Summer Strike (2022)

Going On Strike Against This Thing Called Life

Summer Strike started with messages of self-discovery and how one should take a step back to move forward, but it ended with more than that. To me, recovery from grief and trauma was also one of the main themes of this healing drama.

Through the journey of Lee Yeo Reum, who decided to go on strike from her life by breaking away from the confines of her job and Seoul, this drama is relatable to viewers who are tired of their busy lives. We all, at one point or another, just want to do nothing.

Yeo Reum was an overworked girl in her 20s who had to deal with a series of hardships in her personal and professional lives before making a life-changing decision. Realizing the hopelessness of her mundane life, Yeo Reum decided to stop enduring so fiercely and simply just be.

However, leaving the stressful city life and starting anew in an unfamiliar seaside village, Angok was not as smooth as Yeo Reum hoped. Encountering prejudice and unfriendliness at first, our young female lead had to go through some pretty harrowing experiences before finally finding herself at a comfortable point in her life at the end of the show.

Meeting a shy librarian, An Dae Beom was a pivotal turn in Yeo Reum's journey of self-discovery. Dae Beom's kindness and calm were like an anchor for Yeo Reum, but he was also tortured by his past. With a tragic family history, Dae Beom had his own reasons for saying in Angok. As the relationship between the leads blossomed, the show covered themes of support and comfort.

The romance between these two with scars was a slow-burn one, enjoyable for me because it was so natural. The emotions and the steady, growing attraction built around an interesting storyline were satisfying for me. There was no culminating intimate skinship, but the pace made sense. There was no doubt that there was something solid between the couple at the end.

I enjoyed watching the sisterly love develop between Yeo Reum and Kim Bom, a high school student, and other heartwarming relationships, especially between Kim Bom's grandmother and Yeo Reum. In addition, other characters with their own demons to face and romance between different couples added flavor to the story.

Interestingly, even though the show was touted as an escapist healing drama, there were sinister undertones throughout some episodes. Therefore, I was not surprised as the later episodes featured darker scenes including a murder scene. However, there was no true case to crack because the show gave no opportunity for the viewers to figure anything out. There is no mystery tag for a reason.

Instead, the ensuing tragic events were meant to serve as a further catalyst for Yeo Reum's and Dae Bom's personal healing and growth.

Some viewers criticized Yeo Reum's character as a doormat, being taken advantage of at work and at the end by the villagers in Angok. Similar criticism was made about Dae Beom and how he was easily manipulated by certain people.

I disagree.

To me, both lead characters have a quiet dignity about them. They chose their battles and fought for what mattered. Even during moments when the viewers preferred for them to stand up and fight back, their perceived passivity was relatable and understandable. They were consistent throughout the show, and the little changes the characters made in their lives had a more substantial impact on the story. Good character development does not always mean 180 degree change.

Without a doubt, the entire cast was great. How the characters interacted with each other and dealt with life, in general, reminded me of how the people I know and I would behave in real life. The show did a great job showcasing the layers of human nature, including its selfishness and selflessness.

Acting-wise, I have nothing but praise for the leads. Kim Seol Hyun and Im Is Wan impressed me with their quiet intensity and ability to emote so much with the smallest expressions.

Finally, to top it off, the soundtrack was memorable for me. The way the show wove the songs and background music into the story was fitting and perfectly set the scenes and moods. I especially like "A Strange Day" by JiHyo from TWICE and "Color" by Sunnie. Enclosed below is the link to the OST list.

Overall, I hope more people will give this drama a chance. For me, the beauty of a "slice of life" series like Summer Strike is how well the show depicts the everyday experience, the struggles of daily life and trying to find oneself during the process, and the stark portrayal of human nature's good and bad sides.

OST list on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIZ81nIsbgM

OST list on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4QoX21xv9cN6oVHumGfdZM?si=5b7d0c33e7cc400d

* JiHyo (TWICE) - A Strange Day
* The Boyz - Summer Night
* Fromm - A Slow Summer Song
* ENHYPEN (Sung by Heesung, Jay, Jake) – ZERO MOMENT
* Jiyoon (ICHILLIN') – I'll Wait
* Tearliner – We Swim in Dreams (Feat. Bang Jaemin)
* Tearliner – Me, the Protagonist (Feat. Love X Stereo)
* SEOLA (WJSN) - Lover
* Kum Junhyeon - Hello, Stranger
* Sunnie - Color
* Hwang Inhyeock - I Will Remember You
* Low-end Project - I See You Like I See the Sun

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Comfort

First of all, I really do hope more people discover this drama, it's just too good to ignore. The perfect healing and comfort drama. Also it's storyline and how each character was thoughtfully written were beautifully done, especially the development of the female lead and the male lead. I looked forward to every new episodes every week. Towards the end it did get a little sad and dark, but nonetheless it wasn't too rushed and the ending wrapped up nicely. There was truly never a single dull moment. 'Summer Strike' is also not your simple slice of life drama, but a deep meaningful insight of life having the blanket of comfort over it.

