Just perfect and poetic!
I'm still in love with Our Beloved Summer. At first I wasn't that interested in the drama, but then, I begin to pay attention to all the details, the music, the silence, the image and the acting. So then, I got caught by the drama. It's a beautiful and subtle drama. I can now comprehend the silence between the main couple, it just make sense. And the actors have this chemistry I can't explain, it just fits in the drama. I just want to rewatch and register some pictures of this poetic drama in my mind.Was this review helpful to you?
I'm dramatic i know, but can you blame me?
randomly this show would come to my mind and i would find myself crying uncontrollably, though I don't know why. i think I've found my all time favorite characters.I'm bad at explaining why i love something i only know how to complain about things but i love how complex the characters are i relate to each and every one of them their good and their bad sides. i would like to say who my favorite was but they're all so unique with their own backstories and emotional baggage. i would recommend watching the show when you're in the mood to it though as in relaxing with a warm cup of coffee and a box of tissues.
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Finding own self and How to be loved by our loved ones...........
OMG ! Like OMG ! Okay lets start from the start. I was eagerly waiting for this drama since it was rumored that choi woo sik and kim da mi would be starring in it together. I personally loved their chemistry in the witch so I really wanted to see them together in a rom-com. And santa gifted me 'Our beloved summer'.The story is FANTASTIC. im not saying there are a lot of plot twists and stuff but it keeps you engaged so well. The directing and writing is FANTASTIC. it is always a difficult job when you are story telling the past and the present.
You can either show the past first and then tell the audience abt the present or you show the present and the past together which is not an easy job at all. I got to see flashbacks from the story whenever I needed. The balance between both those timelines was really good according to me the dramas pace was perfect. Not too slow nor too fast. Whenever I had a question while watching the drama it got answered the next moment. So I was never zoned out or it never happened that Idk why this is happening.
I love the character design for yeon su and choi ung. They were unique yet relatable. I could relate better with yeon su. The drama involves us so much with the characters that you slowly start to understand their point of views, decisions and habits etc. You start to live the characters through yeon su and ung. The conflict between these two is so great its like the saying 'opposites attract'. They both are extremely different but its really heartwarming to see them keeping their differences aside and embracing and loving each other as they are.
I really liked the documenatry that played a big role in helping viewers differentiate between the past and present. Also the documentary helped me understand how two people can have different memories and perspective of the same moment.
Dont even ask me about the second lead ji ung I really felt bad for him. He was suffering a lot be had a harsh childhood and craved for love, family but all's well that ends well. I really like how they ended it. With all the pieces of the art together.
Our beloved summer is full of romance, heartbreaks, patch ups, tension, humor. The new love story will give you butterflies while the sad moments will make you bawl your eyes. At the end it was a really fun journey for me ! And I would highly recommend this drama I had to write more but i'll only end up spoiling stuff for you. And if all those above paragraphs weren't enough for me to persuade you to watch it (it has a ost that was sung by V of BTS)👀🤫.
See im so helpful now go and watch it ! Im sure you'll love it
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From skimming the plot line summary, this drama seemed like truly a unique one with a great and talented cast. When I began watching it half a year ago (yes, it took me half a year to finish this), I didn't find any hook at the beginning to get me truly immersed in the story or the character relationships. So much dragging out, a lot of miscommunication and character arcs that were truly lazy. It's a skip for me.
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Kinda watchable
The drama had a nice concept but the story was too thin for a full run drama even with the added side stories. It's also why they sneaked in a useless love pentagon that didn't get anywhere. Although you may find the FL's behavior passable as a teen but that wasn't the case as an adult, it was increasingly challenging to endure watching her. It simply didn't serve the narrative. After seeing her character in action I had a strong hunch to why they broke up. Such a reason may be valid when written adequately but, in this case, it came off as a shallow excuse to progress the plot. Even if we were to over glance that, they ended up giving a half-assed resolution to their underlying problems and opted to supplement the rest with an overdose of mindless lovey-dovey scenes while eliminating any opportunity for the drama to delve deeper into the emotional package they threw at us earlier on. Another prime example of the bait and switch technique the Kdrama industry have been going through recently and it doesn't look like this will change. One last thing, there were some obvious amateur editing mistakes sprinkled in the drama. One singular scene may have multiple camera angles but 2 different color grading, even for the same consecutive face shot.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Surprisingly, I enjoyed this cheesy, overrated drama. Honestly, I think this had more potential but a lot of stories or sub-plots were sidelined. Maybe their arc felt open-ended or just lost I am not really sure. Some stories just felt left out ...........I also didn't really understand the need for 2nd ML one-sided suffering plot ....... The character had lot more potential .......... not really sure if they really wanted the loose end to mean something or it was just typical sympathetic 2nd lead move........But what I really loved were - the colors, production style and music. I also liked that the characters were portrayed a little raw and flawed.........
