Summer Strike

It's alright, but not a fave

I just finished Summer Strike and I'm not sure how to feel.
I feel like just when I was starting to really like and get to know many characters the series is already over. I'm left wishing I could see more, especially with some of the side characters.


When I first discovered this drama it was via a tik tok video and I was interested after hearing a summary of the first episode.
I found the story engaging and pleasant up until when the grandmother died, that's when it went to a not so peaceful vibe.
I haven't read the webtoon so I didn't have expectations/ an idea that it would turn into a murder and mystery case, but the shift felt sudden. I know there were some hints with the graffiti and such, but I was mainly here for the happy vibes :P

The acting was done great by everyone, I especially liked the male lead, Dae-Beom. He felt very refreshing and it was nice to see a fellow introvert. The female lead, Yeo-Reum was nice too, though she was frustrating during the first few episodes.

It took 3-4 episodes for me to like the other side characters and they really became my faves, Bom's brother especially.


All in all I think it was an okay series, nothing to right home about tbh. I enjoyed it while it was airing, catching episodes every Tuesday, but I wish they didn't end it at 12 episodes. It felt like it needed more time, the little time skip didn't feel as satisfying as it should be.
I don't see myself going in for a rewatch, I think experiencing it this time is good enough ^_^

I wouldn't say it's a waste of time, it's alright, just not a fave.


Bonus points for having a westie lol

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Happy that this drama existed, frustrated with the same plot though

My review has story spoilers so if you are planning to watch this spoiler free then maybe skip my review for now and get back after completing it. It is more of a rant on my end to express how I felt. I would recommend watching it from ep 1-9 only. Rest is just avoidable.

The drama had two segments to it. One segment from Ep 1-9 which was about healing and slice of life elements, then second Ep 10-12 which felt like written by a high school kid. Thankfully its short and manageable.

Imagine a story with all possible k-drama cliches you know and put into one, the result will be summer strike. To quote the cliches:

> A Seoul working class person, tired and bullied by manager. BASICALLY EACH AND EVERY CORPORATE WORKER IN A K-DRAMA
> Let all the parents of the main characters be either irresponsible or dead. HOW WILL THEY ADD TRAUMA TO THE CHARACTERS OTHERWISE RIGHT?
> The dreaded friend of one of the leads who had a gazillion years to confess their feelings yet become bitchy and whiny when main leads fell for each other..... because they expected the lead to magically know their feelings. THIS ONE IS PLAIN LAME.
> Kids bullying each other and the so called good kid gets jailed and cursed. [I am referring to Dae Ho and Bom's scenes of bullying. The teacher/aunt despite of knowing the kids were bullying Bom blamed her for existing. Oh and the aunt's English bf random scene.] DESPERATE MOVE TO CREATE UNFAIR SITUTAION IN A DRAMA 101.
> If there is a kind, amiable and happy halmonie [grandmother] in a show, kill her. Why you may think? Just because an old person dying out of nowhere is sad and tear jerker.
> And here comes the best one- Think about one possible "good" reason for a breakup in k-drama. Answer- Going to US for further studies. Yes millions of people in the continent having breakups and apparently all the Korean production units have mutually decided to use this reason. STOP USING GOING ABROAD AS A BREAKUP PLOT DEVICE...CHEABAL!!! MY SCARS FROM 2521 IS STILL NOT HEALED OKAY.
> With Im Si Wan as the actor, it sometimes became Run On Season 2. I mean most of his scenes in the first half were of running around randomly lol JUST WHY?

Even with its flaws, I enjoyed the scenes in the first segment and never felt bored. Both the actors did a commendable job. ISW was just so good, like there were two scenes when Yeo Reum dressed up and I could literally feel Dae Bom being attracted to her. Such micro expressions from him but so well done. And Kim Seol Hyun , her style was kept plain yet she was sooo beautiful. Even as a woman, I fell for her!

