Kim Mi-kyung to play Ahn Eun-jin's mother in 'A Love Other Than Yours'

Actress Kim Mi-kyung is set to become Ahn Eun-jin's mother, stepping into the center of a realistic family drama.

Kim will play Ma Sook-hee, the mother of film director Lee Mi-do (Ahn Eun-jin), in the new KBS 2TV weekend mini-series 'A Love Other Than Yours,' which premieres on September 12. The series is a realistic romance depicting the unexpected emotional shifts experienced by a couple in a 10-year relationship as they navigate the space between familiarity and excitement. Seo Kang-jun appears as Namgung Ho, Mi-do's partner of 10 years, while Lee Ju-an and Jo Ah-ram will portray characters that create cracks in the relationship.

Ma Sook-hee is a character who raised three children alone while working as a hairdresser. While she worries deeply about her children, she is exceptionally favorable toward Namgung Ho, whom she treats with care as the partner of her daughter, Mi-do. She embodies the sentiment of a typical 'realistic mother,' where affection and dissatisfaction are simultaneously revealed through the minor actions and speech of those closest to her within the family.

Kim is expected to portray this character through her signature realistic acting, without relying on exaggerated maternal instincts or comedic devices. The drama's realism is expected to be heightened by her portrayal of a mother who worries about her child but speaks bluntly rather than beating around the bush, her attitude of cherishing her daughter's partner even before he becomes a son-in-law, and a relationship where she bickers with her daughter but protects her at decisive moments. In particular, the mother-daughter chemistry with Ahn Eun-jin is expected to serve as a device that expands the scope of the 'realistic romance' from a romantic relationship to a familial one.

For Kim, 'mother' is not just a repetitive character type. For a long time, she has meticulously expressed the love, hate, responsibility, sacrifice, and conflict that arise within the family unit in various dramas and films. In works such as Go Mi-ja in 'Welcome to Samdal-ri,' Lee Jae's mother in 'Death's Game,' and Jeong Geum-hee in 'Black Out,' she has accumulated the emotions of characters surrounding their families through realistic language and expressions. Recently, she showed deep affection for her son and family warmth as Park Kyung-hwa, the mother of Shin I-rang, in 'Phantom Lawyer.' Her filmography has consistently featured characters mediated through family relationships.

In particular, Kim's strength lies in her ability to vary the single archetype of a 'mother' into different individuals in every work. From characters enduring economic hardship and the weight of family to those silently watching over their children's choices, she has differentiated the nuances within the same maternal shell depending on social class, environment, and the density of relationships. Therefore, Ma Sook-hee is highly likely to function as another realistic mirror reflecting Mi-do's life and romance, rather than remaining a mere supporting parental character.

This is precisely the point that 'A Love Other Than Yours' focuses on. While a 10-year relationship is often consumed as a matter of 'boredom' and 'breakups,' as a relationship lasts longer, it moves beyond a connection between two individuals and becomes closer to a living community intertwined with family, workplace, and social expectations. Since Lee Mi-do and Namgung Ho are people who know each other's habits and weaknesses better than anyone, Ma Sook-hee's perspective on their relationship is also expected to play a role in expanding the emotional lines of the drama.

This year, Kim has expanded her acting range by crossing the boundaries of genres and characters in several works, including 'Phantom Lawyer.' She has continued her stable presence as a veteran actress by building different emotional lines for various characters in works such as 'Gyeonu and the Fairy,' 'To the Moon,' and 'Waiting for Gyeong-do.'

In this work, the unique family chemistry she will form not only with Ahn Eun-jin but also with Seo Kang-jun is a key point of interest. How Mi-do's mother views her daughter's 10-year romance and her attitude toward Namgung Ho will add another layer of realistic weight to their relationship, providing further enjoyment to the series.