they've been friends since they were children. she was there to cheer him up when he lost both his parents.
her parents took it upon themselves to take care of the two orphaned brothers indirectly. hence, the guy was a frequent 'visitor' in shiwoon's house.
when they reach high school, jae woon (the guy) starts to develop feelings for his best friend.
they couldn't be more opposite than night and day. shiwoon had a tomboyish attitude. the ultimate fan girl who didn't want to bother with school or do any studying. her dream was to become the wife of the lead guy of a boy band.
he was an honor student. the boy next door. the dependable best friend.
reply 1997 tells the story of how and why he fell in love with her.
it is a story about family, first love, friendships, heart break, finding love again and of courae life in 1997.
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"It's so cute and everything"
"It beat out 1 Litre of Tears and Gaksital on MDL"
"It's so different from other typical k-dramas"
etc etc.
So I thought, why not giving this one a chance? After all it has Seo In Gook, Eun Ji Won and Hoya ^^
I started to watch this yesterday and watched first 8 episodes = 1st half of the drama. After those 8 episodes I thought:
"I really can't understand HOW and WHY this became the #1 drama on MDL. Of course, the story is cute, it has good and strong comedy, it has good looking cast = perfect drama right? But to give this 10? No way. I'm not sure if this gets even 8 from me."
And today, I watched rest of the episodes = 2nd half of the drama. The second half was stronger in my opinion and I really liked how they didn't reveal the ending before the final episode. It was funny to figure out which one ~
Then about cast: I liked how they used new actors but of course that can be seen in their acting as well. I really loved how all the cast members used the Pusan accent. I just think it sounds really cool XD Before I haven't thought nothing of A Pink. I just haven't been able to get into their music so I was hesitating whether to watch this or not.. After all the female lead is from A Pink.
"They're boring and dull", I thought. But the acting of Eunji proved me wrong. At first she was REAAAALLY annoying with all her whining and stuff. But then I grew to like her character a lot.
I knew that Seo In Gook is a cutie pie but this drama made me appreciate him even more. He's just so cute XD And Hoya.. His acting wasn't the best but the character of him was really well acted ^^ Eun Ji Won is over 30 and he did really well playing a high school kid. I really loved his chara a lot ~~ The parents of Shi Won were really amazing XD
My conclusion:
Gave this 8. Just because the story was cute and I liked the cast. I didn't like how it jumped back and forth all the time. But while going forward the final episode it all glued together well. I considered giving this 9 but I just can't. The acting wasn't the best out there... But still, very cute drama ^^ Seo In Gook, Hoya and Eun Ji Won were superb ~~
If you read all this I'll be really thankful XD Sorry for this messy review...
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I LOOOVVEEE the story. Fit for teenagers, sweet, cute, funny, sad, really teens life !
The cast are really great. Most of them have no experience on acting but I think they act really good (especially Eunji, Seo In Guk, Hoya) and I love all cast :)
I like the osts (well it's only 2 -_-) and all song that's play in the drama (ex. Hush, Candy, Be Ma Girl xD) and I wouldn't mind rewatch it !
Really 10/10 I would suggest this to everyone :)
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I USUALLY DON'T WRITE REVIEWS BUT THIS DRAMA MADE ME WANNA WRITE MY REVIEWS AND FEELINGS.
I just finished it a while ago. I stayed awake until 4:45 am just to finish this. I felt like I still have hangover for staying up so late. But all my time, energy, we're all worth it. I'll never regret watching this.
Why didn't I know that this drama existed last year?!
My classmate just suggested this drama to me, she said it was the best. And yeah this drama doesn't disappoint me. It never fails to make me smile.
