You Are My Spring is praiseworthy for the characters, dialogues, and much-needed awareness it brings up and addresses. It mainly does a stellar job highlighting the devastating long-term effect and consequences of abuse, child or spousal, neglect, alienation, and trauma after.
Not only that, it handles other misguided societal taboos and their aftermaths, primarily dating, particularly if sick, divorced, older, a celebrity, or in any way different than the acceptable norm. But more, the message it sends -- to change the way society looks at things; one must be the change they wish to see. I was expressly broken for the effect abuse left on both Ian Chase and Choi Jeong Min but primarily Jeong Min. Ian Chase confessing to his revenge scheme and things he made his brother do heartwrenching to watch.
To see that not only did Ian and Jeong Min's parents fail to protect them, but so did the system. Every child needs and deserves unconditional love and protection provided by those who brought them into this world. What this drama highlights the most and presents so artistically is that parenting requires responsible and selfless choices. To love and protect children does not require money, as much as it requires parents to identify and heal their own trauma and pain.
We see the healing unfold in Da Jang, who as a child carried the burdens of her mother's miserable married life, same with Young Do, who believed he had to sacrifice himself to save his brother to please his mother those beliefs notwithstanding they were lucky enough to have a parent who protected and kept them safe, but Ian and Jeong Min did not have that. They weren't protected or safe, nor did they ever feel protected, safe, or loved. It's no wonder Ian pushed for the choices they did.
As much as I love Da Jang and Young, the side stories in this drama fill my heart even more, especially Ahn Ga Young and Patrick, but I would be remiss not to include the twins and mainly Eun Ha. I adore her personality. She is strong-willed yet delicate at the same time. Parents unintentionally do many hurtful things to their children, and parental alienation is probably right up there with the worst of them. And, of course, I can't leave out Eun Ha and Tae Jung's story from the things I love.
All the stories this series offered, everything from the laughs and cries and the sharing of despair, heartache, fear, and the ultimate healing and love, all were memorable moments. But none of the stories were as impactful as the unfitting story of Ian Chase and Jeong and how it unexpectedly tied into the heart of this gem of a drama. I love the emphasis You Are My Spring leaves with us in that human beings can not thrive alone and should look out for one another and that having a solid network of supportive family and friends helps enhance our mental well-being. It's that and the faith it places on the healing journey through the genuine relationships our characters form that help them confront, accept, embrace, and let go of their fears, guilts, pre-judgments, and pains.​
As the saying goes, no man is an island - everyone needs support and comfort in both times of joy and distress. A standing ovation to my favorite S.K. actress Seo Hyun Jin, Kim Dong Wook for his brilliance, Yoon Park for making me believe him in his dual roles, Nam Gyu Ri for making me fall in love with Ga Young as well as her drama The Princess Forever, and Park Sang Nam with Patrick. Of course, no lead actors are ever complete without a strong support cast that makes them shine, and we have that and more in Kim Ye Won, Han Min, Ji Seung Hyun for getting me invested in their stories and the fantastic cameos, particularly Kim Nam Hee. They say actors are only as good as a script they can sink their teeth into, and the story and dialogue in this drama is proof of that. Kudos to the screenwriter for scripting such magic and the director for making it come to life. Watch episodes 15 & 16 here.