‘Secret Mother’ to draw attention on Korean education

Upcoming SBS drama series “Secret Mother” hopes to draw attention to the overheated Korean education environment, adding elements of mystery along the way.

The Saturday-Sunday TV series features Kim So-yeon and Song Yoon-ah as the main leads. The story is set around “Gangnam mothers,” referring to moms excessively committed to their children, especially for their academic achievements. 

Kim plays Kim Lisa, a mysterious person overseeing students’ academic endeavors. The job actually exists in real life -- these persons are called academic surrogate mothers, or examination nannies.

Song will play a former psychiatrist fully committed to her family. She hires Kim to ensure better scores for her child. The actress, who is also a mother in real life, shared her thoughts on the issue at a media briefing Friday in Seoul.

“It’s the first time a local series is dealing with the subject of an academic nanny. But it’s not the first time that I have heard of the word as a mother myself,” Song said.

“I know that there are some families that hired the nannies. But I have to ask, will I be committed enough to my child’s studies to hire an academic nanny? I am not sure.”

She continued, saying, “It is more important for parents to help discover a child’s talent. One could be good at studying, but some could be talented at arts. The parents’ responsibility is to aid a child in finding one’s own strength and talent.”

Kim agreed, adding her hope that the drama could sound an alert about the overheated education system.

“I consider a cartoon book as a book,” she said. “I wish that ‘Secret Mother’ can heal the scars of people who are hurt (from excessive competition).”

It’s the actress’s first work since she married fellow actor Lee Sang-woo in March 2017.

“After marriage, people tell me I have become more calm and peaceful when working,” she said. “I was attracted to the drama as the character has a strong storyline. I am lucky to meet such a character.”

The 32-part drama is to air its first episode Saturday at 8:55 p.m.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)