#soo ryeon

[verademialove]

“Pain is the essence of life. It’s a living human’s fate to struggle and move forward in spite of that pain.”

Tomorrow (2022)

[swiftletinthecloud]

— Lemony Snicket

↳ @asiandramanet November creator bingo challenge: blending

↳ @userdramas event 12: loss | Koo Ryeon x Park Joong Gil from Tomorrow (2022)

"Thank you for staying alive... my wife..."

[fridayvelvet]

Hottest couple in the Afterlife

[neverspoetic]

Ms. Koo, you are simply amazing

[delicatebluebirdruins]

Tomorrow

it could have been done better in some elements but it made me shed a few tears so that was good

Soo-hyuk was hot as fuck in this role (sad we never got to see him and Ryeon kiss)

sad there was no group hug :(

I will die on the hill that the fried chicken wasn't crap because he made it badly no it was crap because it travelled through time (and was cold)

[thesunwillshineonusagain757]

Is anyone gonna write the JoongRyeon fic where Parkn Joong-gi is a subordinate of Ryeon’s team when he gets out of her for like six months ? Cause I crave that more than anything !

[ryeonah]

tag dump

[kpopscatterbrain]

Kdramas/Movies with strong female characters

Dramas

Eve (2022): Lee La-El (Seo Yea-Ji) When Lee La-El was little, her father died unexpectedly. Powerful people were responsible for his death. After her family was destroyed, Lee La-El prepared for the next 13 years to take revenge. Starting by targeting Kang Yoon-gyeom, one of the main culprits who orchestrated the death of her father. Along the way she becomes torn between her desire for revenge and her feelings for Yoon-gyeom.

It's Okay To Not Be Okay (2020): Ko Moon-Young (Seo Yea-Ji) Ko Moon-Young is a popular children's book author with antisocial personality disorder. She had a troubled childhood and a turbulent relationship with her parents. She develops romantic feelings for a psychiatric caregiver after a coincidental encounter and often goes to extreme lengths to get his attention.

Hotel Del Luna (2019): Jang Man-Wol (IU) Jang Man-Wol is the moody owner of Hotel del Luna. The hotel catering to the dead has been bound to her soul in order to atone for the sins she committed 1,300 years ago. Through the new manager Gu Chan-sung, the mysteries and the secrets behind the hotel and its owner are revealed

My Name (2021): Yoon Ji-Woo (Han So-Hee) Yoon Ji-Woo’s father gets murdered suddenly. She wants to desperately take revenge on whoever is responsible for her father's death. She starts working for a drug crime ring that her father was a part of. Ji-Woo joins the police department as a mole for the drug ring.

Vagabond (2019): Go Hae-Ri (Bae Suzy) Go Hae-Ri is an NIS agent and is currently working undercover at the Korean embassy in Morocco. She is tasked to help the bereaved families of a fatal flight. She helps Cha Dal-Geon whose nephew was on the flight uncover a darker and more sinister conspiracy than they expected.

Sisyphus: The Myth (2021): Gang Seo-Hae (Park Shin-Hye) Gang Seo-Hae is an elite warrior. She can take down the biggest men with just her bare hands. She is a sharpshooter and a bombmaker. She learned these skills to survive in a world that is dominated by gangsters and military cliques. One day she time travels to save a genius engineer.

Mr. Sunshine (2018): Go Ae-Shin (Kim Tae-Ri) Go Ae-Shin is an orphaned noblewoman and a member of the Righteous Army. Her parents were independence fighters who died in Japan due to their colleague's betrayal. She trains as a sniper. An american soldier Eugene meets and falls in love with Go Ae-shin. 

The Glory (2022): Moon Dong-Eun (Song Hye-Kyo) Moon Dong-Eun was a victim of high school violence. She waited for the bully ring leader get married and have a child. Now she is the homeroom teacher of her tormentor's child. Her cruel revenge plot begins.

Tomorrow (2022): Koo Ryeon (Kim Hee-Seon) Grim reaper Koo Ryeon is the leader of a crisis management team. The teams objective is to save suicidal people. Choi Jun-Woong (Ro Woon) is a young job seeker who is unable to secure a job. One night, he accidentally becomes a new member of the crisis management team.

Remarriage & Desires (2022): Seo Hye-Seung (Kim Hee-Seon) Seo Hye-seung who lost everything in an instant after her husbands affair and su*cide. She signs up to a matchmaking company Rex for the upper class, and participates in the race of her desires for her revenge.

Under The Queen's Umbrella (2022): Queen Hwaryeong (Kim Hye-Soo) Queen Hwaryeong is supposed to act with grace and dignity, but she has troublemaker sons. The queen decides to abandon strict protocols to transform her sons into deserving princes through education and personal growth, all while navigating the complexities of motherhood and royal life.

