This review may contain spoilers
First of all, I have some time that I finished this drama. I didn´t write a review then because it left me with a meh feeling. Maybe because I had bigger expectations than the reality. The drama starts really interesting. Actually realistic stories than can happen to someone. Normal families, normal relationships. It tries really to speak about the life of someone in theirs twenties. But as the story continues it starts making no sense. Ok, the story and sudden success of Sa Hye Joon, it is a bit strange. Second, the love story between Jung Ha and Hye Joon, in the start it was really nice and it was great that it wasn't the main plot until it became. And I didn't understand what became their relationship in the end. Third, what exactly is the role of Won Hae Hyo in the plot? His friendship with Hye Joon was interesting, but in the end there was there only for the love triangle, which is completely unnecessary. And the end was completely unsatisfying.
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REFRESHING!
I really enjoyed this drama! It was different, mature. It got a bit stressful at times, but it was more of an inhale/exhale kind of stress than an "I want to punch a wall" one. Now, I did have to skip through some of the episodes towards the end because characters were getting on my nerves a little TOO much(the people who called this drama boring LIED TO ME...).PROS: PARK BO GUUUUUM(he is too fine), the acting was SUPERB, none of the stakes were too high, the grandpa(too adorable), REALISTIC PORTRAYAL OF RELATIONSHIPS and how different sides view different events/conflicts, the way they handled the conflict resolution was perfect, NO PETTY EXES, good communication, funny, happy ending, Jung Ha, and Ms. Lee(MVP).
CONS: The music was aight, it didn't really do much for me. The back and forth of the timeline for each episode was a BIT confusing at first, but I got used to it. I also would've had a couple of characters trip down the stairs...
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A beautiful failure
This show had such a strong cast that could have acted the heck out of the poor storyline, but alas, even they could not save this train wreck. I don’t know if covid is to blame or just poor writing. How can a show start off great and then nosedive not even midway through the show? It felt so repetitive and boring that I’m honestly shocked I managed to finish it and didn’t give up midway.Park So Dam is So Dam talented and yet she is treated as a mere side character. I feel like the mother’s had more screen time than she did. Forget the fact that the relationship between the main two characters just lost its spark after they first got together. There was absolutely no physical affection. Was it because they were afraid to shoot them due to covid? I guess we’ll never know.
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So I just finished watching this drama, it is lower than my expectation cause I expect a lot from this drama BUT it’s actually not bad, it is just because I expect a lot, there is a lot of cringe scenes (for me) that somehow most of it I couldn’t handle, but if you like it then this is recommended.
You’ll know how entertainment work in this drama, how celebrity work their ass to be popular, dark side of celebrity and how celebrity get hurt by fake scandal.
Overall I enjoy this drama, Park Bogum ❤️❤️❤️
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This review may contain spoilers
A change of scenery, though not as different as I thought it would be
I'd like to acknowledge that there were indeed many things about this drama I liked, just as much as I disliked.First off, the pros. A lot of aspects in this drama felt fresh and new to me, a change from the immensely cliche conversations and the promises of some form of a happy ending for the main couple. Contrary to what many other reviews might say, I mostly enjoyed the use of dialogue between the characters. It took me aback at first - because why do most of the characters always know what to say, and in another case, why do they all speak similarly, following the same wavelength of "smart comebacks" within every tone of voice? - but then I chose to look at it in a positive light. The randomness of the main leads' conversations made me feel the playfulness they shared together, and offered their chemistry before they even became physically intimate. The script was written with the audience in mind, I could tell - they wanted to steer away from the cliches because the intent of the drama was to perceive the reality of youth in their 20s. A lot of people I've befriended and encountered in real life like talking about just anything that comes to mind, and that sense of relatability shined within these characters.
I like how they chose to perceive the main couple. Somehow, it felt like the perfect balance of cliche tinted with self awareness and reality to me. They choose to be this cheesy couple while also laughing about how cheesy they are. They choose to approach their problems maturely. And of course, when their relationship eventually fell apart, it completely washed over that sense of reality that this drama intended to have. I also like how there was no period in time where the two of them would just be endlessly pining for one another - they begun their relationship as real people do, and perhaps ended it the same way.. When it came to the second lead, it was such a nice change to see the male lead not get so aggressively jealous over their mere existence (which probably has a lot to do with their established close friendship). He instead thanks the second lead for being there when he couldn't be, but at the same time has realistic reactions when it came to it. Not a sprout of long term bad blood developed between the two men, and that was so refreshing to see.
I liked the theme of the drama. A lot. The whole "follow your dreams and work hard for it!" is never new when it comes to these romance dramas, and this was just another approach to the idea. I liked that all the characters were neither inherently bad nor good in an attempt to make them seem more human. It did a lot to make this drama different and less bizarre than others, and it would be a lie to say that I didn't get invested with the course of the plot. It didn't exactly motivate me, but I liked seeing the perspectives of people in show business, seeming as they're the most likely to be reaching for the stars, perhaps much more than others. They included more honest and blunt aspects to the world of Korean entertainment than I expected and enjoyed.
