Youth of May (2021)

It's better to have loved than not have loved at all

Youth of May (2021)

I already saw a lot of spoilers before i started watching so i think it took a bit of enjoyment from watching this drama.

Likes
1. Beautiful ending. It was sad but still beautiul. It took him 40 years to finally move on 😭 cant imagine how that feels. But im happy they found her so he can always visit her when he misses her.
2. All through out i kept thinking whose fault it was. I'd say they were too young and made emotional decisions. If they more more mature they probably wouldn't have died. Had Hee Tae stopped pursuing her, Myung Hee could have gone to Germany and lived. Or Hee Tae could have married Suryeon to appease the family and live separate lives. Or he could follow to Germany in a few years. But I also came to the same conclusion as Hee Tae. They chose to fight for each other so although it was hard, they made that choice and they have to live with the consequences. At least they had that May that he will always remember. Better to have loved and lost than to not have loved at all.
3. Oh the one who is at fault is Myung Soo. Lol. He was too young but later on he must have realized he basically killed his dad and sister in one night because of his foolishness. Maybe thats why he ended up being a priest.
4. Mixed feelings about Suryeon. She was mostly selfish which is weird since she is brave protesting against the government but she cant even protect her best friend. But I think it's not her fault -- Hee Tae would have met and pursued Myung Hee even without the blind date. And i didnt feel enough remorse from her over Myung Hee even in the present, she was nowhere to be found, just a brief statement that she is now a lawyer.
5. Myunghee's dad 😭😭😭 and all those brave and innocent people who died that time. 🙏

Dislikes
1. The first few episodes were boring, i almost stopped but kept on because Lee Dohyun is too cute.
2. I wanted to know what happened to Soo Chan.

Rating: 8.5/10

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I've watched the 11 episodes in 2021 and was reluctant to watch it until the end. Really glad I've picked this up again, despite spoiling the ending for myself...

I have a soft spot for nostalgic 1980s-1990s dramas like this one. While it is sweet and reminiscent, it reminds that how much more cruel the society was in the Korea, under the dictatorship. Youth of May is a beautiful love story, intertwined between the harsh and dark history of the Gwangju Uprising. It's a story which reminds us that there's always love and hope whenever there's fear and turmoil.

The characters in this story were amazing. We have Myung Hee, who is a strong young woman who's ambitious, strong-willed and a force that can't be stopped by anyone. By her side, we have Hee Tae, who's charismatic and loveable, although no one can see through his perfect-picture. He's broken inside, but perfectly compliments her timid nature. Their blind-date, and the chemistry that begun there, is out of this world!

While my heart fluttered and was hurting during the last few episodes of this, this drama is definitely in my top list. Worth to remember the uprising, and worth every tear and re-watching every sweet moment.

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Don't waste your time.

When I saw the synopsis of this drama come out, it seemed like a fantastic watch and I was excited for it to air. I kept up with it as it was airing, and I ended up dropping it halfway because of how boring and draggy it got. The premise, background, and aesthetics were great hooks, but I dare say everything else was lackluster. Let's discuss the good and the bad.

Good: I loved the acting. Lee Do Hyun is a great fresh face and I wasn't surprised at all at his ability to shine in his role. It was also my first time watching most of the other actors and they surely played their characters well. In terms of production, the colours and period-details (props, set, etc.) were excellent, which really allowed me to hold on to the drama as long as I did.

Bad: The story... It was just so terribly boring and repetitive. Feels like this type of love story is way overdone. I think the biggest problem I had with the plot was the serious lack of communication and immaturity between the characters that led to many, many misunderstandings which just simply do not happen in normal, adult relationships. If your style of romance drama is to ogle at pretty people doing pretty people things, then this is for you. But if you are looking for something fresh and different, this is so not it.

With all that said, I did not finish the drama. I dropped at episode 6 so I cannot say anything about the ending, but at the pace that the show was going, I was halfway through and felt like nothing happened at all. I was sorely disappointed with this one, but maybe my expectations were just too high.