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This review may contain spoilers
Healing, Nostalgic With Excellent Cinematography and OST
Our Beloved Summer" follows the story of two ex-lovers, Choi Woong and Kook Yeon Soo, who are brought back together years after filming a viral documentary in high school. Choi Woong, seemingly naive and free-spirited, harbors deep aspirations that he begins to pursue for the first time in his life. Meanwhile, Kook Yeon Soo, who once aimed to be the top student, is now an adult grappling with the harsh realities of life. As they find themselves back in front of the camera, their past and present collide, rekindling old emotions and unresolved conflicts.The show excels in its realistic portrayal of character development and relationships. The chemistry between Choi Woo-shik and Kim Da-mi is palpable, making their on-screen relationship believable and engaging. The narrative beautifully oscillates between the past and the present, offering a rich, layered storytelling experience. The cinematography is visually stunning, (Watch out for a shot of them in the rain) capturing both the beauty of mundane moments and the intensity of emotional scenes. The soundtrack complements the mood perfectly, enhancing the overall viewing experience.
While there is second lead syndromes with supporting characters, i like the way things turned out for them towards the ending of the show each finding their own closure. The scenes where the main leads realizing their lost love and rekindling their romance, ML confronting his past trauma , Their clear bickering with each other all were really cute to watch.
Overall, If you are looking for a drama enemies to lovers trope with a great OST and a warm watch, this drama would be perfect for you. I would recommend this 10/10 and this would clearly be in most of the k-drama viewers top watched shows.
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This review may contain spoilers
Our Beloved Summer had a very unique and beautiful tone. It was funny and sweet, but also heartfelt and sentimental, even heartbreaking at times. The writing, the characters, and the acting all felt very special. The two leads had beautiful chemistry and they depicted the emotions between the different stages of their relationship wonderfully. The dynamic of rivals to lovers to exes to friends to lovers was done so well.The documentary was a different idea I don’t think I had seen before. The character interviews, the stolen glances, the emotions they didn’t realize others could see on their faces were all fantastic and it makes me want to watch all the documentaries in their entirety.
The main characters, Ung and Yeon-su, felt like real people with their complexity. I loved both of them individually and together. All of the secondary or side characters also felt very real. I often get annoyed by side characters and find myself fast forwarding through those scenes, but I never skipped a scene in this show. I found every character compelling and they explored very interesting dynamics between them all. Love triangles can be very hit or miss but Ji-ung was such a sympathetic second lead that I always found compelling to watch. There was never really a doubt as to who she would end up with but Ji-ung displayed such heartbreak with his unrequited love.
I’ve seen people complain about Yeon-su but I loved her. She was very relatable and her backstory made her current day struggles and decisions make a lot of sense for her character. The way that Ung spoke about Yeon-su, even when they were broken up, brought tears to my eyes several times. Her relationship with her grandmother was also a highlight of the show.
There is very little to take issue with in Our Beloved Summer. The main thing that I wanted was just a little more exploration and resolution of the couple’s struggles and emotions in their present day relationship. Yeon-su had such issues opening up to Ung and it seemed like she never fully revealed her past struggles to him. It would have been great if they actually had a discussion about their breakup in detail as well. I would have liked to see her explain her reasons to him and for him to also acknowledge some of his shortcomings in their relationship. The realization that Ung had never told her that he loved her in years and years of dating stung a bit.
All of the three main characters could have had their backstories fleshed out a bit more but what we did get was great. Even the secondary couples had great dynamics and I would have liked to see even more of them.
The final episode was perfection and exactly what you want from a romance. This would be a great comfort show and is suited so well to be a rewatch.
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Meh (?)
our beloved summer, to me, was one of those dramas - that check off all the boxes of what you wish in a drama, and somehow you still don't TRULY connect with. another such drama for me was Be Melodramatic - it had all the right stances of female friendship and relationships but somehow, to me, it still wasn't memorable. tdlr; would rate it high, but personally wouldnt feel the need to rewatch or recommend.also, idk but their chemistry wasnt convincing to me i truly dont know why. and, since i know wooshik is a chamelion of an actor, i think the director didnt direct him well - because there were many instances where i couldnt tell his emotions/thoughts from his acting - idk how else to word it but it wasn't his best imho.
tdlr; wasnt boring/bad to make me put it off - but i also wasnt excited/curious about it.