Also, the decision to make Hyejun the essential "main character" and Jeongha the clear "love interest lead" was interesting to me, because as we all know, female leads usually take the reins in leading the narrative of the story.
Now, onto the cons. I agree with several of the reviews that state that they should've expanded the other characters' stories, aside from the Sa family. I would spend several episodes wondering what Jeongha was upto, and was left unsatisfied when we saw none of the actual growth when it came to her career. Jinwoo and Haena's storyline quite literally went nowhere besides being some kind of anecdote about how you don't have the power to choose who you marry in your 20s, which was in itself....kind of weird.
Also, if one would dig deeper, one might find an important message to Haeyo's storyline. And sure, there may be - he decided to take initiative of what he wanted to do instead of being his mother's puppet. He cared less about what the public thought of him, and chose to love himself. However...that's literally it, and it's disappointing because it had so much potential. What of his career after his draft? What about his dreams, his goals, after that whole dilemma? They quite literally left us on such a bland note. Even when it came to his feelings for Jeongha. Because if I remember correctly, he oh-so proudly proclaimed how he decided to choose "love over friendship this time". and left his statement as it was. And to add to that, I have no idea why he even began to like her when they barely interacted at first. I could only understand why and how he fell for her when they started to get close. But the buildup of his own emotions came from absolutely nowhere.
The conclusion in itself wasn't as impactful as I thought it would be, but it worked. An open ending was an interesting choice, but it's funny how the only closure we get from Jeongha's story is "how is your salon doing?" "it's doing pretty well." Like, I thought we followed her journey career-wise to see her at the peak of her success? What about her parents, and how they feel about it?
I can bring up so many other questions this drama left unanswered, too. Not only that, but despite how it tries to push for realism, there were many instances that just felt too good to be true. Everything had to be convenient for our leads to get what they wanted. The plot went around in weird waves and didn't feel like there was a certain point I had to be on edge except for the couple breaking up (but then, I didn't know I had already reached the conclusion). And Charlie Jung's existence was just a push for an intense plot, one they barely did anything with. I did enjoy the whole "love has no gender!" and "loving people isn't a crime!" comments thrown around during that arc although it being the bare minimum, but besides that, getting involved in a scandal as big as that didn't feel....needed? Especially with the whole vibe the show was trying to give.
Waehyo and Haena's mother is the character that was truly left with minimal development. I found her character in itself to be very interesting, but they went nowhere with delving into her, which I kind of wish they did more of. Maybe I'd even throw Kyeong-jun in the list, but he got enough spotlight from being in the Sa family, haha.
In conclusion, I feel like they could've done much better in terms of direction and plot. This was a semi enjoyable watch, but the kind that you can really just consume only once. The actor cameos were really cute and surprising though (I think I screamed when I saw Lee Sungkyung and Hyeri LOL). I'd still definitely recommend it to people, despite it's nuances.
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Not for all, but its brilliant for those who can appreciate this type of story
I love this series. I love how calm and crazy it is at the same time. The characters personality and development are just too relatable that you just can't hate them for their choices. The story makes me feel like I was in the same space as they were. I am sure that the story contained toxic relationship and some subtle manipulations, but It didn't feel heavy at all. The way the characters communicated with each other made me feel fine even amidst the chaotic situation that they were in.Watching this will make you realize that all people makes choices on how to handle their issues, and sometimes it might not be right for us, but it might be the best option to the people involved. Surely some people might not appreciate this type of series, but ones you relate with it, you'll appreciate how mature the characters were.
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This review may contain spoilers
Records of pain actually.
Let me start off by saying I'm not a professional critic just a girl saying what's on my mind so do with that what you will.Into the thick of it, we go.
It's great I was in pure bliss for the first few episodes, but why would they take away my happiness like that. I remember just watching and being like, "Something isn't right, this is going too well too fast...this means pain." They should have been together man. Why couldn't it have been a slow burn why did they move so fast just to break up. Their chemistry was amazing but it was obvi that they wouldn't end up together because of how quickly they got together. I mean I know their reuniting kind of insinuates they get back together but I didn't watch it to use my own imagination dude come on. I also know the show wasn't mainly about romance but also following your dreams and blah blah which I liked but DAMMIT WHEN IS IT MY TURN TO BE HAPPY. If you like pain watch it. Each to their own.
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watch those first 10 episode, Cause its like second lead of a drama.
