Twenty-Five Twenty-One

A Drama That Forgets Who Their Characters Are

I had really high hopes for this drama starting off with the tone it set very early on. It truly captured the feeling of the late 90s in Korea right from the start while doing an excellent job in tying it all together with real world events specifically the IMF Crisis. Despite the story basically spoiling the ending with the present day being the first thing that was introduced. The way the drama used the journal of Hee Do being read by her daughter in the present day as the way the plot is moved along. The story itself is the average coming of age story and first love with that unique 90s touch to it. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the dynamics of the entire cast which fit perfectly together. The friendships, the rivalry, and the way they were able to grow together was excellent, up until a specific point.

This drama fell into a complete rut towards the end the series around Episode 12 when the characters who have had set personalities and motivations became completely different, almost as if the writer forgot who they were or realized that they wanted a different ending so they made the switch. The most notable change in character was the male lead, Yi Jin. He became unnecessarily depressive, nihilistic, and self destructive making brash choices which made zero sense considering past episodes and how he felt. There were two motives for the male lead, to reunite his family and his love for Hee Do, the later was completely forgotten about, even flat out abandoned with his move to New York. Every single choice the he made was completely self destructive which drove a wedge between him and Hee Do. Hee Do's character wasn't damaged as badly as Yi Jin was but the change for her was a complete let off, her main personality was that she was up front and unafraid to say what she wanted and be who she wanted. But around that same time Yi Jin changed, she became timid and afraid to speak her mind.

It's like the drama corned itself into forcing the break up of the two leads with the present day being the first thing that was set in stone and had to force in reasons for the two to break up. Even during the break up it was clear that both leads loved each other still and yet still continued with the break up. Even more salt in the wounds, it is implied that Hee Do herself in 2009 and Hee Do in 2022 did not seem at all happy with her marriage to the unmentioned husband, even mentioning that the husband is away as well which caused her to break up with Yi Jin. All of this took the drama from a solid 9/10 for me all the way down to a 7/10.

Outside of Episodes 12-16, the cast did a fantastic job with their roles with Kim Tae-Ri doing a wonderful job as the female lead. I had never seen anything before with her, but her portrayal of Hee Do made me an instant fan of hers. This was my third drama I have watched with Nam Joo-hyuk being the male lead and outside of the writing done to his character toward the end, this definitely was the best acting he has done so far. I'm a huge WJSN fan so I may be biased when it comes to saying this but Bona was perfect with her portrayal of Yu Rim, the ability of her to switch from the cold rival of Hee Do to her best friend was great. The rest of the cast contributed greatly to the story allowing for great side stories which gave a great look into more unique issues that different teens face growing up.

The OST was perfect with the entire album being so enjoyable. Especially the opening themes and closing credits. Plus whoever did the design of the opening and closing credits deserves a raise. They are the greatest I have ever seen from any drama. The cinematography was extremely high quality and well done.

Overall, the drama felt disappointing on the finish and left me feeling rather empty. It's one of those dramas where I would warn before watching to somebody.

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A masterpiece!!

The beauty of 2521 lies in the innocent yet realistic portrayal of first love with a backdrop of 90s nostalgia. The story captured my heart by portraying love and friendship in such a beautiful way, with a life lesson that not everyone’s first love comes true.

The main lead couple didn’t took bullet for each other or sacrificed their dreams to be together. Their act of love lies in the smallest things like comforting and supporting each other and thats what love is about, motivating each other to grow!! This is the most beautiful thing about their story. The simplicity of it. Their problems were relatable and reminds us of our first love. Like who didn’t once had a crush on someone older then them.I am glad that there was no love triangle. The story was complete in itself and didn’t need a love triangle plot.the 2nd lead couple was also cute and relatable. All characters and their problems were relatable.

Although it bothered me the way our main couple broke up. It kinda felt rushed. and I was hoping for them to meet in the future. Anyhow in a way it taught us about letting go. I am sure many people can relate to it too. It’s not the lovey dovey endings for me but the story that matters.
I am soo glad i stumbled upon this gem of a show. It took me back in time. First love is truly something and
soo is letting it go.

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Breath of fresh air from the typical kdrama cliches.

I am relieved that the story was not like typical k-dramas. There was no love triangle, no memory loss and no past connection etc .It was refreshing to watch a coming of age show and 2521 exceeded my expectations.

The main leads had amazing chemistry. I watched 2521 for Kim tae-ri but Nam jo hyuk as Baek ijin stole the show for me. His journey for me was more relatable and challenging. Na-hee-do’s journey was inspiring too but Baek ijin’s journey was full of ups and downs. I am not sure if anyone noticed but ijin is not your typical ML who can’t function without the FL, he is realistic, keeping his love separate from his dreams, he has his own journey. He is not a ML filled with cliches but a vulnerable ML just like a normal person.

