Even Park Seo Jun could not save this drama!
At first, I had high hopes because well, the actors/actresses line up for this drama was quite solid and strong. I never dropped any movie/drama I am watching no matter how mid/cliche it was but this is the first drama I have ever dropped halfway. I guess at the beginning of ep.1 until ep.5 was still ok ok though there were times where viewers would feel certain element is missing but for me personally I just did not like how Park SoDam the heroine/FL screen time was so minimal regardless the drama was already halfway. That was the first thing that I did not like about this drama. Besides, the FL back story too was not elaborated enough to give viewers a much better understanding about her background. We can see what was happening in her life but that was just it. Barely on the surface. Park Bogum's character was nice and kind but damn, his lousy ass family was too much. I also did not like the repeated scenes of Sa Hye Jun's dad who was always mad at him because his son wanted to be an actor and keep making a big deal of it each f-ing time. I get it. Their relationship was not good and Hye Jun was always the sad boy in his family because his parents esp dad did not understand his passion yada yada but man, it gets crazy every time Hye Jun and his dad were fighting. I can say from ep.1-5 that was all it was about. I am not going to comment on their acting because I think it was okay and nothing bothered me much. I tried to give this drama a chance up until ep.8. But nope. Even towards the second half of the drama the plot still has not changed much and the characters growth were not there. This drama even had PSJ as cameo and still could not save it from the disaster.Was this review helpful to you?
Park Bo Gum, period.
To be honest, I was really excited to watch this drama because this is from Netflix, there is Park Bo Gum and Park So Dam. Both of them are great in their acting, especially Bogum, really genuine and charismatic. Moreover, the 2nd lead guy, Byeon Woo Seok is good looking. So I was waiting to watch this drama so bad.On the first episodes, it feels refreshing and relatable. The story is about pursuing a dream, but we still have to be a nice guy even when the situation gets hard. It feels relatable because all of us have a dream and pursuing it, right?
And also, the story has fangirling moments, which most of us do even probably not at the same level.
On 3 last episodes, in my humble opinion, I feel the love story is so cliche and predictable. Sometimes I feel that how they build the romance scene is unnatural. didn't touch my heart. even all the actors have been acted really well, but the scene is just, like, not good enough. I feel they are too rush in making love story, I just didn't understand, how could 2 boys love the same girl that fast? when the girl did nothing? when there's nothing special moment? didn't make sense for me.
There are a lot of scenes that I think were not important, I feel so bored and sleepy, so I have to push faster button to go to the next scene.
I hope the story of the drama will get better, so I don't have to drop it, because I really want to watch Bogum in a great drama. I still gonna check the next episode. if it's nay, I'll drop it.
update:
it’s not getting better. i’ll find a better one.
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I enjoyed the ML and FL growing in love
I am a happy senior citizen who enjoyed the heartfelt story between the two Main Leads… pain from their immediate family was reshaped into a strong love between them. They both were more mature than the Parent (his Father and her Mother) that wrecked their young emotions. The side relationships were great… showing different kinds of emotions and respectful resolutions to each other. My favorite was the Grandfather 😉. Well done, I salute all who worked to bring this production to life for us viewers…Was this review helpful to you?
Youth Record
i liked the series a lot.. especially because the story was not too unrealistic.. it had the perfect ups and downs.. the characters.. the plot.. the osts.. everythingwas worth it.. personally i think the drama is underrated.. it is completelyworth watching.. tells us how important youth is.. the family relationships.. the love triangle.. and especially the friendship goals attractedme the must.. i wouldwant many more people to watch it.. for the actors' age and hardwork.. the drama has been a beautifuljourney for me.. especially because I'm a new youth.. so.. i want you all to watch the drama.. even thoughthe drama has too much melo.. i like it.. a lot to that..Was this review helpful to you?
Well portrayed record of youth
It was great! This type of drama is a gem wherein there's no certain plot and is unpredictable. The main lead was too good to be true and is perfectly matched to Park Bo-Gum's image.It was nice to see a love story different from what's portrayed usually. It was overall open-minded. They showed various points of view of characters which I commend and covered family, money, dreams, career, friendships, and relationships which composts the youth. It also gave me an idea of the entertainment industry.
