#20세기 소년소녀ep 2

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Appearing before The Dramacourt: 20th Century Boy and Girl Eps 1 to 4

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Issues:

Whether Sa Jin Jin, Han Areum, Jang Young-shim are friendship goals.

Whether it’s possible to be a 35-year-old virgin and be a famous actress.

Whether Sa Jin Jin dealt with her scandal well.

The Rule(s):

Hell, yes!

It’s possible!

Yes!

Analysis:

Jubiemon J: These first episodes of this drama had everything I wanted in a romance/slice of life drama. I loved how realistic the situations that each character faced were and for once, I’m actually totally adoring the lead actress’s character, Sa Jin Jin. Han Yeseul has also been bumped up a lot in my books of good actresses. She does a great job portraying a down-to-earth popular actress who has a sweet, caring personality. At first glance, Sa Jin Jin might give someone the feeling of someone that’s a bit arrogant, but we see that she’s a hardworking, honest girl who doesn’t do anything scandalous and has a great attitude. Contrast that with the young actress that’s jealous of her . . . ugh that young actress was such a bitch to Sa Jin Jin. I got quite mad! I would have wanted to throw something at her if she did those things to me, yet Sa Jin Jin handled everything with so much class and coolness.

Honestly, this drama does so well with these delightful surprises. I wasn’t expecting Sa Jin Jin to have this first love reunion type of scenario. In the beginning, she seemed head over heels over Anthony, but now it seems like that’s just a fan girl type of crush. I also love how these coincidental meetings she has with Gong Jiwon just feel so natural and serendipitous. They aren’t like those meetings that we see often in rom coms where they’re totally unrealistic and just way too into fantasy land. I love how often, we see that it’s Jiwon who spots Jin Jin and then he does this look of awe where we can tell that he is completely in love with her. My heart melted so many times when he looked at her from afar in that way. Moreover, I wasn’t expecting him to save her so many times and the beautiful part was that he never proudly claimed that he was the one saving her or showed directly that he was supporting her. He just quietly . . . helped her along. Man . . . what a perfect guy.

RedRosette J: I agree with Jubiemon. This drama totally surprised me too! I wasn’t expecting it to be written, produced and acted so well! Han Ye Seul surprised me. I have seen her previous works and wasn’t really impressed, but she really does capture the heart of Sa Jin Jin as a down-to-Earth celebrity with a heart of gold. And blowing me away with his quiet glances and wistful eyes is Kim Ji Suk! I’ve been a long time fan of his since I saw him in I Need Romance 2 and fell totally in love with his weirdo womanizing character who falls for his friend’s noona in Oh Hae Young Again. He’s really the one that sells us on this romance at this point. I’m totally totally #TeamJiWon!

Is this Ji Won?

Fame with class

Celeb who’s not above hanging out with her makeup artist

This is what a biatch looks like

RedRosette J Aside: Here’s Kim Ji Suk giving us those awesomely wistful, lovelorn eyes:

Jubiemon J: The side characters too are so amazing! Usually for dramas, I get obsessed with one character’s story and am indifferent to other people’s stories, but then for this drama, I’m 100% there for all of the side characters. They’re very relatable and genuine. Areum adores food and is awkwardly funny in her own way. Jang Young-shim is more shy and quiet, but she isn’t boring at all. She was looking for a job as a lawyer and I could . . . totally sympathise with her efforts. Been there. Done that and will still have to do that later on in life. Each guy that the girls meet seem promising too. I can’t wait to watch more of them!

RedRosette J: I totally agree. I usually also get invested in one particular story line and tend to gloss over the others but in this case, I’m totally interested in everyone’s story line. I want to know if the awkward, food loving Areum ends up with the Peaked-In-High-School Doctor or the Young-And-Hot-Pilot. I’m also really really siding with Young Shim and I can’t wait to see her put her awful father in his place and possibly also fall for her hot lawyer boss.

Have friends who have their priorities straight

Areum ��� the flight attendant who loves food

Young-And-Hot-Pilot

Peaked-In-High-School-Doctor: Present 

Peaked-In-High-School-Doctor: High School

Young Shim: Lawyer looking for a job

Hot lawyer boss

Jubiemon J: And can we just talk about the wonderful editing and the touching OSTs? I wished that some of the production crew from Scarlet Heart Ryeo could take lessons here. This is top notch editing! I loved how natural it was for us to see all of them during their high school years and those memories gave us a good understanding of the characters. The transitions between scenes were done so well that I could barely feel this weird gap for scenes like you know how sometimes the character will just be driving and driving and wasting time . . . yeah none of that was there. And the OSTs were cued RIGHT where I needed them.

Okay . . . I confess. I cried during one point of this drama. It was the part where Jin Jin was reminiscing of the days when she and her boss were still struggling to make ends meet. She was just becoming an actress and he was doing everything he could to promote her. He was putting up posters of her while it was snowing super hard. Then we saw this interview of her saying that she was going to switch agencies but then she said that they’d have to pay her 1000 billion won for her to do that. Then the boss laughed. I found this whole scene to be particularly touching because it felt like years of trust, friendship and work relationship were at play.

When everything starts going wrong

The good old days

Jubiemon J: And the ending . . . with Jin Jin in the elevator with Jiwon. Oh my God! Deja-vu vibes. We had seen this scene before where he’d take the 14th floor to walk her home instead of sticking to the 13th floor. Now it’s similar, except he asks her those questions and then we get a recap of what happened in the elevator before. They had kissed. Ah! What a way to end things. Man I’m craving more. I’m so looking forward to Mondays now. What is this? I’m supposed to despise Mondays.

