love will come back to you
firstly the ost of this serial is so good to listen (Christmas tree by v???)i have listened it thousand times,the story of this drama is so different that it got me hooked all the time,how they know each other in school time..how she helped her,how she mocked her?how he fell for her all was so different ..the breakup was so ?emotional,but when they met again,they were like Tom and Jerry...the funniest scene was when he spelled water on her when she knocked his door??the expressions of lead actor was always funny...i really enjoyed this drama❤️❤️❤️
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Rom-com at its peak
Our Beloved Summer adds a brand new and refreshing layer to romcoms that I feel most have lacked. Although sometimes entertaining, I'd gotten bored of the regular rom-com K-Drama formula; two main leads, one with a very traumatizing and troubling past, they both somehow had a connection all the way back when they were children that they're unaware of, they get together by episode 8, spend some time resolving a side-conflict which forces them to break-up and then get back together in the end. Our Beloved Summer very VERY loosely follows this formula and adds their own charms along the way. But mostly, instead of relying on overused plot points to get viewers emotionally attached, OBS takes a more realistic and simplistic approach as they deeply dissect the true complexities of a human relationship. It's a worthwhile watch that touches you in ways without being too overtly dramatic or incredibly traumatic (not necessarily an issue if other shows do, but it's nice to see something new). The show has a way of portraying loneliness especially, and I find that it does a great job of doing it.Besides that, OBS also has a knack for absolutely amazing cinematography. The colors not only look gorgeous on screen, but also hold their own significance. The use of seasons was stunning and overall, very pleasing to the eye. You can find several edits of The Beauty of Our Beloved Summer to see it for yourself.
And I cannot write this review without mentioning how great of a job they did on the main relationship; one of the healthiest and best executions and subversions of popular dynamics into one couple. It goes without saying that Kim Dami and Choi Wooshik absolutely killed it with their on-screen chemistry. In fact, my main complaint of this show is that I wish I had gotten to see even more of them.
If you're someone who enjoys character driven slice-of-life stories with said characters actually well-written on top of having pretty shots and scenes, definitely give this a try.
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Coming of age but with skeletons in the closet
It took me a long time to come back to this drama and finish it, but it was worth all the pain taken to sit and finish. I read a lot of reviews about it being slow paced, there being a lack of movement in plot or story, etc. I would like to add that if you're interested in character development, then this is the drama for you.There's a popular phrase that states that you are bound to make the same mistakes over and again through the span of your lifetime. It's daunting but very easy to believe it. Every snippet of their past vowed a repetition of the same mistakes and the same habits that got them where they are, but their perseverance got them through to change. And all of that healing, all of these realizations, happened only and only because of how much they just really wanted to be with each other. Not because of their need for love, but because of their need to be better for the sake of each other. That was the highlight of this drama.
Choi Ung's art and its metaphors, interpretations, and meanings were a lovely and strong addition to his character development. Thoroughly enjoyed his character, it was very well conceptualized. Kook Yeon Soo's relationship with her grandmother and Lee Sol-I was also very insightful, but her character could have used a little bit more of the focus. There was a lack of addressal to the shift from her ambitious high school self to her office working determined but not as ambitious self. Losing all the money and having to build from ground up really changed her, and it would have been nice to have more depth into that as we got a lot of depth into Choi Ung.
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Superb drama about entering the adult world, full of sensitivity and emotion.
Story:Reunion 10 years later, of 2 high school students who had filmed a documentary "the worst student, the best student". Afterwards, they dated for 5 years, and broke up painfully. The television crew wants to make a new documentary "what happened to them?".
Cast:
All the actors are excellent and the CL takes us into an emotional whirlwind. The chemistry between these two is palpable, amazing, natural.
Technical:
The production is dynamic and we don't get lost in useless scenes, although the narration is slow and delicate at times. This allows you to soak up the atmosphere of this drama little by little, all in sensitivity, in humanity.
The images are beautiful (the Korean directors and cameramen have really acquired a unique know-how on this point).
The OSTs are beautiful, sweet, moving.