Before I started watching this I scanned the reviews here at mdl and made me so curious about why do they like this drama so much. I thought it was just over-rated. But I'm wrong. I thought there wouldn't any drama that could be better on my my number one favorite drama. But no, It was at the top of my list. This drama made my LAUGH SO HARD as the same time SPAZZ SO HARD. They are just too cute. All the actors, the lead actors. The couple? I ship them so hard. I don't know why but they are the only lead couple in kdrama land whom I feel I have connection to. Whenever I see Seo In Guk I would always see him as Yoon Jae, so he should always be with Shiwon. I love them so much! They are very good in acting. Jung Eun Ji is the best! She's just a rookie in acting, but look at her she acts so naturally, that I almost thought her attitude is like that in real life. She's now officially my new favorite actress in kdrama land ?
The ending was great. It is a main factor for me for I hate dramas with bad ending. If there is one drama that I would recommend to each of you it is REPLY 1997. I wanna scream! I just can't move on through my feelings on this drama. AMAJING DRAMA!~ WOOOHOOO. So what are you waiting for? watch now and spazz with me lol. I became crazy just by watching this drama. MEHEHEHEHE :3
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This review may contain spoilers
First of all, I made an account at mydramalist.com only because I can't help but to really want to review this drama. I can't give a perfect score only because there's no perfect score, or not yet at least.Now, the last time I made a list of drama I watched for both Japanese, Taiwanese and Korean, each have sum up to at least 50. So yes, I have enough credibility :P
Here are my reasonings and I'm doing it in points so to make it easier to read.
The reason why i love it:
1. Its original - the concept with the 90s and the friendship is fresh!
2. Awesome acting
3. The story is not relying on 'famous' people. They ARE idols, but not top idols to the point that they can act badly and people will still watch.
4. There's good chemistry.
5. Its funny.
6. Almost for the longest time, I can FINALLY unable to predict the end of the story.
The tiny bit that I don't like: (SPOILER ALERT)
1. Why do they have to sleep before getting married. Not that it's bad. But so unoriginal in that part. I mean the story and the friendship is so cute and pure, why not making it different just for once. Haven't seen that for the longest time.
I truly recommend this drama! Love it!
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The cast really surprise me and I had a feeling that no one else could play that character and I would't believe that Euji was a rockie she did a fine job, the soundtrack it just perfect, the plot was just right every episode would get you confuse but there were hints about who was the real husband the whole drama. The comedy is just GREAT! Koreans aren't that great in comedy but this one you can help but to lough.
Love, friendship, drama, comedy even, all in one a must watch drama!
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Why I only gave 9 points: - the flashbacks, flashforwards and flash-I-don't-know-which-year-I'm-in-backs/-forwards were confusing after some tim.
Overall a great drama with a unique storyline - love it!
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Amazing! I spent 2 days on it. I just could'nt stop. The plot is so close to real life. It seems that I know the characters as if I studied with them.
I should say that all the characters have their own charm, deepness. I liked the main female heroine so much! :) Nice girl!
While watching I was reminiscing of my past, senior school, university. That was amazing. This soulful drama reminded me how great and unexpected life is. And despite all the difficulties it's beautiful.
I feel grateful to all people who worked on "Reply 1997". Now I'm definitely going to see all dramas from the Reply series.
I should have said more but emotions are overwhelming. This drama is about natural things that happen to all of us. These things are shown as something amazing that we should enjoy because it will never come back. And don't forget to look forward to your dreams! :D
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The story is set in 1997, and the detail about what happened in that time is well made.
The story will make us wondering what really happen in the future of the lead, how will it really end? Who will finally with the female lead? So if your curiosity level is high probably you’ll probably finish this drama in a day. Not like me, because I’ve to wait per episode until it ends, T___T
And if the story is great, the next part for it to be a good drama is the cast....
Well I think it was the first time Jung Eunji became a lead character, and who cast her maybe a genius or just lucky. She really fit the character craziness really well. And with Seo Inguk as male character, it just perfect match!!
Another character is really good; I really like it when I realize that Eun Ji Won is actually a real idol which was really famous at that time.
Do you want a romantic comedy drama that worth your time?
Do you want to laugh out loud in the middle of the night while watching a drama?
