After the first episode aired,
My Mister was accused of glorifying
dating violence due to a scene where loan shark Kwang-il assaults Ji-an, who replies "Do you like me?", and because Kwang-il's official description said he bothered Ji-an as it was the only way to make her see him. The
Korea Communications Standards Commission commented that a number of complaints had been received and that it was checking them, while the production team replied that the complicated relationship between the two characters would be resolved gradually and to be patient. The director and the actors pointed out that violence and crime were only narrative tools. IU herself intervened, saying, "Kwang-il and Ji-an have the most conflictual relationship. How could you love someone so violent?"
Real News instead observed that the first two episodes had managed to demonstrate the intention of depicting the process of mutual understanding between characters of different generations and genders who were at odds with each other, while pop culture critic Jung Deok-hyun called
My Mister "a survival thriller." He later added that the intent of the series was to depict the pursuit of happiness in hell. Overcoming the controversies,
My Mister ended with the support of the public and the critics, who called it "a life drama" centered on people and one of the best series of the year. Ji-an was praised by the press for not being a poor and helpless heroine, but able to grasp the whole situation and create an advantageous situation for herself, taking matters into her own hands. The directing and the actors' performances were praised, and IU was complimented for effortlessly digesting a character tired of living a harsh life. Seo Byung-gi of the
Korea Herald Business commented that the series made him think about life, family and society, and noted that Dong-hoon and Ji-an were "wonderfully connected" by their wounds.
Huffington Post Korea and
Sports Hankook wrote that it talked about the meeting of broken people of different ages and genders, blurring the lines between the many barriers of today's society and showing how human solidarity led to demolishing one's walls and discovering that the world was a warmer place than expected.
The Chosun Ilbo and
The Korea Herald identified the depiction of a life no different from that experienced by ordinary people as the reason for the success of
My Mister, and that the characters facing "real wars" such as unemployment, job insecurity, job hunting, divorce and extramarital affairs had touched the hearts of the viewers "with a painfully bleak but warm impression," celebrating a world in which it was difficult to live, but which could be made bearable and happy if you had someone by your side. Lee Do-yeon of
Yonhap News added that it had demonstrated that people separated like islands could build a bridge-like bond through compassion and understanding, and that the show's message was that people could comfort and understand each other because everyone harbored pain in their hearts. The script of the series, which went on sale in 2022, registered more than pre-orders, ranking fourth on
Kyobo Book's
best-sellers list and becoming the second best-selling drama script of the year. Ultimately, the drama received critical acclaim for its screenplay and direction. The cast similarly received praise for their performances, which viewers called "life work" for all of the actors.
Viewership This series airs on tvN, a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (
KBS,
SBS,
MBC and
EBS). The drama was a critical and commercial success, consistently topping the cable television viewership ratings in its time slot. While it began with ratings of 3-4%, deemed below expectations due to, according to
Yonhap News, the too heavy atmosphere, Its final episode recorded a with 7.352% nationwide audience share according to Nielsen paid platform making the episode one of the
highest rated in Korean cable television history at the time.
My Mister drew a solid average viewership rating of 5% for a cable TV show and topped the Contents Power Index (CPI) rankings, as well as the TV popularity ranking, six times during its nine-week run.
Awards and nominations ==References==