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First of all, I am fan of LDY that is why I am currently watching this series. Even I hate heavy drama as of now, because of the situation that we have right now. I even subscribe to VIU just to watch the series.

I am bit sad for the ML because he always suffers. I am a bit mad to FL's bestfriend for being selfish. It's true she does not want to take responsibilities for the things that she does. Now, the ML gave her 3 days to tell their family to cut the deal but I guess she didn't because she is afraid to lose everything after all.

I am really sad for the ML and the FL.:<

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bruh

this mf drama pissed me off hoe, i aint even know that gwangju uprising shi was even real. Just thought it was some dramatisation of events, but it actually happened irl. if i was in that era mf ik kickboxing, muay thai and most importantly I'm as real as they come. I'd single handedly save every innocent civilian and put the man behind this in prison rotting to the earth's core. Bro is so lucky I was born a billion years later, but you know what they say. Youth isn't about being young, its what you do. Now a real killer like me would've ABSOLuTeLOY destroyed the entire army with boxing skills and my bad driving ability. what im tryna say i cant fkn believe this is a true story, how could they do that to kids and innocent people treating them like dogs. mf IM BATMAN, THEY SO LUCKY THE MENACE OF DARKNESS IS A TEENAGER

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A beautifully crafted drama capturing the reality of the Gwangju Uprising.

Youth Of May is a melodrama set in May 1980 during the Gwangju Uprising. Its about Myung Hee and Hee Tae navigating through the trials of this hectic period of time.

First of all, the acting is amazing. Literally a 11/10. Go Min Si and Lee Do Hyun played Myung Hee and Hee Tae in an amazing way. I like how they literally brought the characters into life and brought a memorable performance. They had great chemistry and their acting just felt so realistic.
Everybody portrayed their characters well.The writing and the whole story was good and overall I loved watching the show entirely. The OSTs were giving off the sad vibe which I enjoyed listening to and also I also came to know about how harsh 1980 May was in Gwangju and how much the people were actually suffering for no reason.

I definitely recommend this drama to anybody who loves watching realistic dramas with no fiction. If you enjoy politics too, then this drama is for you. It's totally worth the watch and is one of the best dramas that I've seen.

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PROGRESSIVE STORY, AND THE IDEAL MALE LEAD

Alright, I will tell you why you should be watching this drama right now;
1) the story is very progressive, in episode 2 there is a minor conversation between the characters which indicates a disregard for gender roles which I really liked, I mean gender roles really really need to be crushed. Then this is a story that has a lot of things going on and one of the most central parts of it is the uprisings that were going on in that time in 1980, it talks about students fighting for democracy and fighting against the injustices, and the male lead is not toxic which brings us to,
2) OK so the thing about male leads is that we have always been introduced to male leads who are shown to be powerful because they have a lot of physical strength, they are protecting the female lead using their physical strength (NOTHING WRONG WITH IT, BUT THAT SHOULD NOT JUST BE IT TO A CHARACTER) and imposing their masculinity in that way while they're protecting the female lead. their characters would be like extremely brooding, and arrogant to the female lead because they have had a bad past. The average rich guy who hates his parents for how unfair they are and so he is rude. We have been conditioned to like them because that's all that we have been introduced to but this male lead is different, he is a rich guy but he is not your average rich guy he is sweet smart, extremely smart, and he is handsome, he is protective, chivalrous he is I don't know if they will mention it in the future episodes or not but he is such a feminist, he is such a respectful human being, so respectful and so caring, thoughtful and observant, which makes him such a gentleman. I absolutely love love love the male lead and lee do hyun does an excellent job playing this character, with that sweet smile of his.

3) Strong female lead

4) There's a scene on a race track in the second episode, that scene is just so amazing and you learn so much from it about how should keep up the hussle till the very end.

5) IT'S A PERIOD DRAMA FFS
JUST WATCH IT

P.S I AM GONNA UPDATE A REVIEW AFTER EVERY TWO EPISODES I WATCH. SO FAR IT'S JUST BEEN 3

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talking about story, cast and my predictions)

Even though there's only 2 episodes that are out, I have so much to say about this drama.
Let's go!

