I have never been a fan of “love stories” or any dramas that have been set up in 1970/1980s. I prefer modern or extreme historic dramas but this one is so different then many other that I’ve watched.

Story/Plot:
Youth of May- the name itself signifies the story of the leads. It’s a love story taking place in Gwangju during the 1980s in the midst of the democracy movement. The main love story isn’t directly connected to the movement but plays a big role in the story. The basic plot of the story depicts Hwang Hee Tae, who comes from a well off and well known family but hasn’t lived the best life. On the other hand, we have Kim Myung Hee a kind and selfless nurse who although is very strong, tries her best to not show her weak side. Although many might find the story a little slow paced, I in fact adored how beautifully we could see the chemistry of our leads grow scene after scene. There are many life lessons of this drama that truly did catch my attention in many ways.
While focusing on the leads, I loved how the support cast was had their fair share in the story and none of the support characters were “useless”. All the characters played an important role and made the story what it is.

Acting/Cast: (EXCELLENT AND OUTSTANDING)
Each and every cast member did an outstanding job in portraying their roles. The most notable actors for me were lee do hyun- I’ve seen him in many dramas playing totally different roles in all and he has scored each and every one of em’! He’s definitely one of the most remarkable actors of the generation. Go min si- I’m shook at how versatile she is. From love alarm to sweet home and now THIS- they are all completely different roles and yet she’s portrayed them flawlessly!
Geum Sae Rok- this is my first drama with her and man I’m in love with her skills! It doesn’t look like she’s acting and that’s how real she is. In fact she’s definitely my favourite character!
Choi seung hoon- I’ve followed this little man in a few dramas and man he’s good. He depicts the emotions of his character extremely well! He’s pretty talented!

Characters: (of imp roles)
Hwang Hee Tae: I think it’s safe to say that he was MADLY in love with Myung Hee, which is why he could be considered somewhat selfish. I mean love does make one selfish- which is why his top priority had always been to make sure that Him and Myung Hee were safe and together. I loved how he was EXTREMELY respectful and gentle. Genuinely, he’s not a man anyone world wanna lose. He’s playful yet sad- he’s perfect with all his imperfections!

Myung Hee: I love her. She’s tries her best to live with honesty and her selflessness is very attractive. She’s the kinda person who’ll risk herself to help a stranger. Although she does have a hard life, she’ll never show herself being sad in-front of the people who care for her. She’s an extremely strong woman, which is why I respect her.

Soo Ryun: I started from strongly disliking her to absolutely loving her. In the beginning, she was selfish and not the most honest person- but I get where that came from. As episodes passed, I understood her more and I absolutely loved and adored how she didn’t give a damn about her love life and dedicated herself to her country and citizens. She’s extremely strong and doesn’t need anyone to take care of her, which is why she’s my favourite!

Hwang Gi Nam (Hee Tae’s dad): Annoying, hateful, cunning, merciless, disloyal and if I could- I would love to kill him myself.

Overall: Truly a masterpiece and definitely worth a one time watch. It has it’s own fair share of tears (a river or maybe a sea) and happiness! I recommend this to everyone if your looking to watch a drama that’s of high quality and amazing presence.

Rewatch Value: If your strong enough, then yea go for it! Watch it again! I personally wouldn’t rewatch it except for a few scenes!

Edit: Yayyy! I’ve been analysing and writing this review since episode 1 and now I’m finally here!