Do you want to watch a romantic Comedy but not too cringe?
Then Reply 1997 is the best choice.
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I'm a little bit late to watch this, because the summary of this drama doesn't attack my attention. The cast that i dont know well, and first i stop watching after first episode!. But i push myself to watch two weeks later, and it's a really right decision!
What I like so much is how the story jumping the time between now, past, and future. And then every episode has a good theme with good moral message.The chemistry between Yoon Jae and Shi Won, Yoon Jae and Tae Wong, and also between Yoon Jae and Jun Hee, is very touching! I smile, laugh, and cry in every episode.....
The scene that makes me cry a lot, is when Yoon Jae confessed his true feeling towards Shi Won, and at the same time he also decided to leave her.
Finally I find my favorite drama this year!!!
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(As narrated in the Korean TV Series Reply 1997)
First Love. The reason why we think first love is beautiful is not because people we first love were actually handsome and pretty. It's because we were unconditional, innocent, or a bit stupid at the time of first love. And because... we know that we can never go back to that young, passionate time of our days.
First Love is a bit rash. Without any calculation, we throw ourselves with passion and finally came to face failures. But it is at the same time dramatic. It comes with inexplicable feelings that we never get to experience again. So first love becomes the most dramatic moment of our lives. It's okay to fail. Tragic stories stays longer than "happily ever after". It's nice to have that wonderful story as one chapter of one's life.
First Love is a period of time. It never comes back. If the next love comes, time has to yield for that new love. It might not be as innocent as (your) first love, but it would be a little more mature, due to the pain suffered with the first love.
A person who dreams of love, is the one who waits. And a person who waits can recognize the love when it comes near him.
After the romance, the real life comes. Innocence gets dirty, passion gets cold, and youth gets old with cleverness. So first love becomes part of one's exhausted daily life. That's why first love looks like it can't be accomplished. Because no one talks about a successful romance with first loves.
Thus, it's (okay if you did not end up with your first love. There's too many kinds of love anyway).
PS. I just made the title. The contents thigh were exactly the same in the series except those inside the parenthesis. I just added them to give complete thought.
PSS. All credits to Reply 1997 Korean TV Series
Time / Of Our / Lives!
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Truthfully, a large portion of why I enjoyed this show was because it was so relatable. I did not grow up in Korea but I have heard about the Korean boy band fan wars after getting into KPOP in my late teens, early twenties. I did not live through H.O.T. versus Seckskies but I lived through Backstreet Boys versus NSync. The way Shi Won obsessed over H.O.T was similar to how I used to obsess over the Backstreet Boys. I remember, vividly, hovering over a teen magazine and tearing out pages to share with my girlfriends and classmates, similar to the drama. My inner 90's kid self laughed when the gang in the drama started getting into Tamagotchis and other 90's crazes like overalls, pig tails, CD players... Of course, I had a Tamagotchi! It was also really nostalgic and heartwarming watching the friends have their reunion. How many people still keep in touch with their high school friends in their late twenties? Not too many people unfortunately. This was something that I couldn't relate to but still found touching.
I also loved how the drama talked about real life topics despite some topics being controversial in a conservative country. When I lived in Korea in the early part of this decade, it was still taboo to talk openly about homosexuality. People were having same- sex relationships but it was still not a widely accepted mindset. It was refreshing for the drama to kinda mention homosexuality and paint it with a warm, understanding light.
I also commend the actors for portraying their roles so well. Some might find the Busan accent to be whiny but I found it to be endearing. This drama also transcend gender lines. I recommended this drama to my fiance and he absolutely loved it. Eunji, as Shi Won was the clear glue to this entire show. She was so lovable that it is easy to see why people liked her. In Guk as Yoon Je was also hilariously straight edged and goofy. It was so funny how the main leads interacted with each other and their chemistry was palpable.
All in all, if you grew up in the 90's...watch this drama. You will love it.
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