The only downside was the sequence: it was confusing as they back and forth to present and past. Moreover, the scenes were not balanced; I got tired of hearing them bicker.
If you'll watch this because of romance then nope — a very big no-no. You might get disappointed because there was no single pint of romantic chemistry so just don't. But if you're into the youth genre then this is well.
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Self explanatory title
Record of youth is exactly how the title says it, a wholesome record of the journey of youths with different backgrounds, upbringings and financial statuses, but same big dreams and ambitions. Moreover since the plot took a holistic approach to the characters, there was a very honest character development there with realistic scenarios that happen in the life of people pursuing their respective professions; hence the drama felt like something that might be the story of a neighbourhood acquaintance than something fictitious happening on screen. Park Bo Gum surprised me I had to say. To me he always felt like this good looking actor with a character portrayal of freshness, naivety and innocence, but in this drama you get to see really the inner depths, struggles, anxieties, frustrations, self-doubt, betrayal, anguish, loneliness, so many different shades that made his act probably the most suitable for this character over all. Other than him all the actors did a fabulous job overall playing their characters. I also liked that the friendship was so honest and didn't disappear into some dark cliches of jealousy and betrayal. Whatever they felt, wether envy or pride, they talked about it openly like good best friends do and thats another reason why I felt like this was a neighbourhood story. They also tried to show friendship beyond financial status and real understanding of each other according to how the modern world works rather than open cliche discrimination like in those old dramas. By the way, who else thought Shine Ae Ra was hot in this drama 😋? Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this drama and highly recommend it!Was this review helpful to you?
My true feeling about this drama
When I was started watching this drama it made me feel happy and the story explain the importance of friendship, It also tells how people are hardworking to achieve the goal. In this drama, all the actors play their roles really well. When it comes to the story, the first half was really good but it comes to the second half it was quite a disappointment. I had high hope while started watching this drama but I was made so sad. I think the ending of the story can be better.It has a wonderful Ost and cast. when I saw this drama made a reality check that whether I am doing the job I that like to do and also dream high and work hard with your sincere heart you will surely achieve the goal. I really enjoyed watching this drama. This drama has a great message for us " When you go in of search of honey you must expect to be stung by bees" and "Who you are tomorrow beginning with what you do today"
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This review may contain spoilers
To me this drama was mostly calm, on some aspects a little bit sad, but still interesting. Especially the hardships which come with famousness, may those be because of the ruthless comments or family. I also really liked the relationship of main leads because, besides the fact they did not have the usual temporary breakup with lots of misunderstandings and so, they started with perfect communication, which is rare in K-dramas. But as time passed and they had less and less time for each other, they seemed to lose the ability to communicate easily and started to hide their hardships, feelings and desires, which sometimes is so true in life. They were young, but had maturity, which was showed with small things, like how the ML reacted when he found out that FL had been in touch with his best friend and all the scenes where it was stated “he/she’ll tell me when he/she’s ready”.This drama managed to picture perfectly that sometimes love is not enough. As the FL said "timing is not right” and to me their breakup showed this. How sometimes you have to let each other go to concentrate on your career or other aspects of your life, because otherwise you'd concentrate only on him/her. Yes, giving up the relationship despite of the love is (and was for them) the most painful thing to do, but eventually they accepted and understood. And the acting of Park Bo Gum and Park So Dam was just perfect and so expressive.
As for ML friends - I found their parts meaningful. Their parts showed — as at some point one character stated, in contrast to the main characters —, that with some backgrounds your life is never yours, your decisions are never made solely by you. SML’s struggles pictured this magnificently. And to me his suspicions about him not being in control of his life and his wishes to control something (and to some extent competition with ML) made him fall for FL. But this desire was answered through the relationship of his sister. At the end SML seemed to have made it to the acceptance that his life is not entirely his, so this storyline was kind of sad for me.
After the time skip the ending was maybe a little bit short and rushed, but it did give an answer to one aspect — at least the breakup choice wasn’t wrong: ML’s career seemed to have been continued even after being absent for months and FL has had the chance to boost her career. Concerning of their relationship, it probably was left to viewers to decide. Also the ending did lack a little bit for the other characters.
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This review may contain spoilers
I wanted to Love this...
