Both tell the story of a young boy whose life is full of tragedy and is battling terminal cancer. Both try to make the life of a girl they have hurt beautiful before they die. And both series are full of lessons from a beautiful life whose shine remains even after death. Like a star that shone and went out long ago, but its shine now illuminates hearts.
Mr. Plankton is similar to My Country of the New Age in many ways. Hae-joo's character, like Seon-ho, was full of pain that she hid behind her smiles. Both of them were full of goodness and kindness but pretended to be evil, hiding their beautiful inner selves behind a mask of evil and malice. Only in the hope of being able to protect their loved ones. Both of them thought they hated their fathers who pushed them away, while they wanted to be with their fathers with all their being and be loved by them. Their fathers were also similar to each other. Fathers who truly loved their children but perhaps didn't know how to express it properly and expressed their love for their children too late. Jae-mi was also a bit like Ho-yi. Both of them initially misinterpreted Seon-ho and Hae-joo's behaviors and pushed away the ones they loved more than anyone, but eventually realized their pure intentions and love.