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One of the saddest kdrama
A drama about the truth of Gwangju uprising. It breaks my heart that this drama happened in real life. The way they treated the people back then.The story is well writen.
The lives of the two leads is hard. They did everything to be happy together.
Almost every episode makes me cry. Myung Hee experienced a brutal death. They didnt even bury her or tell her family about her. She doesnt deserve that.
Lee Do Hyun's character also breaks my heart. The fact that he doesnt know where to find his woman. He waited alone for 48 years without knowing what really happened.
This drama is one of my fav drama even though I cried a river about the ending.
Prepare a tissue before watching this drama.
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Close to being a masterpiece
The show had an interesting premise, the Gwangju uprising, which is so intriguing it'll require a few Google searches to fully understand what and why this was important. For that an A+ to the show great way to spread awareness. Acting by the cast, fantastic, even the child actors were great. Specially Lee Do Hyun, the guy can is just amazing...his love for Go Min Si's character was very evident, and heartwarming, traumatic events were beautifully shown by him as well as the funny and quipped scenes, just awesome. Go Min Si was good but not on par with Lee Do Hyun, the chemistry from her side lacked and often required the story to show an alternate perspective through which the audience was made to realise that she did love the ML(-0.5). Then there are the SML and SFL who are just if not to create problems are just there for the sake of being there. The show introduces us to the uprising via SFL who seems the most distant from the cause, you never learn her motivation for the protest and only cause more problems in the main characters life unknowingly and the SML would have been tolerable if stayed as the oblivious moron but he too out of jealousy ended up creating more problems like ffs they are more annoying than the Villain of the show.(-1)The show probably wanted to make people realise how innocent people who had nothing to do with the Uprising were caught in the crossfire but they shouldn't have then made it a core characteristic of the SFL, because by the end of the show that's how anyone will know her.
Had a lot of potential though, the show started a lot of good story points which were either never addressed or were just brought to the conclusion very easily, one such point was the FL and SFL with the past trauma they had.
Its a good experience anyway, tells the viewers about the brutality under the military that South Korea had to go through in 1980, the number of people who died meaningless deaths and how that even now they will not have to face justice because that's how the real world is.
sorry for the long rant. Thanks for reading. See you later😁✌️
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Unrealistic, with a love story carrot to keep you watching
Just when I think I’ve seen it all, something like this shows up. I’m not sure how I feel after watching this. It must have been a terrible time in Korean history. A brutal father that doesn’t respect his family. The ML and FL were making terrible decisions one after the other. A troublesome brother who tries to control other people’s lives but eventually learns a difficult lesson. Two younger brothers to assist in the unrealistic decision-making.I watched love blossom in the most difficult of gardens. It was poignant and moving to watch. Two souls were clinging to each other in desperation and never giving up even though destiny wasn’t on their side. I saw in sad detail what happens when you take the wrong road in life. He tried to hold her hand forever but failed.
That was my impression of this sad story. I wished I never watched it. If you want a story that will make you feel good, stay away from this one. There were other ways to end this without total destruction. They used the love story as a carrot to keep you watching. When a story pulls you into the lives of two people, I don’t want to see this ending. I get the point. The May events were sad, maybe even total chaos. A time to never be forgotten. But wouldn’t it have been nice to see two people survive through it all? Somebody wrote this show intending to leave a lasting impression of how bad the May events were. Your documentary of destruction succeeded, but it wasn’t well written.
After reading other people’s reviews, I wonder if they watch the same show. The storyline was weak, with dozens of holes in the logic and flow. The decisions made by adults and children alike were just stupid. Was it intended to be longer with a different ending? It just didn’t come together for me.
On the plus side, Go Min Si’s portrayal of Kim Myung Hee was brilliant. The other actors were also good. The on-screen chemistry was great between the two leads.
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A beautiful love story
It's definitely my favorite drama of 2021. Their love story is so beautiful, it reached deep into my heart. The actors portrayed their characters well to the point that it feels like I'm watching a real couple's life, instead of a K-Drama. Because of how good the actors' acting skills are, I can feel exactly what they're feeling when I watch the drama. When they're happy, I feel happy too. When they cry, I cry too. The OSTs are also very good and very poetic, if you look up the lyrics. I still have a hard time moving on from this drama even though it has been a few months since i finished it, I think a lot of Youth of May viewers also feel the same way as I do.Was this review helpful to you?
Another Frustrating Romeo and Juliet Story
My 4 categories are Acting/Cast, Writing, Direction/SFX/Music, Entertainment Value.Sorry, but I really hate Romeo and Juliet, so keep that in mind.
