Tokyo Ghoul to Get a Live Action Film Adaptation
I’ve been having problems with Korean dramas lately. I haven’t been able to enjoy any K-drama for a very long time, I like to call it “Korean dramas’ slump” but Reply 1994 was able to pull me out of that slump even temporarily. I was able to get invested in it and relate to its characters in a short time. Let me introduce you to the only Korean drama in my currently watching list:
Currently Watching: Reply 1994
What made me watch this?
My reason to watch this drama is very simple; I watched Reply 1997 and I truly appreciated it because it was quite different from other Korean dramas and very interesting to follow. I have this habit of watching every sequel, prequel, movie, special or anything related to a drama I saw. Although I didn’t have confidence to start the second season (as I mentioned earlier because of my K-dramas’ slump), I kind of forced myself to watch it and what a surprise!
I didn’t have any expectations for this drama, but I didn’t hold any prejudices against the casting because the cast of last year’s Reply wasn’t known either, but they did a great job, so I figured that this year’s cast would do the same.
Sequels are hard to do especially for Korean dramas. I believe in that rule even if some dramas were able to break it. Reply 1994 is definitely one of those dramas, it was able to break “Sequels’ phobia”.
The Plot So Far:
Reply 1994 is a prequel to Reply 1997. It goes back in time to tell the story of college students who came from all over the countryside to study in the capital Seoul. They reside in the boarding house located in Shinchon, run by Song Dong Il, his wife Lee Il Hwa, and their daughter Sung Na Jung. The drama talks about the lives of the boarding house’s residents and their hardships during their twenties as well as the trends, the music, the social issues and some political problems that existed in South Korea back in 1994.
Meet The Characters:
Go Ah Ra as Sung Na Jung
Origin: MaSan, Southern Gyeong Sang province
Age: 20 years old in 1994 and 39 years old in 2013
She’s a freshman in Yonsei University with Computer Engineering as a major. Sung Na Jung is a cheerful and somewhat odd character, but she’s nice and never annoying; I believe she’s the least irritating female lead I ever saw in similar Korean dramas. She makes you relate to her problems and feelings.
She has terrible drinking habits; you better stay away from her when she starts winking!
Jung Woo as Sseu Re Ki (meaning Trash or Garbage)
Origin: Ma San, Southern Gyeong Sang province
Age: 24 years old in 1994 and 43 years old in 2013
He’s a med student in Yonsei University also. Trash is Na Jung’s childhood friend and lived with her like a brother. He’s a slacker and an indifferent character, always reading comic books and teasing Na Jung unless he has an internship at the hospital. His actions make it hard to believe that he’s a respectable smart med student at the University. He’s kind and caring with his friends and family even if he doesn’t show it a lot.
He can be so adorable and even sarcastic.
Yoo Yeon Seok as Chil Bong (meaning seven shout-outs)
Origin: Seoul, Gang Nam.
Age: 20 years old in 1994 and 39 years old in 2013
He’s the best Ace pitcher of Yonsei University Baseball team and somehow popular in the country. Chil Bong is the only character in the main leads that originated from Seoul, but he really likes staying in the boarding house. He’s a great player who attracted many people’s intentions not only through his playing skills but also his great ethics. Chil Bong is a very sweet and kind character in many ways.
He's such a sweet caring guy!
Kim Sung Kyu as Sham Chun Po (meaning Sam Cheon Po City)
Origin: Sam Cheon Po, Southern Gyeong Sang Province
Age: It’s considered a minor spoiler so I won’t mention his age; you just need to know that he looks older than his real age.
He’s also a freshman in Yonsei University with Computer Engineering as a major. Sam Cheon Po always gets teased about his older looks, but he’s actually the valuable son a rich family back in his hometown. He’s a delicate perfectionist character but caring as well.
He can alsotry tobe cute.
Son Ho Jun as Hae Tae (meaning Haitai Tigers)
Origin: Seon Cheon City, Southern Jeon Ra Province.
Age: 20 years old in 1994 and 39 years old in 2013.
He’s the classmate of both Sung Na Jung and Sham Chun Po in Yonsei University with Computer Engineering as a major. Haitai is the son of a rich family as well since his father owns all bus lines back in his hometown. He’s such a fun, carefree, and social character who always manages to make you laugh and enjoy the situations he goes through. He never holds a grudge, and he always cares for his friends.
He's so fun even with the serious moments every once in a while.
Baro as Bing Geu Re (meaning Smiley)
Origin: Gwe San, Northern Choong Cheong Province
Age: 20 years old in 1994 and 39 years old in 2013
He’s a freshman in med school, but he never actually cared about Medicine. Bing Geu Re is Chil Bong’s cousin and the reason why the latter came to know the boarding house. He’s usually smiling while listening to other people’s stories, but he almost never speaks what’s in his mind.
He'salwaysa cutie.
Min Do Hee as Jo Yoon Jin
Origin: Yeo Soo, Jeon Ra Province
Age: 20 years old in 1994 and 39 years old in 2013
She’s Sung Na Jung's, Sham Chun Po's, and Haitai’s classmate in University. Yoon Jin is a maniac fangirl of Seo Tai Ji. She’s unsociable and never cares about people. She doesn’t shows up in the house unless it’s meal time, and she hardly talks even if she’s talked to. She only cares about Seo Tai Ji, his music, and his fan meetings until someone changes her.
She can be such ascarydevoted fangirl.
Sung Dong Il and Lee Il Hwa (Sung Na Jung's Parents)
Origin: Ma San, Southern Gyeong Sang province
Age: 51 years old in 1994 and 66 years old in 2013
They’re the only characters that are kept from Reply 1997, but they’re personalities are different since they don’t actually fight like in the previous Reply. They’re still great though. Sung Dong Il is a coach of “The Seoul Twins” baseball team and pretty well-known in the country while Lee Il Hwa is a housewife who takes care of the boarding students as if they were her own. She’s like a second mother to them.
They're still as awesome as ever!
Why should you watch this?
For starters, you need to eliminate any fear of watching a sequel (or a prequel) to a hit drama that you really liked. Reply 1994 doesn’t complete Reply 1997 and doesn’t even relate to it in any way except that there are a group of friends whose stories are told between the past and present. Oh, and the sheep noise is still present.
Reply 1994 is a prequel that counts for its own merits; it talks about “Generation X” and the trends back in the days. It deals with family relationships, youth and especially friendship, the latter is what makes the drama very interesting to watch. It’s about the relationships between countryside students who have to live under the same roof and share the good and the bad together. Their heart-warming and bonding moments are priceless. The supporting characters are very developed and quite intriguing to follow. It’s also full of entertaining and hilarious situations that can bring you a good laugh.
I also have to point that I really like the use of different accents in this drama, although I really loved the Pusan dialect in R. 1997, the variety of dialects in R. 1994 is very captivating.
In this Reply, the screenwriting is smooth even if it’s making people crazy with the insufficient hints. So far, there are no time jumps to interrupt the story’s developments, and there is no serious fangirling like in Reply 1997.
Random last thoughts:
The drama got a recent one episode extension which I didn’t appreciate at all because it could’ve ended with the original number of episodes.
The length of each episode is 90 minutes which is quite long and unusual for a TvN drama.
15 episodes of Reply 1994 have aired.
You can catch up now.
(All the gif sets are taken from tumbler)