Also, I liked the MC characters. Both YR and DB had this self control to not lash back when people tend to misbehave around them. They had a powerful stance that no matter what happens they will not stoop like others and I actually admire that in them. It may seem they were weak but I think it was just the opposite, Their interactions and chemistry was soothing. I tend to fall for relationships where the two people are comfortable in silence. Too bad there was no romantic moments between them.

One scene from the drama which made home to me was when Jae Hoon was telling YR how him leaving would drift his and Bom's relationship apart and that he is scared. To which YR replies "let those who are drifting apart get drifted, who are hating you hates you. I will remember you as a good person and embrace you with a hug when we meet next" The line was so beautiful. We try so hard to control things which are beyond our control to maintain our "image". But those who are your true friends will wish good things for you and even you meet after them ages, they will happily embrace you with a hug and tell you how much they missed you. This was my fav moment from the drama.

To conclude, the first segment was good yet the last 3 episodes took an absurd turn. The mystery element was lame and was a forced plot device. DB finding out the actual killer only to realize he sent his dad to prison for no reason and losing his mom was totally dark and not addressed properly in the drama. Instead they spent time on one sided crush, breakups, random bullying scenes etc. which was a total waste of time and actors talent.

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Amazing healing small-town romance

This drama is perfect for you if you enjoyed watching Hometown Cha Cha Cha. A story about a girl who, after many misfortunes, decides to leave Seoul and start a new quieter life in a small town by the sea. This drama also features the residents of the small town and shows a bit of their points of view on living there. This is also perfect for the fans of a slow burn romance.

The drama focuses on the friendships the female lead makes on the countryside. The friends she makes come in all different ages and it's wonderful to see that there's no age barrier for friends. I think a lot of dramas have only friendships with characters of same age and that's why this drama is a good change to that. Overall it's one of the best dramas I've ever watched this far.

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Your classic case of a Romcom turned Murder Mystery

So I’m not even gonna lie, I found out about this drama through tiktok edits titled as the most wholesome drama of the season and saw some scenes that literally blew me away with how cute they were. So naturally I pick up the show and start watching.

The first episode is awesome, it’s amazing, it’s everything I wanted and expected. Our FL, weighed down by the harsh daily life of the city decides to move to the country side. Great! Everything is settled and arrangements are made and there she was at the beach of Angok basking in the sun. Watching that scene was the most liberating thing ever and you could literally feel your stress being washed away as she runs towards the water and dives in.

Episode 2 rolls around. Now we’re being introduced to the town and the dynamics of the people living there adding dimensions and depth to the story. We love to see it.

The FL meets the ML and instantly they are hooked on one another. Their feelings slowly develop and in each and every scene between them I could literally feel the butterflies.

And so I was hooked. It didn’t require much and I didn’t expect more. Things are slowly unfolding as they should.

As the FL is staying there, she decides she’ll starts journaling so we are baited with this plot point of her developing an interest in writing and all things are going as expected in this tranquil country side. You got your usual nosy kids, angry locals and small town secrets but nothing that can’t be conquered by the power of love and friendship.

Only problem is, as the story progresses, they decide that complicating the plot is the way to go. First of, they introduce the ML’s “dark past” which is alright. Nothing out of the ordinary. But only they decide that no, that’s not enough we need a convoluted murder case and an unnecessary plot twist and that’s where the show completely lost me.

Dae Bum, the ML, had enough of a “layered” backstory and a lot on his plate in the right-now to worry about. But they decided to bring up the past in the most ridiculous, unnecessarily complicated manner. There was no need for a second murder to happen for the first one to be “solved”. In fact, the first plot they went with was more than good enough. Why keep on adding on more and more plot points?

Especially when they dismissed and quickly went over his current present problems. Glossing over everything and quickly resolving it.

As for Yeo Reum who ran away from the toxic city life only to be chucked into this mysterious village of horrors. People complained about how much of a doormat she was but I thought to myself nothing wrong with a meek FL. Not everyone in life is a fighter. But nothing developed at all.