To tell you a bit about the storyline of the drama. The story sets in 1980's in korean town Gwangju. It is the period of Gwangju's Uprising. We have Hwang Hee-Tae, a medical student who entered the best medical university in Seoul, and a 3-year nurse named Kim Myeong-Hee. Kim Myeong-Hee is from a poor family and a friend of Lee Soo-ryeon, daughter of a rich man in Gwangju. Myeong-Hee gets into university in Germany, but in order to get a scholarship she has to leave the country next month. With the lack of money for plane ticket, her and Soo-ryeon set a deal in which Myeong-Hee has to go 3 times on a date with Soo-ryeon's potential future husband, who by chance is Hwang Hee-Tae (son of another rich man in Gwangju), in her place so she can get her friends out of prison for protesting, and in return, she'll get her money for plane ticket. Hee-Tae and Myeong-Hee had encounters before, but not close enough for him to know her name, thinking that she will get dumped by him (by Soo-ryeon's tips on how to get dumped) she goes on the date, but it doesn't go well for her..

I really hope I didn't say much about those 2 episodes, I'll update if there's something more that has importance in the whole storyline. Now let's get onto the cast.

The cast is perfect, I like most of the characters for now. Lee Do-Hyun, portrays Hee-Tae sooo good, it really suits him to play character like him, since he himself gives vibes that he has a similar character as Hee-Tae. Go Min-Si... that woman never fails to impress me, I absolutely love Myeong-Hee, she is just an amazing young woman. Lee Sang-Yi, well, we still don't know his character, Lee Soo-Chan, but he seems like a nice person, and we already can see that he is hiding some feelings towards Myeong-Hee, or is it just me? Keum Sae-Rok and her character Lee Soo-Ryeon, I like her so much and I really hope her friendship with Myeong-Hee stays healthy and that nothing goes in between them. Other supporting roles are as awesome, Hwang Jung-Tae (played by Choi Seung-Hoon) and Kim Myeong-Soo (played by Jo Yi-Hyun), little brothers of our leads, seem to already have some bad tension between them, will that stand in a way of their older siblings' relationship?

Now, predictions...

Oh, I already know that there will be very heartbreaking stuff about this drama. About the end of episode 2.. wow, expected it, but not this soon, I can't wait to see how it all plays out since we already can see that leads have gained some interest in each other and I can't honestly predict how does Hee-Tae feel after finding out that Myeong-Hee lied about her identity, since we already saw that he said he doesn't care what her name is after he saw how she helped a boy in car accident, will he be mad? will he forgive her? I also have a gut that Soo-Ryeon will actually grow a liking towards Hee-Tae while Myeong-Hee is in Germany (connected to my prediction that she'll actually go to Germany). My next prediction is that she will not be accepted by Hee-Tae's family (specifically his father and potentially his brother) because she comes from a poor family. I have some other predictions like her and her father getting on good terms, Soo-Ryeon getting an apology from her friends, if something happens with Hee-Tae and Soo-Ryeon (by force of their parents) that Myeong-Hee will go to Germany and come back after a while, Hee-Tae waiting for her, her choosing to be with Soo-Chan out of jealousy, anger, sadness.. Not quite sure about those last theories, but I guess we'll find out? Hopefully at least one of my predictions comes out as true so I don't look like a complete fool hhh.

That's all for now, I hope this is helpful to at least 1 person and thank you if you read all of this !! Leave a comment of what you think about my review or predictions !!

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Me causou um grande impacto

Youth of May foi uma escolha cega pra mim. Embarquei nesse drama porque amo obras históricas. De início, eu esperava por um melodrama, mas me enganei completamente: a história é veloz e dinâmica, a cada episódio cumpre o que promete sem enrolar. O que me encantou, desde o primeiro episódio, foram os dois protagonistas. Eu não esperava tanto carisma! O brilho nos olhos dos dois me pegou de jeito e suas personalidades capturaram minha atenção.

