Best Quotes of Our Unwritten Seoul: There are some Kdramas which are not only shows—they’re cosy conversations with someone who absolutely understands your pain. Our Unwritten Seoul was one such drama for me. It was not only a drama about twin sisters; it was a drama about us—about getting lost, about pretending to be tough, about smiling through tears. But more than anything, it was a drama which taught us what healing is, one small step at a time.
The actors spoke so many beautiful words on this kdrama — simple, bare words yet with such richness. Some of them brought tears to my eyes; others made me feel heard. These are 10 of the most powerful quotes from Our Unwritten Seoul, and how they affected us all.
Best Quotes of Our Unwritten Seoul
“Yesterday is over. Tomorrow is yet to come. Today is yet unknown.”
On a so-so day, this quote is like a big warm hug. Today, I see that life on Earth is paradise. It reminded me that although yesterday hurts and tomorrow is unknown, today is still full of promise. Mi-Ji, who for so much of her life had felt like such a failure, she learned to live in the moment. I mean, I think we all need to hear that — like, don’t be afraid of the unknown. Just breathe in and out.
“If a deer runs away from a lion, does that make it trash? If a hermit crab hides in fear of being eaten, is it a coward? They’re all just trying to survive. You’re hiding to survive, too.”
This was the line Grandma said that was most poignant. We berate ourselves for being afraid, for requiring a time-out. But with this line, we’re brought back to reality that cowering is not cowardice, it’s living. The same way that animals scrap with claws and teeth, we too are entitled to scrap for our peace. Mi-Ji remembered to forgive herself from her grandma’s line, and honestly, I remembered too.
“You have to be loved to know how to love.”
Yeom Bun-hong uttered this so kindly in life, a woman herself who indeed had a very complicated relationship with her own feelings. Love is not something we just know—it’s something we learn. Kindness, patience, care — when we are granted these from other people, we learn how to return. I found this quote useful in the way that it made me remember that healing starts by being willing to accept love, particularly when we don’t think that we deserve it.
“Things don’t always feel right in the beginning. If you start with something super sweet and try something sweet and tangy, all you can taste is the tang.”
What a poetic way of saying that new things take time. Odd new sensations are par for the course when you’re in transition. Similar to the sensation of something new in your mouth, your heart has to get used to it. This quote reminded me that not everything that bothers us implies that something is amiss — it just implies that I am growing.
“I spent days in silence, keeping to myself so no one would see how vulnerable I was.”
I cried reading this quote because I’ve been there. Mi-rae was always seen as the strong, stoic one. But inside, she was hurting and scared. We sit there silently at times because we’ve learned it’s embarrassing to talk of pain. But this is the line that tells the truth: Just because we’re quiet doesn’t necessarily mean we’re okay — it’s usually because we’re dying on the inside.
“Being unemployed is a fight against your own mind and the clock… 99% of those thoughts are useless.”
That one hit a little too close and real. Mi-ji explained what it is like to be trapped in your own mind, like time is passing outside of you, yet you are trapped. When there is no plan or no job, your mind becomes your own worst enemy. I used that quote because it takes into account the amount of honesty expressed about suffering, how many of us prolong the suffering in secret.
“Life is like poetry. From a distance, it looks like an indecipherable code, but if you look closely with a heart willing to understand, only then will you see the meaning within.”
This is a jewel from Kim Rosa, the Kdrama’s poet. I mean, thanks for taking about the fear of life. This line makes so much sense if you care and pay attention. Meaning will be found, if you’re willing to wait, in ways that are unexpected and maybe even muddled and confusing. That’s what it’s doing is learning to read between the lines — the way you would do in poetry, or with people.
“For so long, I was harder on myself than anyone else… Why do I end up attacking myself in the moments I most need to protect myself?”
This was like a mirror. Mi-ji criticised herself always; she was never good enough. And then she learned something worth learning: we need to be kind, but above all, to ourselves. What I learned from this quote is that the voice in our head does not always have to be the enemy. We need to stop bashing ourselves for trying our best to be human.
“What is this feeling? I clearly messed everything up. But somehow, it’s easier to breathe. For the first time in forever, I feel like I’ve taken off an invisible mask.”
And something so liberating about being honest at last — with others, with yourself. When Mi-Ji said this, I felt that even if it doesn’t work out, there is peace if you’re honest. It is acceptable to make mistakes. More pertinent is to release the mask that we put on to impress other people.
“Love isn’t about winning or losing. It’s about remaining on the same team until the very end, even if you lose. Love is about staying together, even if you lose a hundred or thousand times.”
This basically reaffirmed your faith in love. Not the fairy tale, once-upon-a-time, happily-ever-after sort, but the sort that holds on through pain, loss and failure. Not right and wrong. Gonna stick together no matter what. This is what Mi-Ji and Ho-Su represented, and this quotation captured it all.
Our Unwritten Seoul kdrama (미지의 서울) had taught us all there was to know about suffering, healing, and power in the most unlikely of places. These lines hadn’t been just words — they’d been lessons in life through dialogue. I’ll remember them, as I’ll remember the story of Mi-ji and Mi-rae.
If you’ve ever been made to feel invisible, like you weren’t worth anything or like life was passing you by, this drama and these words spoke to you. Because the truth is — whatever amount of your story has yet to be written up to this point, you’re only just getting started.
Have you guys finished watching this Korean drama Our Unwritten Seoul? Let us know your thoughts about the series in the comments below!