Everything they prepared us for regarding her character “arc” never unfolded. She did a magazine interview and that went nowhere I don’t even know why they bothered adding that in. In the end they teased how she’ll start writing a webtoon. Like, why couldn’t this just be the plot? Why did she have to be this detective Conan all of a sudden?

Her morals were questionable at times, and while I tried giving her the benefit of the doubt, her inconsistency at times confused me. E.g. yelling at Kim Bom for not wanting to be associated with her abusive alcoholic father and then getting annoyed at that mom for wanting to protect her DISABLED son who was falsely convicted for murder?! Make it make sense. All whilst completely forgetting about her brother who was unreasonably villainized and then completely erased from existence never to be mentioned again.

I tried to brush some things off as being part of the “culture” and nature of a small town village but I couldn’t at times. Especially when she, as the main lead, was supposed to represent the opposite of those traditional expectations.

Many of the plot points were left undiscovered. Kim Bom’s childhood friend, her father and his alcoholism (and apparently gambling addiction, too now). Speaking of Kim Bom, she had the most tragic and dramatic plot out of everyone in that show which was poorly executed.

Whenever the writer was at loss on how to mobilize the plot, boom! they threw a tragedy at Kim Bom and that’s how it went. And DON’T get me started on how simply Jae Hun just went and came back from The States. Ridiculous!

Sung Min being a single dad. Like, where’s the mom? In this gossipy small town no mention of her at all?
Ji Young absolutely hating the country side only to decide on a whim that, no! She actually doesn’t. Like, what?

The billiards club and how Sung Min’s dad became the owner. Dae Bum’s family position in Angok and just Dae Bum in general. How he grew up without his parents and what actually happened between him and that professor. He remained an enigma to the very last moment.

And the god damn pacing. How much time went by? Between the multiple time leaps and Yeo Reum packing her bags to leave every other day it was impossible to discern. At times it felt like days other times it felt like months.

And the romance! Where did it go? We never went past the awkward infatuation stage which was cute until the show approached its end and I grew frustrated. The most we got was some hand holding UGH! On the other hand, Kim Bom got a dramatic passionate kiss under the rain. Absolute clownery.

And the beach! You’d think now that she lives by it she’ll be there every other day but, no! I mean, I can’t blame her she was too busy solving crimes.

I was never set up for this amount of disappointment in my life. The last thing I expected was for this to turn into a murder mystery show. Other than the cute moments between the two leads, their chemistry and endearing conversations, everything else seemed to go wrong. It was a shame to see this go to waste especially with how exceptional everyone’s performance was.

I’m convinced something went wrong with either the budget, ratings or writers because to have this easy of a plot then f’ it up this bad made zero sense.

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Ahhh... this was nice. "Summer Strike" gave me the same vibes as "Hometown Cha Cha Cha" and "My Liberation Notes" at times, I really like these small-town stories set at the seaside, they are so calming.

I loved our two introverts, they were so calming and understanding of each other, and I love how we still got some funny scenes of them together, capturing some awkwardness! I also really enjoyed the music and most of the characters. The second female lead got on my last nerve from the very beginning, I did not like her. The way she was pushing Dae Beom into academics without even knowing the consequences, or judging Yeo Reum for calling him "Dae Beom-ssi" instead of Mr. Librarian was just super annoying. Just because she's been friends with him since forever, she thinks she can make decisions for him or judge his relationship with the female lead?? At times, she seemed more like his mom than a friend (in love). I also never warmed up to Geun Ho's mom, I found her terrible. "Countryside attitude" - these countryside people were bullying a young woman for no reason (or rather for something that was not her fault.... did they want her to be homeless??). Their so-called attitude was just bad behavior and rudeness, nothing else.

I liked the simplicity of the lead's day-to-day encounters, and how committed Dae Beom was to Yeo Reum: knowing when she comes to the library each day, coming for her when he hears that something happened, leaving Seoul to come back to Angok etc. Their relationship didn't need much but I feel their bond was so strong and I like to believe that at one point they got married and moved in together lmao. I also did not mind the turn of events in the last episodes, some people thought it was unnecessary but I think it was fine.