It started out so well but in the end it was just another meh series for me.Things I loved: Park Bo-Gum. This was my first series with him and I will watch everything else now.
Things I Liked: I really liked the theme song. Beautifully done and nostalgic!
Things I hated with a passion: Tae-Su, disgusting human being. Do Ha, what an infantile person. Kim Su Man, Damn Reporter!!!
Other things I hated: Yi Young terrible mother and way too involved in her children's lives. I hate too that Hae Hyo never tells his mother how she made him feel. Young Nam terrible father even with the back story. Hae Na and Jin-ju not fighting for their relationship. Tsk.
Annoying: Jung Ha and Hye Jun's relationship. I just felt like Jung Ha in the beginning was a strong character then she was flighty, especially when it came to their relationship. She wasn't even willing to fight for it and yes I get her backstory to and wanting her new career plans to take off but...Girl Bye!
The last few eps were a downer for me but the ending wasn't as bad as thought it was going to be. Overall the series ended up just being meh when it started out so well.
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This review may contain spoilers
What a wonderfully touching drama!
Oh My!!! What a sweet drama Record Of Youth is!I'd had it on my list for a long time and just never watched it....but after watching the magical Park Bo-gum in Encounter I decided to move it up to the top of my to-watch list.
I was a bit nervous as I don't usually go for "sad endings", and had read a review or an article that said the main couple split....but I was extremely happy to see that the actually end leaves the door wide open...(now I'll keep my fingers crossed for a Record Of Youth 2!!)
I thought the drama dealt beautifully with the angst of growing up and finding your way in the world, it also dealt beautifully with the different styles of parenting and how it affects children and it dealt beautifully with friendships and how relationships develop and change.
The show was incredibly cast, all were perfect in their roles, but I want to call out Park Bo-gum, Park So Dam, and Byeon Woo Seok for truly portraying their characters and their character's complexities so well.
This is a series I will probably buy on DVD as it is one I will likely watch over and over and won't want to lose access to it! I absolutely recommend watching this magical drama!
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Park Bo Gum supremacy - you cannot convince me otherwise ( joking)
I am not sure why this has so many negative reviews, but I suppose everybody relates/sees things differently and that's perfectly fine. Please don't hate on people for having a different opinion than yours, it is important to respect each other's thoughts even in the free world of the internet. :)I really liked how well produced was this drama. The frames and camera shots were very raw and honest. The whole story itself had a mature kind of vibe to it, even though it was a romance. The plot did not focus only on the love story of the main leads. It also showed their own progression and growth, I guess that's what you call a coming of age type of drama. It helped the plot develop organically.
I also liked the idea of the past-present alternation, how it started with something that happened ( a momentum) and how it all goes smoothly to show how the story got there. It is indeed a really interesting POV. It makes the viewer feel included in the plot as to say "you are here with us too. Let's see what happened so far. How did we get here?".
I will always have a soft spot for Park Bo Gum, but he never ever disappoints. I believe he is one of the most expressive k-actors out there. He looks genuine when he cries, and I mean not the ugly forced crying that looks like someone splashed your face with water. But the emotional sensitive one. I just love how he takes a character's story and just makes it his own life. He gets immersed in the story and the role. And no matter how "serious" or dangerous his character may be, he will always look like soft marshmallow boy. This world does not deserve such a pure soul.
But, his dramas are all worth watching. No matter who he co-stars with. His aura will make everything shine gold.
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I could not believe the disappointment I felt
Generally speaking I love coming of age dramas, as I am as well doing so hehe.This one though felt really hypocritical.
At times really unecessarily painful, at other times really bittersweet and at other times completely out of touch with reality it felt like a big joke when I finished it.
Up until episode 10 I would say I had so much fun watching it but I think after that it just decides it wants to look realistic when the whole premise from the beginning is far from it. And yes maybe I am biased because of whatever it is that happened that I didn't like, but they really had it all just to let it bleed to death.
It feels as if the only well written part of this is the male lead and his family, everything else seems half-hearted and dishonest, with some honourable exceptions. Especially the way the female lead acted at times makes me think it was most definitely the script to blame because sodam is overall quite the actress.
Anyway I would HONESTLY not recommend it.
Unless you just wanna see bogum, that was the sole reason I finished it anyway. Yeah that's all.
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