RedRosette J: I also really really loved the awkward high school scenes between Ji Won and Jin Jin. It’s so funny how they were laughing and singing with the other girls and the minute they left, the air changed and the awkward crush vibes set in. It’s so so well done; from the palpable awkwardness to the shy glances to the sweaty palms. It’s your first crush in all its glory and horror. The elevator kiss goes down in drama history this year as the best awkward first kiss this year (for me at least). I’m excited to watch them re-create this as adults.

Being with your high school crush around friends

The minute your friends leave

Awkward af

First kiss!!

When you find yourself in the same elevator where you had your first kiss with the guy who kissed you…

…you become your awkward 17 year old self again…

Jubiemon J: Finally, can we just say that Kim Ji Suk is absolutely amazing in this drama? He hasn’t said much in this drama, yet you can tell how his character feels about Jin Jin just by one look. I took a look at his acting profile and man he has always been stuck as one of the 2nd leads or side characters. Why did they keep him in a dungeon? Release this man from the depths for more lead roles!

Why have you not played lead roles before???

Issue 1: Whether Sa Jin Jin, Han Areum, Jang Young-shim are friendship goals.

Jubiemon J: Yes, yes, and yes! I loved watching how tight and close they were from high school to now. They’ve had hiccups before to their friendship where they all had feelings for one guy, which was likely to be Jiwon. However, their friendship prevailed, except . . . Jiwon is back!

They’re always bonding over food and talking about anything from lighthearted subjects like celebrity crushes to more serious ones about Jin Jin’s scandal. The friends also rushed out to help Jin Jin to clear her name. They went to the radio show to help back up Jin Jin’s story that she was only at the hospital to visit Areum and that she wasn’t there for some abortion. She just overslept there for seven hours.

RedRosette J: For me, the real selling point in this drama was the friendship between the girls. It’s really a friendship that is built on trust, respect and time. These girls are more than just friends at this point. They are family. And I think that even though in the past Ji Won came between them, as adults, I doubt that it will tear them apart because there was never really any contest. It was Jin Jin and Ji Won from the very beginning and there really isn’t any room for anyone else. It’s also in the little things that the friendship is so great. They are so supportive of each other ranging from Areum’s surgery to Jin Jin’s scandal. These guys are totally #friendshipgoals.

Friends at 15

Friends at 35

Supportive to the end

There is no space for anyone else in their bubble

Issue 2: Whether it’s possible to be a 35-year-old virgin and be a famous actress.

Jubiemon J: I think it’s totally possible for that scenario to happen. She might be super popular, but she might not have met people that she liked. Since she seems like the serious sort for love, she wouldn’t be dating someone randomly or having flings here and there. Plus, Jin Jin appeared to be very career-oriented and worked very hard to get to where she is today, so she probably didn’t have much time to date or be in a steady relationship. I think it’s normal for people to sacrifice some things to get to where they are today and for her, that was likely love. I don’t think there’s anything shameful about her being a 35-year-old virgin. It’s her choice whether to date or not. I’m glad Jin Jin is proud enough to flaunt that there’s nothing wrong with her.

RedRosette J:  I totally agree with Jubiemon. It’s nobody’s place to judge Jin Jin’s life choices and the fact that she consciously made the decision not to date anyone (while I’m sure that men were throwing themselves at her) is representative of her priorities and principles. I also agree that I think its very admirable that Jin Jin is strong enough to stand up for her choices and say that she isn’t ashamed of her choices and that this is a normal choice for a woman.

People need to MYOB

Issue 3: Whether Sa Jin Jin dealt with her scandal well.

Jubiemon J: Totally! She kept her cool all the time. When she was faced with that huge airport crowd, she just kept walking until . . . it hit her that she had some alleged sex scandal out there. Thank God Jiwon showed up, held her hand, and marched forward with her! When that young actress was clearly bullying Jin Jin, Jin Jin still stood up for herself. Jin Jin also kept her cool at home until she finally couldn’t take it anymore and snapped at her mom. Her mom was really adding a lot of stress to her even though Jin Jin was doing her best to not make her mom worry. Jin Jin didn’t even get all pissed when this scandal went out and didn’t blame anyone. She settled it well herself and cleared her name. Fortunately, Jiwon was also helping her secretly, but I doubt he would have helped her had she not been someone that made him fall for her in the first place.

RedRosette J: She totally handled it really well. I liked what Jin Jin said on the radio show when she talked about how she wasn’t the woman in the sex tape. In particular she talked about victim blaming and how it impacts and ostracizes women (who are usually the victims in those scenarios) and how that needs to stop. She stands up for herself and for what is right and isn’t afraid of public perception. I’d like to think that even if Ji Won wasn’t there at the airport or to send that video about her having always been single, she would have still managed to handle the situation with grace and dignity. I really like the way that Jin Jin’s character is written and acted.

Standing up for yourself like…

Conclusion: Appeal Allowed.

Rating: 5 = Kyaaahhh!! ❤ (This drama is giving us all the feels. We love it so far!)

File No: 20th-Century-Boy-and-Girl-EPS-1-to-4 Appearing before The Dramacourt: 20th Century Boy and Girl Eps 1 to 4 ***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read