Our Beloved Summer

Masterpiece

A masterpiece that captures every complicated emotion that comes with loving someone at the wrong time and finding your way back years later.

Our Beloved Summer is one of the most realistic, heartfelt, and beautifully written romance dramas I’ve ever watched. Rather than relying on over-the-top drama or unbelievable plot twists, it tells a deeply human story about first love, personal growth, unresolved feelings, and the bittersweet reality that sometimes people need to grow separately before they’re capable of loving each other properly.

What immediately stands out is how authentic every character feels. Choi Ung and Kook Yeon-soo are wonderfully imperfect. They’re stubborn, insecure, funny, frustrating, and incredibly relatable. Watching them slowly confront their past mistakes while learning to understand each other again feels completely natural. Their relationship isn’t idealized it feels real.

Choi Woo-shik and Kim Da-mi deliver career-defining performances. Their chemistry is effortless, built through meaningful conversations, quiet moments, lingering glances, and years of emotional history. You believe every smile, every argument, and every painful silence because both actors portray their characters with incredible honesty.

The supporting cast deserves just as much praise. Each character has their own dreams, fears, and emotional journey, making the world feel rich and believable rather than existing solely around the main couple.

Visually, this drama is breathtaking. The cinematography is warm, nostalgic, and almost dreamlike, perfectly reflecting the themes of memory and growing up. Combined with one of the most beautiful OSTs in any K-drama, every episode feels comforting while quietly breaking your heart.

What truly makes this drama unforgettable is its understanding of adulthood. It reminds us that growing older doesn’t mean having everything figured out. We continue making mistakes, carrying old wounds, and searching for where we belong. Yet despite all of life’s uncertainties, love still finds a way when two people are finally ready.

Beautifully written, emotionally honest, and deeply comforting, Our Beloved Summer is a romance I’ll never forget. It’s the kind of drama that stays with you because it feels so incredibly real. A perfect 10/10.

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Nostalgia, Soft Edges, and Love That Lingers Unevenly

This drama feels like flipping through an old photo album. Tender, familiar, and occasionally frustrating.

Our Beloved Summer excels at mood. The cinematography is gentle, the soundtrack wraps around you like a memory, and the premise of ex-lovers reconnecting through time and unresolved feelings is undeniably compelling. It captures the awkwardness of first love and the quiet ache of growing apart with sincerity.

Where it stumbles is momentum. The emotional introspection, while beautiful, often lingers too long. Conversations circle the same unresolved feelings, making character growth feel slower than it should. What starts as reflective gradually drifts into repetition.

The leads share natural chemistry, and their individual struggles are relatable, but the drama sometimes mistakes emotional restraint for depth. Moments that could have pushed the story forward instead pause it.

Still, Our Beloved Summer has undeniable charm. It understands the texture of youth, the fear of vulnerability, and the way love can remain unfinished even after it ends.

🍂 7/10 for atmosphere, nostalgia, and emotional honesty, held back by pacing that lets the story linger a little too long in its own memories.

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I know I am minority here but I found it boring and filled with unlikable characters

6/10 is my rating. This is a 2021/2022 South Korean coming of age/time gap romance with 16, 60-70 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review.

Synopsis

Choi Ung (Choi Woo-shik) and Kook Yeon-soo (Kim Da-mi) first got to know each other while participating in a docu series in high school featuring the best student and the student with the lowest grades academically. Not hard to imagine they did not get along well which made for some very comedic moments in the series. A decade later we find out they dated for years but suddenly broke up in such a hurtful way they vowed to never see each other again. But one of their close friends becomes a producer with the production company that is still getting traction out of their original docu series. Looking for hit content, the company pressures Kim Ji-ung (Kim Sung-cheol) their producer friend, to get the two back together for a sequel to the hit docu series. But Ji-ung secretly had feelings for Yeon-soo since high school and is reluctant to draw the two back together. Still, he caves to the oressure from his work and talks his friends into participating in the project. Things have changed though as Choi Ung is now a mysterious and successful artist who has fans. Fans such as NJ (Rohn Jeong-eui) a top idol who likes the art “Go-oh” (a secret pseudonym Choi Ung does his art under) creates but also has a crush on the artist. Now that things have changed, and time has passed, will this new project bring the two ex-lovers back together or drive them further apart?


