Air Dates: July 22 - September 10, 2019

Episodes: 16

Where to Watch: Viki

Genre: Romantic Drama

Starring: Ong Seong Wu and Kim Hyang Gi

Moment of Eighteen is a high school coming-of-age story about first love and the challenges of life at eighteen.  The story follows a group of students who are in the same homeroom class of a local high school.  This is not the cute rom-com variety of school dramas.  While there are some sweet moments, this show tackles some serious issues like bullying, gender identity, academic cheating, and abuse, both physical and emotional.  The stories revolve around the many kinds of relationship that are a part of life for teenagers; peers, teachers, parents, and romantic.

A couple personal notes from me.  Firstly, every time I watch a high school drama like this, I am so thankful that I am not a mom in Korea.  Seriously, the mean mom culture is like living the nightmare of middle school all over again!  Peer pressure is as hard on the moms as is it is on the students.  Scary stuff!  Secondly, this series showcases some very dysfunctional relationships.  About halfway through the episodes, I found myself wondering if any of them had any healthy relationships in their lives.  Of course, I know that a drama is not a drama without…well, drama, but I feel like this one went above and beyond.     It just made me a little sad.

Yoo Soo-Bin, played by Kim Hyang-Gi (Revenge Note) is an average student whose mom has ambitious goals for her future.  While Soo-Bin excels in certain areas, she is not as ambitious or successful as her mom would hope.  When a shy, quiet boy shows up in her class, she is instantly drawn to him.  As the two of them begin to develop a relationship, they support each other through the difficult situations they each face.

Soo-Bin is surprisingly independent for someone with an overprotective mother.  She sees her mom’s constant striving on her behalf, but she also has plans of her own.  Up until this point, she has always kept that spirit of rebellion to herself, but when her mom finds out about her new relationship, and forbids them from seeing each other, Soo-Bin finally begins to learn how to speak up for herself.  It’s fun to watch her grow through the process, and she handles it with compassion and grace, instead of being defiant and rude.

Choi Joon-Woo, played by Ong Seong-Wu (Singer, debut actor), is a student who is forced to tranfer to a new school after getting into trouble at his old school.  He is an awkward loner who lives alone because his single mom has a job in another town. As he builds relationships with his classmates, Joon-Woo gains the confidence to explore who he really is and what his dreams are.

Ong Seong-Wu won both the Best New Actor and Hallyu Star Award at the 2019 Korea Drama Awards.  I love the idea of giving new actors more reserved characters.  It gives them a chance to develop their acting skills and helps them avoid the pitfall of many new actors to overact.  Don’t get me wrong.  He did an excellent job playing this role and I was happy to see him get recognized.  I think this has given him a jumpstart to many more tv roles, and I look forward to seeing him again.

Ma Hwi-Young, played by Shin Seung-Ho (Love Alarm, A-Teen) is technically the second lead, although I think it was pretty obvious from the very start that he didn’t really stand a chance.  He and Soo-Bin have been friends since they were children and everyone considers him her boyfriend.  Well, everyone except Soo-Bin.  He is the class president and the number one student in the school.  At first, he seems like a model student who is smart and helpful.  As the series continues, we find out that there are issues of control and insecurity that drive him to act that way.  As opposed to Soo-Bin who isn’t interested in the success her mom tries to push on her, Hwi- Young is determined to be at the top at any cost.  While we watch Joon-Woo grow and soar through self-discovery, Hwi-Young sinks deeper and deeper into the mistakes he makes.

Kang Ki-Young (What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, I’m Not a Robot) plays the interim homeroom teacher, Oh Han-Kyeol.  I love this actor and it’s always fun to see him, but this role was great for him.  He is believable and genuine as the new teacher who just wants to develop relationships and see his students grow.  He has a small side story involving a love interest, but they don’t get enough screen time together to see much real growth.  It’s in his interactions with the students that he really excels.  He takes Joon-Woo in from the very beginning and works hard to bring him out of his shell.  And even though Hwi-Young challenges his authority and belittles him, Mr. Oh is the only adult who is there for him when his mistakes finally come back to haunt him.

Shim Yi-Young (Thirty But Seventeen, Five Enough) wins the best parent award, although unfortunately the competition was not stiff.  I find this actress to be so cute and quirky, and she brought a great sweetness to this role.  She plays Joon-Woo’s single mom.  She is supportive and positive, even though their life has been far from easy.  For all of her easy-going nature, she is no door mat, and isn’t afraid to challenge the mean moms when pushed into a corner.

