Enter the world of modelling and acting through the eyes of 2 young men who have spent their 20’s waiting to catch their big break.  In an industry where money and background really can make all the difference, we watch these best friends, from very different families, experience the joys and frustrations of following their dreams.  Their friendship is challenged when they meet a pretty make-up artist with her own dreams for success.  As the 3 begin to move into their 30’s, they must make some important decisions about where they are going and what they are willing to sacrifice to get there.

Park So Dam as Ahn Jung Ha

Ahn Jung Ha is frugal and hard-working.  By day she works at a local salon doing hair and makeup, and by night she busks, doing makeovers, and has a Youtube channel.  Watching her mother struggle financially when she was growing up, she is determined to stand on her own and never expect help from anyone.  For years, she has followed Sa Hye Joon’s modelling career as an avid fan.  So, when she is asked to do makeup at a show he is participating in, she is thrilled.  Little does she know, that first meeting will lead into a beautiful, romantic relationship.

Park So Dam is a great actress and I always enjoy seeing her.  She has a talent for playing a character who holds her emotions tightly in reigh, even though there is obviously so much more going on below the surface.  That is exactly what she brought to Jung Ha’s character.  Park So Dam played the part well as it was written, but it was not my favorite role for her.  Even with the backstory of her parent’s tumultuous relationship, I still felt like her motives were hard to understand.  As an actress, I feel like Park So Dam has so much more she could have brought to her character, to show more character development.  

♥ Friendship Stands the Test of Time

All friendships encounter difficulties, and the men in Record of Youth are no different.  Jealousy, love triangles, and secrets could have easily ripped apart this long-time trio.  But this time, there was no grand explosion.  They never came to the point where they were threatening to abandon their friendship or let resentment push them apart.  In the end, it was one of a very few storylines that actually ended with any finality.  Their friendship is still going strong, and once again, a little bromance can go a long way for giving a drama positive heart-felt emotions.  

♥Unique Straightforward Dialogue

One of my favorite things about Record of Youth, particularly the earlier episodes, was the unique style of dialogue.  Conversations are direct and honest without an abundance of explanation.  There is a certain artistry to this pared-down style.  Yet even with the sense of artistry, it fit the feel of the drama as just regular people talking.  No waxing philosophically or softening of opinions with meaningless words.  I was drawn in by it and it felt very different from most of the other dramas I have seen.  

Jung Ha’s Dishonesty

For someone who started out as honest and straight-forward, I was disappointed in Jung Ha’s inability to be honest about her relationship with Hae Hyo.  First, it felt totally disrespectful to Hye Joon.  It’s not that she just didn’t tell him about the time she spent with him, but at times she completed lied about it.  And second, it was unfair to Hae Hyo, because it made it seem like she had feelings for him, when she didn’t.  Neither of them deserved that.  In the end, it only led to worse misunderstandings.  

Inconsistant Timeline

This is kind of a weird complaint, because I usually appreciate a little back and forth in the timeline to keep things fresh and interesting.  For some reason, with Record of Youth, I had points where I wasn’t sure what was supposed to have already happened or where the jumps forward had ended up.  I haven’t seen anyone else complain about this, so it may truly just be me, but I kept getting confused about where we were in the storyline, particularly at the beginning of a new episode.  Some episodes ended with a jump forward and then the next one went back to before that.  I’ve seen this technique used in other dramas, and never had any trouble, but with this one it sometimes took me a few minutes to catch up.  

So, the ending…I saw a partial spoiler before finishing this one where someone just said “what’s up with that ending.”  Because of that, I had braced for a sad or bittersweet ending, but what I wasn’t prepared for was just a weird, anti-climatic non-ending.  First, let’s talk about the endings we did get.  Seeing the healing across Hye Joon’s family was heartwarming.  The father’s both made peace with their sons and the future seems bright.  Second, all is well between our 3 young friends.  Despite trials and time apart, there meeting in the park showed that very little had changed between them.  

Now, we could fill a page with all the storylines that didn’t get any closure, or worse yet, never even got started.  First on the list is all of the romances.  Hye Joon and Jung Ha at least got an open-ended maybe ending.  Not super satisfying, in my opinion, but not sad either.  We have no idea what happened with Jin Woo and Hae Na.  And the hint of romance between Min Jae and Hye Joon’s brother, Kyeong Jun, never goes anywhere.  Hae Hyo’s mother, Yi Young, had an awful lot of screen time with lots of strained relationships, for example, her childen, her husband, and Hye Joon’s mother.  None of those issues got any resolution, with the exception of a scene where she and Hae Hyo seem to have come to some kind of peace.  And I assume the evil reporter and agent just kind of went on their merry way.  

For me, there was just too much left hanging.  So many potential plots that never materialized.  I was left disappointed and unfulfilled.  If anyone out there loved it, please tell me all about it.  I would love to have my opinion swayed.