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Disappointing story and characters
I really like CWS and though I didn’t like KDM in Itaewon Class, I was willing to give it a try. But I’m 10 episodes in and just barely hanging on.CWS is too passive (yes I understand his character, but this is a drama and he lets KDM walk all over him) and KDM’s character is incredibly annoying.
If any of the characters would just share the tiniest bit of what they’re feeling the plot would fall apart. Or be resolved in half the episodes. I think that’s lazy writing.
It’s infuriating to see KDM be so rude to her ex when she’s the one who broke his heart. She only shows vulnerability around her grandmother and best friend. I know there’s more info that will be revealed but I can’t imagine CWS really wanting to be with someone who lied and broke his heart and never apologized.
CWS manages to stay likable through sheer sweetness. And I blame the writing for KDM’s frustrating character. I would love to see her play someone with less of a tough outer layer. Or someone with a genuine sense of humor.
I’ll stick with OBS till the end because I’m a narrative junkie. But I will definitely be skipping sections and groaning with frustration.
Updates coming after I’ve watched all 16 episodes.
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Slooooooooooooow but addictive so far
Slow burn is not slow enough to describe the show. It’s so full of cliches and so utterly predictable that you can safely guess whatever’s coming a mile away. The problem is that it takes soooo long for the story to unfold that you’re just sitting there tapping on your watch waiting for the show to catch up with you. This story definitely could’ve been told in a few episodes but it just drags on.Despite all that… I can’t get mad at them because I love the main characters. I get extremely frustrated with Ung-i because he’s so passive and slow-witted sometimes (appears to be at least) but he’s so likable.
We’ll see what happens going forward. Hope everything will work out for everyone.
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The relationship: I love the premise of FL & ML reuniting as ex-partners. It's something so little explored in kdramas, but it's a storyline near and dear to my heart. The tension with which they converse, the awkward familiarity with which they speak and act, and most importantly, the quiet way they care about each other so intimately, are the foundation of this series. Although it's established that their breakup wasn't amicable, their interactions aren't rancorous or acrimonious. The way they interact shows, even in the most sniping of interactions, how much love they still hold for one another. The two couldn't be more opposite: the FL as a driven, ambitious professional who constantly sprints ahead, the ML as a comfort-loving, goofy artist more than content to just stop and smell the roses. Yet, like yin and yang, the two complete each other, even if their journey back to each other is littered with obstacles.
I also love how the problems with their first breakup aren't brushed aside and miraculously solved — it's clear that the issues leading to the cause of their first breakup need to be resolved, and it's the very thing preventing them from getting back together, in spite of their attraction. The show really works well at gelling the past and the present in this respect, displaying both the highs and lows in their previous relationship and the twists and turns due to such in their current story.
The actors: Chemistry, chemistry, chemistry. Perhaps it's because Choi Woo-shik and Kim Da-mi have worked together before, but the romantic tension between them and the ease in which they interact makes the drama so enjoyable. Notwithstanding their previous working relationship, it's clear that both are talented actors in their own right: watching even the first episode demonstrates the gamut of emotions that they can bring forth to portray these characters. I'm simply glad that such amazing actors with massively impressive acting credits already under their belt— Choi Woo-shik with Okja, Train to Busan & Parasite, Kim Da-mi with The Witch & Itaewon Class — have come together to bring this script to life.
The parallels: If there's one thing I love as a literature person, it's this. Perhaps it's a little cliche, but the big moments in this series so far have been prefaced by important parallels to highlight their importance in their budding reunion. It's amazing to see how the director withholds certain cuts from scenes to insert in later & make the most impact, whilst you belatedly realise the poetic resemblance, have a 'aha' moment and watch on even more enraptured. My favourite nugget of information I realised recently is how each episode is named after a classic movie: sometimes tongue-in-cheek or in jest, but other times leading to a more profound reading of the episode.
The cinematography: As the actors have previously discussed in their press conference, the four seasons are exhibited wonderfully in this show. This becomes apparent as you go deeper into the drama — the scenic shots, the picturesque views, the camera's interaction with both the city and countryside is nothing short of magical. The way that the seasons frame the FL & ML's relationship brings a welcomed level of depth into their story.
All in all, if you love romantic dramas, watch Our Beloved Summer. It's perhaps the best romantic drama I've watched ever. Even as a seasoned 'veteran' with 100 dramas or so under my belt. Even with just 8 episodes out. I guarantee you won't regret it.
PS. May be a little biased because I love this drama too much, but I haven't heard a bad word said about it from any other of my kdrama-loving friends.
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