Air Dates: September 7 - October 27, 2020

Episodes: 16

Where to Watch: Netflix

Genre: Romantic Drama

Starring: Park Bo Gum and Park So Dam

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 Bo Gum as Sa Hye Joon

Sa Hye Joon is an aspiring actor from an average family.  In his early 20's, he had some success as a model, but was never able to bridge the gap from modelling to acting.  Now, as his 30's approach and mandatory military service looms closer, he takes one final shot to try to get his foot in the door, while he is still young enough to get entry level roles.  Hye Joon is honest and straightforward.  He never hesitates to speak the truth, even when it is difficult.  Acting is something he gives his full energy and determination to.Park Bo Gum is the shining light in this drama.  He is passionate and emotional in his portrayal of the wannabe actor, approaching his 30's, weighing his military service, and still hoping to achieve his big success.  It could be Park Bo Gum's own story with the exception of the fact that he is already considered a very successful and talented actor.  But it is easy to see how the role would have appealed to him and how easy it would be for him to play it convincingly;  Not to take away from his obvious ability.  Record of Youth was the perfect role for him at this time in his life, and it was so enjoyable to watch him tell this story so convincingly and take us on the emotional journey with him.

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.

Byeon Woo Seok as Won Hae Hyo

 Won Hae Hyo has been Hye Joon's best friend since elementary school.  He comes from a wealthy family where his mother continually uses her influence to pull strings and further his career.  To his credit, Hae Hyo is unaware of her meddling, and really believes he has worked hard to achieve the success he has.  But despite all of her meddling, Hae Hyo still finds himself in a position where he has to watch jealously ad Hye Joon achieves everything he wants, from a successful career to Jung Ha's heart.

Kwon Soo Hyun as Kim Jin Woo

Kim Jin Woo is the third childhood friend, with Hae Hyo and Hye Joon.  His father works with Hye Joon's father doing construction, and their families have been close for years.  Unlike his friends, who are in search of the limelight, Jin Woo is happy being behind a camera.  It's not that he doesn't dream of success, it's just that success to him does not equate to fame.  For the most part, he is content with his life and where it is going.  He is secretely in love with Hae Hyo's sister, Hae Na, which leads to complications in their friendship.

Shin Dong Mi as Lee Min Jae

Lee Min Jae worked as a secretary to Hye Joon's agent for years.  Finally fed up with his abuse and dishonesty, she decides to strike out on her own and convinces Hye Joon to come along with her.  But being an entertainment agent is not for the faint of heart, as she is reminded on an almost daily basis.  Luckily for Hye Joon and herself, she is a fast learner with a persistant personality.  Under her hard work, Hye Joon finally finds the success he has been striving for.

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.

Cameos

With such a loaded all-star cast, Record of Youth had the clout to deliver some good cameos, but they really outdid themselves.  It's always fun to see familiar faces pop up and this one had plenty.  My personal favorites were Park Seo Joon and Lee Sung Kyung, but there were quite a few other great ones as well.  I think many of them welcomed the opportunity to see Park Bo Gum one last time before he headed off on his military service, and for me, that just makes it even better.

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.

It's Not a Romance

It really wasn't until I got to the end of Record of Youth and saw the storylines that the writers bothered to give any closure to that I understood my problem.  This was never meant to be a romance.  Record of Youth is just that, a picture of what it's like to be young and all the changes that happen in your life at that time.  Maybe if I had understood this sooner, I would have been more prepared for the ending. True friends and family change and grow with you, while lovers come and go.  All of this helps to form the story of youth.

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.

Record of Youth starts out strong, and I had high hopes that I would love it, but it left an awful lot of storylines unfinished and unexplained.  If you are a Park Bo Gum fan (and let's face it, who isn't?) then it is worth the watch.  His acting is really great and his sincere emotions come through well.  But the plot is slow-moving and doesn't really go where you might think.  I could have overlooked the slow plot if there was some character development to focus on.  Surprisingly, almost every other character is just used as a backdrop for Park Bo Gum, without any real depth or understandable motivation.  If you like a good slice of life style drama, Record of Youth is a good one.  It just doesn't dig as deeply as it could have.  I give Record of Youth a 7 out of 10 ramen.

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