Go into it with certain expectations
I'm coming out of this drama conflicted over how I feel about it. From a slice-of-life perspective, it's fantastic. The characters are all very well thought-out, from their backgrounds and histories to their personalities and how they react to the world around them. I think Woong himself is the best example of this, introduced as the kid in school with the worst grades whose only ambition is to live comfortably. Over the course of the drama, we get a lot of depth into how he really felt during that point in his life as well as how he feels in the current day, and there are a lot of layers to his character that you wouldn't expect if you were only to see the first few episodes. Yeon Soo also has these characteristics, though her side of things didn't pull at me the same way Woong's did.The story has a bright cast of side characters, too, who make the world feel very lively and lived-in, and they wholeheartedly make the drama better. Except... the unfortunate reality is that they're underutilized. Early on they feel like they might be important, but as the episodes go on they lose their significance. I can't really say that any of their stories are left unfinished, but none of them were particularly satisfying. Ji Woong is the best example. Early on, we're shown just how close he is to Woong, we see them growing up together and later on we see them leaning on one another. But further into the show, that starts to fade. As they pull more and more focus on the main couple, they leave him behind to deal with this small, out-of-nowhere plot with his mother. His mother is important to his character to a degree, sure, but that's all that his story amounts to in the end and that was really disappointing to see. Certain aspects (spoilers - if you watch it, you'll know) felt like they were just thrown in to find a way to end his conflict, and his romance with his coworker, which was hinted at and hinted at, was resolved very briefly out of nowhere. All of the couples but the main one were like that. We could have gotten so much more out of these characters than what we did.
That doesn't mean I hated the show. I liked it, I just didn't love it. The show shone its brightest during the original flashback scenes. All of the high school content and the original documentary was a lot of fun. Woong and Yeon Soo were lively and funny and charming, and it really felt like something special. I honestly wish the rest of the drama could have kept that feeling going, because it just became a bit generic once their adulthood started. And for a drama whose premise centred around a follow-up documentary to the one they starred in during their high school years, it didn't seem to matter all too much to the plot.
Our Beloved Summer does have some really heart-wrenching moments. The characters are very human and sympathetic, and it plays its strengths well. But it's not perfect, and it could have done better. A good example of its shortcomings is the plagiarism incident that happens early on in the drama. Another artist goes on television and implies that Woong has plagiarised him, but when comparing both artworks it doesn't really become apparent how the work was allegedly plagiarised, other than (I think - don't remember too clearly) them being drawings of the same (or similar if I'm remembering incorrectly) building. The thing about buildings is that if they're drawn at the same viewing angle, those drawings will look pretty similar. It's a bold claim and one that's taken very seriously in the art world, but I couldn't see the plagiarism myself because of that and thought, well, maybe they'll point out how it was plagiarised. But they didn't. They introduced the conflict and used it to push their plot along and show different facets of their characters, but they didn't care about the plagiarism itself. Naturally, Woong did not plagiarise. If anything, I believe that the other artist plagiarised Woong, but what bothered me was that there didn't seem to be a reason for this claim to be believed. Woong didn't address it and it faded from the story. Like a lot of other subplots. It came in, caused some trouble, and then vanished without any real resolution.
So, watch Our Beloved Summer. It's cute, and they care a lot about their characters. Well, about the main 2. Like cute couple scenes? Watch it. Like slice-of-life? Watch it. Don't like things feeling half-finished? Well, then maybe this one isn't for you.
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This review may contain spoilers
The Good:⌲ The documentary concept
⌲ The sequencing of the major plot points (first half is more melo, the second half more romcom)
⌲ The docu flashback scenes are the best.
⌲ The romance, mostly (It's way more magical in Hogu's Love)
⌲ The chemistry between the two leads
⌲ The brilliant acting (If ML did variety, he could dethrone YJS in a few weeks & the FL is also incredible)
⌲ FL's cute chubby face
⌲ The bickering
⌲ The weak love triangles
⌲ The last 5 minutes of the drama (Had they spent 1-2 episodes on that 3rd documentary, I would have given the drama a 10/10 rating for sure, flaws be damned.)
⌲ The mild melancholia
⌲ The visuals
⌲ Despite all the stupid foreshadowing the leads stay together after they start dating again.
⌲ The rewatch value should be excellent with some FW buttoning.
⌲ The low key good OST
The Neutral:
⌲ NJ (I'm suspecting the actress was portraying Sulli & that made me quite sad)
⌲ Let's be friends! (Horrible plot device, but the ensuing romcom moments were good)
⌲ There were some well acted, but underutilized supporting characters.
