I watched this drama in 2020 on the youtube channel of KBS world. (thanks for that, KBS world!)

The drama is an old one, and you will see this in every detail. Let it be the stage props, the acting, the colors or the way the story is told. From todays perspective, this is a plus IF you like the 00er years and you want to rewind time a bit. But be aware, it looks a bit trashy.
You will see a Korea which is similar to the one you know from todays dramas, but it's definitly a different one.

Besides the age, the drama also have some other strong points:
1. The friendship of Eunbyeol with a fellow (female) student.
This can't be praised more. You don't see many dramas (or even films), where 2 female characters bond with each other from scratch and are just friends, without anything else. And the 2 actresses and the storyboard did a very good job here.
2. The school, gangster-princess, friendship, coming-of-age (and a bit of romance) genres.
You will find these genres more in the J-drama section, but here you get a korean version of it. The main difference is, that the korean way of telling stories is a bit more direct than the japanese way. From a western point of view, you will have a better pacing and the characters actually do what you want them to do, and don't beat around the bushes too much ...
3. 3 stars from today at a young age.
Park Min-Young, Lee Min-Hoo, T.O.P.
This is cool. If you are older, you can check what they did in the 00er years and compare their life with yours. ;) It's refreshing to see Lee Min-Hoo in a silly supporting character roll and Park Min-Youngs - I think first - drama. Both did a good job here.
(when watching on KBS channel: read the YT commets. It's hilarious how many T.O.P. fans watched this drama only for him)
4. The Characters
There are great characters, especially the supporting characters are all very likeable, which helps to generate a lively surrounding for the main cast.
5. The romance part.
There is romance, but it's not the main focus - or at least - the visible romance is not the main focus and not explicitly shown. But you have to figure it out yourself.

Nonetheless, there are also some mediocre points, or points which are "up to you":
1. The Story
The story is honestly not very fancy and also, you have to accept the a somewhat unrealistic reasoning, for why the characters come together and the story takes off.
2. The Music
It's from 2007. You can't compare it directly to 2020, but the main theme is catchy.
3. The Acting
It's from 2007. You can't compare it either. The story pacing is different and the way things were told are different to 2020, but the actors did a good job.

So, should you watch it?
Yes if you like one of this: "Park Min-Young, (T.O.P.), (Lee Min-Ho)", "School, Friendship, Coming of Age, Gangster-Princess", "old dramas".

Otherwise, I would'nt recommend it for you.

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Movie with rich storyline and characters

So, I had this movie on my watch list for a long time (since it's release), not knowing anything about the story and never had the time to watch it in one go. I even considered it watching in chunks while riding the subway on my way to work.

Well, I'm glad I didn't. I finally got the time on christmas day and the invested time was worth it. After the first couple of minutes I also had to look twice, since I clearly didn't expect Kim Yoo-Jung in the main role, but I was even happier after my mind accepted it was true, since I really like her. The story then proceeded and I was on an emotional rollercoaster - I did go through all emotions the story presented. I was once again catched off guard after the major plot twist. Up till then, I believed it was an easy school romance story line but well - it was not. Once I swallowed the twist, the story then was easy going till the end.

So, in general: I liked this movie. Does it have flaws? Yes, it has. My main critique is the changed actress for Na Bo-Ra in the two timelines. Even though I do understand, that Kim Yoo-Jung is rather young and probably not suited to play a mid to end 30-year old women and maybe even can't depict the cool-headed and distanced emotions Han Hyo-Joo can, I would have just loved her to see it in that role. I see two reasons for that:
a.) Kim Yoo-Jung had more than 95% screentime of all Na Bo-Ra scenes, so it feels kinda ungrateful, that she can't do the last 5%
b.) It would be a huge chance for her, since she mostly played air-head, short-tempered characters, and I would have loved her to see and expand her acting spectrum with a different role, and these 5% would have been a great and forgiving possibility.

So, the change of the lead actress makes the end worse than it could be. For 1:45 hours or so I felt with Na Bo-Ra, because Kim Yoo-Jung did a great job. But then, from one scene to the next (and only for the last minutes) I have to connect with a different actress? That's not cool. If the switch would have been done after 1h or so, it wouldn't have been such a great issue.

Otherwise, the story was well written. All actors did a great job depicting their specific character. All of them felt alive and important for the story. None was expendable.


To sum it up, I rate it as 10/10 personally, but it should have been a 9.5 due to the changed actress.

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