Passarela de Sonhos (2020)

Talent wasted on a mediocre script

Park So Dam - she has a great voice. I loved her in Cinderella and the Four Knights, and heard she was exceptional in Parasite, which I did not see. I'll be honest, I think any actress could have been dropped into this part and they would have been okay.

Park Bo Gum - he is a wonderful actor. He is able to portray a full range of emotions with nothing more than his eyes. For anyone that has not seen I Remember You (also known as Hello Monster), he is EXCEPTIONAL in that! There is something very charismatic about Bo Gum, and the more of his works I watch, the most impressed I am.

This show started out well. I loved the background look into the career of modeling and the concept of two good friends being on opposite ends of the economic as well as career scales. The main characters started out being very up-front with one another, verbalizing their likes, dislikes, etc. However, once they actually got involved with one another, the communication stopped. In Asian dramas, I often wonder why the characters don't just talk to each other, it was such a disappointment that this was a problem here as well.

I loved the woman that played his agent, she brought some good comedic talent to the table. However, there were so many story lines going on at once, some of which were never fully fleshed out, some of which were pointless, some of which were just downright irritating. There seemed to be more happening with other people in the show than the main three characters. This made the show seem needlessly long.

If I'm honest, the thing that kept me coming back was Bo Gum's acting. That and the hopes of a good ending. On that score I was very disappointed. The ending was so lackluster and open-ended, it felt like there should have been a concluding episode following the last episode. This is another thing that I notice about Asian dramas, they tend to use a lot of filler to make more episodes and then wrap everything up in the last five minutes. Writers could definitely take a cue from the writers of Legend of the Blue Sea, which has the best ending of any Asian drama that I've ever seen.

So, my long-winded evaluation of Record of Youth, see it for Park Bo Gum, but don't expect much otherwise.

Leia Mais

Plot goes downhill after the first few episodes

Honestly, I loved the first couple of episodes, and drama showed so much potential in terms of character development. The chemistry between the leads was promising too. However, after the first few episodes, the plot became extremely lackluster. The same problems were rehashed again and again, and resolved with no character development from our leads. Perhaps the only character who seemed to have developed is Hye Jun, while Jung Ha and the rest were relegated to the sidelines.

I did find the resolution between father and son at the end to be sweet though. But it was too little too late; they could have done away with 90% of the father's shouting and it would have made no difference to the plot. And Hye Hyo's pining for Jung Ha just really didn't sit right with me, not only because she's attached but she's your best friend's girl??? Come on, man. That plot line was dragged out with no resolution too.

Park Bo Gum honestly carried the whole show for me. He's the only reason I continued watching the damn thing TILL THE END even after such poor writing omg. The varied roles really showcased just how good of an actor he is. And Park So Dam's talents were so underutilized!! JUSTICE FOR HER PLEASE. And may they pick better scripts next time. :')

Leia Mais

It’s dry :(

Unfortunately, this was not a great drama, it was really disappointing since the first few episodes were quite good, the vibe was bubbly and it gave me the typical kdrama feels.... I was buying it. Then after like 6 episodes, it was going the wrong track because literally, nothing happened!!!!! there was no plot full stop. The drama had no exciting plot or anything that made it a drama it was just like watching someone’s 'a day in my life' youtube video, making it really dry and not feel like a drama. However , I thought the message was great as it talked about how it is hard getting settled and stabilising your future in the 20s and the hardships especially what models and actors go to get into the industry and the aftermath after getting in like scandals and becoming famous. The characters were terrible in terms of personalities as I felt they were just misunderstanding or exaggerating situations, especially the main girl lead (I don’t want to spoil the drama). To wrap this up A. the message was great as it gave all of us a reality check that it takes time to heal and to get to where you want. And B. The drama did not provide any feels that is was drama.

Leia Mais

Though Not Particularly Good, I Still Really Liked It...

I was really excited to watch this K-drama due to the hype that this series has been receiving on social media (especially the K-Drama subreddit thread). I've also heard a lot about Park Bo Gum and about how this is his last drama before his military draft. I was excited to see my first K-drama starring him. It's also pretty cool to see Park So Dam, from the Oscar-winning 'Parasite' as the FL. Though the episode was a bit slow, by the end, I was hooked! I am really liking this series so far! It is nice to see a K-drama focus on people struggling to achieve their dreams against their family's wishes or mean superiors which is definitely relatable for millions of people around the world. I also liked the cinematography, which was clean and soft.