The ending was only alright for me.  I didn’t feel like any of the storylines got tied up well.  I guess if this is about a “Moment of Eighteen”, it does what it promised.  We get a good picture of a day in the life of a group of teenagers, but I would like to have known how at least some of the stories ended up.  Do Joon-Woo and Soo-Bin manage to stay together, even through the summer?  Does Soo-Bin’s mom ever accept their relationship?  Does Hwi-Young manage to get his life back on track?  Does Jung O-Je come to terms with his sexuality?  For me, there was too much unanswered.  It made the drama feel unfinished.  I enjoyed watching, but the ending left me wanting more.

If you like high school dramas, this one does a good job of breaking the usual mold.  The young cast captured the essence of teenage life.  If you are someone who doesn’t like incomplete storylines, you might not get the closure you would hope for.  But if you are a Ong Seong-Wu fan, this is a performance you shouldn’t miss.  He portrays all the awkward sweetness of first love with quiet honesty.  I give this one a 2 out of 5 ramen.

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Air Dates: July 13 - September 1, 2019

Episodes: 16

Where to Watch: Netflix

Genre: Romantic Fantasy

Starring: IU and Yeo Jin Goo

For me, this one has everything. Hotel Del Luna is the perfect, spooky, fall show. First of all, I don’t know how you can take about this show without talking about the costuming and cinematography. It is just gorgeous to look at. The soundtrack is hauntingly beautiful, with plenty of familiar names, and even includes a surprise unreleased song by IU herself. The cast has a strong chemistry, not just with the romantic leads, but on all levels of relationships. The plot is a sweeping story of love and revenge that travels through centuries.

Hotel Del Luna is a hotel for the dead, who are unable to move on to the afterlife because of unfinished business here on earth. As new “guests” check in to the hotel, the hotel staff, who are also ghosts in limbo, try to help them take care of their issue so that, with the help of the Grim Reaper, they can send them on their way. The stories cover many motives and emotions. Hotel Del Luna is ultimately a place of bittersweet goodbyes, as problems resolve and death becomes final.

Jang Man-Wol, played by IU (Scarlet Heart Ryeo, My Mister) unwittingly became the hotel owner 1000 years ago, by drinking a potion given to her by one of the twelve faces of God. Since that time, her life has been suspended between life and death. Her unfinished business involves the man she loved, who betrayed her all those years ago. She is bitter and temperamental. She doesn’t get involved with the hotel guests and their stories unless the guest is rich and she can gain some profit by stepping in. Her hobbies are buying expensive clothes and jewelry and drinking champagne. Then one day, a new, human manager arrives on the scene. He helps her to learn how to feel again, and eventually leads her to the end of her long-awaited story.

Man-Wol has allowed greed to cover up the hurt she has carried through time. It is easy to pity what she has been through, and how it made her into the woman she is. As her full story begins to unfold, the others who were part of her past begin to appear before her in their new lives. With a little help from the hotel bartender, their memories reveal pieces of the story that had been unknown to Man-Wol until now.

The new manager breaks down the walls that Mal-Wol has spent centuries building up. Slowly she begin to trust him, and eventually love him. He also encourages her to open her heart more to her guests and help them, not just when there is personal gain. As she moves closer to her own final death she learns what is like to live again.

Koo Chan-Sung, played by Yeo Jin-Goo (The Crowned Clown, Absolute Boyfriend) is the man who becomes the manager at Hotel Del Luna because his father sold him to Man-Wol in a negotiation for his own life. The hotel has always had a human manager to handle earthly business matters, so Chan-Sung is one in a chain of many, but he is also very unique. He has been sent specifically as the one whose final duty is to send Man-Wol herself on her journey to the afterlife and close the doors of Hotel Del Luna forever.

Chan-Sung’s calm and loyal personality is the perfect foil to Man-Wol’s distrustful tantrums. I often found myself laughing out loud at their lively conversations, which helped to balance out their awareness of how their story would eventually need to play out. Despite his initial hesitation, Chan-Sung’s feelings for her develop quickly and deeply. His truest desire is for her to find her final peace, even knowing it will cost him his own happiness.

