Viajero

With Korea’s tense political situation in the late 70's as its backdrop, this nostalgic coming of age drama, aptly balances innocent romance with heavier drama. This includes the harsh difficulties faced by girls in a very paternalistic society, as our FL is subject to repeated physical and emotional abuse from her parents, her teachers, and school bullies. She somehow manages to shrug it off, bandaging up her bruises, while obsessing about typical teenage concerns like boys. It’s the convergence of her growing friendship with a new girl at school and the forces of political repression that finally cause her to take a stand at school, at home, and even with the two boys in her life.

Despite her relative inexperience at the time, pop idol Bona is quite good here in her first major acting role - showing signs of some of the excellent acting performances she has given us since then in shows like 2521 and Pyramid Game. The rest of the cast is also acceptably good.

The soundtrack is full of the sappiest of 70's love songs, which is quite fitting for the time and place (given the heavy censorship by the dictatorship of anything else). But this does serve as a reminder that in addition to some of the greatest music ever written, the 70's also produced some of the cheesiest shallowest pop of the 20th century.

Though primarily just a good coming of age story, this show also serves as a reminder of how much Korean women have to lose if certain political factions are able to turn back the clock.