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I've always been somewhat mystified by the fact that Korea has sooooo many historical dramas set in loooooong-ago times but so few set in more recent era's, ie. from the early 1900's onward. I assume it's partially to do with how poorly Kdrama's not set in modern day or ancient history have done in the Kdrama market. They definitely don't seem to do very well. And in that regard, I guess I understand why so many people slept on this drama when it originally came out (myself included). The reviews for it now are mostly positive, but I don't remember anyone talking about this drama when it came out, and when they did it was usually to critique it. (I think it was 'too slow' for Kdrama watchers back then. This style of drama storytelling wasn't really a thing in the Kdrama landscape until more recently.)Regardless though, of why this drama wasn't super popular when it came out, I can confidently say it Deserves to be popular now. The story is, first and foremost, about the lives of women, their loves and losses and struggles and triumphs, and it's very, very compelling. But the way the writers subtly weaved through the story an examination of the era it was set in, tackling some deep topics in sensitive and thoughtful ways, is superbly done as well. It's not a drama about the Korean democratic movement or marital affairs or school sanctioned abuse, but these elements are all integral to the story and help give a better picture of what life during 1970's Korea would have been like.
I think part of why this story works so well is because of the filming style and the storytelling choices. The camerawork is very soft and light and the pacing very gentle, which again, was not typical of Kdrama's at the time and probably another reason why this drama wasn't popular then. But I really love it, and I'm glad they chose to go this route despite it not being the norm at the time. It gives the story an almost slice-of-life feel even though I don't think you could classify this drama under that genre. Things happen and things change and people grow, but the story isn't afraid to take it's time.
I do want to give one word of warning to future viewers though. Early on in the drama, it appears like two characters might be having an affair but the drama doesn't say yay or nay about it for a long time, and the possibility really bothered me. Not because I have a problem with stories addressing the issue of cheating, but because I have an abhorrence of the act and drama's that don't make a clear statement about it upset me. So I'm going to tell you upfront, there is cheating in this drama. Fortunately, it is also properly addressed and the affair ended, so if you are like me, you don't have to worry on that front.
And now I have to mention the fashion, because it's great. I don't think it's 100% historically accurate to the era as the cuts of most of the pieces definitely veer on the modern side, but I think it strikes a nice balance between period accurate and modern interpretation. I also just really love it. I think most of the young female characters outfits outside of school are really cute and I was taking notes the whole time, lol.
I'm sad this drama wasn't more popular when it aired, but I also understand. With the dearth of historical Kdrama's of this type, the fact that the Kdrama landscape was in the stages of changing when this came out, and Kdrama's with this style of storytelling were a lot more atypical than they are now, it makes sense that this ended up being sidelined for so long. I think this drama probably would have done better in Kdramaland today as Kdrama viewers are more open to this sort of story, but alas, it did not happen that way, and we just have to accept that. For my part, I'm glad I watched this drama Now, because it left me feeling good, and that's really what I want from most drama's. To finish them with a smile on my face.
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This review may contain spoilers
I didn't like the female lead at the first 2 episodes, but she got better by the next episodes. I didn't mad at Imo-nim, though i lil bit upset at her, but i really hated Jung-hee's dad till the end. Her dad treated her and her mom that bad, but being so kind to Imo-nim and Bong-soo. I was glad that Jung-hee was brave to tell her dad about she saw him cheated with Imo-nim.The story was predictable, but i still enjoyed it a lot, especially the old style production set and the osts. Despite of telling sensitive issue like communism accusation and at some point made you really angry at what the father did, the rest of the story was youthful and nostalgic. Most of the part telling about polygonal (?) love among Jung-hee and other characters.
It was not that easy to live as a woman at that time (especially if you have a father like Jung-hee's), also not easy to fight under dictatorship because you would be accused as communist and your family will be in difficult situation.
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This show has two sides to it. One is really cute and innocent while the other is very dark. The show explores the lives of different women and girls and it's so wonderful to watch that.
Any drama that is set in the 70s/80s/90s really makes me want to watch it (thanks to the Reply Series) so I was totally excited to watch this one. It's kind of like Reply (with the friendship, old music, love and all that) but make it darker.
But here's what happened -- I FELL FOR BONA.
This actress my GAWD. With her Daegu accent, Bona became a different person (I had watched her in The Best Hit and didn't like her character) but she nailed the role. Her accent made me fall for her.
Everyone should give this show a shot. Do not only respond to the ratings cause who knows? it might be your cup of tea
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an amazing cute school story but i don't think this freedom in relationships exist in 70th
the romance was brilliant
what bothered me a lot they just made it 8 eps and it should be more so they can explain many things in more details
i felt it cut
just like headlines without details
i loved dong moon character the most he is so cute ,kind and very caring
i prayed many times to love him instead of the other guy ^_^
i really was fond of the second side story i wish they could focus on more
in general it's very light ,heartwarming drama u won't leave till u finish
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¡Buenísimo!