Review

If you like straight drama and slice of life, that doesn’t depict the sunny side to life, you might like this. In fact, I think most of the people that rate this very high would fall into that category. In the other reviews, I read before watching this, I saw a lot of it’s a lot like reality. The characters were well developed. The interactions were real and raw. For me I am not a fan of just straight drama, I like a little bit of comedy at least sprinkled in or at least a plot that has some levity. In general, I did not enjoy this drama. I yeah.found it boring through a lot of it and repetitive, and I wouldn’t rewatch it. None of the characters were compelling because I did not like them except for the actress. It was emotionally heavy and I felt like I was watching people be emotionally abused.

Spoilers

The number one thing I did not like about the show was Yeonsoo was just completely unlikable. The way she treated Choi Ung was emotionally abusive. First there is the Cherrie blossom thing where he wanted to go see the cherry blossoms, but she said she couldn’t find the time. But then she obviously did find the time because she had a pocket full of cherry blossoms and sprinkled it over him like there there’s your cherry blossoms. It was such a demeaning way to show somebody something they had wanted to see, but they tried to spin it like it was a romantic thing. That was a jerk move. Later they have a date day, which I had the sense they hadn’t had in a long time, and she let him think she was going to break up with him the entire day. Yeonsoo led him here and there, never asked him what he wanted to do, just kind of pushed him along. He wasn’t enjoying it because he thought it was a break up date. Then at the end of the day they have this emotional scene where she basically ridicules him for thinking they were gonna break up and then tells him out of the blue that she is in love with him. The level of emotional manipulation in that scene was hard to watch. It was cruel. But she was not the only one in the family that was an emotional abuser. Later in the series, the grandmother, Kang Ja Kyung (Cha Mi Kyung) tells him not to blame Yeonsoo because she was poor, and the grandmother taught her to be the way that she was. Somehow this convinces him that Yeonsoo’s abusive behavior is okay and he not inly accepts her back but practically begs her and says things were his fault. I found that whole thing entirely disturbing from a psychological perspective. Just because you were poor and raised to be mean as a defense mechanism does not mean being an emotional abuser is acceptable. She would even badmouth him to other people when he wasn’t around, never supported him in his art endeavors and always held the thread of break up over his head. That is living on egg shells and it is a typical pattern for a narcissistic emotional abuser. So I never wanted to see them get together. In fact I was happy any time he stood up for himself and pushed her away.

in the beginning, I liked the grandmothe. She had raised her granddaughter and worked so hard to do so and the relationship between her and Yeonsoo started out as something very heartwarming. But later in the series it’s revealed she’s not very nice to a close friend she has to the point where Yeonsoo mentions it and says she should apologize and be nicer But what really made me not like the grandmother when when she was so mean to Choi Ung about making Yeonsoo cry. She did that without knowing any details just assumed he was the villian in the situation even knowing and acknowledginhpg how her granddaughter was. Then she gives him that whole story about Yeonsoo and how he should just understand her because she raised her that way. What?

I did not like Choi Ung’s producer friend, Kim Ji Ung (Kim Sung-Cheol) as he lusted after his friend’s girlfriend not based on some deep connection but simply because he found her pretty. He also took a lot of the very limited affection of Choi Ung’s parents knowingly and yet seemed like he thought he was doing Choi Ung a favor. I wanted him and Yeonsoo to wind up together as they were both sort of crap people.

His manager/friend Gu Eun-ho (Ahn Dong-goo) was a horrible manager. He is obsessed with NJ (Roh Jeong-eui) such that he interferes with Choi Ung and NJ getting together. I wanted to see Choin Ung date NJ. She probably would not have been a long term girlfriend but she would have shown him other possibilities. She thought he was great, loved his art and was always nice to him. Rather than tearing him down she would have bolstered his career.

His parents were confusing. His mother, Lee Yeon-ok (Seo Jeong-yeon) did have the one time she took care of him when he was sick that showed some close emotional ties but that was it. His mother and his father, Choi Ho (Park Won-sang) mostly seemed to like and spend more time with Choi Ung’s friends than with him. They even left his art show early which was weird.