Juvenile Justice (2022): Sim Eun-Seok (Kim Hye-Soo) Sim Eun-Seok is an elite judge with a personality that seems unfriendly to others. She hates juvenile criminals and gets assigned to a local juvenile court. There, she breaks custom and administers her own ways of punishing the offenders.

K-Movies

Kill Boksoon (2023): Gil Bok-Soon (Jeon Do-Yeon) Gil Bok-Soon is a single mother and a contract killer working for M. K. Ent. Highly regarded by her peers, she has a 100% success rate and is one of a few killers rated "A" by her company. Right before Gil Bok-Soon is set to renew her contract, she gets involved in a kill or be killed confrontation.

Ballerina (2023): Jang Ok-Ju (Jun Jong-Seo) Ok-Ju used to work as a bodyguard. Ok-Ju is friends with Min-Hee, who is a ballerina. Min-Hee asks Ok-Ju for a favor. She wants Ok-Ju to take revenge.

The Witch: Subversion (2018): Ja-Yoon (Kim Da-Mi) A young girl escapes from a mysterious laboratory where she was trained to become a murder weapon. 10 years later, the girl, named Ja-yoon, is living a normal life, apparently without any memory of her past, she becomes involved in a crime.

Special Delivery (2022): Eun-Ha (Park So-Dam) Eun-Ha is a special driver for deliveries. She delivers anything or anyone for the right price. Her success rate is 100%, but she gets involved in an unexpected delivery accident.

Brave Citizen (2023): So Shi-Min (Shin Hae-Sun) So Shi-Min used to be a boxer in her student days. She now works as a contract teacher at a high school. She confronts a school bully, who frequently torments other students.

[xiaolanhua]

top 5 kdrama ships and top5 cdrama ships

hi Anny, thanks for the ask <3

top 5 kdrama ships:

Sung Deok Mi and Ryan Gold (Her Private Life)

Ha Moon Soo and Lee Kang Doo (Just Between Lovers)

Kim Bok Joo and Jung Joon Hyeong (Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo)

Han Seo Woo and Moon Ha Won (A Piece of Your Mind)

Park Joong Gil and Koo Ryeon (Tomorrow)

top 5 cdrama ships:

Xiao Lanhua and Dongfang Qingcang (Love Between Fairy and Devil)

A'Wu and Xiao Qi (The Rebel Princess)

Jiang Jun and Yuan Shuai (Love is Sweet)

Xu Hong Dou and Xie Zhi Yao (Meet Yourself)

Zhao Pan'er and Gu Qian Fan (A Dream of Splendor)

[khaoray]

top 10 kdrama couples? and top 10 romantic kdramas? (i wanna watch something with good romance haha)

oh nonnie this is gonna be a challenge but i will do my absolute best. one thing you need to know about me and my taste in romance is that i'm really not here for straight up fluff. i need a bit of melodrama and angst to keep me invested. gonna stick it under a read more bc i feel it's gonna get lengthy asdfghjk

couples:

ji ho and jeung in (one spring night) - they invented being in love and facing your problems with maturity and they're just so important to me.

kang doo and moon soo (just between lovers) - if there's one thing i love in my romance it's angst and hurt people learning to heal together and literally no one does it like them. kang doo remains my favourite junho role too, so.

kyeo rye and yeon joo (if you wish upon me) - similar to jbl tbh kyeo rye is such a broken man at the start of the drama and watching him slowly fall in love and heal from years and years of trauma destroyed all of my emotions.

gong myung and se ra (into the ring) - THE childhood friends to rivals to friends to lovers ship!!!!! no one does it like they do honestly they're THE standard when it comes to emotional maturity.

joong gil and ryeon (tomorrow) - listen if you were around last year then you know just insane they made me. soulmates defying literal fate to end up together after centuries of trauma they make me so sick.

cheoljong and so bong (queen cheorin) - THE standard for enemies to lovers. nothing has ever been able to replicate the buzz they gave me week to week.

seon gyeom and mi joo (run on) - the softest couple on this entire list actually i think. they're just so sweet and cozy and safe and i love them so much.

taejun and taeyang (love all play) - my babies!!!! the drama itself kinda sucks but theyyyyy. one of the most mature relationships i've ever seen in a drama actually like we love a couple that actively talk about their issues and try to overcome them together.

vincenzo and cha young (vincenzo) - enemies to coconspirators to lovers excellence honestly who is doing chemistry like them. they're just so sexy.

dong jin and woo joo (call it love) - hi hello it's another instance of two traumatised people falling in love and finding happiness together what can i say i have a TYPE.

dramas:

one spring night - i've already talked about why i love this drama so much so i won't do it again but just know. i love it so so much it's so important to ME.

just between lovers - another one i've talked about a lot at this point but outside of the romance, this drama is just so GOOD. it deals with a lot of heavy themes so i'd advise discretion but it's so worth it imo. but just 10/10 experience wish i could go back and watch it again for the first time.