I felt every emotion while watching the show.. I cried when Ijin was reading hee do’s diary, when he hugged her in his dream and felt the longing when ijin replayed hee do’s voice message on phone booth multiple times because it comforted him . The break up scene while they hugged each other for the last time was painfull. The friendship between Hee do, yurim, ji ung and seung wan was full of fun moments.
Although I got to admit that i liked 18 year old Na-hee do more than 21 year old hee do. But i loved both 22 year old and 25 year old ijin.

I wanted to see them meet again in the future and I thought they might run into each other again but they didn’t sadly.I wanted to see if Baek ijin was happy. If he had a family like hee do. That part was left to our imagination.

Ps I also do not care who was na hee do’s husband. His identity was not important here bcz his character was never showed in the show and it was not about him. It was about hee do’s first love.

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A good drama after so long :')

I've been watching kdramas for like 13 years and definitely this drama remains as an all time fav and in the top of my list !! All the episodes were engaging and i was fully invested in this drama. The music, acting ,cast was just perfect✨.However, i have mixed feelings about the ending :( i was ready for the breakup and i thought they were actually trying to prepare us for that through episode 15. However, i have so many unanswered question , and feel like the ending could have been executed better:( The ending kinda felt rushed :/. I can understand that them showing the father would not change anything but at least we needed some proper closure :/// Nonetheless, the ending will never change the fact that this was such an amazing drama ☺ This drama owns my whole heart :') I don't think i'll be ever able to move-on :'(❤

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The drama itself tells you how it will end, but we chose not to believe it.

I watched 25 21 knowing that I was in for a bumpy ride because from the very beginning you are given information that shows you that the main characters do not end up together. I don't even know if that is really a spoiler because the show tells you from the beginning that the main character got knocked up by someone else and her kid has no idea who her old boyfriend is. But I and probably a lot of people out there held out hope that we would be proven wrong - that there would be some light at the end of the tunnel.

But there was no light. Instead, we just got an older Heedo alone, saying goodbye to a memory that she had nearly forgotten.

The journey to the heartbreaking end was great. And perhaps because it was so great, the end hit harder. This is one of the shows that gives you a "realistic" ending - no fairy tale, even though everything seemed to work out for everyone but the main couple.

I thought I was fine and that I had accepted the ending for what it was, because I knew a break up was coming from the beginning. It seemed the point of this show was just to remind you how nothing in life lasts and to cherish the moments. However, I woke up in the middle of the night at 4 AM thinking about how this show ended and I actually could feel this deep sadness.

So to someone who hasn't seen this before, I only recommend watching this if you want to feel sad. You will get a high only to have it go crashing down and it doesn't come back.

That being said, I really love the OST.

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My Heart Broke

At the beginning I started to follow the young girl as she reads the diary of her mother. I started to enjoy the story as it went a long. The 2 young leading ladies, I love they were young but smart and competitive. One is doing it for her family and one is doing it for herself. As the male leads get added to these girls life the story becomes more complex and interesting. The actors performance was great and you really could feel the story as the young girl reads from her mother diary in every episode. But then the end happens. You are left hanging (what happen in the present time !, their future !, now !) If they were going to tells us the story of these characters when they where young why not keep the whole thing as they were young in the past until they got to 25/21. Why did they keep bringing us to the present time. They only showed us a 2 characters of how they are now and talk about some of the characters but gave us no glimpse of what happen to them now and then nothing. We are kept with just the memory of the past but not the present. We only know about the FL and her mother but not everyone else. I kept wanting to know did the present FL and ML ever meet again as they are older. What happen with the other FL, did she get married. My heart broke. DISAPPOINTMENT.

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Love and ambition

Twenty Five Twenty One was a beautiful series. It was the story of how two persons shared a first love that empowered them to overcome their challenging and difficult situations in their life. This first love ended. But instead of ignoring their feelings or being bitter, they remembered the special times and how their love supported them both and allowed them to grow as individuals.
It is sad that they could not have ended up together, but they both had strong drives for success and goals to achieve that required them to continue along their separate paths. It was very inspiring and heartwarming to see when Ye Jin interviewed Hee Doo in episode 15 that they could acknowledge their feelings to one another; maybe it was not still love, but it could have been acknowledgement, respect and gratitude. They were both very successful in their fields and knew that could have only happened because they gave up each other. Hee Doo could not have been happy with Ye Jin, if he was a foreign correspondent or the news anchor because he did not have the time that she would have needed from a spouse. Ye Jin would have been very unhappy, constantly disappointing Hee Doo. Their understanding of the need to separate from each other whilst still in love was a very mature decision.
I will remember this series and its message for a long time. The writers were fantastic with the pacing of the episodes and actors did an amazing job in portraying the emotions at each stage.