Record of youth was really something. But i know in the end it did break a lot of expectation'sI will just quote my personal experience. I watched the drama ongoing. I smiled and felt so good for the first 10 to 11 episodes. Then came the 2020 part of the drama. That was kind of expected but it went a little bit overboard. It made me sad. Almost disturbed my sleep. I realized how bad it is to take a drama seriously. But believe me, I couldn't help cause it was sooo good before that sad part. The acting was good. Everyone did their part beautifully. At times there was some lag in the story when the story focuses on hye jun's family. But u can just skip it .
The chemistry between the actors park so dam and park bo gum was something out of the page. Park bo bum will make u cry along with him and in the next scene make u smile for an infinite time even after completing that episode. It will really make u believe so much in love. It felt magical.
Anyway, that won't be your opinion once you reach the end.
I just want to let u know this. Don't decide not to watch this drama because of all those bad reviews.
It did break a lot of expectations, it made everyone cry. But this still first 10 episodes were so beautiful. Every drama lover should see that at least. U can of course drop the drama after that. If those were the last episodes of this drama. record of youth would have got a rating above 8.5 for sure.
The first part of the drama deserves so much better than this. Just like the second lead of a startup. A must watch first part .
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This review may contain spoilers
Ah phooey. This was my most anticipated drama release of the month AND THE YEAR, but compared to my expectations, I was sadly a bit disappointed. The second half of the show just really lost the juice that was driving the beginning and I started to feel detached. First of all, I personally felt that the leads lacked chemistry to the point where I didn't care about what happened to their relationship. They were almost too perfect for each other, but the breakup was a bit too sudden in my opinion, especially since they were depicted as super stable. Which brings me to my main problem with the couple: they felt underdeveloped. We soared through their "crush" phase (which was incredibly short, making me wonder why they even liked each other) and when they were in a relationship, I quickly got bored of the couple. Surprisingly though, this show didn't seem to focus on the romance, and was much more focused on Hye Jun's family. Side notes:
What happened to Hae Hyo? I was so prepared to feel for him and get some angsty second lead syndrome, but he just kind of disappeared? He quickly lost relevance in the middle, making me wonder what the point and importance of his character was. He got more screen time in the end, but I just did not empathize with him at all as he felt underdeveloped.
Hae Na and Ji-u were so cute. They deserved more screen time and development and I am devastated.
Hye Jun's character and struggles in the beginning made it super easy to feel for him. However, his character got lost in the second half. My fears were confirmed: the show just became less interesting for me after Hye Jun got famous and rich.
A couple of times I felt like they skipped through time too much. It was a little choppy, like when Hye Jun was suddenly finished shooting a drama or when Jeong Ha quit her job and was teaching? I'm not even sure what she was doing it was never explained.
We never got to learn too much about Jeong Ha in my opinion. This show was focused on Hye Jun (which was refreshing since kdramas usually focus on the female lead) but it made me feel detached from Jeong Ha's character and I couldn't really grasp who she was and never got to the point of rooting for her or relating to her.
I'm not sure if it's just me, but there was kind of a lot of acting that felt a bit awkward.
The OST was super good. It fit the youth theme really well and was quite refreshing!
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Excellent
I loved everything about this series. I did not know Park Bo Gum but he is a great actor,. This story is about young people trying to follow their dreams but it is not what I found deeply moving. What is what all about was what the fame and being a celebrity bring you. This shows the other side of the medal: the fake news, the loneliness, the jealousy, the power of the media that can ruin someone’s career. The difficulty for the family to deal with that fame. And the sacrifices it implies in terms of relationship with someone you love. And in that I found the story really interesting. I loved the female character who was so real. As a parent I found it really interesting to see the different positions adopted by the rich and the poor parents regarding their kids ‘dream I of becoming actors. Would I have supported my son if he had declared he wanted to be an actor...?Was this review helpful to you?
Life is life
Despite all the negative reviews I took a chance on this drama. Afterwards I'm glad I did. To ne true I can't understand why so many negativity.Record of youth, is about family, friendships, carreers and unanswered love. The story develops easly and aloud us to peek in the life of models and actors. Also interesting to watch how easy social media (news channels, bloggers/youtubers) can impact the lives of those struggling to have a life.
Well, life isn't always fair, people is not always friendly, but at the end we all harvest what we saw.
It was a great watch. I did really enjoy it.
Thank you for your attention.
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Pretty Good
This drama is really fresh and I love the actors. One thing for sure is there isn't as much drama nor suspense in this series, so I'm watching it at a really slow pace. It just isn't a drama that caught my full attention. The storyline is great as well as the actors and the problems in this drama seem so realistic. There are some teary-eyed moments but overall I'm hoping it gets better as I keep watching. At the beginning it's really hooking but the further along I get, I get bored. There isn't too much to say but it's not like other juicy dramas I've seen. xDJust a tad bit more drama and it would be better and the focus isn't too much on romance so that's probably why I'm not as hooked.
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