if you wish upon me - i love it for a lot of the same reasons i love jbl they're very similar imo. also. kyeo rye is the most character of all time i genuinely don't think ji chang wook is ever topping him.

into the ring - underrated!!!! underrated!!!!!!!!! underrated!!!!!!!!!!!! y'all slept on this one so hard and i still haven't forgiven you. i love romance between two grown adults who actually act their age and don't fall victim to stupid tropes.

run on - this drama makes me feel so cozy and safe and fuzzy idk man it's just pure good vibes for my soul.

call it love - if you love dramas that are slow, where a lot is said with very little dialogue and where the colour grading tells you a lot about the characters emotional states then boy do i have the drama for you.

witch's romance - can i interest you in twinky park seo joon in love with uhm jung hwa??? bc that's what this drama has to offer and it's so fun. it might be a bit dated now bc it came out in 2014 but i had such a good time when i first watched it.

queen cheorin - aside from the last half of the last episode i had such a good fun time watching two absolute idiots fight tooth and nail against falling in love with each other. when are we ever getting that level of chemistry again???

moon embracing the sun - alright i'm gonna be honest i don't actually remember all that much of this one anymore. i only watched it because kim soo hyun's in it. but i watched it as it was airing and it emotionally destroyed me so that's gotta count for something.

first love hatsukoi - yeah yeah it's not korean it's japanese but it's also the best show i've watched in the last year so!!!!! y'all can just take my rec and live with it. please please PLEASE watch it it's one of the most beautiful dramas i've ever seen and all four of the main actors are absolutely incredible in it.

[jornadadegarota]

Resenha: "Amanhã" (Tomorrow)

Título Original: 내일 (Naeil) Ano: 2022 Gênero: Fantasia, Drama, Romance Diretor: Kim Tae-yoon Roteirista: Kim Yi-young

Sinopse: "Amanhã" segue a história de Choi Joon-woong (Rowoon), um jovem que, após um acidente, se encontra em coma e acaba se juntando a uma equipe de anjos da morte, conhecidos como "Guias do Amanhã". A equipe é responsável por ajudar pessoas que estão à beira do suicídio a encontrar razões para continuar vivendo. Joon-woong, inicialmente relutante, começa a compreender a profundidade das vidas que ele está ajudando e a complexidade dos sentimentos humanos. Junto com seus colegas, ele enfrenta desafios emocionais e morais enquanto tenta salvar vidas e encontrar seu próprio propósito.

Elenco Principal:

Rowoon como Choi Joon-woong

Kim Hee-sun como Im Ryung-kyung

Yoon Ji-on como Koo Ryeon

Lee Soo-hyuk como Park Joong-gil

Desenvolvimento da Trama: O dorama explora temas profundos como a vida, a morte e a importância da esperança. Choi Joon-woong, após sua morte inesperada, descobre um novo propósito ao se tornar um Guia do Amanhã, ajudando pessoas em situações de crise. A trama mistura elementos de fantasia com drama, criando uma narrativa emocionalmente rica que revela as histórias comoventes dos personagens que Joon-woong tenta ajudar. As interações entre Joon-woong e os outros Guias, bem como com as pessoas que ele está tentando salvar, formam o núcleo emocional da série.

Aspectos Técnicos: A direção de Kim Tae-yoon é habilidosa em equilibrar momentos fantásticos com a realidade emocional dos personagens. A cinematografia é visualmente atraente, com uma paleta de cores que reflete tanto os temas sombrios quanto os momentos de esperança e luz. A trilha sonora complementa a atmosfera emocional da série, variando entre músicas suaves e impactantes.

Temas e Mensagens: "Amanhã" aborda a fragilidade da vida e a importância de encontrar um propósito e esperança, mesmo em momentos difíceis. A série enfatiza a importância de apoiar os outros e de buscar ajuda quando necessário. Ela mostra como mesmo pequenos gestos podem ter um impacto profundo na vida de alguém, promovendo uma mensagem de empatia e solidariedade.

Atuações: Rowoon oferece uma performance tocante como Choi Joon-woong, trazendo profundidade e vulnerabilidade ao seu papel. Kim Hee-sun, Yoon Ji-on e Lee Soo-hyuk também entregam atuações sólidas, contribuindo para a dinâmica emocional da série e ajudando a dar vida às complexas interações entre os personagens.

Conclusão: "Amanhã" é um dorama comovente que combina elementos de fantasia e drama para explorar temas profundos sobre a vida e a morte. Com uma narrativa envolvente, atuações emocionantes e uma mensagem poderosa sobre a importância da esperança e da empatia, a série oferece uma experiência rica e inspiradora para os espectadores.

