THIS IS HOW PERFECT MELODRAMA WAS MADE!
For me, this is the best K-drama of 2025. A coming-of-age, slow-burn melodrama laced with subtle comedy, it takes you on an emotional rollercoaster—heartwarming yet heart-wrenching at the same time.Directed and written by the minds behind two of my favorite melodramas, A Piece of Your Mind and Run On, the storytelling feels effortlessly natural. Every scene flows with purpose; the emotions linger beyond what the realistic dialogues and delicate character dynamics can express.
There isn’t a single weak performance—the entire cast shines, even in the smallest roles. Their synergy brings the world of My Youth to life. The stunning visuals and perfectly chosen OST elevate the atmosphere even further. I truly cherished every moment, every line, every gaze.
And that ending—
“I hope we meet again, somewhere, many times.”
This final line beautifully redefines what it means to say goodbye. It encapsulates the heart of the series: that youth isn’t a period of age, but of emotional courage. Every farewell holds the potential for reunion—whether in this life or another. Through that, the drama captures the essence of youth itself: fleeting yet eternal, fragile yet strong, always worth remembering.
★★★★★ — An unforgettable masterpiece of tenderness and time.
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Blows hot and cold.
I looked back to my somewhat tedious review of “Run On”, which was the scriptwriter’s (Park Si Hyeon) first solo offering. I will however, give myself a little leeway, it was one of my early reviews. But unfortunately the same sort of complaints and comments work for this one too.I had hoped that she would have had the confidence to resist the temptations of trope that she seems to get stuck in. Because I think she writes character quite well. The main leads are all individuals with noticeably different personalities, even if the males are somewhat dolce. She is able to give them some depth and interest, and I felt that they were more rounded than average.
But just as you are meandering along thinking that the plot/relationships might branch in new and interesting directions, you get pulled up sharply by a seeming inconsistent return to trope and accepted norms. Such as trivial events to cause awkwardness and jealousy, with irrelevant newly introduced, one-off characters. It feels out of place in a romantic melo, rather, the sort of fluff you find in a rom com. It undermines the character integrity making them seem vulnerable to superficiality. As a result, the whole drama blew hot and cold on me. I wanted to like it more than I actually did.
There are a fair few eye rolling conveniences in the plot, particularly involving the tangled web of past relationships that does nothing to advance the credibility. But it got better as it progressed and there were some beautifully tender scenes between the all of the leads. The bathroom scene in Ep 11 was especially good. It was well written and well acted. However, I found the last episode deeply unsatisfying. It sort of fell apart, then sort of came back together, looking sort of like the flakes on your plate after you’ve eaten a croissant, that you mop up using your finger so that the plate is sort of clean by the end, but you sort of wish there was more.
I really liked Song Jung Ki’s performance. He inhabited the character’s quirkiness and made it smoothly believable. He was also backed up well by the others.
The OST had the feel of late night bar music - pleasant in the background. And the cinematography inhabited the warm regions of muted colours especially browns and dusky pinks.
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Slow with Moments
I waited for this drama to be complete before I watched it and avoided reading reviews. Honestly, the first few episodes were difficult to get through and I stopped watching out of sheer boredom. By espisode 5, it started to pick up a little, though the rhyme and reason of the drama still escaped me. Truly, if you're looking for excitement, you're not going to find it here. If you want an easy watch, with head scratching moments, a little comedy and deep, sometimes rambling to no where conversations....you'll love this drama. I won't rewatch it, but some of the moments will linger. Not in my top 10 in 2025.Was this review helpful to you?