Acting/Cast: This is the first area that began nagging at me. I wasn't a fan of the female lead's acting. It felt stiff. Even the male lead's acting felt a bit stiff. Maybe it's a lack of chemistry between the leads. I was never able to fully get on board with their relationship. Really, they hardly know each other. I thought the side characters did good though. The strongest performance was probably from the 2nd female lead. The male lead's mom stands out to me too. 4.5/10
Writing: The drama started strong with an entertaining premise (although cliché). However, once the plot took a turn and became depressing and angsty, it quickly became frustrating and predictable as well. Yes, I get it's a tragedy, but the entire drama was just a bunch of characters continually making horrible decisions. If the plot requires a death of a major character, at least don't let the cause of their death be their own fault. It's not as much of a tear-jerking moment otherwise. I thought the second female lead ultimately had a more interesting story with a lot more potential (although she was pretty annoying in the first half), but unfortunately none of the plot points in her story were expounded. With her character, it was just dead end after dead end. She was even completely abandoned by the writers at the drama's conclusion in favor of the main storyline. Another issue I had with the writing was the plot line between the female lead and her father. It was predictable and unrealistic, which kept me from being able to connect with the female lead. Also, the male lead's father didn't make sense to me - a really abusive and seemingly psychotic, power hungry dude that sees his family members as objects, suddenly develops feelings and a sense of familial love. Throughout the entire drama they kept emphasizing how much he doesn't give a crap about them, so the sudden drastic change at the end left me trying to rationalize his behavior in my head. On a positive note, me favorite aspect of this drama was the storyline with the kids. I liked how their friendship developed as well as the character development of the male lead's little brother. Ugh...it's so frustrating because there were so many interesting facets that either weren't explored enough or weren't explored at all. 2/10
Direction/SFX/Music: This drama did have an old vibe to it, which seems completely intentional because it takes place in 1980. I don't like the style though. I loved Snowdrop, which takes place in 1987, and that drama feels like it has a much higher production value without feeling too modern. The OST is fine, but it's not my style either. 5/10
Entertainment Value: It was fairly entertaining. I had no desire to drop it, but I also put off finishing it and watched other dramas instead. I had a good idea of how it was going to play out, so I wasn't too bothered about finishing the drama quickly. I had a hard time connecting with the leads, but there were other characters that I was interested in. Too bad the writers weren't as interested in those other characters. In the first half of the drama, the leads were more compelling to watch, but in the second half everyone else became more compelling to watch. 4/10
Overall, I gave this drama a 4/10 mainly due to my hatred for Romeo and Juliet and how frustrating everything was. Oh gosh... the game of hot potato at the end with that damn watch was so annoying.
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It had potential but the direction and script failed
I had high expectations for this drama but they weren't met. I started watching because of Lee Dohyun but his acting was kinda average in this. I think the character didn't fit him. For me, Go Minsi's acting stole the show. I was so impressed by her. Overall, the story had a lot of potential but I think the drama was badly directed and the script was lacking. The drama deal with very serious situations and a lot of time I felt like it just couldn't live up to the seriousness of the situations; It felt superficial. I found it inconsistent, sometimes forcing comedy when it just didn't fit. It took a lot of me to finish it. Despite this, I was satisfied with the ending.Was this review helpful to you?
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terrible main characters ruined a potentially good drama
I have been following this show since the day it started and now that i finished it i can say that this was one of the worst experiences of my life. I actually liked the first half of the show the setup for the romance seemed very interesting but as the show went on it just seemed stupid. Let's talk about what started to go wrong. Around halfway through the story myunghee and hee tae's "conflict" didn't even feel like a conflict at all because it would get resolved so easily and they'd get back together and the same thing got repeated over and over again so i really don't see any point of the conflict and not like the conflict was different it was the same thing just done too many times. Next, let's talk about how hee tae and myunghee are the most terrible and selfish people i have come across. When the gwangju uprising started they were busy trying to run away from that hospital even though they could clearly see how terrible the state of the country was and hee tae being a doctor and myunghee being a nurse just couldn't care less about any of that. Like that seemed very odd to me aren't main characters should be more empathetic than that? They didn't have any sense of humanity or responsibility in those trying times at all and it was actually very upsetting because these characters were shown as good, conscientious people from the beginning? Now let's talk about how myunghee was terrible to her dad and never even tried to understand his part of the story she just needed someone to blame for her dumb mistakes so she just took it out on his dad and i would have understood if his dad was a terrible person like herself but he seemed like someone who was trying to make it right. Then, let's talk about how myunghee didn't even care about her family all she cared about was her god forsaken romance with hee tae. When hee tae was kidnapped she literally kept acting like a brat and hence his dad and brother had to face the military which lead to his death but this whole time she literally didn't seem worried about them and didn't even cared that they got into all this because of her bratty behaviour but she was busy planning her marriage with hee tae. And all of this would have been understandable if they had some deeper romance going on they literally met each other 2 weeks ago and suddenly they want to risk it all for each other sorry but i am not buying that? Moreover, we kept seeing the side characters risking themselves so hee tae and myunghee can have a good life together which imo they don't deserve but myunghee and heetae didn't even care about anyone else but them. And they kept justifying that with bullshit reasoning that how being selfish is okay because they love each other? I wouldn't have any objection with them being selfish if these characters were originally like this and if the other supporting characters didn't act like they are they second coming of jesus but i think the show intented hee tae and myunghee to come across as good people which i really didn't see. Also the show couldn't wrap up anything well we don't know what happened to the side characters and a lot of things with that. Moreover, it is shown as hee tae is madly in love with her but he couldn't even bother to find myunghee's dead body and pay her respect? So yeah idek what to say anymore but that's what i think don't watch this terrible show.Was this review helpful to you?