[ulkaralakbarova]

Bedevilled

A woman subject to mental, physical, and sexual abuse on a remote island seeks a way out. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Kim Bok-nam: Seo Young-hee Hae-won: Hwang Geum-hee Dong-ho’s Grandmother: Baek Su-ryeon Man-jong: Park Jeong-hak Cheol-Jong: Bae Sung-woo Deuk-soo: Oh Yong Dodgers: Hwang Min-Ho Kim Yeon-hee: A-in Soon-yi: Son Young-soon Ji-soo: Tak Sung-eun Police Corporal Choi: Jeong…

[korelist]

YOUTH OF MAY //  KDRAMA DİZİ YORUMU

UYARI : Yazılar genel olarak spoiler içerebilir. İçermeyedebilir.

İmdb puanı: 8,4 Benim Puanım: 5

Drama: Youth of May (English & literal title)

Hangul: 오월의 청춘

Director: Song Min-Yeop

Writer: Lee Kang

Date: 2021

Language: Korean

Country: South Korea

Cast: Lee Do-Hyun, Go Min-Si, Lee Sang-Yi, Keum Sae-Rok, Kim Won-Hae, Eom Hyo-Seop

2021 KBS Drama Awards - December 31, 2021

Best Actor (Lee Do-Hyun)

Excellent Actress (Go Min-Si)

Best Supporting Actress (Keum Sae-Rok)

Best Youth Actor (Jo Yi-Hyun)

Best Couple Award (Lee Do-Hyun & Go Min-Si)

   Dizi 12 bölümden oluşan zırıl zırıl bir dramı konu alıyor. Herkesten özür dileyerek ve tüm içtenliğimle söyleyebilirim ki hiç bana hitap etmedi. Öyle ki, izlerken ruhum daraldı, ufunetler bastı. Bir türlü “evet bu” diyeceğim noktaya gelemedim. Bunaldım, üzüldüm, daraldım, sıkıldım. Aslında daha en başından mutsuz sonla biteceği belli olan birçok dizi izledim. Hiçbiri bu kadar gırtlağıma yapışmamıştı. Silah zoru ile izledim desem yeridir. Hiçbir yerde olumsuz eleştirisi olmayan ve puanı oldukça yüksek olan bu dizi için bu şekilde yorum yapmak zorunda kaldığım için üzgünüm.

Dizi 1980 yılının Mayıs ayında meydana gelen Gwangju Ayaklanmasını konu alıyor. Öncelikle bu diziyi izleyecekseniz çok kısa da olsa Gwangju Ayaklanması ile ilgili yazıları okursanız, izlemesi belki bir nevi daha kolay olur. Aslında birazcık bizim tarihimizde yaşanan 1980 öncesi Türkiye'si sağ-sol olaylarını anımsatıyor. Hwang Hee-Tae (Lee Do-Hyun), çok zeki bir Tıp öğrencisidir. Hemen hemen hiçbir konudan hoşlanmaz. Hayatını ‘Ön yargıya karşı bir savaşçı’ olarak tanımlar. Oyuncuyu ilk Hotel Del Luna’da izledim. Dizi içinde başka diziye spoiler vereceğim ama benim için kendisi Hotel Del Luna’nın ateş böceğidir. Hala gıyabında konuşurken ateş böceği diye bahsederim. Sonradan kendisini Sweet Home dizisinde de izlediğimden burada görmek benim için tanıdık bir yüz oldu. Karakterimiz bekar bir annenin çocuğu. Hayatı etrafındakilerin ön yargılarını kırmaya çalışmakla geçtiğinden misyonu da ön yargılar ile savaşmak. Bu savaş uğruna hep en çok çalışan, en başarılı olan kişi olmak zorunda kalmış. Ve neticesinde birincilik ile bitirebileceği Tıp okulunu hobisini bahane ederek uzatmıştır.

Lee Soo-Ryeon (Keum Sae-Rok ) ise zengin bir ailenin hukuk okuyan kızıdır. Ülkenin karışık olduğu bu dönemde üniversiteli öğrenciler komünist ilan edilmektedir. Soo-Ryeon ise darbeci yönetime karşı gelip protestolarda en önde yer alır. Ailesi onu bir an önce evlendirmek istese de asla evlenmek istemez. Karıştığı protestolardan biri artık bardağı taşırınca babası ona görüşmesi için birini ayarlar.

Kim Myung-Hee (Go Min-Si), Soo-Ryeon’un fakir arkadaşıdır. Üç yıldır hemşirelik yapan naif, sakin bir kızcağızdır. Eğitimi için paraya ihtiyacı vardır. Bu nedenle de izdivaç buluşmasına para karşılığında arkadaşının yerine gitmeyi kabul eder. Amaçları basittir, buluşma sırasında uygunsuz davranacak, ilişki başlamadan karşı tarafın olumsuz yorum yapmasını sağlayacaktır. Buluşacağı kişi ise Hee-Tae’dir. Hesaba katmadıkları şey ise Hee-Tae’nin daha önce onu görmüş ve görür görmez aşık olmuş olmasıdır.