Es un kdrama que engloba muy bien los conceptos que hacen tan lindo el género slice of life: amistades fuertes, romances juveniles, conflictos escolares y familiares, todo ambientado en un pueblito en las montañas y con una estética hermosa. El vestuario de los personajes es precioso, y la música (repleto de clásicos internacionales) acompaña todo el tiempo de forma muy placentera.El casting en general trabaja muy bien, además de que la dinámica entre los actores es muy buena. Todos los personajes son muy diferentes entre sí y se ganan muy merecidamente tu cariño e irritación por partes iguales. Aunque es una serie corta, realmente llegué a conectar mucho con los personajes, especialmente con las dos protagonistas, que forman un vínculo muy lindo. En cuestión de romances, tiene sus momentos cliché pero en esta serie por algún motivo los amé 🥴 Me encantaron los romances que se plantearon en la historia, y eso para mí es un puntaso a favor en un kdrama porque no suelo señalar eso.
En términos generales, no hubo nada en esta serie que no me haya gustado: la producción es muy buena, la trama y el desarrollo son muy entretenidos y te mantienen enganchado, la serie tiene un balance perfecto entre drama y comedia. También es muy interesante ver cómo eran las cosas en la Corea de la década de los 70s, (que era diez veces más conservadora de lo que hoy día es) y las problemáticas con las que tratan los personajes. En fin, una serie muy muy linda, que me encantó y recomiendo muchísimo para ver algo tranquilo, estéticamente hermoso, muy entretenido y agradable.
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Kıyafetler ve mekanlar şirindi, karakterler iyiydi. Jung Hee ve Hye Joo çok gerçekçi ve iyi karakterlerdi, ikisini de sevdim. Gelişen arkadaşlıkları beni çok duygulandırdı. Son Jin ve Dong Moon'u ise pek sevemedim, yine de kızların onlarla yaşadıkları güzeldi.
80ler Güney Kore'sinin okul ve aile hayatı iyi işlenmişti. Mahalle baskısı kültürü, cinsiyet ayrımcılığı, taciz, zorbalık, öğretmenlerin öğrencilere uyguladığı baskılar...
Jung Hee'nin değişimi çok iyiydi. Beni tatmin etti. Kendimi ona yakın hissettim.
Kesinlikle izlediğim için çok memnun kaldığım, çok çok sevdiğim bir dizi. En sevdiğim Kore dizilerinden.
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Un coming of age que realmente vale la pena ver.
La historia va de una chica llamada Jung-Hee que, en una cita a ciegas, conoce a un chico que se enamora de ella inmediatamente. El problema es que nuestra protagonista parece solo tener ojos para el chico más popular de la escuela para hombres del lugar, chico que parece no interesarse románticamente en ella debido a una estudiante nueva que llega al vecindario...Esta serie es, en síntesis, un coming of age ambientado en los 70' que nos habla de amores no correspondidos, amistad, familias conflictivas y crecimiento personal.
AMO MUCHO, EN SERIO. "Girls' Generation" no pretende ser más de lo que es y por eso funciona tan bien. Los personajes están construidos de una forma hermosa y todos son muy coherentes a lo largo de la trama (no hay ninguno que sea del todo malo o del todo bueno, todos se sienten como personas reales. Y me encanta que los conflictos que se plantean no sean solo los que tienen los protagonistas, hay varias cosas pasando al mismo tiempo).
Que la ambientación sea en los 70' es un re punto a favor porque la música, la ropa y la situación de Corea en ese momento ayudan a crear un entorno buenísimo para desarrollar esta trama (ver cómo funciona la familia de la prota, por ejemplo, es súper interesante, ya que es una familia extremadamente patriarcal y con muchos problemas).
Otra cosa que me encanta es la esencia de la historia. Ver este kdrama me hizo feliz. Tiene un Feeling muy fuerte a novela contemporánea juvenil del estilo de Eleanor & Park (conflictos incluidos)
En fin, de esta serie no esperaba nada y la terminé amando. Tiene todo lo necesario para enganchar y las múltiples posibles historias de amor son geniales.
Puede que no sea la trama más compleja e impredecible, pero es muy bonita, fresca y dinámica. Además (por si fuera poco) los personajes son geniales y el soundtrack es de esos que te querés descargar enteros 😍
Si quieren una reseña más desarrollada, pueden ir a chusmear mi canal de yt (@altoplottwist)
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