I disliked most of the characters so much I did not care aboit them or anything they were doing. I only liked sweet, talented, sensitive amd emotionally abused Choi Ung and NJ whi was like a breath of fresh air. NJ was the only descent person in Choi Ung’s life and he oassed her over for Yeonsoo. I did not find it credible that not one but two men would be completely onsessed with Yeonsoo.

#OurBelovedSummer #ChoiWooShik. #KimDaMi

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OVERRATED and DULL!!!

This show has only big names attached to it. The series had sorta good premise but is unable to execute it.

FL (Kim Dami) is playing almost the same exact role from Itaewon Class. But in Itaewon Class her character had growth and development. FL is quite toxic. She is a good actor but I didn't care enough for her as a character too root for her.

The main lead Choi Woo Shik, I just realized that he doesn't really have the charisma to play the main lead of a 16-episode show. I personally thought the chemistry was lacking. This is the first time I am watching him as a lead in a TV show and I thought of his performance as lack-luster. (I'm sorry if offended his fans, this is just my personal opinion)

The story had little potential but they fail to make it interesting. None of the second leads catch me interest, they were rather dull. The story does not pick up its pace and fails to include interesting plot twists.

I personally wouldn't recommend anyone to watch this show. Some shows have interesting characters but not great story and some shows have great story but dull characters. This show doesn't have strong storyline or any interesting characters.
My suggestion to the viewers would be "don't waste your time on this". But you are free to judge it for yourself.

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Everything is messed up

I just want to say if the writer hides a story from the audience and bring out like it never happened earlier then I would say it's kinda look alike betraying with their fans. Mostly goes with this drama. In first episode it creates intense to go for the second episode. Nevertheless it revealed that there were more stories at their intermediate periods.
Moreover, the relation between the lead characters are bit confusing! I find a quite lacking in the supporting characters story. And the story telling is a little bit slow.

Most of all, I am disappointed but never know other would loved it.

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You can judge a book by it's cover.

Most romantic kdramas filmed from 2019 and onwards seem to be following the same manufactured formula on how to produce a soulless, rigid and dull show- good enough for first time viewers or rookies in the genre to feel like this series deserves these high ratings. No wonder the standards for romantic shows are significantly dropping which makes hidden gems shine brighter than ever.

This is not a hidden gem. After seeing the cover, I noticed the main cast are actors which I would personally consider B+ in their overall acting abilities which means they have potential, so I was a bit expectant to see them in a show with high ratings- maybe the script is good, or the cinematography that everyone praises or the music...right?

No! It was an absolute mess from the beginning, and here's a small list of every frustration that led me to drop it by episode 2:

-Background music was louder than the actors speaking.
-Background music was playing in 3/4 scenes and cuts of the episode.
-Background music was forcing a different vibe from what the scene itself was portraying. Was there an actual compositor making these choices or did they put a youtube video editor to do this?
-Cinematography was nothing special; Who are the people getting paid to praise this?
-Dialogue felt unnatural.
-Side characters did not have their own stories to tell. They simply existed to push a non-existent story forward. Cliche and uninteresting; Were the writers playing house?
-Boring & predictable storyline; So the lazy student ended up being a "successful" artist while the teacher doter ended up in a corporate job. Wow! I forgot to tell my body to react to those reveals that I thought i was in a coma while watching the first episode.

Now, all of these were red flags to me. The underlying theme is interesting- it's not often that you see a romantic story revolving two exes reconnecting, but this was poorly executed. I will give it a plus for trying at least, but shows like this soulless crap need to stop getting produced.
Dear kdrama viewers, please watch a real drama before hyping this manufactured slop.

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Superestimado

Temos vários pontos positivos neste drama a ser ressaltados como a ótima fotografia, um bom roteiro, um enredo rasoável, personagens equilibrados sem ser chamativos e exagerados no ententanto nem tudo são flores, e não me entendam mal eu só acho que esta obra está longe ser ser essa maravilha que todos dizem.

A história era arrastada na maioria do tempo fazendo que ficasse cansativo de assistir no episódio 5 já estava pensando em largar ou pular algumas partes. Senti dificuldade para me conectar com os protagonistas , principalmente a feminina que era bem chata sem vida. Tudo é muito morno sem brilho, eu não tinha expectaviva nenhuma assistinhdo isso pelo ao contrario assim que acabava um episódio meu coração apertava pensando que eu teria que enfrentar tudo de novo no episódio seguinte.

