Watch 21st Century Family

21st Century Family is a South Korean television series that aired in 2012, portraying the everyday lives and challenges of a contemporary family, living in the fast-paced 21st century. It's a dramedy that brings together slices of life, humor, warmth, and the reality of today's world, showing viewers how this ordinary family navigates through the 21st-century madness of technology, new norms, and evolving social dynamics.

The show’s creative storyline is anchored around the Ok family, a typical Korean middle-class family that experiences the contrast between older traditions and modern values on a day to day basis. The series does a brilliant job in portraying the lives of different generations under one roof - moving back and forth between the perspectives of the elderly grandparents, middle-aged parents, young adults and the youngest who is a middle-schooler.

The patriarch of the family is Kim Won-Jae, the father, who works as a manager at an advertising company. Kim Won-Jae’s character represents the pressures and hopes of an average office worker - a humorous yet poignant symbol of the traditional Korean salaried man. He's shown grappling with the constant threat of being laid off, tackling workplace hierarchy and struggling to balance family life.

Wife and mother, Lee Hye-Ri take charge of the household with grace and authority, humorously struggling to make ends meet while managing the different personalities in the family. Her character is an epitome of a modern-day woman trying to keep up with an exhaustive house chore-list while maintaining her personal interests.

The eldest son, Jae-Hun, is a college graduate who is struggling to secure a job in the competitive Korean job market. His experience mirrors the uncertainty and anxiety of today’s young workforce. His character is complemented by that of his sister, Hye-Rim, a high-school girl who is grappling with teenage angst, yearning for independence but still holding on to childhood.

The youngest member, Tae-Rim, is a middle school boy growing up amidst the internet and gaming culture. His experience depicts today's generation that's growing up with digital devices playing a crucial role in shaping their perceptions and interactions.

The grandparents in the family are not left out as the show touches on their daily struggles trying to adapt to rapidly changing societal norms and technology. Their portrayal gives a cultural glimpse into South Korea’s older generation grappling with this fast-paced world.

The show takes its audience on a roller-coaster ride of emotions ranging from laughter to tears as it unpacks the intricacies of current societal issues, familial challenges, modern social interactions, struggles of adapting to technological changes, and the generation gap in South Korea. What's remarkable about 21st Century Family is its authenticity – it doesn’t shy away from touching on subjects such as financial struggles, job insecurity, search for identity, and societal pressures.

21st Century Family combines sitcom-like humor with tear-jerking realities of life, wrapped up in episodes that make it an easily digestible yet thought-provoking experience. The show runs in short-duration episodes, yet they are enough to leave a deep, lasting impression. Each episode addresses an issue or a theme that resonates with the audience, making each viewer feel like they could be a part of the Ok family, if not already relating to them on many levels.

Every character in the show is sketchy and colorful in their own way, with their quirks and eccentricities setting them apart and bringing them together at the same time. Their evolution throughout the episodes is marked by their encounters with everyday situations, each teaching them a valuable lesson about love, patience, understanding, and surviving the 21st century.

21st Century Family is indeed a special show that caters to a wide demographic – young and old, male and female, technophile and technophobe. It's not just a show about an average Korean family, rather a unique mirror reflecting the modern times which any individual across the globe can thoroughly enjoy and learn from. This series succeeds in delivering valuable lessons about family and societal dynamics, wrapped up in humor and mild satire, making it a must-watch.