Our Beloved Summer (2021)

I wish my summer was beloved too

Feb. 20, 2022

Oh damn, another drama done on my ever-growing list of k-dramas. I can't believe it’s done. Our Beloved Summer is one of the few dramas where I will excuse the "break up" parts because it is so well thought out and not like those unnecessary breakups in other dramas.

The chemistry is splendid, I think that the male lead and female lead were able to convey the emotions needed. I like how the acting is just appropriate and the casts were not overacting or underacting. Also, the documentary movie was so cute as well. I kinda skipped it through while watching since I cannot find the subtitles. But I'll edit this review, once I find the subtitle for their move.

Ji-ung is the character that I have a lot to talk about. For me, I relate heavy to his story so maybe this is why he captured my heart and my attention throughout the whole series. Yes, it is hard to accept parents who have neglected you throughout your whole life. I also understand why he felt that way. I just wanna hug him so bad cause he needs it so much. Thank god, he was able to find some sense of family with Ung's parents. I really hope that Ji-ung was given a solid partner, but I'll settle for the hint that the directors gave away.

I guess the moral of the story is: cherish your life and live as if it is you're last...

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the story of a relationship that isn’t over yet

Woong and Yeon Soo had filmed a documentary when they were in school, which now has gone viral. So, years after their first camera encounter, and a long time after their painful breakup, the two will have to film its sequel.

Korean Drama Our Beloved Summer is a slice of life drama about a love story that has a more realistic approach to it. The drama is well constructed, revealing the past story slowly, while the characters are dealing with their current problems and emotions. And even though the love triangle was dimmed to not work, the slice of life vibes, with a more character-driven story, gave a refreshing approach to the love story.

The latter was a bittersweet romance, with an emphasis on the melodrama and few surprises when it came to its outcome and progress.However, towards the ending, the drama started showing its weaknesses. The couple, though they were mostly connected by their teary past, they didn’t have many things in common to keep them interesting for the viewer. Also, the story got more and more predictable and had few things to offer. In the end, it was more about miscommunication than drama.

Another culprit is the fact that the series founded the story on the logging for the main couple to get together. So, after that, the drama didn’t have anything else to say, though they could have explained Woong’s family situation more in-depth compared to the brush-off that happened.

Yeon Soo used to be the best student in her class. She was raised by her grandmother and she has always been struggling to survive financially, so she learned to be tough and built a nonchallenging character. Kim Da Mi‘s comeback proves that she is a versatile actress. Woong is a quirky character who is a talented artist. He is closed up and he hardly opens up or makes friends, though he is an aloof young man. He is very emotional and sensitive.

Choi Woo Shik did a great job with his performance. Ji Woong is Woong’s friend. Due to their common name, he always lived under his shadow, though he never really envied him, due to Woong’s sweet character. Ji Woong is a lonely man who feels like he doesn’t fit in. Kim Sung Chul gave a quite emotional performance.

NJ is a famous idol who is always busy, but finds nothing to make her happy. She likes Woong, however, she gets disappointed that he doesn’t seem to be as interested in her. Roh Jeong Eui handled her character brilliantly.Sol Yi is Yeon Soo’s friend. She used to be a scriptwriter, but she quit and has opened a pub that isn’t doing so well. She is an energetic character, friendly and loyal.Park Jin Joo is dramaland’s favourite side character and she is always delightful.

The drama had a smooth OST and an enjoyable pace, that didn’t confuse with the back and forth.

My overall rating for the Korean Drama Our Beloved Summer is 7 out of 10. The drama managed to present the story in a clever, entertaining way.

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An Incredibly Overrated Drama

The title may sound harsh but it's the truth. I tried, I tried to like this drama so much, I did. When I initially went into this drama I went in expecting it to be a high school drama where the main leads would fall in love while filming the documentary, and to be honest, how I wish that were the case. We follow the two main leads years after the events of the documentary in an attempt to make another and reconcile in the process as exes. The main leads were the most uninteresting characters I have ever seen since extraordinary you, on top of all of that the FL was also annoying as heck. As I was watching the show, every time she would come on the screen, I could not wait till the scene was over. Now while I was watching the show, I was curious if other people felt this way about her character, and a lot of people said that her character would get better later on in the show, and she did, but not a lot. Her whole deal was how childish was the male lead, while she herself was acting more childish than he was. The male lead was not that bad. He had several issues he was struggling with, but the drama for some reason has not dealt with them more in-depth as I would've liked. The whole story made no sense whatsoever, especially the main plot point which was the documentary that was supposed to feature the two main leads spending time together after years and reconnecting, but they did none of that, they had a few scenes together but mostly kept it separate which lost it's meaning. They came back together and finished the documentary around episode 12-13, so the drama had no reason to continue but they packed side plots and 2 major plot points which did nothing but to drag out the drama and overstay it's welcome like (What's wrong with secretary Kim) did. The last thing I want to touch upon is the amount of side plots the drama had. The drama had a hefty amount of side plots, which throughout the drama, barely progressed, if progressed at all. They quickly wrapped them up in the last episode, or either had major plots resolved off-screen. The main leads together at the end were a bit charming and the OST was prety good. (Yup that's the only good thing I can say about it xD) I think the drama was alright, had a lot of issues, and it's nothing we haven't seen before. But I still recommend you to watch it, even tho I think a one-time watch is pretty much enough, Maybe you like it. :)