On a side note, why is Hye-jun struggling to make money, working as a bodyguard, at Subway and as a busboy if he is a top model whose looks customers, other models and a top fashion designer fawn over? Also, why is Jung Ha's boss so b*tchy? Like she even interrupted Hye-jun who was trying to defend her? Like what?! I'm quite sure that she is allowed to do that since she is technically working for the models. I'm so ready to see her pummeled into the ground by Jung Ha's imminent success!

Watching the second episode, the pacing of the series seems to have established itself. This drama is slow. It's more like a slice-of-life drama but I'm really liking it! Park Bo Gum's character has immediately become my favourite and I found myself waiting for him to appear onscreen. I cannot wait to see him achieve success and make his naysayers, including his family, gape in disbelief!

On a side note, I love that there is LGBT representation in these newer K-dramas, first Itaewon Class and now, Record of Youth! Although the character in this drama is a fashion designer who lusts after and wants to exploit Hye-jun, it is nice seeing more people like me represented. Hopefully, they will be able to humanize him like Itaewon Class's Hyeon-yi though it doesn't seem like they will...

Episode 3 wasn't as strong as the previous episodes as not much actually happened. I do continue to find Park Bo Gum captivating and absolutely LOVE his scenes. I really feel like the drama hits its stride when it focuses on Hye-jun and his burgeoning career. I don't really care for the other characters to be honest, even the FL who I'm not really feeling the romance between the two leads. Probably because of how rushed, unrealistic and cheesy it is. The snappy dialogue between them feels unnatural too (as others have pointed out) (or at least the translation seems awkward) (not sure if it flows better in Korean though). Anyways, I'm getting the feeling that Hae Hyo is gonna backstab Hye-jun in the future. I feel like Hae Hyo is kind to Hye-jun specifically because he feels bad for him. He pities him. Having him around makes Hae Hyo feel more successful. However, when Hye-jun gets more famous and successful, Hae Hyo will try to backstab out of jealousy. He's already trying to see An Jeong behind Hye-jun's back. It seems like he likes her just because she doesn't like him, which makes him feel more attracted to her. The fact that An Jeong is a fan of Hye-jun and not him clearly irks Hae Hyo, so he wants to make her his fan. He sees her as a challenge. That's my thoughts on Hae Hyo so far. Hopefully, I'm wrong...

Episode 4 was quite slow as once again, not much happened and there were a lot of filler scenes which padded out the running time of the drama. There was a lot of Hye-jun and An Jeong moments which I didn't care for to be honest. Their relationship is way too rushed and to be frank, I'm tired of seeing straight couples. I actually ship Hye-jun with Hae Hyo lol. I did love the ending (which although a bit too rushed was satisfying) where Hye-jun gets to upstage the actor who was mean to him in the first episode though. On a side note, the fact that Hye-jun got the villain role in the film was quite big! I thought that he would just be like a friend. I don't get why Jin Joo hasn't been reported by any of the employees. There's no way that An Jeong was the first co-worker she bullied.

Watching Episode 5, my fears for this drama are starting to manifest. There was once again way too much filler scenes that focused on side characters who I still didn't care for. The family melodrama about the brother moving out was unnecessary and served no purpose. The snappy banter between the main couple still feels forced and unnatural. Still don't see any chemistry between Hye-Jun and Jeong An. That confession at the end was random and way too rushed. I still ship Hye-Jun with Hae-Hyo to be honest. The only part of the episode that shined was when it focused on Hye-Jun's career in the last 20 minutes where Hye-Jun's acting talent was displayed as he delved deep into his villain character. Hopefully, the drama focuses more on his career though I doubt that it will...

Episode 6 was much better than the previous episode though there are a number of plot points that didn't make sense. Like why is the old manager angry that Hye-jun left him when he was literally not paying him? Da fuq? How was he even able to get a high-paying job at a good company representing a top actor when his old agency was barely getting by, not being able to pay its clients? And why is Hye-jun's new manager not going to bat for him? Shouldn't she be tracking down that director and explain why Hye-jun left his old manager? And why would a director drop an actor just because he changed representation?