Lee Soo-Chan (Lee Sang-Yi) ise Soo-Ryeon’un abisidir. Fransa’dan yeni dönmüştür ve uzun süredir Kim Myung-Hee’ye ilgi duymaktadır. Yani kendisi dizideki ilişkilerin kör düğüm olması için gereken son düğümdür. Oyuncuyu Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha da ikinci erkek rolünde izlerken baya keyif almıştım. Bu dizide de yine aynı rütbesini koruyarak kariyerine devam ediyordu.

Şimdi bu noktada, diziye ilk başladığımda bana hissettirdiği şey “Business Proposal” dizisinin o eğlenceli havası oldu. Biraz eğlenceli biraz gergin bir aşk izleyeceğimizi düşündüm. O kadar yanılmışım ki… Bütün bu hissiyatım 2.bölümde su balonu gibi patladı. Bir anda dizisinin havası sanat filmlerinin o ağır melodramatik rengine büründü.

Lee Do-Hyun ve Go Min-Si ; “Sweet Home” dizisinde abi kardeş rolünde olmalarına rağmen bu dizide umutsuz aşık rolünü sırıtmamışlardı. Gel gelelim dizi her bölüm o ağırlaştırılmış havasını arttırmaya devam ettiği için ben çöktükçe çöktüm. Olaylar derinleşti, savaş çirkinleşti. İnsanların mücadeleleri alevlendi. Masum insanların çaresizlikleri yuvarlana yuvarlana büyüdü. Bütün olayların ortasında yanlışlıkla bir araya gelmiş bir çift olarak kaldılar. Hakkını arayan masum insanların katledilmesi bende üzüntüden çok buhrana neden oldu. Dizide çekilen sahnelerin bir çoğu tarihte günümüze ulaşan fotoğraflardan sahnelenmiş. Belki kendi tarihimiz olmadığı için bilmiyorum, bizim olaylarımıza bu kadar benzemesine rağmen ben ağlayamadım.

Ve mutsuz son tabi ki… yani bunu spoiler olarak düşünemezsiniz bile, çünkü zaten ilk bölüm bittiğinde bu dizinin gidişatının hiç mutlu olmadığını herkes anlıyor. Günün sonunda özetlersek, diziyi kimseye önermem. Benim için kötü bir tecrübeydi.

The drama consists of 12 episodes filled with intense, heart-wrenching drama. I apologize to everyone, but I can honestly say it didn’t resonate with me at all. Watching it made me feel suffocated and overwhelmed. I never reached a point where I could say, “Yes, this is it.” Instead, I felt bored, sad, and confined. I’ve watched many dramas that were clearly heading for an unhappy ending, but none of them gripped me by the throat like this one did. It felt like I was forcing myself to watch it at gunpoint. I’m sorry to say this about a drama that has no negative reviews and a high rating, but I had to be honest.

The drama revolves around the Gwangju Uprising that took place in May 1980. If you plan to watch this, I recommend reading a bit about the Gwangju Uprising beforehand—it might make the experience slightly easier. It somewhat reminds me of the left-right conflicts in Turkey before 1980. Hwang Hee-Tae (Lee Do-Hyun) is a highly intelligent medical student who dislikes almost everything. He describes his life as “a warrior against prejudice.” I first saw the actor in Hotel Del Luna. I’ll give a spoiler here, but for me, he’s the firefly of Hotel Del Luna. I still refer to him as “the firefly” when talking about him. I later watched him in Sweet Home, so seeing him here felt familiar. His character is the child of a single mother, and his life has been spent breaking down the prejudices of those around him. His mission is to fight against these biases, which has led him to always strive to be the hardest-working and most successful person. As a result, he’s prolonged his medical studies, using his hobbies as an excuse, even though he could have graduated at the top of his class.

Lee Soo-Ryeon (Keum Sae-Rok) is the daughter of a wealthy family studying law. During this turbulent period in the country, university students are being labeled as communists. Soo-Ryeon stands at the forefront of protests against the coup regime. While her family wants her to marry quickly, she has no intention of doing so. After one of her protests pushes things too far, her father arranges a matchmaking meeting for her.

Kim Myung-Hee (Go Min-Si) is Soo-Ryeon’s poor friend. She’s a naive, quiet girl who has been working as a nurse for three years. She needs money for her education, so she agrees to go on a blind date in her friend’s place in exchange for payment. Their plan is simple: she’ll act inappropriately during the date to ensure the other party leaves a negative impression. The person she’s meeting is Hee-Tae. What they didn’t account for is that Hee-Tae has already seen her and fallen in love at first sight.

