Family By Choice Is A Sweet Story About Found Families and Surviving Awful Mothers

The Korean remake of the beloved Chinese drama Go Ahead has been delivering much-needed slice-of-life content to our lives for the past few weeks so it’s only natural we bring you a review of the hit show starring Hwang Inyeop, Jung Chaeyeon and Bae Hyeongseong today.

I couldn’t wait for this drama to end before starting it – it was just way too appealing to me to be patient. First of all, the original is a beloved slice-of-life classic and you know I love those. Found families, friendships, sweet romance? I will always be there. Second of all, the cast is just incredible and it’s amazing seeing all of these actors together, both seniors and juniors. Mom and I managed to binge-watch 14 episodes in probably 4 days before the last two episodes came out and we were literally tuning into the last episode two hours before she had to travel. We were dedicated. I think this might be the last proper k-drama review we will have on the blog for this year (unless we surprise ourselves) before our top lists start coming out and I think it’s a nice one to say goodbye to 2024 with. Let’s review.

Summary via MDL: Despite not being biologically related, Kim San Ha, Yun Ju Won, and Kang Hae Jun share a close bond with each other. The trio spent their adolescence raised by Ju Won’s father, Jeong Jae, and San Ha’s father, Dae Uk, who did their best to give them a happy childhood as they healed from past trauma. Upon reaching adulthood, however, San Ha and Hae Jun sought out their biological families, leaving Ju Won behind. Ten years later, the five members of their found family reunite, but things aren’t the same as they used to be. Ju Won holds some resentment after feeling abandoned by San Ha and Hae Jun, while the two boys are struggling with their own familial issues and one is struggling with new romantic feelings for Ju Won. Can these chosen siblings work out their feelings with each other, and will romance form between them?

I’ll try to approach this review by splitting it into two parts – the good and the bad. Let’s start with the good. I think whoever was the casting director for this drama deserves a nice slap on the back because I can’t even imagine anyone else playing these characters but the chosen actors. From the incredibly talented quartet of Hwang Inyeop, Jung Chaeyeon (I think this was her best role to date), Bae Hyeonseong, and Seo Jihye to the veteran duo of the ever-incredible Choi Wonyoung and Choi Moosung, Family By Choice really exceeded my expectations acting-wise and they were already quite high. I have a soft spot for Choi Wonyoung as he has starred in some of my favourite k-dramas of all time and absolutely stole the show in every single one of them – Twinkling Watermelon, Mystic Pop-Up Bar, Kill Me Heal Me, and one of my first k-dramas ever Hello Monster. Same thing goes out for Choi Moosung who I’ve loved in the classic Replay 1988, The Good Bad Mother, as well as Stranger 2. Everyone had such good chemistry with each other and I couldn’t help but root for this “self-made” family from the beginning. I loved the camaraderie between San Ha, Ju Won, and Hae Jun (who was my favourite, I’ll admit) and the way everything between felt so natural. Having each other’s backs, bickering, crying, laughing, grieving… everything was portrayed so well.

Another stellar moment of Family By Choice was the relationship between the trio and the dads. I feel like everytime there was a scene between Hae Jun and his dad I had to have to tissues ready because wow, why did I feel every single painful and doubtful moment they were going through? Maybe this relationship was another reason I really loved Hae Jun’s character – trying to accept your life, being grateful without feeling like a burden, hiding what you might think would be shameful, but ultimately having to deal with deep-buried emotions related to family. His character was not catching a single break during the entire drama – I think they should’ve all hugged it out. Hell, I needed a hug. Ju Won and San Ha were also really nicely developed characters, and I’ve especially leaned towards Ju Won by the end of the drama – she’s straight to the point and the only character out of the young squad that actually knows how to properly communicate. I loved that! Jung Chaeyeon was so good in this role. The best thing about Family By Choice really, ultimately is the feeling of belonging, love, comfort, and knowing you can create the fantasy you’ve dreamed of, no matter how long it takes you.