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I'm really enjoyed watching this drama.

AFTER I FINISH WATCHING THE DRAMA

Maybe this drama wasn't exactly calm and happy, but it became my next comfort drama nonetheless. The relationship between Dae Beom and Yeo Reum was developing at a perfect pace. It was cute, a little shy at times. They always supported each other, even if it wasn't the easiest thing to do. They are my comfort couple. Also, the friendship between Yeo Reom and Bom was something really cool to see. They could learn from each other.

For this drama, it was very important that Yeo Reum learned to enjoy these little things, even though she did not know what she would like to do in her life. She just started appreciating the here and now. And I love this concept.

This drama is definitely worth watching.

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AFTER WATCHING 2 EPISODES
rating: 9.5/10

I'm enjoying this drama so far. I feel like this title will become my next comfort drama.
A lot of negative things happened to FL in the first episode. Thanks to this, we will be able to see how she completely changes her life. I'm excited to see how FL will do in her new reality and I'm really curious about the librarian's backstory.

After watching the first two episodes, I have very high expectations for this drama. I hope nothing ruins it and after 12 episodes I will be satisfied with it
and be able to increase my rating to 10.

Of course, this drama reminds me of Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha as FL goes to the countryside to change her life after having a hard time in Seoul.

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Tumbling down a rabbit hole of problems

Was it warm and healing as advertised?

Not really, no.

This drama was at its best when it had this just-go-with-the wind vibe. But, for some reason, they decided to throw in a bunch of out-of-nowhere tragedies and drama that eventually took over and left warmth and healing on the backburner.

And while the ML was being sweet and thoughtful the FL was letting herself be walked over by others to an annoying degree. I can take slow growth in a drama, that's fine. But she actually didn't change in that respect. Also, the prominent excusing/dismissal of abuse left a bad taste in my mouth, tainting a lot of my attempts to enjoy Summer Strike.

I don't know, I guess I just expected more; which is funny because I started this drama on a whim.

Do I recommend watching it? If you're looking for more kind MLs, sure. Otherwise, this might be one to skip.

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Great moments, but moments only.

Who likes a healing show about a timid female lead who moves away from the toxic environment to end up in another toxic environment and receive close to no character development? Not me.

Like many other slice of life shows, this one also has little to no plot, which is completely fine. These are not supposed to give you thrills and excitement, they are supposed to be relaxing and warm. When I go into slice of life, I’m getting ready for a little bit of life lessons and characters I want to befriend, ones that make me want to root for them. Did this show deliver any of these? Not really.

Starting from Lee Yeo Reum - doormat, timid, no self love nor self respect. No issue with that. I wanted to go on that self improvement and self discovery journey with her. But damn this girl got on a merry-go-round and ended up in the same circle of self pity. The moment I thought she learned her lessons, she went back to the old ways - ready to blame herself, ready to take a step back, ready to run away. Trying to fix it all in the last episodes is not the way to go.

While An Dae Beom was better and for sure a stronger character, he also got easily manipulated by others, mostly by Ji Young. At some point I started to question myself - am I liking the character or am I just completely biased towards Yim Si Wan and I will just buy anything he sells?

Then we have all the other characters who either: started well and ended annoying, started annoying and miraculously became nice in between scenes, started annoying and ended annoying. There was honestly barely anyone to root for… Which is a true nightmare for a character driven slice of life drama.

To be perfectly honest though, I can deal with annoying characters, but I cannot stand conflicting messages. Yeo Reum tells herself to only think about what she wants and feels and not care for others, but also tells Bom to put her grandma and her family before her own emotions and well being. Protecting an alcoholic and abusive father is fine, but protecting your son with developmental issues makes you the top enemy. I am sorry, but what am I supposed to learn from this show? What is the message? What does the writer want to present and tell me? For me, it all made no sense.

Yes, the ending message was great - appreciate what you have, find happiness in little things, you don’t have to excel in everything, just being happy is enough of a reason to be alive and enjoy the moments. IT’s all great, but why did they fail so badly with all the other issues they talked about?

And I know how some people will scream “realism” as an excuse for some of the topics. Sorry, but you cannot explain some awful takes with it, while also ignoring the complete lack of realism in other aspects. You can’t have both.

Last, but not least plot wise - the “mystery”. When the characters have to explain EVERYTHING to me through the dialogues and flashbacks, it means the writer completely failed to set it up. I should be watching and connecting the dots myself, not get everything served with a narration.