Conclusion:
A superb moving drama about the difficulties of entering the adult world, full of sensitivity and emotion.
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It is possible to have way too much of a good thing
There are a ton of reviews for this show, so I wasn’t going to add to them, but I feel frustrated enough to want to write one. I’ll try and make it short, in keeping with my critique!I loved how this show started. Great characters, clever interweaving of flashbacks, beautiful unfolding of relationship etc etc. But as a writer I got really frustrated watching this. There is a natural arc for any story that you write and it has an appropriate length that does it justice. The perfect length states your case and leaves a clear impression in the viewer’s mind that is just enough for them to want to hold it in their hand and gaze at it a while longer, hopefully realising things for themselves, that lead them deeper. In my mind, this is the joy of a story. Not just what is told, but where it leads you afterwards.
However, in order to realise that goal, a writer needs to do two things:
1) have the message precise in their mind;
2) write only enough to illustrate it clearly.
Mostly, too much information is written and the job of editing is the delight of tightening and sharpening and chipping away until that message shines like a cut diamond. When you have cut sufficient away for the brilliance to emerge, then you have found the natural length of your story.
But dramas are commissioned and given a length: write a story that fills 16 episodes. What happens when you need to expand the story to fill the space allotted? Your diamond gets cut to fit the setting and instead of being sparkling and sharp, it becomes cloudy and dull. The writer tried to expand the beauty that was there and in the process went round and around and around the same material until it was trampled underfoot in the endless circularity that was all the middle episodes, by which time I was barely interested enough to follow it through to its inevitable conclusion.
If this had been an 8 or even a 10 episode drama, it could have rated at 8, no trouble. There was stuff that was good. The dialogue, the performances of the leads in particular, the sets, the cinematography, the drawings featured in the show... But sadly, it just has to be a flawed 6.5 for me.
What my rating means: 6+ Some aspects of it were OK but it had serious flaws. It will pass the time but you can find something better.
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Go into it with certain expectations
I'm coming out of this drama conflicted over how I feel about it. From a slice-of-life perspective, it's fantastic. The characters are all very well thought-out, from their backgrounds and histories to their personalities and how they react to the world around them. I think Woong himself is the best example of this, introduced as the kid in school with the worst grades whose only ambition is to live comfortably. Over the course of the drama, we get a lot of depth into how he really felt during that point in his life as well as how he feels in the current day, and there are a lot of layers to his character that you wouldn't expect if you were only to see the first few episodes. Yeon Soo also has these characteristics, though her side of things didn't pull at me the same way Woong's did.The story has a bright cast of side characters, too, who make the world feel very lively and lived-in, and they wholeheartedly make the drama better. Except... the unfortunate reality is that they're underutilized. Early on they feel like they might be important, but as the episodes go on they lose their significance. I can't really say that any of their stories are left unfinished, but none of them were particularly satisfying. Ji Woong is the best example. Early on, we're shown just how close he is to Woong, we see them growing up together and later on we see them leaning on one another. But further into the show, that starts to fade. As they pull more and more focus on the main couple, they leave him behind to deal with this small, out-of-nowhere plot with his mother. His mother is important to his character to a degree, sure, but that's all that his story amounts to in the end and that was really disappointing to see. Certain aspects (spoilers - if you watch it, you'll know) felt like they were just thrown in to find a way to end his conflict, and his romance with his coworker, which was hinted at and hinted at, was resolved very briefly out of nowhere. All of the couples but the main one were like that. We could have gotten so much more out of these characters than what we did.
That doesn't mean I hated the show. I liked it, I just didn't love it. The show shone its brightest during the original flashback scenes. All of the high school content and the original documentary was a lot of fun. Woong and Yeon Soo were lively and funny and charming, and it really felt like something special. I honestly wish the rest of the drama could have kept that feeling going, because it just became a bit generic once their adulthood started. And for a drama whose premise centred around a follow-up documentary to the one they starred in during their high school years, it didn't seem to matter all too much to the plot.
