Record of Youth K-Drama (16 episodes) takes us on the journey of people in their ’20s holding on to their dreams tightly amidst the uncertainty of life.
Park Bo-gum, Park So-dam, Byeon Woo-Seo are part of this aesthetically pleasing drama. It showcases the struggles faced by people who want to follow their hearts even when it seems the world is against you. I say aesthetic because the drama is presented in such a beautiful way. It will captivate you. It gets interesting the way how each episode ends with a stimulating scene and the next episode walks us through the series of things that happened to reach that scene. This method of drama keeps you engaged and makes you want to watch till the end.
Story
Sa Hye Jun is a model who aspires to be an actor, but things do not seem to work out for him halting his path to success. Ahn Jeong Ha is a make-up artist who wants to make something of herself by following her passion. Won Hae Hyo, who wants to achieve fame on his terms, and Kim Jin Woo, who lives life in the moment are childhood friends of Sa Hye Jun. This story follows the struggles faced by all the characters to achieve the dreams they crave and reach their full potential.
Fangirling is therapeutic
-Ahn Jeong Ha
Romantic Relationship
Ahn Jeong Ha and Sa Hye Jun are two lonely souls. They appear to be happy when in front of others, but they carry so much pain inside them concerning situations in life they had to face. They both are very honest characters when it comes to the things they feel and that is what draws them to each other. Their interaction always seemed so fascinating, the connection they developed was endearing to watch. Everything was just so pure between these two, it was refreshing.
Even though we see Ahn Jeong Ha being practical in her thoughts at times, the relationship she forms with Sa Hye Jun makes her feel the flutters and accept the hopefulness of life. It is a treat to watch these two fall characters in love and navigate through life knowing that when life gets hard their love gives them comfort.
Friendship
The friendship between Sa Hye Jun, Won Hae Hyo, and Kim Jin Woo warms my heart. I honestly like friendship themes in dramas because it is something I can relate to. It is a good feeling when friends have your back while dealing with terrible things in life. But it is important to note that it is not always easy to be in that position, to keep the friendship alive with all the other things happening in life. And that has been represented well in this drama.
We see Won Hae Hyo also following a similar path to Sa Hye Jun. The differences shown between these two could have ripped them apart. Even amongst the feelings of jealousy, unfairness, anger; their friendship prevailed, and I like that. I believe no one is a saint you can feel all kinds of emotions. Even if it is termed as ‘bad’, what is important is how you deal with them. Kim Jin Woo provides a fun dynamic to this trio which is entertaining to watch.
Family
Now let us talk about my favorite relationship in this drama which is a familial one. The relationship we see between Sa Hye Jun and his Grandfather Sa Min Gi. This bond has all my heart. I am almost envious and completely in awe of this special bond. I say it is special because it is the warmest connection we see in this drama. The way Sa Min Gi supports Sa Hye Jun to achieve his dreams despite the whole family not having his back is very emotional to watch. When Sa Hye Jun receives love and support from his grandfather, those emotions will tear you up. Park Bo Gum and Han Jin Hee did an amazing job by portraying it well. Their acting completely moves you and touches your heart.
No Job in the world is easy. We Have it rough from birth, So all we can do is find our own fun in life.
– Han Ae Sook (Sa Hye Jun’s mother)
What do I like about Record Of Youth?
Park Bo Gum, this man he is what I like about this drama. Period. The way he portrays Sa Hye Jun breaks my heart, literally tugs at my heartstrings. He did such a good job of bridging the connection between his character and the audience. I felt the impact of everything that Sa Hye Jun went through in this drama. There are times when we see Sa Hye Jun smiling for others even when he is breaking inside, this emotion itself was so well reflected on his face. I have a snapshot of his expression in my memories because it was so impressive. Sa Hye Jun’s character is inspiring, his perseverance to achieve his dreams is gripping to watch.
Relationships
Record of Youth K-Drama also tackles the aspect of the lack of family support a person experiences when trying to chase his/her dreams. This is something almost all of us are familiar with so to see those situations depicted was tough to watch. But nice as it was relatable. I like how Sa Hye Jun’s family was presented because it was close to reality. Family wants what is best for you, but their best comes from their own experiences and regrets, it’s not ours. And that is what we see in this drama. This relatable factor of the drama makes it more effective to watch.
People
Record of Youth K-Drama takes a point of humanizing the famous people in the entertainment industry through Sa Hye Jun’s character. We see scenes that bring forth the thought of how It is a tough life even when they are living the dream. It is a dose of reality for people who only see glam and glitter when it comes to the lives of famous people.
Issues
Record of Youth K-Drama is certainly slow-paced, and you would need to have the patience to continue watching it. I would say it picks up when you form a good enough connection with the characters of the drama that you feel invested to watch where their story goes. It is all a matter of what you enjoy, if you can sit through dramas that necessarily do not have anything big happening for most episodes then you will be okay watching it.
We get an open ending when it comes to the romantic part of the drama and that could be a little disheartening. It is not an open ending in the way that it is sad. It is on the happy scale but there is no proper HEA which we as fans usually need after investing our feelings into the romance. I do think this drama is more about the obstacles youth faces to make their dreams come true. Romance was part of it not the whole objective of the drama. So Maybe the ending rings true to the theme the drama adopted.
OST
The soundtrack amplifies the feelings you will be having when watching the drama. Some are inspiring, some are beautiful, but all are worth listening to even after you have finished watching the drama. Some of my favorites are:
Go by Seungkwan, this song reminds me to acknowledge that Yes it has been tough but I did what I could and for that I need to feel proud and pat myself on the back.
You’re in my Soul by Chungha, this is so sexy it gives such fun vibes making you enjoy it.
Every Second by Baekhyun (EXO) makes you feel so warm about the idea of love. When you see it being played in the drama, the scene really depicts the beauty of this song.
Shine on You by Wheein (Mamamoo), makes me smile so big because it is so soft. It was played during my favorite part of the drama and listening to it makes my heart so happy.
What if by Kim Jae-hwan brings you the flutters of being in love. It’s something we do not understand at times, but love is in the comfort we experience with others.
Conclusion
Record of Youth K-Drama is an emotional roller coaster that will leave your heart full in the end. The characters’ grit will stay with you long after you finish the drama and hopefully it inspires you to create. The best part is there is a lot to take away from this drama.
You can watch Record of Youth on Netflix
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