Family scenes continue to bore. I didn't care for the main romance, just Hye-jun and his career.
A gay relationship is scandalous while a straight relationship would have been praised. After the ground-breaking portrayal of a transgender character in Itaewon Class, this handling of an LGBT topic is just disappointing. What a horrible reporter! She doesn't even check her sources! It's so obvious that Lee Tae-su will try to slander Hye-jun for leaving the agency.

Though this drama wasn't particularly good, I still did enjoy it a lot and will greatly miss looking forward to watching it every Monday and Tuesday night when I get home from work :'( Record of Youth kind of exemplifies the charm and appeal of K-dramas for me. There's just this innocence, this purity and optimism that is just perfect for escapism, especially for someone like me who goes to school everyday studying something he hates, something that his parents pushed him to do. After long, exhausting days of school, and dreading the start of every week, it was a blessing to have something to look forward to every Monday and Tuesday night. Watching K-dramas, such as Record of Youth, calms me and gives me hope. Hope that I will be happy someday. And what more can we ask for...

Leia Mais

PBG Fans this is THE drama for you!!!!

Okay. Admittedly I watched this drama mainly because of PBG!!!!! I think that speaks for itself. But I stayed because of the story.

While watching this drama I first thought it was about youth romance between the ML and FL but as the story unfolds more each episode I got a feeling that it was more than that. As the story gets deeper, I realized that this is about the life of the ML and what he was going through during his "youth", his 20s. As someone who's in my mid 20's, I found his character very relatable. The way he was going through his quarter life crisis just seemed so real. The pressure he felt to prove his self to other, the time management, building his career, finding love, and basically just finding balance in things.

One thing that I really really loved in this drama is that it showed the versatility of PBG as an actor. Since he was playing as an actor here, he was able to portray a variety of character within the drama. Hence, making this drama THE drama to watch for his fans. It was seriously like a fan service served on a silver platter!!!! <3

There's actually only one thing in this drama that I didn't like, at some point - especially the ending- it felt like the drama was cut short. I know that from the beginning it was really a 16 episode drama, but even though the ending was okay and realistic, after getting attached to other character I felt that their stories were cut short. It felt like the major supporting characters that we saw in the beginning became extras towards the end. There was really no growth. Like for Haehyo, we don't know actually know what happened to his career after. How is his relationship with his mom now. How Jinu and Haena are doing. The Grandpa and HJs dad, his mom, his brother, what are they doing after 2 years passed.

The ending left more questions asked than answered. You know if they made this drama a 20 episode one I really wouldn't mind <3 hehehehe but yeah that's just me lol

Leia Mais

How I view this drama (Updated)

How I viewed this drama before I completed it and had only watched 8 episodes:
Original ranking:
Acting 8.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch 9.0
Overall 9.0

This drama is slow and medium-hearted. It depicts the life of the two main leads, who are fighting to make a name for themselves in a job they are passionate about. It is a drama that focuses on the real-life struggles of the leads, and the people that surround them. As a result of this, not everyone will find this drama interesting or enjoyable and that's okay.
Secondly, the acting by the cast is enjoyable and helped make the plot stand out a little bit more. As I watched the currently aired eight episodes, I did not feel uncomfortable by the way the actors chose to represent the characters, nor did I feel like one actor was outshining another, so I applaud the actors not only for their chemistry but for their ability to provide such a comfortable performance for myself as a viewer.