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The cast definitely carried the show

Okay, before I say anything, I just have to say how I've fallen in love with Kim tae ri, she honestly is so beautiful, she portrayed her character sooooo welllllll
And Nam Joo hyuk, my babyyy has improved so much.
The main leads pairing was the best I've seen this year.
The story was great, the writers did a good job... but it almost felt like they gave an angry five year old to write the ending for them.
I get that things don't always work out or whatever, but the ending was poorly executed (facts).
It just felt sloppy and rushed. The writers wanted our main leads to break up at all costs, that's why they introduced that messy New York story with only a few episodes left in the drama.

I really did enjoy the drama but the ending was WRONG😂

I would definitely recommend this drama a hundred times, the ending wasn't enough to spoil the drama for me, it was THAT good.
The cast, the ost, the scenery, everything was just really magical, I just wish it had a better ending

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You need to laugh in order to forget, and you need to forget in order to live

When I started watching this drama it was with a lot of trepidation as it had been going on for a while and there are a lot of conflicting opinions, I went along anyway. I love everything about this drama, at first it was like watching a cartoon with a really stupid but endearing main character then other characters were added to the story and the result is just beautiful. I loved every episode, all the main characters all, their interactions, the story is so far one of the most beautiful of all the Korean drama I've ever watched, to this story is added a wonderful acting. twenty-five twenty one, through its characters has taught me this:
-Na Hee Do: always believe in yourself even when no one else does, give your all to everything you do especially when you are doing something you love, what others think of you should never affect what you think of yourself.
-Baek Yi Jin: when life gets difficult at times taking a step back is sometimes the best thing to do, not achieving your dream does not make you less than others and living your dream does not make you superior to others.
-Ji seung wan: if we can't change the world, let's not let the world change us either.
-Moon Ji Woon: not trying and waiting for good results is by far the most embarrassing thing to do.
-Ko Yu Rim: when you know what you want in life and where you want to go, even if you get lost and confused on the way, you will always arrive at the right destination.
Some people complain about the ending, but I think it's a good conclusion. Rather than forcing a reconciliation, they preferred to let the characters experience other things that are much better for them. Sometimes the greatest act of love is letting the other go. If it breaks your heart so much that the main couple doesn't end up together, the second couple will make you feel better, they are so cute.
All in all, I recommend this series because it is funny (very), touching, motivating, sad but not melodramatic and inspiring. It's worth being seen and enjoyed by as many people as possible.

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The emotions I got to know through you

Twenty-Five Twenty-One did all the right things, could have easily been the best show of the year, but unfortunately was not.

The drama is set during the times of economic crisis that hit all parts of asia, where teens and pre adults try to navigate their way through life.

It had great storytelling, hooked us right away with the usage of present reminiscing the past. Also creates a healing and light atmosphere that anyone wouldn't pass on while keeping in mind tragedies ahead of our characters.

Cinematography was everything hereee, caputres 90s korea in such a unique way. The rainbow scene with Hee Do and Yi Jin, just pure eye candy. Music was also a strong point of the show, having 2 different intros was great and wasn't done just for nothing, it creates a good atmosphere in what to expect frip the episode.

A memorable scene of mine is Hee Do trying to solve the math problem in the academy. It was not only relatable(why do academy's do this?) it also the start of the developing relationship of the leads.

I also like the character development in this show, not only was good but also felt natural, admitting past mistakes and insecurities made is believable that characters actually do want to change for the better.

Something this show loves doing is, symbolism and foreshadowing with almost everything. The most prominent ones, which led to our conflicts at the end was Heedo's mother and coach relationship was a reflection of Heedo and YijIn relationship.

It also gives us a lesson to ponder about, how we control and are responsible for everything that happens in our life. Life is the combination of good and bad, in order to reach good, we must be able to tolerate the bad.

Along with that are issues in our society, how people easily believe false rumors and turn your back at any momoent. also how your differently treated based on your wealth and prestige.

Another strong point was scriptwriting and acting, with the combination of both, we are treated with amazingly amazing dialogues that hit the heart.


Pacing was also good until the Ep13-14 where everything goes downhill. gone are the squad moments, fencinng practices, etc and we shift to a depressing repetitive series of episodes. The shift from bright and funny Heedo, to a mature serious one was hard and demotivating in a way, especially as a teen.

Ending also further emphasis on my 1st problem, and if you're reading this then you know exactly what I mean, no miracle for our main couple and the writers insisting on being realistic, smh.

It was as great as the hype it received but prepare for a hugee heartbreak. Overall a great refreshing and light show, highly recommended!

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