Hee-Tae e Myung-Hee são dois batalhadores e TEIMOSOS (muito muito teimosos) jovens coreanos. Ele sonha em se tornar músico como sua falecida mãe, ela quer estudar no exterior e ter uma vida melhor. O drama começa com os dois fazendo de tudo para conquistar o que tanto querem. Nesse meio tempo, suas vidas se cruzam e é aí que a beleza da história começa: os dois juntos em cena são uma bomba. Sério, eu não sei como aguentei. Eu me DIVERTI TANTO com eles. Ainda estou impressionada com a química desses dois atores, que entregaram tanto. Desde a primeira cena, ficou claro pra mim que eu iria acompanhar aquele casal até o fim.

Com o desenvolvimento da história, logo a realidade bateu na minha porta: será que havia um final feliz esperando por Hee-Tae e Myung-Hee? Não vou contar se sim ou se não, mas já adianto: eles lutam por isso. A cada episódio, cada brecha do roteiro, lá estão os dois, superando as adversidades e se agarrando à mínima chance de felicidade. Não só eles, mas todos os jovens que viveram naquele maio. Aquelas pessoas acreditaram e berraram pela liberdade do país, mesmo quando os sonhos delas foram chutados e arremessados para longe. Quando parecia não ter esperança, elas ainda acreditaram.

Junto com eles, eu também acreditei até o fim.

Quanto ao Hee-Tae e Myung-Hee, para mim eles sempre serão um dos melhores casais de drama. Estou orgulhosa do quanto cresceram ao longo da história. Obrigada por serem teimosos e não abaixarem suas cabeças, meus jovens de maio. Meu coração se alegrou e chorou junto com vocês, acreditem❤️

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Un compendio de lo brutal que puede ser el ser humano.

Yo soy chileno (76), viví UNA dictadura. Los coreanos vivieron DOS. Nosotros no logramas zafar aun de ese infierno. Los coreanos, pueblo grandioso, han logrado rehacerse, y se han transformado en una nación grande y moderna, ejemplo en muchos aspectos.
Haber vivido MI dictadura me permite creer lo que el escritor(Lee Kang) nos muestra. Hay partes en los capítulos duros (9, 10 y 11) que la razón no permite aceptar tanta crueldad. Cuando el ser humano se transforma en una bestia sanguinaria y brutal. Pero es la verdad. Me toco verlo y, felizmente, vivirlo parcialmente. Esa suerte y saber de esos momentos, me hicieron un mejor ser humano.
Hay algunas licencias emocionales que más vale perdonar, reacciones del romance, que son menores frente el tratamiento de las escenas referidas al actuar militar en dictadura, que SI son fiel reflejo.
GO MIN Si está portentosa. además de ser MUY BELLA. Lee Do Hyun, merece verse en otros papel.

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Muito bom

O drama se passa na cidade de Gwangju no início da década de 80, quando o cenário político era extremamente caótico, quando uma revolta foi instaurada principalmente por jovens estudantes na luta pela democracia.

O Hwang Hee Tae era um jovem estudante de medicina, cheio de traumas, fruto de uma traição, filho de um homem autoritário.

A Kim Myeong Hee, uma jovem enfermeira que se doa demais pelos outros, deixava de lado até a própria felicidade para ver a dos outros, tanto que ela acaba até ajudando uma amiga indo num encontro às cegas no lugar desta.

Hee Tae e Myeong Hee acabam juntos nesse encontro e se apaixonam, porém o relacionamento dos dois está fadado a não dar muito certo por causa de certos empecilhos principalmente à família.

Nos momentos que as lágrimas não saíram o choro ficou preso na garganta de uma forma que chegava doer.

Já tinham me falado que Youth Of May era bom mas eu não olhei nada sobre ele apenas fui e pra mim esse drama foi uma surpresa. Parecia que seria algo bem mais romance fofinho porém foi além.

O brilho nos olhos dos personagens me cativaram num nível que me despedi com um aperto no coração.

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