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a second chance at romance

Can two people break up and fall in love once again to create a much stronger relationship? Our Beloved summer is about friendship and family, what creates a healthy relationship that has boundaries, taking responsibility of your own values while trying to not be a savior of another's.

I hate the prolonged misunderstanding plot, so a sole plot progressing material was that, I didn't have the best expectations and thought I would dislike it so much. but as you may see, although still not the best, it was a solid slow burn, glad that I did not rush watching it.

The drama is a study on human psychology, it showed how we can interpret and misinterpret certain events from the past differently. this is executed well in the drama, using different POV's of the character's in same situations.

we have basically no plot, just daily lives of our characters and their relationships, so lets talk about them.

NJ was a favorite of mine, she truly fell in love with Ung and had amazing character development in the show, it's just sad that she had to fall in love with someone who doesn't like her back, nothing on Ung but she needed a better ending than that, also had such little screen time when categorized as a main.

Yeonsu was hard to watch at first but grows with you overtime, Kim Dami was the reason I watched, so I'm glad seeing her amazing performance here. we start off seeing the character full of entitlement, a quote from a book I am reading perfectly described her "I suck and the rest of you are all awesome, so I deserve special treatment". Because of her poor financial situation, she became lost and entitled but gets to understand and rest her insecurities before the credits roll.

Ji Ung was personally a relatable character, always on the background and could never tell what he really felt, pain in so many levels, adding to that is his horrible situation with family, it showed why noble sacrifice is terrible, we should always confront rejections and pain, not hide and cover from it.

in the show we have an artist + a producer as part of the main cast, so exceptional cinematography was expected, good techniques and uses of light, that rain kiss scene is still in my mind vividly. Music was amazing, I sooo loved "Christmas Tree" by V and "Drawer" by 10cm

during the end we are treated with a drawing of Yeon Su, which symbolizes that the loneliness and insecurity from drawing only buildings was no longer there, they were a couple the complimented each other, and made themselves a far better version. also ends with a marriage documentary, it was a clever ending after starting off in a high school documentary. I'd like to praise this show for it's uncoventional take on second chance romances, must watch!

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Cute and sweet

I rarely watch shows that are ongoing, since I prefer binge watching, but this was worth the wait each episode. I wasn't hanging from a thread in dire need of a continuation; I was content and quite intrigued.

The cast was really well picked. I've only ever seen the FL in Itaewon Class and it was really nice seeing her in this role. The story was great (not AMAZING but it did sum up a realistic childhood-to-adult-life relationship). The music was PERFECT. I have no complaints.

Everything ended quite nicely too and nothing seemed really forced. I recommend watching if you are looking for a lowkey, cute, modern, non-intense drama.

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Good enough

Korean Drama "Our Beloved Summer" is a slice of life love story that founds its success in the lingering feelings between two exs who have to work together after a long time.

The drama does a great job creating the perfect atmosphere, with the use of lighting being on point, the scenes were beautifully shot and executed and the OST was brilliantly selected. And true, the game between the two main characters was an intriguing one, with the yearning for them to be back together being the force prompting the interesting factor. However, when that one was taken out of the equation, the drama got tiring and lots of scenes were added that were unnecessary and only there to fill in. So, yes, the drama started pretty strong, but it got predictable and boring towards the end. It also left out the family situation of the main lead out, which was a plotline that could have been explored in more depth.

Finally, the performances were great by everyone in the cast, which was consisted of an all-star pallette.

So, overall, 7 out of 10.

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This shouldn't be a hidden gem

I'll be honest, I only started watching this because it was mentioned in an episode of "In the Soop." I'm glad that I didn't miss it because it's easily one of my favorite KDramas. This show deserves recognition. A wonderful story about what love truly means. I expected nothing less of Kim Dami and Choi Woo-Shik who really are in a league of their own. I appreciate the editing and filmography, you can definitely see the team that works on this really put their thoughts and effort. Every shot is like out of a movie, even the car scenes, which are supposedly boring, are impeccable. Everything is detailed even the littlest things. The OSTs are so good too! A solid 9 for me.