The Bad:
⌲ The writing is not coherent, this is especially obvious if binge watching. (yay live filming)
⌲ The reasons for the initial breakup (I would have accepted "pride", but they just had to put a noble reason spin on it)
⌲ The second ML's character feels misplaced & pointless. (Could have FW buttoned all his scenes for more enjoyment)
⌲ The last 3-4 episodes were sullied by the entire "French Architect School" plot. (Woong of all people is such a genius that he has become an architect/engineer in 2-3 years and then he went back to Korea to continue drawing for galleries and whatnot)
⌲ The story drags in the middle. (The writer pulled the breaks on romantic progress in jarring ways, because 16 episodes..)
⌲ The final episode is weak, sans the last 5 minutes. (It's not ruining anything, it's just whelming)
⌲ The audio quality is trash, don't bother with those planar headphones! (were all microphones bought at the 1$ store, then again even some of the songs sound horrifyingly low-fi, while some others are excellent)
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I strongly recommend watching https://youtu.be/yxGomiIUN8s AFTER you are done with the drama. (it's only 2 minutes long)
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OverHyped
Had gr8 potential but iam disappointed and also the female lead is annoying and often selfish. She loves then leaves the male lead with no explanations. This is not love. Leaving someone to pick up the pieces after your breakup is immature and doesnt let the other person get closure. If the roles were reversed, we would be calling the person toxic. Unfortunately, women seem to get away with a lot more selfishness in dramas. Netflix has great production, music, locations but somehow loses out on empathatic characters. The women are portrayed as get-up-and-leave kinds in the name of female emancipation and freedom. I just dont get it. Had Dropped the drama after 12, felt its draggy . Drama could have finished in 10 or 12epi .She seems to be stuck, acting out like a high schooler.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
TOXIC AT ITS MOST
Many people are going to disagree with me but this show is SO overrated just because the casts are famous people. If this show were to casts unknown actors and actresses it wont go far.First of, i hated the FL. Her character and personality in thr drama was too much for me. But then again, this is only my personal opinion. I read the review and ALMOST ALL the reviews said this was a good drama but when i watched it, i felt like i was watching a totally different drama. The FL annoyed me in every single episodes and their relationship, was HIGHKEY toxic. She was too dominant was him and he, was weak.
They kept breaking up OVER SMALL THINGS and then make up. If that aint red flag i don’t know what is. Overall, i did not enjoy this drama. Don’t get me wrong, i love both actors but i just did not see what the hybe is about.
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Anyway, I gave the series a chance and I don't regret it, it's really nice and I think it's great for fighting boredom
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Just Beautiful
Our Beloved Summer was one of the first K-Dramas I ever watched, I didn’t know anything about the actors or story at the time, so I didn’t have any set expectations when I started. And it remains one of my favorite comfort K-Dramas, even with the twenty I’ve watched since.Opinions about this show seem to be quite polarized, and I’m glad I watched it before reading all the negative reviews that might’ve scared me off. People love it or hate it, and I’m certainly one of the former.
The story spans over quite a bit of time and I thoroughly enjoyed both the flashback sections of the show and what's happening in modern day. The structure allowed for some beautiful parallel scenes too.
While I love this show, I do understand why some people don’t, it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. The story and relationship progression are both slow, so if you hate slow dramas, you’re most likely not going to like this one. But even with the slow progression, I was never bored.
Our main couple, Choi Ung (played by Choi Woo-Shik) and Kook Yeon-Soo (played by Kim Da-mi) were both perfectly cast. They made both hilarious rivals in the beginning and an awkwardly sweet couple later on. I thoroughly enjoyed all of their different dynamics.
I’ve seen several people bashing Yeon-Soo as a character, and while I will say initially, I didn’t find her very likeable, as the story progressed and her character developed, she won me over. I did like Ung from the beginning though, but as fellow sleep deprived artist I may be a little biased.
Honestly, I’m not usually a fan of second chance romances but this one got me. Through swapping between the current day and flashbacks of when the characters were previously together, it becomes quite clear why they didn’t initially work. But unlike many second chance romances, this one is able to take the reasons they didn’t work then and through a ton of character development, show why they do now. And they do work beautifully.
While much of the character development is shown through the lenes of a relationship, much of it is deeply individual. Ung and Yeon-Soo go from somewhat miserable individuals, both wallowing in their struggles, to two people who are able to make the best of their lives. And it was done beautifully.
Besides our main couple, there is a side romance with their friends, I found this to be the least interesting part of the show, ultimately though, it didn’t dampen my overall enjoyment.
I don’t fully know how to describe the overall tone, but mellow might be a good word.
