A young woman leaves behind the daily grind of city life to spend a year living off her savings in a small seaside town.  She quickly befriends a shy local librarian who teaches her how to live in the present and embrace the simpler things in life.  But a current string of vandalism brings back a painful time for the town residents, and most especially her new friend.  And when those petty crimes spin out of control, the effects will rock the lives of those who had hoped to leave the past behind.  

Yim Si Wan as An Dae Beom

Once a math progeny and genius, An Dae Beom left the pressure and stress behind to move home to Angok.  Now he works at the local library with the best friend of his sister, who died a tragic death.  He enjoys a simple life at a slow and relaxing pace.  But when a beautiful stranger wanders into the library one afternoon, he feels his heart flutter for the first time.  Having experienced many of the feelings of burnout that Yeo Reum is dealing with, he becomes a guide to her in her journey to embrace a more quiet, slower life style.  And he hopes she will open her heart to him in more personal ways as well.

An Dae Beom gave up academia after losing his temper with his teacher and mentor.  His anger stemmed more from his childhood trauma than his recent studies.  But it became apparent that he needed to find a way to heal the pain he had kept bottled inside.  Yim Si Wan was wonderful as the sensitive and shy librarian who is so earnest in his views and opinions.  He has a special talent for portraying honest vulnerability, and this character reflected that well.  

a.mond as Heo Jae Hoon

Heo Jae Hoon is a troubled high schooler who lives with his aunt, who is a teacher at his school.  He lived for awhile with his parents in Boston, but he couldn’t fit into American culture and begged to come home.  Jae Hoon has a crush on Bom and follows her everywhere.

 ♥ Kim Bom

I really enjoyed Kim Bom’s character.  I loved watching her friendship with Yeo Reum.  Listen to the two of them giggle together was priceless, and it was satisfying to see her finding some joy in her difficult life.  Her romance with Jae Hoon was sweet and fun to watch.  And her scenes with her grandmother were touching.  She had great energy with all the people she was close to.

♥ Bae Jun

I just can’t pass up the opportunity to gush about how much I love this little actor. Kim Jun is definitely an up and coming talent.  He has an ability to deliver very adult-like lines with perfect sincerity.  He played a similar character in “Hospital Playlist” and I love him then too.  He takes on the role of parent so naturally and it makes me smile every time he does it.  

Bae Jun’s Mother

Although it may not have been necessary to the storyline, single father’s are rare in Korea.  And it seems unlikely that a small town like Angok wouldn’t be full of talk about what happened to Bae Joon’s mother.  It just kind of felt like the elephant in the room and would have made more sense if they had at least made a passing comment about who or where she was.  Especially in light of the developing relationship between Ji Young and Sung Min toward the end of the series.

Mystery that Can’t be Solved

The whole mystery aspect of this series was a bit strange.  There was no mention of a darker side in any of the drama descriptions.  And once they finally brought the whole story out into the open, they solved it relatively quickly, with no chance for the audience to become invested in it.  There was absolutely no clue that the realtor and his cop son were the villains.  I would have liked it more if the mystery pieces were paced more consistantly through the whole show.  

“Summer Strike” has a simple, happy ending.  Dae Beom’s sister’s murder is solved and both Geon Ho and Dae Beom’s father are cleared of any charges.  Kwak Moo Chul, the helpful if slightly incompetant police officer is exposed as the actual killer.  And his father murdered Bom’s grandmother to help cover up his son’s crimes.  Jae Hoon comes back from the US and proposes to Bom.  She agrees to date him for the time being.  Ji Young is working in Seoul but she and Sung Min are at least exploring the idea of dating.  And Yeo Reum is staying in Angok and living with Bom and her brother.  In the final scene, the group take a walk on the beach.  Bom and Jae Hoon tease each other playfully while Yeo Reum and Dae Beom hold hands and take their time.  The voice over says that they have learned that this “is enough”.