“Don’t trust anybody. I will protect you.” This line from the movie Mother reflects the role of mothers in modern society. The protagonist Do-joon is a murder suspect under trial with nowhere to turn for help. An impoverished young man who is mocked by his neighbors for his learning disability, the only person who can help him is his mother. With the wealth gap growing wider and social security networks collapsing, the socially marginalized have increasingly fewer places to turn.

Director Bong Joon-ho’s Mother is a movie about a man that finds himself in a situation where only his mother can come to his aid. It is also the story of a mother who believed that she was the only one who could protect her son, only to discover that her son had betrayed her. Do-joon (Won Bin) is a mentally handicapped young man whose behavioral difficulties have plagued his mother (Kim Hye-ja) all his life, but he is now in danger of being convicted of a murder he did not commit. His mother has no connections or power, but searches desperately for anything that can prove her son’s innocence. Everyone else, however, sees Do-joon as an easy scapegoat because of his disability. The mother finally succeeds in proving Do-joon’s innocence at the risk of her own life, only to discover that he really was a murderer who killed a schoolgirl he was trying to rape.

It is not hard to see supermoms in TV dramas these days who manage to be great mothers while also being successful working women. In reality, however, many mothers struggle to raise their children while juggling careers. This is not by choice but out of financial necessity. At the same time there is an increasing tendency for adults to remain chronically dependent on their mothers. While most women dread meeting a mama’s boy, the importance of a mother’s role is only increasing as true independence from one’s parents becomes more difficult in modern Korean society. Needless to say, mothers occupy an extremely significant place in Korean pop culture.

In an episode of the television drama Dae Jang Geum, one of the shows that sparked a global Korean culture craze known as the Korean Wave, the main character comes up with an interesting riddle. Jang Geum, a former cook in the palace who becomes a physician to the royal family, faces her toughest challenge ever when one of her patients refuses treatment. As the patient in question is the king’s mother, the entire palace goes into an uproar. Jang Geum is only a low-ranking physician, but makes a daring proposal to the king’s mother. The dare is that if the king’s mother cannot answer Jang Geum’s riddle, then she must submit to treatment. The king’s mother hardly wishes to bend to a lowly physician, but is too proud not to take the dare. Jang Geum then asks her the following riddle:

“This woman is the taster to the crown who tastes and inspects all food consumed in the palace. Her post originated in China when the Chinese emperor appointed a taster to sample all his food. This woman was born a house slave, but she is actually wiser than anybody in the house. Legend has it that when she was alive the world was surrounded by mountains, but after she died a great flood covered the entire world.” Who is this woman? The answer to this riddle is: a mother. A mother takes care of her family without ever stopping to rest like a house slave, but when there is a family problem she is everyone’s wisest confidante. As long as she is alive the family has nothing to fear, as if they were in a land protected by mountains, but when she dies they will weep so much that they will barely see through their tears. The king’s mother in Dae Jang Geum finally guesses the answer to this riddle but agrees to Jang Geum’s treatment, as the king wishes, instead of punishing the insolent physician. Jang Geum’s reasons for posing this riddle to the king’s mother was not to win a dare, but in the hopes that the king’s mother would remember what it truly means to be a mother and not cause her children pain.

Dae Jang Geum is a period drama set in the Joseon era, yet features a maternal character that is very progressive even for modern standards. That character is Lady Han, a senior lady-in-waiting who becomes Jang Geum’s mentor. Lady Han is not Jang Geum’s biological mother, but looks after her as warmly as if she were. Her love for Jang Geum is more complex than simple devotion, however. Lady Han is also an excellent teacher who does not hesitate to reprimand Jang Geum at times, but is the first person to recognize and encourage Jang Geum’s talent. While waiting patiently for Jang Geum to realize her own shortcomings and curtail her curiosity so as not to ruin her chances at achieving something great, Lady Han displays a silent trust in Jang Geum rather than berate her. This patient, understanding type of mother was the first representation of its kind in a Korean drama. Sometimes chatting with Jang Geum like a best friend, sometimes comforting her like a lover, Lady Han’s motherly love plays a pivotal role in Jang Geum becoming a good physician. Lady Han was a progressive character that showed that maternal love was not restricted to people related by blood, but could be applied to those who are technically strangers.

The movie Marathon features the mother of a man named Cho-won (Cho Seung-woo) who is 20 years old but has the mental capacity of a five-year-old. Cho-won’s mother Kyung-sook (Kim Mi-sook) knows that her autistic son is better at running than most able-bodied people, and encourages him to become a marathon runner. With the mental age of a five-year-old, Cho-won is an irrepressible troublemaker. He embarrasses his mother by passing gas in front of crowds and dancing wildly like a child anytime he hears music. But Kyung-sook never gives up on Cho-won’s future. She believes that when Cho-won is running, he is more admirable than anyone in the world. However, Cho-won’s coach Jeong-wook does not share Kyung-sook’s enthusiasm, and accuses her of forcing her own dreams on her son. Kyung-sook begins to have her own doubts as well. Cho-won cannot express himself as well as other people; what if he was only running because she told him to?

Yet Cho-won truly does love running. It may have initially been at his mother’s behest, but now it has become Cho-won’s dream too. The movie, based on the true story of Bae Hyung-jin, a man with autism, touched many people. In the end Cho-won overcomes the doubts and concerns of well-wishers and completes a full marathon in good time. By never doubting Cho-won’s ability and believing in him to the end, his mother's actions help many overcome the prejudices that they have towards the differently-abled. As someone who must take care of her son’s every need and never leave his side, Kyung-sook has just one wish: “My wish is that Cho-won will die one day before me.” She always trails her son like a shadow, and wishes to continue to do so until Cho-won’s death.

Mothers have long been an important subject in pop music as well. Korean boy band "god"’s song “To Mother,” for instance, stole the hearts of many with its lyrics expressing the regret of a man who belatedly realizes the depth of his mother’s love. With its powerful message told like a story, the song remains a favorite among many Koreans long after the group disbanded.

"When I was young we were so poor/we never went to a restaurant I swore/when mother went to work/ I ate instant ramen by myself, always./One day I was so tired of instant ramen/I begged to eat something more./Mother took out some money she had saved and ordered jajjangmyeon from/a Chinese restaurant, I was so happy./But mother didn’t eat any./Mother said she didn’t like jajjangmyeon./Mother said she didn’t like jajjangmyeon."

In the song, the ever self-sacrificing mother lies and says that she does not like jajjangmeyon (a popular Korean-Chinese dish of noodles in black bean sauce) so that her son can have more. Few words can capture the collective guilt that Koreans bear towards their mothers and how they miss them when they are no longer there than the lyrics, “Mother said she didn’t like jajjangmyeon.” The mother in the song finally opens a small shop after a lifetime of worrying over her son who she raised as a single parent, but passes away barely a day after her moment of happiness. This song by a son who only realizes the depth of his mother’s sacrifice after she dies brought many to tears back in the day. “I loved you./I never told you so./But I do./Rest in peace./In a world without me,/forever.”