Thirdly, the script and plot so far, is it unique? 50/50. There are a few other dramas out there that depicted the struggles and life of someone in the entertainment industry, and the struggles of their female counterpart, however, the parts of this drama that do make this plot unique in my opinion, is the approach the writers have taken to touch upon the human aspects of some of these characters. In these types of shows, it isn't unrealistic to see the 'mean, rude, obnoxious' character(s) that constantly appear over and over and that constantly make the plot more generic. This drama does have obnoxious, rude characters, but thankfully it isn't the initial focus of the drama. Because the writer chose to focus on the humane aspects of the characters, we get a broader glimpse into the struggles these characters are going through, and rather than having them build up a facade for the public, they choose to continue to be as true to themselves as they possibly can.
Lastly. The way the overall plot is executed and the speed of the drama is slow but not too slow for my liking. Rather, I find it at just the right pace of not too fast nor too slow, to properly dive into the stories of the characters. Take note that as I stated, this is a humane drama about the struggles of the leads in their desired workplace, if the pace was too fast we would lose a majority of the plot and barely understand the key aspects of the overall story, let alone the relationships between characters wouldn't seem as genuine as they are at this moment in time. To sum it all up, I believe this drama is great for those who want to watch a nicely paced and humane drama, either as background noise or as something to just relax to.

How I viewed this drama after I completed it (UPDATED REVIEW):

I'm sorry but what the absolute hell was the writer(s) thinking? They completely lost their way the second half of the drama. The at first humble leads, who communicated quite thoroughly in the beginning, then changed and struggled to communicate and treated each other appallingly.
The various plot barriers (conflicts) thrown at them were quite lackluster as well, and the majority, if not all of them weren't needed!

I am absolutely astounded at how the writer(s) who had a perfectly somewhat realistic, and humane drama, in the beginning, could completely throw it all under a bus story-wise, and instead focus their resources in an attempt to 'cause drama and keep it entertaining' for views. As a result of their decision, the characters became really bland very quickly. Did the writer(s) even care for their characters?! As a writer myself (ie. Fanfiction and some original) I genuinely care about my characters and where they are going to end up, even if it's all fictional. Meanwhile, these writer(s) seemed to write willy nilly and destroy the original intent of the story. To summarise it all: I am severely disappointed.

Leia Mais

RIP to my expectations.

I'm writing this only to get rid of my anger and frustration, i was so in love with the drama at first, the cast was good the story was good, everything was good until about episode 8.
After episode 8 the writer started creating a lot of unwanted problems, the chemistry and understanding between the lead couple disappeared, the friendship between the main leads everyone adored was all gone. The whole story went down hill still i forced my self to watch it till ep 15
later i found out the disappointment of an ending and didn't bother to watch the last episode.

my many problems with the story
1) hye jun and jeong had such beautiful understanding between them i was impressed, but the writer completely killed that after episode 8

2) jeong ha never actually fulfilled her dream, they should have focused on her character development but they didn't at all, it was as if she was a supporting character after episode 8.

3)hye jun's and hae hyo's friendship was so lovable at first, and i understand it all went downhill for reasons but neither hye jun nor hae hyo tried to retrieve it, years of friendship just worthless

4) Hae hyo's father was introduced in the plot so he should have had a bigger role in changing the mother and supporting the children correctly.

5) jeong ha's mother was introduced but the did nothing special with the character she was just a way to kill time and extent the episode to one hour

6) hye na's relationship with jin woo should have had a better story surrounding them.

the reporter lady was just annoying to the core, i didn't like min jae's character after a while either

the writer had such excellent ideas but why did she create problems she wouldn't be able to solve?
I'm more angry since they practically wasted PBG and PSD's talent , i had so much expectations but in the end all went down the drain where i didn't even bother to waste my time on the last episode.
i need my 15+ hours i spent on this drama, I'm so annoyed and i definately would not recommend

Leia Mais

Record of Absolutely Nothing

I was really excited to start watching this drama and the beginning didn't disappoint. Right off, I could tell that this was different. There was no unnecessary drama. No ridiculous misunderstandings to keep the two leads apart just for the sake of it. No mysterious past connection that either one can't remember. This might be one of the most realistic relationships I've seen in a kdrama so far. Just two people who meet, start to like each other, let each other know and start dating and fall in love. It was so sweet. Annnnnd that's pretty much it. I can't remember exactly what episode it was, I think the episode that ended with them dancing in the rain. I feel like it should've ended there because everything after that was just so blah. Nothing really happened. Hye Jun became famous but that was to be expected. I feel like this drama was full of nothing. Relationships that didn't really lead anywhere, friendships that didn't really change. I gave it a 6.5 because overall this wasn't a bad drama, it was just a nothing drama with really good acting.

Leia Mais

Kilka chwil przed szczytem.