This cast has a large group of great secondary characters, which is part of why I loved this cast so much. So many of them deserve mention here. Within the hotel staff, we get to know three characters. There is the bartender, the room manager, and the bell hop. Each one of them have their own stories, which unfold slowly through the course of the show. Kim Sun-Bi is the bartender, played by Shin Jung-Keun (Encounter, Mr. Sunshine). He was an unfairly disgraced scholar looking to redeem his damaged reputation. Choi Se-Hee is the room manager, played by Bae Hae-Sun (Wok of Love, While You Were Sleeping) whose baby daughter was killed by her selfish in-laws. She is waiting to witness the death of the final living heir to their family line. The bellhop, Ji Hyun-Joong played by P.O. died trying to take care of his blind sister. He is now waiting to be the one who escorts her to the afterlife. He also has a cute love story with Kim Yoo-Na, who is played by Kang Mi-Na. She is the ghost in the body of a human who is also the manager in training. Her role in the hotel is mostly to remind Chan-Sung that if he steps out of line, he can be replaced

Chan-Sung has a group of friends who give the cast a bit of humanness. Sanchez, played by Cho Hyun-Chul, is as devoted a friend as Chan-Sung himself, even after losing the love of his life. And Park Yoo-Na (SKY Castle and The Package) as Lee Mi-Ra and Lee Tae-Sun (Suits, Prison Playbook) asYeon-Woo both played a major part to the story during their past lives.

And representing from the supernatural realms are Seo Yi-Sook (The Banker, My Secret, Terrius) as God Mago and Kang Hong-Suk (Doctor Prisoner, What's Wrong with Secretary Kim)  as the Grim Reaper. We are told God Mago has twelve faces. We don’t meet them all, but we get a good taste of about six. Each one is over the top and it’s fun to see the quirkiness she brings to them. The Grim Reaper is a man of few words, but his dark, benevolent presence gives a good gravity to his scenes.

I’ve already said that Hotel Del Luna is a place of bittersweet goodbyes, so the ending really shouldn’t be a surprise to any of us. Having said that, I am a sucker for a happy ending so I did have one created in my active imagination. (Attention Hong sisters, in case you need help with your next one.) Since Man-Wol wasn’t actually dead, I thought they may just turn her “human clock” back on and let her live out her days with Chan-Sung, but no one consulted me and that is not the ending we got. Even so, it was tragic and well-done. In the big picture, their sad ending is better suited. Chan-Sung completes his mission of seeing Man-Wol off and closes the Hotel Del Luna forever. But not before making sure that all of the hotel guests and staff also find their own endings.

The only piece of the story that seemed a little off for me was the final story of Man-Wol and her revenge story with Ko Choeng-Myung. Of course, in the end, we never have the full picture without getting all sides of the story. It turns out that he only betrayed her to save her life and as a promise to her adopted brother, Yeon-Woo. While Man-Wol has waited for him to show up at the hotel, he has been there by her side the whole time, as a firefly, watching over her and waiting for her forgiveness. You would think that after waiting 1000 years for him, there would be more to the conclusion than a short scene that lacks any of the unfulfilled love they felt. She tells him that she is finally empty, and you can feel that she mean it. I mean, sure it’s been 1000 years and she has finally found love again with Chan-Sung but doesn’t the man at least deserve a hug? I did like the finality of their scene on the bridge. Choeng-Myung holds his hand out to her and she is face to face with the choice of just going with him, since she knows she will be going soon anyway, or keeping her promise and going back to Chan-Sung and the Hotel Del Luna. In the choice between Choeng-Myung and Chan-Sung she still picks Chan-Sung.

The last two scenes have gotten a lot of attention. First is the scene at the park with Chan-Sung, Man-Wol and our three hotel staffers. For those who need your happy ending, this is it. I have read a lot of debate about whether it was actually happening or just Chan-Sung’s imagination, but really does it make a difference? Even if it isn’t happening right this second, it is obvious that these people are tied together by fate. At some point, a scene like this will happen. Isn’t that enough? And then in the last seconds we see The Hotel Blue Moon with a cameo from the new owner, Kim Soo-Hyun. People were sure this was a clue to a promise for a second season, but the Hong sisters have denied any such plans. At any rate, this scene tells us that the story does go on and the dead continue to hang out and seek closure.

As I already said, I feel like Hotel Del Luna has a bit of everything. It’s well produced and the stories are fun. It has just enough spooky ghostness to put us in the mood for fall. There is romance and revenge. There are crimes to be solved and adventures to be had. It does have its share of bittersweet moments, so I guess if you are the kind of person who absolutely needs everyone to live happily ever after, this might not be the one for you. But other than that, this one is well worth the time.  As I said, I loved it, so I'm giving it 5 out of 5 ramen.

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