In an era obsessed with constantly proving one's worth, a new drama offers empathy and comfort by openly laying bare its protagonist's sense of worthlessness. JTBC's "Everyone Is Fighting Their Own Worthlessness" (hereafter "Mojamussa") is striking a chord with viewers.
The protagonist, Hwang Dong-man (played by Koo Kyo-hwan), stands at the pinnacle of worthlessness. At 40, he has yet to make his directorial debut and is commonly labeled a "jobless man in his 40s." He casts himself as a nuisance character who hurls blunt criticism at successful senior and junior directors and production company executives. In the early episodes, he comes across as an off-putting figure difficult to sympathize with.
But as Dong-man's story unfolds — showing him working tirelessly from hotel serving shifts to teaching screenwriting classes, with barely enough hours in the day — the dislike turns into empathy, and empathy into support. Viewers who had coldly dismissed him as "a failed director because he lacks talent" begin to recall their own past, when part-time jobs left them little time to prepare for careers, saying, "How could he find time to write with so many side gigs?" His scene snapping back at a production company executive with "Why does my life have to meet your approval?" has reportedly delivered a strong catharsis to viewers.
"I don't even ask for success. I just don't want to feel anxious." By reminding viewers that anxiety is an inevitable emotion — for those merely holding on, and even for those who seem to have it all — Dong-man seeps into the hearts of those who once turned away from him.
The drama does not stop there. The warm relational storytelling characteristic of writer Park Hae-young, who penned "My Mister" and "My Liberation Notes," forms another pillar of the work. Production company PD Byeon Eun-ah (Ko Youn-jung), who recognizes Dong-man's potential, and the step-grandmother (Yeon Woon-kyung) who embraced a young Eun-ah afraid of being abandoned, convey warmth through a tenderness that affirms one's very existence. Of Dong-man's screenplay, Eun-ah points out a potential others had missed, saying, "You're like someone with a thousand doors wide open." Her line, "The director is far more wonderful than the protagonist — instinctive and warm," offered great comfort to Dong-man, who had long yearned for others' recognition. People who open their hearts to those deemed insignificant — "Mojamussa" tells us that such solidarity is what gives us the strength to endure an age of anxiety.