Okey, bez zbędnych ceregieli. Emocji miałam dużo. Negatywnych oczywiście po ostatnim epizodzie, który ściął mnie z nóg. Ale za chwilę dojdziemy do tego.

Coś o fabule.
Record Of Youth mogłoby się po tytule wydawać, że będzie jakimś powiewem motywu z Reply albo Age Of Youth, no bo w końcu Youth - Młodość. Hye Jun jako model dąży do bycia szerokiej sławy aktorem, a Jung Ha teoretycznie chce być makijażystką, ale skrycie marzy w pierwszym epizodzie o spotkaniu ze swoim idolem którym o dziwo właśnie jest mało popularny jeszcze Hye Jun. Szybko wywiązuje się między nimi przyjaźń i co można przewidzieć miłość. ( I to dość szybko przyznaje tu wychodzi)
Hye Jun przechodzi nie lada wyzwania i kilkakrotne upadki zanim staje na czerwonym dywanie. Zapewnia mu to ciągle gderająca rodzina (oprócz kochanego dziadziusia) byli szefowie i ciągle wygrywający z nim w przedbiegach Hae Hyo - najlepszy przyjaciel. Do tego wejście w progi aktorstwa wiąże się z niejednym skandalem z którymi przychodzi się zmierzyć Hye Junowi. Oprócz zmagań głównego bohatera dostajemy szeroką dawkę historii postaci drugoplanowych, których po ilości czasu antenowego wcale bym ich tak nie nazwała. Serio, nie spotkałam się chyba jeszcze z dramą w której połowa czasu antenowego leciała na każdą inną osobę oprócz głównej pary. A są nimi rodzina Hye Juna, rodzina Hae Hyo, menedżerowie i każda z osobna postać z ów wspomnianej rodziny. Jak wiele osób gdzieś pisało, historie tych osób zostały wprowadzone i kompletnie nie rozwinięte. Zaczynając od samego Hae Hyo, który błąka się ze złamanym sercem między matką a główną parą a kończąc na rodzinie Jung Ha o której wiemy tylko tyle co się pojawia i znika. Z moją skłonnością do przewijania prze nudnych wątków, w tym wypadku musiałam naprawdę niejednokrotnie sporo przewinąć. Może do tego też przyczyniły się dialogi albo generalnie tempo dramy które potrafiło się przy innych wątkach strasznie wlec... Nie wiem, może to tylko ja, ale nie chciało mi się poświęcać uwagi na coś co nie było tym wątkiem głównym.

Co mnie tak boli...
Wracając do głównej pary, poza karierą która razem starają się sobie ukierunkować i spełnić wedle swoich oczekiwań uwagę zwraca ich związek, który teoretycznie od początku solidnie zbudowany z niewiadomych przyczyń ulega jakiejś cichej destrukcji. Destrukcji której nie umiem pojąć, zresztą jak wszyscy recenzenci których czytam.
Jak para, która jest tak dogadana pod każdym względem, zrównoważona, wyrozumiała praktycznie do samego końca w ostatnim niemalże odcinku się wypala i to z takim spokojem? Z początku spodziewałam się, że to ten wątek miłosny między gwiazdą a szarą myszeczką nie wypali, albo ich przerośnie. Dojść można do takiej w sumie konkluzji, że to własnie był ten powód. Naszemu hallyustar zaczęło solidnie brakować czasu, a JH mogło to nie satysfakcjonować.. Jednakże jak sama przyznała, sama miała pełne ręce roboty ze swoim nowo otwartym salonem. Związek zrobił się taki jakby długodystansowy, ale wciąż. Oboje zdążyli zauważyć, że fajerwerki już miały swój czas i trochę pod górkę się zaczęło. Wszystko miało solidne uzasadnienie, w takim układzie będzie ciężej. Kto tak nie pomyśli wiązać się z aktorem? JH nagle zmienia się w sentymentalną materialistkę, która mówi finisz. I co ciekawe, szybko im przechodzi po tylu romantycznych scenkach i żarliwych "Kocham Cię", co to nie spotkałam się jeszcze w dramie.
Sami to oceńcie. Żal mi że tak mi się naświetliły oczy ich uroczym widokiem dla takiego zakończenia.
W sumie, można też zasmucić się nad wątkiem siostry Hae Ny i Juniego, którzy również tak po prostu zrobili finisz w ostatnim epie ze względu różnic społecznościowych.