From the acting and production side, it was great. Kim Seol Hyun improved greatly since her debut, and everyone knows Yim Si Wan is one of the best idol turned actors. The teens did an amazing job too, I especially liked a.mond’s performance - cheerful and hyped, but with hints of sadness and tons of loneliness.

Visually, Summer Strike is beautiful, I cannot deny it. They used the environment they were filming in to its full potential. What’s the point though, if the story is not on the same good level of execution? This year we had a holy trinity of dramas with amazing and beautiful moments, but also poorly executed overall plot and character’s development, and laughable villains - Today’s Webtoon, Cheer Up and Summer Strike.

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Terrible script, amazing acting

I’m going to start with the positive. Beautiful OST and amazing casting - because this group of actors, including the younger supporting cast that have heavy chunk of the dialogue were absolutely hands down incredible. This is the saving grace foe this show, the only saving grace.

Of course I’ll give a shout out to the stunning location they set this, and the cute doggy that low key rolls through this drama like a boss.

However, what a gigantic mess this script is. FL starts out a timid doormat of a mess, with everything going wrong for her in her life. I was hoping amidst all of that nonsense this was setting a stage for a great rediscovery of herself and a massive character arc. Half way thru, I’m thinking, nope we are no further forward in that regard. In fact what we got in small town Korea was the most toxic behavior possible. We have enabling of addiction, we have enablers of violence, enabling cover ups of potential murder, we have emotional manipulation of people perceived as weak, and lets why not just for fun pad all of that out with violent bullying (with victim blaming by the resposible adults), drunks up the wahzoo and psychological trauma that has been left untreated. Shoddy police work and lets just say, I hope when people claim Korea os nothing like these dramas, that they are correct. Because that is surely no advertisement for Korea or its people, and I certainly don’t think their cultural issues are going away when that kind of behavior is promoted as acceptable in their media.

This contiues and just when you hope it might have been an annoying one time only deal-you have another and then another toxic scenario. Perhaps the writers delight in all of that stuff. The result was that it overwhelmed the sweet and wholesome slow-burn romance (that will frustrate you if you need more from your romance) and the bonding of the friendships that develop here. It ends satisfactorily-for the most part. But I feel like the ratings are far too high for this considering the content. Hometown Cha Cha Cha did this better, similar feel, but better script. The actors deserved better than that, because they truly pulled out all the stops.

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Slow Burn Healing Drama

It is a decent watch, the pace of the drama is slow and focuses more on the slice of life dynamics in the S. Korean countryside when a city girl from Seoul moves there to heal. The FL experiences the death of her mother, the breakup of her boyfriend, and the constant bullying and undermining of her in the workplace. She's stuck in a dead end job and her life in Seoul is falling apart. All of it is too much for the FL so she quits her job, sells almost everything she owns and with a leap of faith moves to the S. Korean countryside. The drama gently touches on themes of simple living, money vs time, and quality of life; these themes have resonated globally the last few years. These topics have made some question what is the meaning of their lives and does the rat race narrative fit into who they are and what they truly want. The Great Resignation, Lying Flat 谭平, and N포 세대 N-Give Up generation are examples of this.

As for the love story itself, it is a slow burn and pretty conservative. The FL meets the ML when she moves to the countryside. The ML is a librarian, he seems to have trauma in his past that has led him down the path of a low key lifestyle as a part time librarian. The acting is done pretty well, the FL does a good job transitioning from being depressed and just staying afloat but not truly living to someone who embraces living slow, simply, and stepping away from a status and material chasing world. The ML suits his part very well, he is boyishly handsome, sweet, and has a shy soft gentle nature in his interactions with people in the small community.

If you want a light hearted slow burn romance story that touches on themes of healing, slowing down and meditative living, this is the drama.

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More of a dog’s breakfast than a degustation.

Is it a crime mystery, slice of life, healing drama, melo or a romance? Take your pick 'cause they are all in there. But far from being a degustation of delicious, beautifully crafted dishes, it’s a dog’s breakfast.

It is ludicrously ambitious to think that all these themes can be squished into 12 episodes and then served up elegantly. In fact it’s a half-baked crumpet with raw veggies and Korean BBQ belly pork. Which is a real shame because there was some great main-course potential there in amongst all the side dishes.

If I was going to choose where to put the emphasis, I’d say that by far the strongest part of it was the slice of life. If they’d settled for that and thrown in some more detailed romance and much better character development, the actors and director would have delivered an OK drama. As it was the crime mystery dominated the second half, dragged in characters that were totally peripheral, set up non-credible police investigations and generally smeared ketchup over everything.