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A lovable documentary of life

It took me a while to finish this drama. For me, it's not a drama that you wanted to marathon but watching it in the right mood.

Why do I love this drama?
What I really love about this drama is how they tell the story of each characters. Ung desperately wants a simple life and to cope with his loneliness. Whenever we are in a state of suffering, we have our own way to deal with it. Yeon Soo's struggles and the consequences that follow in all the decisions that we make. That all make sense.
Ji Ung's character really hits my heart. How he deals with his one-sided love, his relationship with his mother, his relationship with Ung, and everything in between. It was so realistic and inspiring. So whenever I see bad comments about him, loving his best friend's girlfriend and when he tried to suppress his feelings and tried to avoid them was very common and relatable to do.. Just wait until you experience the same situation in your life. The same with NJ. I love her boldness and openness but she was understanding and know how to accept defeat.

Overall a wonderful story of life. A comforting drama to all. Even the OST was wonderful. Well, deserve the praise.

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Meh (?)

our beloved summer, to me, was one of those dramas - that check off all the boxes of what you wish in a drama, and somehow you still don't TRULY connect with. another such drama for me was Be Melodramatic - it had all the right stances of female friendship and relationships but somehow, to me, it still wasn't memorable. tdlr; would rate it high, but personally wouldnt feel the need to rewatch or recommend.

also, idk but their chemistry wasnt convincing to me i truly dont know why. and, since i know wooshik is a chamelion of an actor, i think the director didnt direct him well - because there were many instances where i couldnt tell his emotions/thoughts from his acting - idk how else to word it but it wasn't his best imho.

tdlr; wasnt boring/bad to make me put it off - but i also wasnt excited/curious about it.

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Nostalgia feeling with feel-good breeze

A romance drama about two grown adults who had their documentary shoot 10 years ago and relationship thereafter, which ended eventually. After 10 years, it happens once again and yes it feels nostalgic in every way.

The best thing about Our Beloved Summer that catches the eye is the cast. The charms of Kim Dami and Choi Woo Shik, who radiate youthful energy, fill up the screen, and the chemistry between the two naturally leads the story. The drama emphasizes the images of summer and thanks to this, the play’s overall atmosphere is full of freshness. Also it might feel relatable to many viewers' teenage life they lived.

The cast, whether be the lead or the supporting, had a great connection. The soundtrack is soothing and melodious which fits the setting of the drama. The story had depth, but it was fairly executed, if not efficiently. Also the supporting characters weren't given much exposure as one would have thought. Although it doesn't come close to other feel-good romance drama (like Hometown Cha Cha or When The Weather Is Fine), Our Beloved Summer manages to hold itself through freshness and nostalgic moments of reminiscing the good old teenage life.

To summarise, Our Beloved Summer ends itself as a dama that conveys the sweetness of love and the freshness of youth at the same time. It's effective enough to catch viewers' attention with it's fair, if not excellent story and screenplay.

My Rating : 6.5/10

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Life Lessons

When I first saw this trailer for OBS, I saw it had both Kim Da Mi and Choi Woo Shik and I immediately thought of The Witch: Subversion. While the trailer depicts this as a romcom, this is more on the slice of life side than it is romcom. It has romcom moments, but the overall message it sends can really resonate with anyone, which to me was in order to find happiness, you must be willing to forgive and let go. This is a very relatable drama as there's a bit of each character in all of us.

I have talked to some people I know that have watched it entirely and some of them only look at the surface level plot of the story, which is the relationship woes between Choi Ung and Kook Yeon Su and then critique them on what they should and shouldn't do. The core of their issues was communication, but as a viewer objectively, it's very easy to say "Oh, just tell them, it's so easy!" If you place yourself in their shoes and experience the kind of struggles/trauma they have, no, it's absolutely not as easy as just telling them straight up.

While the story is mainly about the ML/FL's relationship, but what this drama does very well is through the use of flashbacks, it places you, the viewer, in the character's shoes. You then understand WHY they did the things they did and HOW they became the person they are today. Near the end, when everything is revealed, you get the complete picture of the characters. When you connect all of the dots, you get why Yeon Su has so many walls built around her, you get why Choi Ung acts like he doesn't care when confronted with an issue, you get why Ji Ung has a one sided love for Yeon Su. It's a story of growth and development for them and really just about being an adult and going through life.

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