTBC's SKY Castle. Son Suk-ku and Kim Ji-won secured the first and second spots, respectively, in TV-OTT Drama Performer Buzzworthiness for five consecutive weeks, with Lee Min-ki ranking sixth.[69]
Accolades
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APAN Star Awards | 2022 | Best Couple Award | Son Suk-ku & Kim Ji-won | Nominated | [70][71] |
| Best Supporting Actress | Lee El | Nominated | |||
| Best Writer Award | Park Hae-young | Nominated | |||
| Drama of the Year | My Liberation Notes | Nominated | |||
| Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Son Suk-ku | Nominated | |||
| Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Kim Ji-won | Nominated | |||
| Popularity Star Award, Actor | Son Suk-ku | Nominated | |||
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2023 | Best Screenplay | Park Hae-young | Won | [72] |
| Best Drama | My Liberation Notes | Nominated | [73] | ||
| Best Director | Kim Seok-yoon | Nominated | |||
| Best Actor | Son Suk-ku | Nominated | |||
| Best Actress | Kim Ji-won | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Lee El | Nominated | |||
| Best New Actress | Lee Kyung-seong | Nominated | |||
| Kinolight Awards | 2022 | Korean Drama Of The Year | My Liberation Notes | 2nd | [74] |
| Korea Drama Awards | 2022 | Excellence Award, Actor | Lee Ki-woo | Won | [75] |
| Korean Broadcasting Writers Awards | 2022 | Best Writer (Drama Category) | Park Hae-young | Won | [76] |
Notes
- Though Sanpo is a fictional village, Gyeonggi Province, where it's based, is a real province.[7] Sanpo is often described as a village near Suwon, a real city in Gyeonggi-do.
- Yeom Mi-jeong asks Mr. Gu to 'worship' her since love is not enough for her to feel whole.
- Yeom Mi-jeong forms a Liberation Club with two other co-workers of her company, in order to be liberated from their mundane daily life.