Now, onto the bad. I know you are all probably thinking the worst thing about the drama was San Ha’s mom and I don’t blame you for it. Kim Hye Eun did her damn job with this role because I was afraid I was going to have a seizure every time she was on screen. My mom kept getting up and pacing around the room as we were nearing the end of the drama because we were just waiting for her to do something horrible as a goodbye gift. Toxic parents really are something special and I think you’ll need a lot of patience not to get irritated by the actions of the so-called grown-ups of the drama. San Ha’s mom was genuinely insane and I think it’s about time we grow out of letting people like this dictate our lives. She had my blood boiling. Hae Jun’s parents were also… something else. His dad was an absolute scum, but I’m surprised by how easily his mom got back into his life, all of their lives. Sure, she might not be San Ha’s mom level of insane, but I still feel it’s just a bit dumbfounding to not tell your son why you left him and have him suffer in silence for about two decades – Hae Jun had about 10 different coping mechanisms just based on the fact that he couldn’t part from his mom once and for all. I’m glad things got better between them but I just don’t feel that much sympathy for her and could’ve lived without her becoming a part of the family. Sorry bad things happened to her but your child is your child.

Another thing that I didn’t like and could not for the life of me understand was the boys cutting off contact almost completely with Ju Won while away. I could literally not get over that fact until the end of the show. Even though I was happy they were reunited and trying to live good lives, I couldn’t accept that we’re just supposed to skim over that little detail. Both Hae Jun and San Ha were going through some pretty awful things during that decade and yet if that was Ju Won she would’ve never done the same thing to them. I was so angry on her behalf and San Ha’s half-assed explanation that he was waiting to be able to go away and to catch the timing was just… not for me. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t too invested in the romance aspect of the drama and their romantic relationship. It makes sense that they would find comfort in each other and they made perfect sense – I even enjoyed their cute couple moments – but I just felt so hurt on Ju Won’s behalf considering she never stopped fighting for and in favour of both Hae Jun and San Ha. Her standing up to San Ha’s mom, directly addressing Hae Jun’s mom, and asking both Hae Jun and San Ha the questions we were all wondering about made me appreciate her so much because she was hurt but she wanted to know why. Ju Won they could never make me hate you! The miscommunication was off the charts at times and I think it was often done for the sake of additional drama which I could’ve truly lived without.

All in all, Family By Choice is definitely a comfort drama for those who, like me, love stories about found families. Even with its flaws, the storyline and the characters are genuine and easy to connect with from the beginning to the very end. It’s impossible not to root for them and hope they overcome their own traumas (which there’s a lot of, heads up). While the second half of the drama does feel a bit all over the place at times, trying to tie up way too many loose ends in the span of 2, 3 episodes, I do think Family By Choice is the warmest drama we got during this second half of the year. The feelings I felt while watching it reminded me of Lovely Runner a bit even, although I think we can confidently say nothing is touching LR’s crown this year. Family By Choice gets a solid 8.5/10 from me for this genre considering I’d gladly rewatch some parts of it – especially those focused on the moments between the children and the dads, as well as the more humourous scenes.

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Wow, the moms in this drama were truly something, weren’t they? Well, Una already said a lot of good things and I absolutely agree with all of them but I am still here to give my two cents as this is one of the last dramas I watched and finished. I have to admit before Family by Choice was about to air I saw the cast and really wanted to watch it but once I read the synopsis I was a bit thrown off by it because I love found family but why did this drama need romance? Why did we have to have one of her found brothers fall in love with her. It also genuinely sounded like there would be a love triangle between people that were supposed to be siblings. I absolutely hated that for a while and hesitated. In the end I decided to watch Family by Choice and truly enjoy it. At least the first half of it. I was invested, I was absolutely livid about how the moms of our boys treated them. My blood was boiling my heart was melting about the dads stepping up and becoming a little patch work family. Okay no one is addressing this but imagine two gay dads and how good this would have been. Anyway, I really enjoyed this part of the drama but once the boys went away and the 10 year time skip came Family by Choice lost me.

I agree with Una that the acting in this was phenomenal and the chemistry was also amazing but the last couple of episodes of Family by Choice flew over my head. I couldn’t tell you what happened in them. I wasn’t invested in the romance, I have no clue how Hae Jun’s mom came back into their lives (didn’t she murder someone? I am so confused) and I also thought the drama was all over the place. Family by Choice was amazing as long as we were dealing with teens and their lives. It was a harsh reality and a lot of tears but it was so good I was invested. I have to say Ju Won’s dad is probably my favorite character in this drama and carried it for me. What a father! Overall, I enjoyed Family by Choice and got some cozy moments with it but the last 4-6 episodes were an absolute drag for me and kind of took my enjoyment of the drama away from me. It could have been done a lot better. However, I love the innovative family constellation and the moms being the bag guys for once.