Our Beloved Summer does have some really heart-wrenching moments. The characters are very human and sympathetic, and it plays its strengths well. But it's not perfect, and it could have done better. A good example of its shortcomings is the plagiarism incident that happens early on in the drama. Another artist goes on television and implies that Woong has plagiarised him, but when comparing both artworks it doesn't really become apparent how the work was allegedly plagiarised, other than (I think - don't remember too clearly) them being drawings of the same (or similar if I'm remembering incorrectly) building. The thing about buildings is that if they're drawn at the same viewing angle, those drawings will look pretty similar. It's a bold claim and one that's taken very seriously in the art world, but I couldn't see the plagiarism myself because of that and thought, well, maybe they'll point out how it was plagiarised. But they didn't. They introduced the conflict and used it to push their plot along and show different facets of their characters, but they didn't care about the plagiarism itself. Naturally, Woong did not plagiarise. If anything, I believe that the other artist plagiarised Woong, but what bothered me was that there didn't seem to be a reason for this claim to be believed. Woong didn't address it and it faded from the story. Like a lot of other subplots. It came in, caused some trouble, and then vanished without any real resolution.
So, watch Our Beloved Summer. It's cute, and they care a lot about their characters. Well, about the main 2. Like cute couple scenes? Watch it. Like slice-of-life? Watch it. Don't like things feeling half-finished? Well, then maybe this one isn't for you.
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one of my fav dramas so far
Everything about this drama is perfect so far. The acting is well done, the express the emotion perfectly. the story plot is simply but interesting enough to captivate viewers and pull them along for each episode, and even make views think about their own life and relationships. The beautiful cinematography makes it hard for viewers to look away, it help strengthens the mood and emotions in scenes, especially with the help of pathetic fallacy. Also looooovee the ost, v's voice is like a comforting hug after you feel the emotions portrayed in the drama. The only bad thing about this is having to wait every week, every episode makes me longing for the next. 10/10 would recommend this drama. only on ep 8 will alter when finishedWas this review helpful to you?
OverHyped
Had gr8 potential but iam disappointed and also the female lead is annoying and often selfish. She loves then leaves the male lead with no explanations. This is not love. Leaving someone to pick up the pieces after your breakup is immature and doesnt let the other person get closure. If the roles were reversed, we would be calling the person toxic. Unfortunately, women seem to get away with a lot more selfishness in dramas. Netflix has great production, music, locations but somehow loses out on empathatic characters. The women are portrayed as get-up-and-leave kinds in the name of female emancipation and freedom. I just dont get it. Had Dropped the drama after 12, felt its draggy . Drama could have finished in 10 or 12epi .She seems to be stuck, acting out like a high schooler.Was this review helpful to you?
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TOXIC AT ITS MOST
Many people are going to disagree with me but this show is SO overrated just because the casts are famous people. If this show were to casts unknown actors and actresses it wont go far.First of, i hated the FL. Her character and personality in thr drama was too much for me. But then again, this is only my personal opinion. I read the review and ALMOST ALL the reviews said this was a good drama but when i watched it, i felt like i was watching a totally different drama. The FL annoyed me in every single episodes and their relationship, was HIGHKEY toxic. She was too dominant was him and he, was weak.
They kept breaking up OVER SMALL THINGS and then make up. If that aint red flag i don’t know what is. Overall, i did not enjoy this drama. Don’t get me wrong, i love both actors but i just did not see what the hybe is about.
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Just Beautiful
Our Beloved Summer was one of the first K-Dramas I ever watched, I didn’t know anything about the actors or story at the time, so I didn’t have any set expectations when I started. And it remains one of my favorite comfort K-Dramas, even with the twenty I’ve watched since.Opinions about this show seem to be quite polarized, and I’m glad I watched it before reading all the negative reviews that might’ve scared me off. People love it or hate it, and I’m certainly one of the former.
The story spans over quite a bit of time and I thoroughly enjoyed both the flashback sections of the show and what's happening in modern day. The structure allowed for some beautiful parallel scenes too.