Lee Soo-Chan (Lee Sang-Yi) is Soo-Ryeon’s older brother. He’s just returned from France and has long been interested in Kim Myung-Hee. He’s the final knot needed to complicate the relationships in the drama. I enjoyed watching the actor in Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha as the second male lead, and here he continues his career at the same level.

At this point, when I first started the drama, it gave me the vibe of Business Proposal—a mix of fun and tension. I thought I was in for a lighthearted yet intense love story. How wrong I was… That feeling burst like a bubble by the second episode. The tone suddenly shifted to the heavy, melodramatic atmosphere of an art film.

Lee Do-Hyun and Go Min-Si, who played siblings in Sweet Home, managed to pull off their roles as hopeless lovers here without it feeling forced. However, as the drama continued to intensify with each episode, I felt more and more crushed. The events deepened, the conflict grew uglier, and the struggles of the people flared up. The helplessness of innocent people snowballed into something overwhelming. Amid all this chaos, the couple remained accidentally intertwined. The massacre of innocent people fighting for their rights didn’t just sadden me—it plunged me into despair. Many of the scenes in the drama were recreated from historical photographs that have survived to this day. Perhaps because it’s not part of my own history, even though it closely resembles events in my country, I couldn’t bring myself to cry.

And, of course, the unhappy ending… You can’t even consider this a spoiler because by the end of the first episode, it’s clear that this drama isn’t heading toward a happy conclusion. In summary, I wouldn’t recommend this drama to anyone. It was a bad experience for me.

Raven Melus

BAŞKA NELER VAR ?

FOTOĞRAFLAR

[pastolcolors]

Youth of May — all my feels

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS

(photos not mine, ctto)

I have never (outside school/work) written an essay of anything I watched, but I chose to do it this time because I have so much feelings and thoughts about it that I just have to release, contain, and immortalize it in this form.

There’s so much I want to say about this drama, but if I had to choose one word to describe it, I choose ‘worthwhile’.

It was the most worthwhile drama I have seen for some time. The writing was beautiful. The emotions were raw and clear--often understated yet fully felt. The characters? Well-portrayed, realistic, passionate, flawed, and lovable. But like any work, it is not perfect.

Before I continue, once again, please be warned that there are SPOILERS in this essay.

With the due warning made clear, let me now enumerate several points that I want to include here: my complaints, what I loved, and the finale.

My Complaints

I want to start with this so that we can get it over with and just focus on what made me love Youth of May so much.

Each point here is just a matter of p r e f e r e n c e, highly subjective, and most of you might disagree on one or all of it, depending on your preference.

But let me air it out because I won’t go on saying that the series was absolutely perfect and had nothing to improve. Here are some minor ones.

On some scenes, the character looks directly at the camera, showing the point of view of the person being looked at.

The ones I can remember are: *Jin A’s & Hee Tae in the music cafe (with extra effects),

*Soo Ryeon from the policeman’s perspective, when she was crying as she jay-walked (with in-love effect),

*Hee Tae in some scenes with Myeong Hee, and

*Myeong Hee from Soo Chan’s perspective right before Hee Tae came out of the Fitting Room.

Personally, I just prefer the characters never looking directly at the camera to show someone’s POV (i don’t mind it with objects though). I just can’t ignore the fact that they’re looking at the camera and not actually at each other, but then that’s just me.

The second and last thing under “complaints” is that the ending and opening scene of episode 4 and 5, respectively, do not match.

In the ending of the fourth episode, Hee Tae did not seem surprised at all upon seeing Myeong Hee and Soo Ryeon, as if it was intentional to surprise the two ladies. However, the opening scene of the fifth episode shows him to be as surprised and confused as Myeong Hee and Soo Ryeon.

I just can’t not be bothered by this minor thing. Or maybe it is showing something that I don’t quite get? Well, as I’ve said, these are all just a matter of preference. Hardly a ‘complaint’, but let’s settle with that for the lack of a better term.

Now that those are out of the way, I will now go to the major things I love about Youth of May. Brace yourself because there’s a lot.

What I Loved

To start, in terms of cinematography, I really like the transition effect used in several scenes. Two particular examples I can think of is the parallel scene of Soo Ryeon coaching Myeong Hee how to get dumped and the sequence of the actual date. There was a part where Soo Ryeon’s hands appear to push down the frame as a transition. Another is the beginning of one of the earlier episodes where Myeong Hee is flapping a bedsheet in the Emergency Room, in which the bedsheet transitions the frame to the next scene. These kinds of transitions are not new to K-Dramas or any series but it’s just so well-executed that I’m grabbing this chance to openly appreciate it.

The next thing I want to point out is the four main characters. All four are flawed yet admirable. All four are all passionate about something. And all four actors all portrayed their them so well.

