Their Baby Is Doomed to Live Only a Day

“A Day” SBS, 11:40 p.m.

Directed by Han Ji-seung, Starring Lee Sung-jae and Goh So-young

2001 theater release. A couple is now expecting a baby after years of effort. The baby is a blessing for them, but they soon find out that their unborn baby has no brain.

The husband (Lee Sung-jae) told his wife (Goh So-young) to get an abortion, dismantling a baby room he had worked on so hard. But the wife, who had kept a diary for the unborn baby, is determined to deliver her baby.

It’s a classic sad story that makes you cry. The director depicts realistically how the couple comes to deal with the destiny of their unborn child they dear so much.

It’s refreshing that Goh So-young, an actress mostly recognized for her perky urban image, plays a role of a young saddened wife. Yet, she doesn’t look sad enough to display heart-breaking feelings of a mother. Lee Sung-jae, on the contrary, does a good job of being a struggling yet comforting husband. ★★★☆

Hee-Kyung Kim susanna@donga.com