Em fim me senti entediada assistindo este drama , eu não me preocupava em dar pause para me ausentar pois toda vez que eu voltava a trama continuava a mesma parecia que nada tinha acontesido sempre era mais do mesmo.

Então para ser honesta eu com certeza não voltarei a ver, não vou te condenar se você gostar mas eu creio que apenas não foi a minha xicara de chá.

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TIRANDO A QUÍMICA DO CASAL, NÃO VALE A PENA MESMO.

A história me chamou atenção no início, pois se tratava de um casal em dois momentos diferentes da vida. Gostei das cenas dos 2 na escola, e acho que gostaria mais da série se aparecesse mais deles na escola, aprontando um com o outro. O casal secundário não atrai muito, não teve um Plot significativo, no meio ficou cansativo, não dei risada nem chorei e por isso achei a série muito morna, acabei a série pensando "nossa eles envelheceram juntos" mas o romance demorou para acontecer ao meu ver, e a rotina deles era tão parada que acabou fatigando, e no final, não deixou saudade.

O melhor dessa série é o casal com certeza, mas entendo que não tem como apenas o romance carregar uma série nas costas.

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Cuando una historia te habla sin gritar

No sé si fue el ritmo, la música suave o los silencios con significado, pero Aquel Año Nuestro me hizo sentir cosas que no esperaba. Es como cuando te sientas a ver algo por curiosidad y, de pronto, te das cuenta de que estás emocionalmente invertido... sin darte cuenta en qué momento pasó.
No es solo sobre romance. Es más bien sobre crecer con las heridas que uno carga, sobre las decisiones difíciles que tomamos, y sobre cómo las personas que nos rodean—aunque imperfectas—pueden ayudarnos a sanar. Los personajes no tratan de ser perfectos, y eso los vuelve reales. A veces decía “¡ay, no!”, otras “¡ay, sí!”, y otras simplemente me quedaba en silencio viéndolos luchar con lo que sentían.
Visualmente, tiene colores cálidos que hacen sentir que estás ahí, acompañando a los protagonistas. No hay exageraciones; todo se siente íntimo, como una carta escrita para quien realmente quiera leer entre líneas.
No me cambió la vida, pero sí me dejó con esa sensación reconfortante, como cuando termina el verano y sabes que algo especial pasó, aunque ya se haya ido.

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Um dorama que acerta em muitos aspectos e peca em outros

O destaque vai para os detalhes da narrativa, tem várias coisas (o cachecol comprado, o momento do único desenho feito de uma pessoa, as roupas características de cada personagem) que essa história faz muito bem, e não fica aquela coisa exposta, é bem nas entrelinhas, e eu particularmente aprecio isso, claramente os roteiristas não subestimaram o público nesse sentido. Contudo, devo admitir que não gostei do ator principal, o Choi Woo Shik, não creio que a atuação dele estava à altura do personagem, achei inexperiente e não passa batido com a importância e complexidade que o papel exigia. Outro problema foram os outros personagens que não são o casal principal, havia muito que poderia ter sido desenvolvido em cima deles, a melhor amiga, o assessor, e especialmente o Ung diretor do documentário, pouquíssimo foi resolvido da parte da história dele e ele tinha um papel bastante destacado na história. Todas as histórias paralelas ficaram apenas de pretexto para "enrolar" a trama principal, uma pena.

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Our Beloved Summer

Sesuai judul "summer" ceritanya, suasana, latar, musik bikin healing, semua bikin warm my heart. Dan salah satu yg nyanyiin ostnya adalah my handsome man "V from BTS" Hehehe yg judulnya Christmas Tree. His angelic voice is really warm my heart too when i'm watched the drama. Cocok banget sama suasananya pas jalan cerita masuk musim winter :)
Awal2 cerita bikin menarik, tp honestly lama kelamaan bikin jenuh sama hubungan choi ung & kook yeon soo, gemes banget sama mereka berdua. Intinya mereka berhasil bikin penonton greget. Tapi endingnya bikin lega sih hahahah
Trus kalau dicermati banyak pesan moral di dalam drama ini, pesan moral positif buat hubungan percintaan, keluarga, dan yg paling penting buat diri sendiri. Pokonya recommended buat ditonton.
Maybe.. That's it for my review. I'm not good at reviewing. I'll learn more :)

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