Soo Chan is tender-hearted, hard-working, and responsible. There is a rare incident of him getting angry, and this scene enriches our understanding of his character. He tries dealing with the devastating discovery of Myeong Hee and Hee Tae’s connection by himself through drinking. But what I love is that he later on confronted BOTH Hee Tae and Myeong Hee. He confronted them BOTH when he thought they were making a mistake, which I think is the right way to handle the situation. He confronted them but he did not force anything to go his way. He just did what he discerned he had to do.

Unfortunately, this anger had consequences that were not so little — and we see how he was overcome with guilt after. Him not being chosen by Myeong Hee did not stop him from helping her whenever he could. The rejection did not change his behavior towards her. Despite his faults, he has always respected Myeong Hee and has never expected anything in return for all he gave, nor did he use this in his favor.

He stood up to his father when he was about to compromise what is just and right for their business. “Father, I cannot obey you in this,” he says, determined to uphold and stand up for his principles, which became more progressive towards the end.

The eye-opening experiences that made him feel the unjust pain and discomfort he never imagined receiving in this way were the turning point. This firsthand experience of injustice moved him to fight alongside the people who continue to suffer because of it instead of being consumed by fear and steering clear from danger to keep himself safe. 

Soo Ryeon is fearless, never afraid for herself and determined to resist and publicly oppose the abuse and wickedness of the government authorities of her time.

However, like most, she’s helpless when it comes to her family, and her desperation drives her to the point of asking for things that should be beyond the bounds of asking (especially among friends!) e.g. asking for your friend’s lover to be your fiancé.

But that’s should not define her entire identity, especially because she recognized her fault and did her best to make amends. You can see her heart shine the most in this: she knows that there is a cause worth fighting for and you will find her in the thick of the action, in the frontlines.

She has a clear sight of what is most important to her. That is why after a few bumps in the road, towards the end, she finally mustered up the courage to give up everything that will hold her back, no matter how difficult it was.

She can be inappropriately brazen and insensitive, but one cannot deny that she truly cares for Myeong Hee, for the people, and the for cause she is fighting for.

Now let me look at Myeong Hee and Hee Tae in light of each other. This, after all, is their story — of love, of loss, and of life…and of death. (See. I told you, spoilers)

Hwang Hee Tae — here is a male lead that we have witnessed to be so vulnerable. He is strong in many ways, yet you see all the parts where he’s broken and wounded.

He’s a character that is competent in medicine and in handling life’s setbacks.

What I love most about him is that he is never resentful; I believe not even towards his father. And as revealed in the last episode, not even towards Myeong Soo.

He said twice to two different people (to Soo Ryeon and to his stepmom) that he has never resented them. Even if he has the reason to, might I add. On the contrary, he is always genuine in his kindness, even offering them help when needed, and even giving them advice.

Kim Myeong Hee — among the two of them, I would say that Myeong Hee is the stronger one. She is so grounded and steadfast. A force to be reckoned with. She has her priorities and goals clearly defined and she’s heading towards them single-mindedly.

Unfortunately, very few people see this about her. They push her around because they mistake her humility and kindness for weakness.

But Hee Tae knows and sees her strength in its fullness.

Myeong Hee knows her priorities. That is why at the beginning, despite wanting him too, she can easily let Hee Tae go. Because to her, the things that matter most are not at the mercy of things that matter least (Johann Von Goethe), and Hee Tae was at the bottom of her list (but not for long).

As for Hee Tae, he had some stuff going around — the songwriting thing, dealing with persistent effects of a traumatic experience, and Seok Chul’s well-being & hospital transfer. But even with all this heavy stuff going on, he really does live life lightheartedly (coz that’s his life motto according to Hye Gun).

He’s quite chill about everything. Everything except Myeong Hee, that is.

To him, there is absolutely nothing “chill” about what he feels for Myeong Hee.

The way I see it, Hee Tae is not as passionate and sure about anything as much as he about what he feels for Myeong Hee.

He wants to live lightheartedly, which is evident, but then this woman comes along and all the effort to live out his motto is shattered, completey out the window.

No more lighthearted Hee Tae. He was now about-to-weather-any-storm Hee Tae because now he had something to cherish, fight for, and protect.

He says to himself in the finale, “It was my choice to love her with all my heart.”

And boy, did he love her fiercely. Even when he was disappointed or frustrated with her, he loved her.

You feel it in his eyes and in every tear that falls from them, in every heavy exhale, in the creasing of his brows, in the clenching of his jaw, in the times of his evident restraint, and even in his silence.

Let me point out that neither Myeong Hee nor Hee Tae directly said “I love you” to each other in conversation, not once.

Despite this, you cannot deny how much they do. It need not be said. The series has an understated quality, which I love; the silences and pauses are as meaningful (if not more) as what was spoken.

I also will not miss to mention that even if the entire series (except for the finale) is only a span of one month, I love how it shows how their relationship blossomed.

