If you spend way too much time on Netflix, chances are you’ve come across Our Beloved Summer on the streaming platform’s most watched list.
This coming-of-age K-drama stars Choi Wooshik, who previously starred in the 2019 Best Picture winner Parasite, alongside Kim Dami, best known for another Netflix hit, Itaewon Class.
The show premiered on SBS and Netflix simultaneously, with the final episode airing in the last week of January. Even weeks after the end of its run, Our Beloved Summer hasn’t fallen out of the Top 10, which I think is definitely warranted.
After all, Our Beloved Summer has enough laughs, squeals and tears throughout its sixteen-episode run to leave you feeling giddy even days after you’ve finished it, and wanting to come back to it again and again.
Our Beloved Summer
The series starts off by introducing Choi Woong and Kook Yeonsoo, the respective bottom- and top-ranked students in their class, in a documentary of the life of young high school students.
Woong is a lazy, troublesome student who wants to grow up and live a carefree life, while secretly tamping down an artistic, thoughtful side. Meanwhile, Yeonsoo is a no-nonsense, arguably rude girl who keeps to herself and spends most of her time studying instead of socializing with her classmates.
The two are almost instantly at odds, describing each other as annoying, and constantly getting on each other’s nerves. Without getting too much into it, and as is par for the course with most dramas, Woong and Yeonsoo ultimately end up falling for each other.
Fast forward to years later. We find out their relationship, despite lasting well into their university days, ended bitterly. Now, Woong is a successful artist who chooses to remain anonymous and faceless, while Yeonsoo works at a marketing firm, struggling to get the viral artist Go-Oh for her client’s store’s opening event.
When she discovers Go-oh is actually Woong, she pays him a visit for the first time after their particularly bad breakup in an attempt to convince him to collaborate with her company for her client’s shop’s grand opening. Unsurprisingly, Woong is only happy to reject the offer out of sheer pettiness.
Their high school documentary goes viral years after it first aired, so Woong’s childhood best friend, Ji-woong – who now works as a documentary producer – decides to film a reunion special.
Obviously, hijinks and kilig moments ensue.
There’s friendnapping, Woong’s relatable lazy quips, wacky misunderstandings, petty arguments, cute dates, and touching family dynamics. And if that’s not enough, here’s a few more reasons to binge Our Beloved Summer— just in time for Valentine’s Day, too.
Thoughtful storytelling
The show’s non-linear structure lets us see into each character’s past motivations and desires, and how it continues to manifest in their words and actions until the present day. Obviously, Woong and Yeonsoo have some lingering resentment, each one believing that the other had more of a hand in their breakup than they did.
As the show goes on, the audience and the characters themselves slowly learn more about the eventual end of their relationship. We also get a look at how each of the two leads dealt with the aftermath: Woong throwing himself into his art, and Yeonsoo focusing on taking care of her family and furthering her career.
The contrast between the sweet, youthful flashbacks of their time together and the awkward, bitter way they treat each other in the present only further drives home how much the two of them have changed, and leaves the watcher wondering, “will they, won’t they– again?”
While Our Beloved Summer isn’t free from the tried-and-tested K-drama formula and cliches – the wrist grabs and the serendipitous run-ins, to name a few – it (mostly) feels earned and organic. The plot never feels contrived or overblown for the sheer drama of it all, and while the series seems to be littered with character tropes at first glance, the more you watch it, the more it feels like a very realistic, intimate story between equally real people.
Beautiful cinematography
Our Beloved Summer is a feast for the eyes– and I’m not just talking about the good looking cast, though that definitely helps.
Calming wide shots of nature. Nuanced shot composition between two conflicting personalities. Incredible color palettes. The simple yet charming cinematography always sets the perfect backdrop for Woong and Yeonsoo’s story, whether it’s a sweet romantic scene, or a heart-wrenching one.
A stellar cast
No drama is ever complete without the sidekicks. The show does a great job of providing well-rounded, interesting characters who can actually stand on their own against the two leads.
Sol-yi is a struggling business owner and Yeonsoo’s loud-mouth best friend, who provides the perfect counterpart to Woong’s manager-slash-resident-freeloader Eunho.
Yeonsoo and Woong also find kindred spirits in Ji-woong and NJ, respectively. Ji-woong is Woong’s quasi-adoptive brother, who relegates himself as a mere observer, and the minor character to Woong’s lead. NJ is a difficult-to-like, shameless yet articulate idol singer who is taken by Woong’s artwork and seeks to form a close relationship with him.
More than just all these characters, the entire cast certainly has enough acting chops to drive the story onward. Even your typical nosy work colleagues and fussy parents seem to shine in every scene they appear in.
Seeing all the characters interact with each other in all sorts of combinations makes for very interesting dynamics that keeps Our Beloved Summer from getting boring, or becoming the plain old Woong-and-Yeonsoo show.
Meaningful life lessons
The show tackles many difficult things that pretty much everyone has had to deal with, which I think is what makes it so much more engaging than chaebol, fantasy, or period K-dramas. Which are fine and entertaining all their own, but lack the grounded, slice of life-esque atmosphere that Our Beloved Summer has.
More than just breakups, we get to see characters deal with financial hardships, familial trauma, unrequited love, chasing dreams and learning to grow up and let go of their baggage. They are no longer in their carefree youth, but are still struggling to find meaning and (insert eye roll here) themselves as adults.
When these characters who we’ve grown fond of and empathize with eventually learn the lessons they need to to be genuinely happy, it’s hard not to feel some sort of catharsis— and honestly, a little comfort.
It’s one thing for a show to give us a happy ending, but it’s a whole other thing to know with certainty that these characters have grown and learned enough to be alright long after the show has ended.
Aching (and fluttering) hearts
Expect to constantly flip-flop between sobbing and squealing while watching this show.
This K-Drama is not just your typical fluffy series. The well-written characters and talented actors who play them make every laugh and tear and giggle and groan so much more meaningful.
Choi Wooshik and Kim Dami’s chemistry is undeniable. The slow burn of Woong and Yeonsoo realizing they never stopped thinking of each other, to rekindling their relationship the right way— it sounds like your typical love story, but Our Beloved Summer does a great job at making it feel fresh and organic.
While I could go off on plenty of tangents for hours and get real specific with why this K-drama deserves all the hype that it’s gotten, in the interest of brevity I’ll leave it at this: Our Beloved Summer is definitely worth the watch.
Photos courtesy of SBS and Netflix