Everything that I liked about the show was amplified by the OST. There isn’t a single miss in the soundtrack. The music helped set the mood phenomenally, and I’ve listened to it so many times that four of my top five most listened to songs in 2023 were from this soundtrack. It’s without a doubt my favorite K-Drama OST ever.
There’s so much more I could talk about in this review that I loved, from all the side characters to the family dynamics and beautiful cinematography, but this review is already long enough. So, I’ll leave it here.
Our Beloved Summer is a beautifully thought-provoking show, that made me laugh, cry, and reevaluate my life. Go give it a shot.
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My beloved drama couple<3
The main characters have very clear characterization and motivations, making them feel more human and thus made me feel more invested in their relationship and their well-being. I loved how they worked as each others'foils and how crazy fun the flashbacks of their relationship were. ( I rewatch these scenes twice a month💀). The second lead was likeable enough but wasn't as compelling to have that much screen time, same goes for nj.The two best friends were adorable, I liked them as much as the main leads!!
The only thing I'd change in the drama( which I think would fix every problem) is the length of it. Had it been 4 episodes shorter, the story would have played out faster, cutting filler/dragged out/ repetitive scenes .
Overall a great feelgood romcom with really well written characters and lots of entertaining moments! It will always have a special place in my heart
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Lovely production. Unbinge-able plot wise
I'm conflicted with how to rate this one.I loved the directing. The soft, warm color schemes. Even the wardrobe consisted mainly of white and tan clothes. And the OST was just so lovely, calming and chill (quite a few of the songs ended up getting a little heart by me on Spotify).
But at the same time, this drama could get so dull at times. This was in no way, shape or form a drama that should be binged. It just doesn't work like that. It's best enjoyed by watching one or two episodes at a time. Otherwise, the softness that was so compelling in small amounts turns into unappealing, unexciting blandness.
It was mentioned a few times by one of the characters that what makes their documentaries good is how they capture moments of everyday life that are so ordinary they would otherwise go unnoticed, and that's pretty much this drama in a nutshell. How even daily life is full of special moments we are only made aware of in retrospect. But you can only witness so much of a person's uneventful, daily life before you get bored.
So, yeah, pace yourself, spread the episodes out in between maybe something more high energy, dramatic and tense, and I'm sure you'll end up enjoying this one all the more for it.
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This is such a feel good drama
I don't know why, but this is my all time feel good drama, that I want to watch when I'm sick,sad,tired or in need of something to lighten me up! I love this, I love story and the flow of it and all the characters in it ❤ no annoying parents, who always stick their nose into their childrens business, no unecasserary love triangle (there's a slight one, but it doesn't bother you most of the time ) Iwatch it , when ever there's nothing else to stream and I never get bored of it! So much love for all the actors and the story, they're telling!Was this review helpful to you?
My Thoughts about this drama
The thing what I love the most about this drama is whenever they were facing any hardships in life. It wasn't like a guy protecting the girl or the girl protecting a guy. Or the girl is the ultimate savior for everyone's problem. They solved their own life problems themselves and along the way made mistakes corrected them and grew from it. They didn't just get back together because of a kiss that happened Because of overwhelming thoughts they took time with each other and most importantly themselves.After watching all of the available episodes till Ep10, I realized that we all have a yeonsoo and ung side in us... Sometimes we find it so hard to open up, specially if it's something about ourselves or what we are feeling. And then sometimes we also have this childish side of us where we enjoy small things, enjoy doing nothing, and enjoy just being us.This drama is full of life lessons and realizations which makes it magical and easier to relate
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Chemistry between leads and coming-of-age theme supported by mellow cinematography and soundtrack
The chemistry between the leads is the highlight of this show, which the plot helps develop by showing them at different points in their relationship at different ages. I loved how they developed the ML. The FL was developed too, but it seemed more like just breaking down her walls, whereas the ML found himself over time. The coming-of-age theme was supported well by the mellow cinematography and soundtrack.Was this review helpful to you?
green flag
tbh... i've watched this drama many times but somehow i don't get bored while watching it, i'm sure buddy. i really like the acting of both of them, the main character Choi Wooshik (Choi Ung) and the main actress Kim Dami (Kook Yeon Soo). they are both very cool in acting, i won't lie about that, this drama is very inspiring for couples who have fallen out of love but both of them still have great love, i as a man really want traits and personality like the main character Choi Ung, he is like an angel for her beloved partner, i also study what he does, what Choi Ung does in this drama, and yea... as you know, the character Choi Ung in this drama is highly coveted by many women out there, they call it the word "green flag" LMAO.Was this review helpful to you?
