Recording my thoughts on Record of Youth
I stayed the course for this show to my shock and surprise. More because of convenience than anything else (instant subs – thank you Netflix; and scheduling – light watch at dinnertime on otherwise dull Mondays and Tuesdays).

I don’t think it was a great drama at all, or even a good drama at that. But at its heart, the story had something going for it. On paper it must have seemed like a great coming-of-age drama, and that explains why it attracted so many top billing actors. But the dialogue was mostly pretentious, and the execution was totally off.

Oh, and Park Bo Gum is beautiful, yes, even when he cries. I get that now. 😀 But this is not a project he’ll want to boast about in his résumé. Also, this does not change my opinion about his acting. About Park So Dam – she seems the same as she was in that awful Cinderella drama. Maybe she should stick to the movies. I was hoping Byeon Woo Seok would be more than just a pretty face, but. it might be unfair to judge him on the basis of two very average dramas (this and Flower Crew). The only actor who stood out for me was Shin Dong-mi CEO of Jjampoong, Min-jae unnie/noona. She has great comic timing, and it will be good to see more of her.
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    +1 gazillion

    I’m not a huge fan of anybody in this cast, but it still surprised me that somebody with PBG’s star power would choose this drama. IDK. This year, all the dramas I anticipated disappointed me and all of the dramas that impressed me were dramas I had no expectations for/no clue about beforehand. That holds true for this one as well. I had expectations and was disappointed.

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      TBH, I waited for this drama only to see what the director was unto! (because he did this project instead of Stranger 2). Maybe he’s regretting it too 😀

      Not a fan of any of the cast either. I thought the seniors were especially badly cast – all the families were so wooden. The story had a lot of a family drama vibe going for it, but I felt the casting did not do the storytelling justice.

      I agree with the ‘no expectations’ dramas – Into the Ring (totally from left field), and now Startup (again, not a fan of any of the cast. Fingers tightly crossed for this one!! It’s been so good so far)

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    I’ve been wondering if the translations are accurate since this writer is known for her dialogue. Perhaps the Netflix translation isn’t capturing the nuance.

    I liked the shorter drama First Time/Because It’s The First Time much better as a coming of age story and it also has a better character for Park So Dam. The one thing I’ve liked in RoY is the friendship between the three young men.

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      Ooh. I haven’t watched First Time. I will check it out.
      I must admit I liked the real life touch this drama gave with PBG enlisting at the same time as his character. That was nicely done. The friendship was also nice, I agree. 🙂 But I do feel kdramas have done friendships/bromances and family relationships better than this.

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      Netflix subs are terrible. I know maybe 20 Korean words from my one year of watching kdramas, and even I can tell the translations are off. The only reason I like them are the “instant gratification” purpose they serve. Which means I don’t get ruined by spoilers (not that I mind much, tbh). Otherwise, I’d pick Viki over Netflix anyday. I don’t have access to Kocowa so I don’t know how that holds up against these two, but I hear it’s generally not great.

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    Yup it’s fascinating how So Dam does so well in movies and not so for her dramas. A bit like Kim Go Eun i think..

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