Will not resonate with everyone, but this is my personal interpretation
What I appreciated most about My Youth is the quiet, unhurried way in which the characters are introduced and allowed to unfold. The series embraces the slowness of everyday life, giving space to time, memory, and consequence. Choices made in youth or under adverse circumstances are shown to have a direct impact on the next generation, yet the narrative deliberately avoids centering on revenge. Instead, it explores resilience and emotional survival, even when pain and resentment remain unresolved.Some viewers may struggle with the forgiveness portrayed and the sense of injustice that lingers. However, this is precisely what makes the story feel close to real life. Not everyone who makes mistakes is visibly punished, and often the weight of those choices stays with the one who made them. Likewise, those who suffer do not always receive a neat or happy redemption. I found great value in the restrained way emotions are revealed—gently, patiently, without excess explanation.
I did not feel the need to understand every motive or backstory, as the focus remained firmly on the reconnected relationship between the main characters. The supporting characters also play an important role, especially through the coincidences that subtly link different lives together. This interconnectedness is what ultimately drew me in. My Youth will not resonate with everyone, but this is my personal interpretation.
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SJK as I've not seen before
Not gonna lie I was skeptical after reading the summary about this drama. It's sounds like a déjà-vue but I had fate in SJK script choices so I knew he wouldn't dissappoint.I love how mature, realistic and well written the story is. It's straight forward, no nonsense. We have adults acting like their age about love and dating and not as teenagers.
I didn't know the FL before this drama and I was really surprised how well she matches SJK's acting. Their chemistry is natural and not forced at all.
SJK acting has so much details that I had to rewatch several time to catch all the nuances.
I love this drama and the emotion rollercoster is crazy.
You'll be smilling one minute and crying the next.
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A Generic Drama Where Even the Second Leads Deserve Better
My Youth is the definition of recycled storytelling. It clings to every overused youth-drama cliché, first love misunderstandings, endless bickering, drawn-out angst, but brings nothing new or memorable to the table. The pacing is sluggish, the plot is predictable from start to finish, and the emotional “high points” feel hollow because we’ve seen them all before, done better elsewhere.The acting doesn’t elevate the material either. The leads lack spark and their chemistry is paper-thin, making their romance feel more like a chore than a love story. Ironically, the second leads outshine them completely, more natural, more engaging, and with storylines that actually hold some weight. Unfortunately, they’re sidelined in favor of watching the main pair stumble through one recycled scenario after another.
In short, My Youth feels like a drama built on autopilot: flat performances, predictable writing, and nothing that makes it worth remembering. If you’ve seen any youth drama, you’ve basically seen this one, only with more charm than this show ever manages.
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This review may contain spoilers
What a frustrating drama
I absolutely love the cast and the acting was terrific across the board. The writing, editing and directing however were a hot mess. Nothing made sense, the choices the characters made were illogical. And what the heck was that ending?? I am so frustrating by the talent that was wasted. I have never wanted to fast forward through the last two episodes of a drama but this one had so much filler at the end... while skipping over crucial scenes needed for growth and plot development. The low rating on MDL is deserved.Was this review helpful to you?
1Despite having witty dialogs and great acting, it's not well-executed
Subjective Gut Rating: 7.75Well, the synopsis sounded interesting to me, and I am a fan of second-chance romance. Slice-of-life melodramas are a hit-or-miss for me. So, did I end up liking “My Youth”? Mm…it’s OK.
There are elements of the drama that I really enjoy. The witty dialogs and conversations between the 4 leads as a group, the 2 couples, and the 3 siblings. This comes from the same screenwriter who wrote “Run On”, one of my favorite K-dramas. So I am not surprised that I am really loving those sarcastic remarks and witty comebacks. These conversations brought the relationships of these characters to life and exuberated excellent chemistry - friendships, family and romance. I love the 4 leads. They are interesting and multi-faceted. The two pairs fit each other so well.
I also enjoy the acting of the whole cast. From the young ones, to the teenagers, adults and the veterans. There is no weak link. I haven’t seen Song Joong Ki since “Vincenzo” and I think he did a great job portraying the main lead. Ok, his hairstylist and the costume department could have done a better job with him. Seeing a grown up Nam Da Reum (he’s 23!!) is like watching my kid grow up in front of my TV. And how nice to see Seo Ji Hoon again. He’s the eye candy that I needed. He’s so cute and handsome, and I love his character as well. The ladies, Chun Woo Hee and Lee Joo Myung are sassy and interesting. They play the untypical female leads well and make them fun.