Overall, a really nice little show!

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Cute and comforting (other than the...you know)

I loved the vibes of this one a lot. It felt extremely comforting to follow a character that came to terms with not having a dream and just being comfortable with enjoying the day-to-day. The romance is subtle, but its still there — and it matches the characters really well.

The main hiccup in this drama is the — yep, you guessed it — the murder plot. It really came out of left field, with suspects that were barely hinted at before. Then it was resolved in less than an episode, and it felt like everyone just...moved on. I don't think we needed it at all, and there were much more down-to-earth subplots that we could've gone for.

Nevertheless, it was sort of a blip, so it didn't bother me so much. My other minor con would be that the drama seems to redo the "drunk" subplot far too often, but other than that, I still really enjoyed this one at the end of the day.

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Si Wan and Seol Hyun's chemistry make Summer Strike worth watching

Summer Strike is worth watching for Dae Beom and Yeo Reum and their relationship. Yim Si Wan and Seol Hyun have a very sweet and natural chemistry and are a joy to watch. More time should've been spent on their relationship. Their individual performances are excellent too.

The supporting characters and storylines aren’t particularly strong with some that are downright unpleasant to watch. Summer Strike has the obligatory murder plot most kdramas have these days which really drags down the drama. The drama was darker than I expected and I wouldn't call it a healing watch.

Honestly, I would recommend fast-forwarding or skipping scenes without the leads. They aren’t very interesting or likeable.

If you aren’t interested in watching two awkward introverts fall in love, Summer Strike is not for you.


https://dramatoast.com/summer-strike-kdrama/

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Sometimes you have to take a break to move forward...

Series "life lesson" more than romantic, but interpreted by great actors.

A young woman, dumped by her boyfriend, unhappy with her job, dumps everything after her mother's death and goes "on a long vacation" to a village. She will gradually make friends, find a lover (math genius with big trauma), solve a 20-years-old murder, ...

We quickly get attached to the characters, who are well developed, moving, full of humanity. The series deals with the themes of grief, alcoholism, harassment, disabilities, etc.

12 episodes are enough, well paced, with enjoyable OSTs. However, I would have appreciated more romance!!!!

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Série "leçon de vie" plus que romantique, mais interprétée par de super acteurs.

Une jeune femme, larguée par son boyfriend, pas heureuse dans son travail, largue tout après la mort de sa mère et part "en longues vacances" dans un village. Elle va peu à peu se faire des amis, trouver un amoureux (génie des maths avec gros trauma), résoudre un meurtre vieux de 20 ans, ...

On s'attache très vite aux personnages, qui sont bien développés, émouvants, plein d'humanité. La série aborde les thèmes du deuil, de l'alcoolisme, du harcèlement, du handicap, etc.

12 épisodes sont suffisants, bien rythmés, avec des OST agréables. J'aurai cependant apprécié que la romance ne soit pas qu'effleurée !!

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Refreshingly low-key

Kim Seol-hyun headlining a romance drama? Yes please! Such a rare sight.

They sure were trying their damn hardest to make her appear as average-looking as possible (unflattering makeup, messy hair, ill-fitting clothes), but as it became quite clear it just wasn't achievable, halfway through it's like they just went screw it and gave up lol. Then cue other characters going like "wow you're so pretty" well no shit, do you have eyes?

This is actually, and surprisingly, very well written with many complex characters and dynamics, although it is a bit contrived at times. I really enjoyed how mature it was in its themes. It's pretty much entirely devoid of cheese (but definitely not drama), so rest assured that you won't find any of the usual kdrama clichés here, so if you're looking for something different from usual kdrama this is one of them. Feels more like a slice of life drama, with a side serving of darker moments.

I think this series's strongest suit is the writing, especially character interactions, while its weakest would be tonal consistency.

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Heartwarming...