This reminds me of Titanic but with a weaker storyline
Youth of May is a 12-ep melodrama that follows a romance between a nurse and a son of a dictator. They fell in love during the Gwangju Uprising conflict, and because of their parent's background, their relationship gets complicated. This show has 12 episodes.What got me interested in Youth of May is the characters and their effort to overcome the conflict. Youth of May is absolutely what I would call a plot-driven show. There’s basically no breathing room to really feel comfortable, nor to get invested in a few of the relationships that were formed within the show.
The problem that stands out to me is the romance, yes even though I appreciate the actor's performance and their setup for this romance at first, the pair actually get together, and there's great tension, but no chemistry. As soon as they do get together, their relationship milestones and choices all seem mindless. I don't get why they act a certain way. Their story progression feels slow to me and I don't personally feel as connected with them.
The midpoint episodes were quite a drag for me to get through. I didn't find any character growth, nor did I enjoy watching them. Instead of dealing with the conflicts, the drama shows a lot of self-inflicted misery which contributes a little to the progressions of the story and makes me bored.
I found the ending so dissatisfying, I really felt nothing. In the last two episodes, I wasn't shocked by any of the climaxes, I wasn't sad, I was pretty emotionless because I could see that the show was ending and I just didn't care. It seems that Youth of May gains popularity due to the "based on real event“ cover, but the storyline is weak and unfocused so it doesn’t buy my sympathy. So my overall rating for Youth of May is 5.5/10
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Beautiful love story during Gwangju uprising
The acting is great and Do Hyun never disappoints.Is is a love story set during Gwangju uprising. The main couple had to go through some many obstacles to get their happy ending which last probably one minute but it is such a beautiful story. The last episode is very emotional and you will cry. I was hoping for a happy ending but I guess the ending made it more realistic about what really happened in Gwangju.
It is very well written and also it states all the facts about cruelty of the military and that thousands of innocent people lost their lives.
I really love this drama. You need to watch it!
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A beautifully crafted drama capturing the reality of the Gwangju Uprising.
Youth Of May is a melodrama set in May 1980 during the Gwangju Uprising. Its about Myung Hee and Hee Tae navigating through the trials of this hectic period of time.First of all, the acting is amazing. Literally a 11/10. Go Min Si and Lee Do Hyun played Myung Hee and Hee Tae in an amazing way. I like how they literally brought the characters into life and brought a memorable performance. They had great chemistry and their acting just felt so realistic.
Everybody portrayed their characters well.The writing and the whole story was good and overall I loved watching the show entirely. The OSTs were giving off the sad vibe which I enjoyed listening to and also I also came to know about how harsh 1980 May was in Gwangju and how much the people were actually suffering for no reason.
I definitely recommend this drama to anybody who loves watching realistic dramas with no fiction. If you enjoy politics too, then this drama is for you. It's totally worth the watch and is one of the best dramas that I've seen.
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I'M DEVASTATED
I love both of them so much and I'm never getting over them. Everyone deserves a guy like Heetae and Myunghee is my best girl. They were so in love and deserved better. I was annoyed with Myunghee's friend at start for not realising her privilege but good to see her character development. There little brothers were adorable. I hated his father urghhh. This drama was beautifully heartbreaking. May be in other life because they were simply to pure to not get a happy ending. To think there were real people who have went through such tragedies.....😭😭Was this review helpful to you?