I had a pretty decent time watching in the first ¾ of the drama. I didn’t find the pacing too slow for me and despite being a character-driven drama, there’s enough plot to keep it going. But then, the drama’s pace starts to slow down in the last quarter of the drama. The back-and-forth of the main romance became a tiny bit repetitive. When I found out what ML has been hiding, I dreaded the story a little. Had I known this was his secret, I might not have started this drama (this is a personal reason, no fault of the drama). Although I continue to enjoy the interaction of the main leads, the plot itself does not seem as interesting anymore. It’s not moving fast enough and it seems like I’m just waiting for the bomb to drop. I wanted to see more of the secondary romance, but despite having enough time, time wasn’t spent on them.
The ‘villains’ aka parents in this drama are forgiven so easily. We didn’t see much of the process of forgiveness and it all seems to happen behind-the-scenes. On several occasions, the editing was weird. I thought the drama was going to show me and expand on what’s happening, but it just cut to a different scene. I am also not satisfied with the last episode. It’s not hard to guess the ending, but I wish it was executed better.
I would only recommend this drama if you enjoy a slow-paced slice-of-life melodrama. I enjoy the acting, the interesting main characters and relationships, and witty dialogs. But it’s not a well-written, well-edited and well-executed drama.
Completed: 11/6/2025 Review #640
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Sweet but very slow drama
The reviewer Rohit summarised it on spot, the drama is so slow. I was wondering what made me a bit uncomfortable, and it was the pace of the story and also the drama flow. I love SJK, however, I am not sure whether he was the right cast. Probably because he has all the sunshine of life on his side and to see him in a life full of poverty, challenges und bad luck (and also with the bad hair style), it does not feel right. Luckily he is a great actor and also CWH pulled it through, so the drama was enjoyable. Maybe the entire story is strange, a CEO loyal to her husband who is a loser (does not care of his two kids), a kid star becoming a poor student living alone and even raising his young sister while his dad lives with a rich CEO. In summary, I enjoyed watching as it is a nice and warm romantic drama with a lot of great actors.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
An Almost Perfect KDrama
It's not everyone's cup of tea but for those who want a tearjerk but warm and sweet romance . Almost Everything regarding this drama was perfect the visuals that gives off that warm nostalgic vibes , the ost that gives your heart the feeling of love & sadness, the characters & their cast but the ending seems to be quiet lacking . It was a really good watch . I'm pretty sure im going to give it another watch. This drama is something that has that feel to it that you just can't ignore !!!Personally the only bad thing about this drama is the ending . I wanted the ending to be a bit more expressive and comprehensive with the reunion , the family , the friends and everyone but a beautiful drama nonetheless.
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The drama is like a calm lake - it doesn't have any pebbles to make ripples on the surface.
The story itself is boring. It doesn't have any impact nor memorable plots. The directing is also strange.A lot of transitions between scenes and scenes are strange.
Sorry to said, but CWH and SJK they don't have any chemistry at all.
CWH and SJH have much more chemistry than with SJK.
I also think that SJK didnt suit romance genres anymore
Anyway i don't quite recommend this drama, except you are a big big fan of CWH or SJK.
I kept watching till the end purely out of loyalty to CWH.
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Just sharing my impression bout this drama
This drama is one of the few I actually finished this year — though honestly, I kinda forced myself to.I really liked the first few episodes, especially the younger versions of the main characters. I don’t even know why, but they just made me so excited to watch. The young Seonwoo Hae especially — he had such a strong vibe even though his life was pretty rough because of his awful dad.
I also liked the second leads a lot at first. I was totally rooting for them, but towards the end, the romance just… didn’t develop much. I really wanted more of their sweet scenes together.
In the end, I finished it just because I’d already watched too many episodes — it felt too late to drop it, haha.
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