There were some nice performances in amongst the hash. I particularly liked the secondary couple and think that Shin Eun Soo as Kim Bom was the standout. However, Yim Si Wan as An Dae Beom was the sort of bland that could challenge a béchamel sauce.

There was some nice writing in there with some good ideas and it didn’t always take the easy path, but the temptation to go for big dramatic showpieces really trashed the credibility ratings for me. It didn’t need foie gras and caviar, country pâté served with crusty bread would have been so much more satisfying.

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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Drama ternyaman ???

Salah satu drama yang wajib banget masuk Netflix ??? drakor Summer Strike cocok ditonton untuk kalian yang suka latar belakang pedesaan, manis-pahit kehidupan orang dewasa, haelmoni yang baik dan lucu, tetangga yang loyal, serta love-hate relationship antar pendatang baru dan penduduk lama. (Ingat Hyejin saat pertama kali datang di desanya Dung Shik di Hometown Cha Cha Cha? Nah, mirip!)

drakor Summer Strike cocok ditonton untuk kalian yang suka latar belakang pedesaan, manis-pahit kehidupan orang dewasa, haelmoni yang baik dan lucu, tetangga yang loyal, serta love-hate relationship antar pendatang baru dan penduduk lama. (Ingat Hyejin saat pertama kali datang di desanya Dung Shik di Hometown Cha Cha Cha? Nah, mirip!)

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A Wholesome Drama

I was looking for some wholesome shows to watch, and I'm glad I tried this drama. My heart was undoubtedly filled with peace after finishing it. But I sobbed a lot while watching it. When everything in the protagonist's life begins to go wrong, the story shows how she manages to survive. Each character was well-written, and it is abundantly evident that each one has unique challenges in life and finds a way to overcome them. It appears to be a light watch however, the plot includes something unexpected that makes it more engaging. Overall, it's a decent slice of life story that emphasizes family, friendship with a dash of romance. This excellently written and acted drama will clear your thoughts for a while that's for sure!

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Melodrama only, can't catch a break, no romance here

I feel like I was totally lied by the description of this drama. First of all it shouldn't be labelled as romance because there is bare minimum of it, but more than that, the way the plot is described it's very misleading. If you're expecting some sort of introspection, self-discovery and warmness this it not for you. This is most of all a MELODRAMA, and not much else (Netflix labels this as intimate and romantic, WHAT? NO). I wasted too much time watching this and being disappointed because even as a melodrama the execution and plot were very annoying and a big miss. It wants to be way too many things at the same time and manages to do none right, romance? nope, crime? nope, mystery? nope.
To answer "What will happen when these two lost souls meet – and will a spell of “doing nothing” in this small town really cure their ills?" Nothing will happen when they meet, and their ills will just magically disappear by the end just because the drama ran out of time.

Girl goes to the countryside to try and heal from her life in Seoul and somehow manages to move to the most toxic town she could find and ends up living in an unlivable place that also has history. What are the chances...
I really got lost in the cost of things in this drama. I get she didn't have many savings but, she was most likely paying a small fortune for her apartment in Seoul and you're telling me she couldn't find a decently priced apartment or even room in a small town? I know it was because of the plot, but it had my eyes rolling.
I'm still mad at how many situations were solved in the worst way possible and how mostly none of the characters had much growth at all. The main character is considered weak and manipulated and used in various ways and there is not much indication she has changed anything in that regard towards the end. Dae Beom did change some maybe, but all I could think was how it feels like Yim Si Wan is now typecasted as the shy guy that runs or something... (and I say this as someone that loved Run On).
It's very unrealistic how by the end she stays and somehow they try to tell me she moved to a good place and will have a pleasant life, the girl didn't catch a break since she put foot on that place, I'm sure there are amazing towns all around Korea, I wouldn't have stayed in that one...

If the drama had focused on her moving to that town, the connections with other residents and more of introspection it would have been so much nicer for me. Had I known it was classified as a melodrama I wouldn't have bothered. There are some nice moments here and there between the characters but for me it was not enough to justify the watch. The toxicity of many of the side characters and the situations that arised continuously made this hard to watch.
"Making time for the important in life", what I guess means dealing with violence, abuse, toxicity and having your place destroyed... hmmmm... ok.

Special mention to Dae Beom's friend Jo Ji Young, what a piece of manipulative work. Somehow they're trying to tell me she's lovesick and "oh poor her". She was selfish, manipulative and plain awful as a friend and as a person.
Also, what was the point of Jae Hoon going back to the US for two minutes and coming back? What was that waste of screen time for?

I'm quite puzzled by the high ratings of this drama. Unless you like melodrama I can't recommend, there are many other dramas a lot nicer than this one so I wouldn't waste the time.

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