Simply a timeless drama which deals with so many beautiful emotions. It is so relatable and very realistic in many ways. Yeo reum our female main character tired of her daily boring day to day stressful workholic life, One day she decided to call it off and take a break from everything. She decided to move into a country side with her remaining savings and start a new journey of her life. the plot was my initial attraction for Starting this drama and also i love to watch the countryside. it was a very heartwarming and beautiful 12 episode journey.

when she moved to the countryside there she met so many people including our main lead the handsome Siwan as An Dae Bam. He was introverted and very shy to speak, his first appearance is also really cute. Maybe some of you can actually relate with him in many things. The drama slowly starts to progress in between characters and relationships and also slight romances.

characters are beautifully written, Screenplay never gets bored on any of the situations and the duration of each episode is short. We already saw so many similar kinds of dramas but Summer strike was totally different from any of the others. May the plot look super relatable and the overall experience was very beautiful and Also they concluded everything with the given limited time.

If you like to watch feel good heartwarming relationship dramas then, Don't miss this drama, it was totally worth it. Completely Satisfied...

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Started off as a promising healing drama, but

I really enjoyed the first couple of episodes and was excited about a light-hearted, small-town, healing drama. But with how the plot developed in the latter portion, it felt like we were being pulled in several directions and I just didn't know what to take from the story anymore. It really did not need the whole murder mystery premise; that seemed so pointless to me. Felt like such an unnecessary plot twist :/ Instead of using the episode time on that, they could've focused it more on Ji Young + Sung Min or the students/bullies.

If the grandma weRe to die in the plot, it could've been from an accident/natural causes and we could go through the grieving process with the characters to learn more about processing and healing, rather than pinning her death on a potential assailant and being detectives to figure out who killed her.

It could've focused more on the relationship between the two main characters; their cute interactions and their healing with each other. While we did get that in the beginning, it was completely lost towards the end until they decided to randomly bring back the wholesome vibes, which gave me whiplash.

I love Im Siwan and I thought Seolhyun's acting was pretty good here too. It sucks that the plot wasn't up to par, at least in my opinion.

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"Summer Strike" is a series that requires a bit of patience to fully appreciate as it unfolds. Initially, I thought it would be a casual watch, one I did not anticipate to finish right away. But it was incredibly endearing; the pacing and the performances felt just right, and I found myself binge-watching late into the night.

The story begins with the female lead, who is exhausted by city life and the monotonous grind of work. After her mother passes away, she tries to continue her routine, but one day she takes a different path than everyone else. Her comments of noticing how beautiful the opposite direction the train was going was the start that made me stay. I knew this drama was going to be up my alley. And it was! She moves to a small town in the countryside and settles into a worn-down building with a dark history. Despite being a stranger, her kindness allows her to slowly connect with the townspeople, leading to a beautiful storyline filled with friendships that last a lifetime.

What I Liked About This Series:

• Relatability: Unlike many dramas where the main character is wealthy and seeks an escape from city life, this one features a gentle soul simply tired of the relentless pace and societal expectations.

• Kindness and Gentle Atmosphere: The series has a slow, thoughtful build that makes the relationships feel meaningful. It’s hard to describe without spoiling it, but this pace really resonated with me.

• Side Characters: I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved the supporting cast, including the dog, Bom, the grandma, Jae Hoon, and Sung Min. Each character has their own story that beautifully complements the main narrative.

What I Didn’t Like About This Series:

This is a personal pet peeve of mine. While I recognize that many viewers might appreciate and find closure from this, I found the inclusion of murder and unresolved crime—foreshadowed early on—unnecessary for this type of story. It seems like many K-dramas incorporate crime or psychological twists these days, which isn't to my taste. However, it did provide a backdrop for exploring the main lead’s trauma, which added depth to his character.

If you’re looking for a drama that offers a casual slice of life with a heartfelt storyline about a gentle soul rebuilding her life in an unfamiliar place and making meaningful connections, I highly recommend "Summer Strike." It’s a series that might just bring a tear to your eye.

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