# The Good Bad Mother

The Good Bad Mother (Korean: 나쁜엄마; lit. Bad Mother) is a 2023 South Korean television series starring Ra Mi-ran, Lee Do-hyun, Ahn Eun-jin and Yoo In-soo. It aired from April 26 to June 8, 2023 on JTBC's Wednesdays and Thursdays at 22:30 (KST). It is also available for streaming on Netflix in selected regions.
The series was a commercial hit and became one of the highest-rated series in Korean cable television history. It also set a new record for the highest ratings achieved by any Wednesday–Thursday drama in JTBC history.

## Synopsis

A tragic accident leaves an ambitious prosecutor with the mind of a child and paraplegic, forcing him and his mother to embark on a journey to heal their relationship.

## Cast
### Main

* Ra Mi-ran as Jin Young-soon: a single mother who runs a pig farm, and has lived a tenacious life to protect her child.
** Kang Bo-kyung as teenage Jin Young-soon
* Lee Do-hyun as Choi Kang-ho: Young-soon's son who works as a prosecutor and has a cold-hearted personality. He suffers from amnesia after an unexpected accident and returns as a child.
** Lee Kyung-hoon as child Choi Kang-ho
** Bae Jae-hyun as teenage Choi Kang-ho
* Ahn Eun-jin as Lee Mi-joo: a nail artist who is Kang-ho's old friend and ex-girlfriend.
** Jeon Si-hyun as child Lee Mi-joo
* Yoo In-soo as Bang Sam-sik: the troublemaker of the village. He has been in love with Mi-joo since childhood.
** Kim Jun-hee as child Bang Sam-sik

### Supporting
#### The Axis of Crimes

* Choi Moo-sung as Song Woo-byeok: CEO of Woobyeok Group and the main antagonist of the series. He is responsible for Kang-ho's father death.
* Jung Woong-in as Oh Tae-soo: a former prosecutor and member of the National Assembly.
* Hong Bi-ra as Oh Ha-yeong: Tae-soo's only daughter and Kang-ho's fiancée.
* Choi Soon-jin as Manager So Ji-seok: Woo-byeok's employee.
* Park Cheon as Assistant Manager Cha Seung-eon: Woo-byeok's employee.

#### People in Jowoo-ri

* Kim Won-hae as Son Yong-rak: the head of his village.
* Park Bo-kyung as the wife of Son Yong-rak.
* Kang Mal-geum as Jung Gum-ja: Mi-joo's mother.
* Seo Yi-sook as Park Sung-ae: Sam-sik's mother who runs a mill with her husband.
* Jang Won-young as Mr. Bang: Sam-sik's father and mill owner.
* Lee Sang-hoon as Mr. Yang: He is involved in many fields in Jowoo-ri, such as brewery owner, shaman flower fairy, real estate, and boarding house owner.
* Park Da-on as Seo-jin: Kang-ho and Mi-joo's son and Ye-jin's twin brother.
* Ki So-yu as Ye-jin: Kang-ho and Mi-joo's daughter and Seo-jin's twin sister.
* Baek Hyun-jin as Trot Baek / Baek Hoon-ah: a composer who was forced to return to his hometown after being involved in various issues.

#### Extended

* Joshua Newton as Andrea: a foreign part-time worker on Young-soon's farm.
* Oh Ha-nee as Seon-yung: Mi-joo's nail art partner.
* Kim Seon-bin as Kang-ho's classmate at the Judicial Research and Training Institute.
* Nam Mi-jung as Sun-young's mother.
* Kim Ji-woong as Lee Ji-woong: Ha-yeong's fiancé.
* Ki Eun-se as Hwang Soo-hyun: Tae-soo's secretary.
* Sung Nak-kyung as Cho Young-jae: the owner of the raw fish restaurant.
* Kim Yong-jun as Kang-ho's investigator when he was a prosecutor.
* Lee Gyu-hoe as Bae Seon-jang: a gambling house boss.
* Jo Young-gyu as Woo-byeok's lawyer.

### Special appearances

* Cho Jin-woong as Choi Hae-sik, Young-soon's late husband.
* Shin Seung-ho as a civil servant in the livestock division.
* Seo Dong-hyun as wedding photographer.
* Ryu Seung-ryong as a tailor.

## Reception
### Viewership

| Season | Season | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Average |
| Season | Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Average |
| | 1 | 0.779 | 0.934 | 1.156 | 1.415 | 1.378 | 1.588 | 1.568 | 1.837 | 1.946 | 2.123 | 2.132 | 2.396 | 2.277 | 2.669 | 1.728 |
Average TV viewership ratings :
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share (Nielsen Korea) | Average audience share (Nielsen Korea) |
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Nationwide | Seoul |
| 1 | April 26, 2023 | 3.588% (3rd) | 4.166% (1st) |
| 2 | April 27, 2023 | 4.310% (4th) | 4.836% (3rd) |
| 3 | May 3, 2023 | 5.706% (1st) | 6.428% (1st) |
| 4 | May 4, 2023 | 7.033% (1st) | 7.596% (1st) |
| 5 | May 10, 2023 | 6.670% (1st) | 6.666% (1st) |
| 6 | May 11, 2023 | 7.701% (2nd) | 8.056% (1st) |
| 7 | May 17, 2023 | 7.494% (1st) | 8.153% (1st) |
| 8 | May 18, 2023 | 8.446% (1st) | 9.526% (1st) |
| 9 | May 24, 2023 | 9.439% (1st) | 9.604% (1st) |
| 10 | May 25, 2023 | 9.956% (1st) | 10.553% (1st) |
| 11 | May 31, 2023 | 10.257% (1st) | 10.648% (1st) |
| 12 | June 1, 2023 | 10.998% (1st) | 12.339% (1st) |
| 13 | June 7, 2023 | 10.592% (1st) | 11.097% (1st) |
| 14 | June 8, 2023 | 12.032% (1st) | 13.604% (1st) |
| Average | Average | 8.159% | 8.805% |
| In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. This series aired on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS). ||||

### Accolades
#### Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination :
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2024 | Best Drama | The Good Bad Mother | Nominated |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2024 | Best Actress | Ra Mi-ran | Nominated |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2024 | Best Supporting Actress | Kang Mal-geum | Nominated |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2024 | Best Screenplay | Bae Se-young | Nominated |

#### Listicle

| Publisher | Year | Listicle | Placement | Ref. |
| Time | 2023 | The 10 Best Korean Dramas of 2023 on Netflix | Included | |