OST:
Bardzo przyjemny, nutka Wheein albo Baekhyuna wpadła mi solidnie w ucho. Zobaczymy na jak długo. Wszystko miało dobre zabarwienie i dawało odczuć jakiś sentymentalny klimat jakby właśnie do młodości nawiązywało.

Co ja powiem więcej o tej dramie. Nie udało mi się jak dotąd skończyć inne pozycje od tejże scenarzystki aż wreszcie zrobiłam to tutaj. Czy jestem zadowolona z tego? Raczej nie.
NIe znoszę, nie trawię takich niezrozumiałych zabiegów w serialach gdzie coś co ma solidny grunt znikąd zostaje pogrzebane. Wątek romantyczny w tym wypadku był naprawdę takim głównym wątkiem i tworzył cały klimat tejże historii. Pozbywanie się go na ostatnią chwilę bez zastanowienia zrobiło zamęt i zmyło cały nastrój jaki w odbiorcy wytworzył się podczas tych 14 epów. Myślę, że gdyby któremuś z bohaterów nie wypaliła kariera nie zrobiło by to takiej dziury jak zrobiło zerwanie SHJ z AJH.
Czuje że piszę strasznie chaotycznie, ale tak. Ta drama wiele nie daje poza głębokim urokiem z którego ktoś cie na siłę
brutalnie budzi.

Leia Mais

I’m not really sure what I just watched. I mean it was a series but I’m a bit confused. It was airy! There didn’t appear to be a plot. The synopsis is accurate but just no there is nothing more to it than that. Series is about young adults in the modeling industry, 2 models/actors, a photographer and a make up artist. It was okay but noting happened.

What you’ll get is a struggling actor trying to make it, a successful actor who is greatly supported. The series is unique in the sense that the 3 males all appear to be really good and loyal friends since childhood. Our female lead is new to the circle, kind of.

There was so cute moments but mostly tears from their struggles or peculiar family.

I can’t recommend this. I sort of feel like I just watch a long fashion ad without a chance to see full ad. This is not really romantic although the bond between the males is refreshing.

Leia Mais

I don't understand what happened

Yes I "watched" the entire drama and there are a lot of people who already shared a similar opinion as mine but I just have to get this out of my head. I was so excited as I heared about the cast and also the OST and the actors also very did well.... But the story idk. The first 7 or 8 episodes were amazing in my opinion and then nothing. I think that was because they were very fast forward with the characters relationship in the first few episode. It felt like they have nothing to tell anymore afterwards and I was bored while watching it, which lead to skipping through most of the side characters scenes. I also disliked the male lead in between because it was so cliché. Idk

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Phew... Such a rollercoaster. Of disappointment.

This drama stole 4 month of my patience, so I gonna be brief and pinpoint. I was surprised looking at low ratings when I was on the first episodes but by the end I think that even low ratings are too high for it.

?️For me it's obvious that the main character Sa Hye Joon is based on Park Bo Geom, or at least relies heavily on his persona. He just finished his service the last year right after this drama. I was never a fan of him but I see how his fanbase ramped up the ratings. 8.7% wouldn't be possible with such crooked storytelling if there weren't the two Parks (Park So Dam).

Now, facts only:
▪︎Hye Joon's dad looks like Kim Jeong Il.
▪︎After the 8th episode Hye Joon already achieved everything somehow and starts earning millions and riding a luxurious car out of blue because the drama producers have signed a promotion contract with BMW.
▪︎The story goes nowhere after he reaches success. Hye Joon obviously doesn't give a damn about scandals, so why should I?
▪︎Endless dialogues about feelings and morals that sound like even the actors are sick of them. As if the characters were zen Buddhist monks. Cut to 1 hour per episode, nothing to lose.
▪︎Army sucks. Stealing 2 years of life. I got it.
▪︎WTF? "Hi how are u"? This is the ending?!?

I started watching Record Of Youth when I felt bad and needed motivation. Mistake. Please, don't watch this drama if you're having hard times. It's not motivating, it's manipulative.

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