'Our Unwritten Seoul': Healing drama of twin sisters' growth
Actor Park Bo-young takes on dual role of identical siblings
A poster for tvN drama "Our Unwritten Seoul" / Courtesy of CJ ENM
The new weekend drama from tvN, “Our Unwritten Seoul,” follows identical twins Yu Mi-rae and Mi-ji, who look exactly alike but live completely different lives. When they make the choice to swap places, they learn about each other's hidden pain and to understand the world from the other’s perspective.
Mi-rae, who spent most of her childhood in the hospital due to a congenital heart condition, has always felt indebted to her family for caring for her fragile health. Driven by a sense of obligation, she studies hard, attends a prestigious university and lands a job at a public corporation in Seoul. In contrast, Mi-ji was born healthy and dreamed of becoming a track athlete. But after an injury dashes her hopes, she stays in her hometown, working various part-time jobs like cleaning the local school and seasonal agricultural labor.
Their personalities are also polar opposites. While Mi-rae is used to enduring and holding back, Mi-ji is cheerful and robust no matter the situation. As children, they would sometimes swap places to help deal with adversity. As adults, with Mi-rae facing severe bullying at work and reaching her breaking point, the sisters once again decide to switch lives.
Mi-ji soon discovers that Mi-rae’s seemingly perfect life is actually a living hell. The senior coworker who looked out for her becomes a workplace outcast after refusing to ignore their boss’s corruption, and Mi-rae, who reported the wrongdoing, is treated like she's invisible. As Mi-ji takes on Mi-rae’s life, she finds herself confronting the harsh realities of life in Seoul and the problems of workplace politics.
Actor Park Bo-young is seen in scenes from tvN drama "Our Unwritten Seoul." Courtesy of CJ ENM
Meanwhile, Mi-rae becomes immersed in the world of a day laborer and comes to a new understanding of her twin's life. The contrast between city and countryside, prestigious university and high school diploma, corporate work and part-time jobs — realities that define social classes in Korea — form the backdrop for the different lives that Mi-rae and Mi-ji come to explore.
Mi-ji, who works hard caring for her grandmother, fails to get a contract for a cleaning job at the local Office of Education, losing out to university graduates. The school’s vice principal, for whom she does cleaning work, displays contempt for her choices: “At 30, you should be deciding on a career path, not exploring options.” Despite this, she bravely faces life and offers comfort and encouragement to many people.
What captivates viewers the most is not only actor Park Bo-young’s superb performance in a dual role, but also the power of the script, which portrays the worries of people in their 20s and 30s like workplace bullying, family expectations, struggles with identity and career setbacks in a realistic and nuanced way.
Writer Lee Kang revealed that the story began with the thought, “Everyone feels their own life is the hardest, but in reality, each person is fighting their own battle.” Through the sisters’ journey of growth, reconciliation and learning to love themselves, the writer hopes that the drama reflects on feelings of loneliness, pain and healing for modern people.
Although a romance inevitably develops involving a man who suddenly enters their swapped lives, “Our Unwritten Seoul” is not just a simple romance. It is a work that explores human relationships, self-identity, healing and growth. With Park Bo-young’s outstanding performance, a relatable script and realistic storytelling, the drama has established itself as a “healing drama” that resonates deeply across generations.