While I love this show, I do understand why some people don’t, it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. The story and relationship progression are both slow, so if you hate slow dramas, you’re most likely not going to like this one. But even with the slow progression, I was never bored.
Our main couple, Choi Ung (played by Choi Woo-Shik) and Kook Yeon-Soo (played by Kim Da-mi) were both perfectly cast. They made both hilarious rivals in the beginning and an awkwardly sweet couple later on. I thoroughly enjoyed all of their different dynamics.
I’ve seen several people bashing Yeon-Soo as a character, and while I will say initially, I didn’t find her very likeable, as the story progressed and her character developed, she won me over. I did like Ung from the beginning though, but as fellow sleep deprived artist I may be a little biased.
Honestly, I’m not usually a fan of second chance romances but this one got me. Through swapping between the current day and flashbacks of when the characters were previously together, it becomes quite clear why they didn’t initially work. But unlike many second chance romances, this one is able to take the reasons they didn’t work then and through a ton of character development, show why they do now. And they do work beautifully.
While much of the character development is shown through the lenes of a relationship, much of it is deeply individual. Ung and Yeon-Soo go from somewhat miserable individuals, both wallowing in their struggles, to two people who are able to make the best of their lives. And it was done beautifully.
Besides our main couple, there is a side romance with their friends, I found this to be the least interesting part of the show, ultimately though, it didn’t dampen my overall enjoyment.
I don’t fully know how to describe the overall tone, but mellow might be a good word.
Everything that I liked about the show was amplified by the OST. There isn’t a single miss in the soundtrack. The music helped set the mood phenomenally, and I’ve listened to it so many times that four of my top five most listened to songs in 2023 were from this soundtrack. It’s without a doubt my favorite K-Drama OST ever.
There’s so much more I could talk about in this review that I loved, from all the side characters to the family dynamics and beautiful cinematography, but this review is already long enough. So, I’ll leave it here.
Our Beloved Summer is a beautifully thought-provoking show, that made me laugh, cry, and reevaluate my life. Go give it a shot.
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Yes, totally worth it..
I kept seeing this drama recommendation by everybody… so decided to check it out.It lived to the hype… caught me since ep1.
Their relationship is so natural, and both charismatic in their way.
Ung is so cool, relaxed… life pass in front of him without any hinder, Thats how he appears to be… except for her.
Yeon Soo is so relatable… excellent student, struggling to become excellent professional… she is accomplished and responsible, tough on the outside, but so soft inside, constantly faking her personality so no one can see how vulnerable she really is,.. not even Ung.
The break up scene was so horrible, detached, I hated her but later understood life was too much… and she underestimated her feelings for Ung, and eventually regretted pushing him away.
That happens so often in real life…. People simply makes mistakes because they take others for granted.. like YS did…
These 2 persons get together through a documentary film in high school…. Which lead them to become a couple.
Life happens and Yeon Soo broke up with no real explanation, leaving Ung heart broken and confused.
I spent 12 episodes crossing my fingers for them to get back together…. Both were miserable apart, but stubborn to get back together…. However, when they finally did, it was a bit anticlimactic… but ey… at least we had 4 episodes of them together.
I loved that both evolved in their own way… and once back together, they learned from the past and try to be better for each other, not taking their love for granted like they did in the past.
This is one of the dramas with much better development Inhad seeen so far….
Their relationship is very real, normal… they complement each other so good, there is no mistake… they belong together.
The onky annoying character was the friend /2ML… the producer…. Somehow he did not win my simpathy, even with his sad story.
Everybody else are adorable.
Do I recommend this serie? Absolutely Yes
Would I watch it again? I think Yes
Would I love a second season….. absolutely yes!
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Chemistry between leads and coming-of-age theme supported by mellow cinematography and soundtrack
The chemistry between the leads is the highlight of this show, which the plot helps develop by showing them at different points in their relationship at different ages. I loved how they developed the ML. The FL was developed too, but it seemed more like just breaking down her walls, whereas the ML found himself over time. The coming-of-age theme was supported well by the mellow cinematography and soundtrack.Was this review helpful to you?