In a single month, you see their intimacy gradually grow. Hee Tae fell first--and hard, he was all-in from that black-coffee-and-beer first date. Then Myeong Hee came around, almost catching up to the level of affection and certainty that Hee Tae had for her.

From new lovers going on cute and charitable dates, to having bickering-old- married-couple vibes while working in the ER, and to finally getting married! I love how their love was an enriching and healing of each other.

Before all this, Myeong Hee was trying to live a “quiet life”, she never wanted to draw attention nor cause any kind of trouble.

But meeting Hee Tae meant having someone she wanted to fight for. Before, she only stood up for other people but this pushed her to be assertive for herself to people who never expected her to say no.

Myeong Hee untentionally and repeatedly drives Hee Tae out of his comfort zone and even caused him to face his fears.

Myeong Hee believed in Hee Tae for something that he was so unsure of himself--that he can be a good doctor. She reassured him gently yet firmly.

I believe that Hee Tae would not have pursued being a doctor if not because  Myeong Hee.

Two more things I cannot not include here is that this drama addressed the important need for the younger generation to know the struggles of their nation many moons before they were born. This drama was set in South Korea in the 80s, (Gwangju Uprising) when the country was in Martial Law.

The four main characters represented different kinds of people during the time:

Soo Ryeon, an activist fighting for liberation of such a rule;

Soo Chan who, because of his position of privilege, was so detached from the reality and plight of the masses, the people whom his sister are fighting with and for;

Hee Tae, someone is aware of the reasons why his fellow students and citizens are resisting this authoritarian rule and is so close to where the fight is but chooses to stay out of it in the name of “living lightheartedly”;

Myeong Hee, a brave and selfless medical practitioner who WILL NOT turn a blind eye when she can do something to help.

Through this, we journey with and witness them grow from how they started to where we find them at the end.

It would be easy to relate to at least one of these characters. Therefore, it will help one to see how it might be for you, were you in this dangerous and ruthless time in history.

It can even open conversations with others or within yourself, asking the question, “What would I have done?” or “What would I do if it came to this?”

The latter of the “two more things” I cannot forego is the message of the story (among others) that although it seems that you (with all the limitations of being just one person, whose efforts seem futile in light of the immense violence and injustice happening around and beyond you) cannot change anything, there are things that you can do. Choose to do what you can, within the lines what is up to you.

There’s so much more I can say, I could go on endlessly --about Myeong Soo and Jung Tae, about Jung Tae saving Myeong Hee, about Jung Tae’s mom having the courage to free herself and her child from her tyrant husband, about Kyung Soo, about the “before I met you, I couldn’t hear anything” scene, and much more. But I guess I’ll leave it here.

The Finale

Finally, let’s talk about that finale.

Not to overreact, but it was a brilliantly woven  m a s t e r p i e c e. My only complaint on the ending is that I wish Soo Chan’s, Soo Ryeon’s, and the other characters’ present lives were shown a bit more. Other than that, to me, this is probably the best ending of a K-Drama I have ever seen.

The old Hee Tae was essentially the same — he is lighthearted, he confronts combative people ~lovingly~, and more than all, he is still. frickin’. whipped. for Kim Myeong Hee.

Yep, that’s the word for it. He’s just so devastatingly, unquestioningly, beyond-a-shadow-of-a-doubt, can’t-be-undone kind of whipped.

That’s why her loss was excruciating for him. He was extremely gutted.

Then it hit him. This was what he prayed for every day forty-one years ago. Him being left behind was actually his prayer being answered.

That’s the crux of the masterpiece right there. I was internally screaming by that part. G O O S E B U M P S.

It’s so endearing and sad how he never loved anyone else after her—not in that way, at least--and so relieving that he became the doctor she believed him to be — and better!

He said almost the exact same thing that Myeong Hee told him in the orphanage to the young doctor who decided to quit after a devastating failure. He revived that young man the way Myeong Hee did -- by having faith in him and magnifying his strength.

See!!! This is what I’m talking about — masterpiece.

It was the 41st year since Myeong Hee died yet she lives! Because in Hee Tae’s heart and consciousness, she never died.

She probably was more real to him than anything else that remained.

After finally discovering what Myeong Hee’s prayer was on the day of their wedding, he promised that the years to come will be the answer to her prayer — to not let the sorrow overwhelm his life, to not drown in the tears, and to have the power and courage to swim safely throughout this life.

It ends with, “Until we meet again, I will swim against the tide with all my might.”

I’m such a sucker for an ending as good as this. And now that I got it, I shall not forget.

[koreandragon]

“I live my life until I start the cycle of my dreams, then I leave and search for you until I die. When I come back, I live to remember, I live to find you” ― Molly Bryant, Wandering Souls

[moiraiinesedai]

TOMORROW || Tree 2 (1x05)

— they were so sick for this 💀 like plssssss 🥵