[Mar 16 & 17] “Live Your Own Life” Ep 50 & 51: Ratings, Recap, Review

KBS 2TV's "Live Your Own Life" kept its spot as the most-watched show on Saturday. The drama, which was close to ending, had a high rating of 19.7% for its second-to-last episode.

And it ended as the top show on Sunday night. Its last episode almost reached its highest-ever rating, with an average of 22%.

“Live Your Own Life” episodes 50 & 51: Recap & review

Episode 50

Uee left Hajun behind. Will the drama will end with a broken engagement or if the two will reunite for a happy ending.

Sunssoon (Yoon Mi-ra) became furious upon learning that Hyosim (Uee) had donated her liver to Chooryeon (Nam Kyung-eup). “How could you put your younger sister, who’s about to get married the day after tomorrow, into surgery without consulting your mother?” she vented her resentment to her eldest son Hyosung (Nam Seong-jin), which then extended to Chooryeon. 

After Chooryeon left home when Hyosim was 9, she became a dear daughter to Sunssoon, taking on the role of a husband. When Sunssoon felt unbearably lonely, Hyosim would comfort her with her small, fiddlehead-like hands. And at an age when she should have been enjoying herself, she only wore tracksuits and worked tirelessly, worrying about living expenses and her brothers’ tuition fees.

Chooryeon, who had been unaware of the family’s circumstances, pleaded to take on the role of a father now. But Sunssoon firmly drew the line, saying that she would let Hyosim go to meet a good man and live well, telling him to “never show up again.”

After the surgery, the family couldn’t hide their feelings of remorse towards Hyosim. Especially Hyojun (Seol Jeong-hwan), who had been oblivious to the family’s situation due to his bar exam, couldn’t even face Hyosim. 

The family gathered in the hospital room, all feeling guilty and rooting for Hyosim’s speedy recovery. Ruby (Lee Ga-yeon), the niece, said, “In our society, good people are subtly ignored and taken advantage of, but I believe their value should not be belittled. My aunt’s life is much more valuable and deserving of respect,” delivering a fact bomb.

However, Hyosim didn’t find the family’s sentiments pleasant or comfortable. After everyone had left for the night, she turned on her phone, which had been off, and was greeted by desperate text notifications from Taeho (Hajun), who had been waiting for her contact. 

Tears flowed at Taeho’s earnestness, saying, “It’s okay to be angry or curse, just please contact me.”. Hyosim, looking at the large surgical scar on her abdomen, felt even more sorrowful and cried out loud.

Taeho, who belatedly received news of Hyosim’s surgery from Hyosung, rushed to the hospital like mad. But Hyosim wasn't there. Despondent, Taeho headed to Jeju Island. He did so because a former training center colleague of Hyosim had told, “Let’s go on a trip to Jeju Island when we have time.” 

Staring blankly at the Jeju sea, Hyosim felt too ashamed to face Taeho, who had come looking for her. She felt terribly sorry for choosing her family over Taeho again. However, for Taeho, that didn’t matter. He was determined to protect Hyosim so she wouldn’t feel sorry for the people around her or the world anymore, and to live her life without sacrificing for others.

But that night, Hyosim seemed to have made up her mind about something. After leaving a long letter and seeing Taeho asleep, she cried, packed her bags, and left for somewhere. 

The preview for the final episode showed that a year had passed since Hyosim disappeared, and Taeho, who had still been waiting for her, saw her being interviewed on a TV program and ran out frantically. The reasons for Hyosim’s departure and, more importantly, whether Hyosim and Taeho will indeed have a happy reunion, are the focus of the final episode.

Episode 51 (Finale)

I can’t figure out why Hyosim just up and left. Strangely, she would do that after watching her own family struggle when her dad went missing. It’s like it runs in the family, making life hard for everyone by going away. 

When Taeho finds her, Hyosim is all tears, saying she missed him. That doesn’t make sense to me. If she missed him so much, why didn’t she just call him? That was a mean thing to do.

Jang Sukhyang got locked up for 15 years, and Yeom Jinsu for 20. Kang Jinbeom, though, got out after just one year. I’m glad Sukhyang and Yeom Jinsu got punished, but I wish we could’ve seen them feeling sorry for what they did. The part where Taehee visits Jinsu in jail was really moving. Jinsu did a lot of bad stuff, but he always looked out for Taehee. I hope they stay in touch.

I’m not sure if they ever said why Bang Keutsoon’s son lied to her. I didn’t catch everything, but it bugs me they didn’t clear that up.

Hyosim got married to Taeho and went to England to study. Then she got pregnant with twins and came back to Korea with a big belly. It’s usually not a good idea to fly when you’re about to have a baby, right? It’s odd she flew back to Korea. Some folks even go to the U.S. to have their babies, but Hyosim and her husband did their own thing.

Writer Jo Jungsun seems pretty set in her ways. The loan shark character wasn’t liked much, and he didn’t need to be in the show, but there he was at the wedding in the last episode. 

Hyodo is in Paris. And it looks like he went because Taehee is there.

All in all…

I thought it would be about Hyosim breaking free from her family early on, but it took too long, and that felt like a letdown. Older folks watch these weekend dramas, and writers usually keep that in mind, but I don’t think even they would relate to Hyosim’s story. She was used by her family and then by her dad who wasn’t around for ages.

I was looking forward to Grandma Choi Myunghee’s part after she got away, but she didn’t do much, which was a bummer. But I have to say, the writer did a good job with Kang Taemin, who was sad a lot, and Kang Taehee, who thought someone else was her dad. That was done well.

The sequel to “Live Your Own Life” is “Beauty and Mr. Romantic” by writer Kim Sakyung and starring Im Soohyang and Ji Hyunwoo. Kim Sakyung’s previous works like “My Only One” and “Young Lady and Gentleman” had their flaws, but they were definitely entertaining. I hope “Beauty and Mr. Romantic” lives up to the expectations and is as entertaining as anticipated. 

(Sources: Nielsen Korea, khan.co.kr, naver.com)