A Juventude de Maio (2021)

When fantasy meets reality ((your blood will boil, and your heart will flutter too))

As (I had seen it for a true story like this) but in a different way, to be honest, I felt that they wouldn't stand a chance from the start even though they knew each other for a short time, their love lasted over many years.
This is a drama set in the '80s, during the turbulent student demonstrations, there is a nurse and a doctor there. Although there are some medical things, it is not a medical drama. It's like a romantic meeting on a blind date where the girl pretends to be her friend, and her only goal is to make sure that the man won't love her and won't want to meet her again, but events change................
*** characters****
Hwang Hee Tae: I think it's safe to say that he was madly in love with Myung Hee, he's funny but sad - he's perfect with all his flaws!
Myung Hee: I love her. She does her best to live honestly and her selflessness is very attractive. She is the kindest person who will risk himself to help a stranger. Although she lives a difficult life, she will never show her sadness in front of the people who take care of her, she is a very strong woman, which is why I respect her.
- Hwang Ji Nam (Hee Tae's father): annoying, hateful, cunning, ruthless, traitor, and if I could - I'd kill him myself
It represents blind evil, greed and hypocrisy, controlling his eldest son like a puppet, or leading him like a dog while ignoring the younger.
***** some quotes:
"In the face of the storm, the only thing we could do was hold each other's hands so we wouldn't lose each other."
"Give us the strength and the courage to swim safely throughout this life"
************************************************** ******************************************
This drama shares lessons about family and love. The circumstances that revolve around our family can really influence our choices in life but in the end, we still have the right to make the decision ourselves. Loving someone can be difficult and can change our lives forever but if the other person is worth the risk, why not?!!.
I concluded by saying:
"Death" does not always refer to the body, but to dreams that are not lived, and hopes that are shattered. Which makes you wonder what it means to live? Are the person who gave up their dreams somehow alive or are they dying with each passing day?

Leia Mais

Deeply moving

The acting from every cast member is top notch especially the leads in the first half of the series. The leads are so natural in their acting that it almost feels like a real couple in courtship. The thriftiness of some of the characters was poignant too. The story is tight , and by dramaland's standards, convincing. The Gwangju uprising is quite shocking, seeing how the military abuse the public is infuriating. But am quite sorely disappointed with the ending for the couple. I can understand that their relationship is a reflection of the pain of lives lost and military brutality during the Gwangju uprising. But couldn't the drama end on a brighter note? Rather than painting a pitch dark night, can't there be some twinkling stars to give the audience some emotional crutches to hold on to after they journeyed through the horror of the uprising, and insanity of the leads' growing up years? Nevertheless, its one of the best dramas in 2021 - made my 'heart flutter' and the leads’ chemistry is to die for!

Leia Mais

Close to being a masterpiece

The show had an interesting premise, the Gwangju uprising, which is so intriguing it'll require a few Google searches to fully understand what and why this was important. For that an A+ to the show great way to spread awareness. Acting by the cast, fantastic, even the child actors were great. Specially Lee Do Hyun, the guy can is just amazing...his love for Go Min Si's character was very evident, and heartwarming, traumatic events were beautifully shown by him as well as the funny and quipped scenes, just awesome. Go Min Si was good but not on par with Lee Do Hyun, the chemistry from her side lacked and often required the story to show an alternate perspective through which the audience was made to realise that she did love the ML(-0.5). Then there are the SML and SFL who are just if not to create problems are just there for the sake of being there. The show introduces us to the uprising via SFL who seems the most distant from the cause, you never learn her motivation for the protest and only cause more problems in the main characters life unknowingly and the SML would have been tolerable if stayed as the oblivious moron but he too out of jealousy ended up creating more problems like ffs they are more annoying than the Villain of the show.(-1)
The show probably wanted to make people realise how innocent people who had nothing to do with the Uprising were caught in the crossfire but they shouldn't have then made it a core characteristic of the SFL, because by the end of the show that's how anyone will know her.
Had a lot of potential though, the show started a lot of good story points which were either never addressed or were just brought to the conclusion very easily, one such point was the FL and SFL with the past trauma they had.

Its a good experience anyway, tells the viewers about the brutality under the military that South Korea had to go through in 1980, the number of people who died meaningless deaths and how that even now they will not have to face justice because that's how the real world is.

sorry for the long rant. Thanks for reading. See you later😁✌️

Leia Mais

I can say Masterpiece

So glad that I watched it , I even sighned to my acc just to write a review on it ,,, tbh so thankful for how many years they made me cry , so glad I watched it not disappointed at all , I won't lie that I was wondering if it worth it at some point , I was thinking it became cold , wondering about the fation and the period they intruducing the acting and many thoughts , but no , thorgh all the ups and downs as you finish watching you'll know that the time you spent wasn't wasted ...
So glad I choose this drama to watch so satisfied so grateful for all the actors the production and all
Tbh other thing at middle of it , I wondered about the ost and listened to it on yt the calm one by Kim bum Soo and when I read the name of the singer I knew this drama will turn to end & I'm about to watch something big and my supesion wasn't wrong , :)
I'm not the kind who likes spoilers or spoil a thing so if you read this review I don't think you'll get spoiler lol although I put a spoiler alert ~ anyway I wrote this to inform u that this work deserve watching
And to express how I feel now so when comeback I'll remember this ~
I love the feelings it gave me and how much I cried really ...
And the actor sooooooo handsome I fell in love🥺🥺
And yeah ,, thank u for reading this , & again u have to watch it . :) ~

Leia Mais

Watch this if you're okay with tears and blues aftermath

The drama should win an Oscar for real! I just wanna kiss the writer-nim and the actors for this drama !

First of all, let's talk about the acting! The hero and heroine's acting deserve a standing ovation! Besides, this is the first drama of gominsi (heroine) as main lead. The melodrama prince and princess should be titled for both main lead. Their tears just makes me crying on my bed for days. And the antagonist, i just wanna choke him to death for real. Thanks covid for the fact I can't fly to south korea right now.

Next, the plot! The romance is revolving by a real historical situation where the riot and the evilness of the government are portrayed perfectly. The messages of the drama is strongly shown. The trauma, the tears, the lost of loved one and the life that goes on afterwards. The fact that lots of hwang hee tae out there, living their lives while barely stand on their feet. Kudos to writer!!

I'm crying again while writing this review. Feels like reminiscing the painful memories.

Leia Mais

It had potential but the direction and script failed

I had high expectations for this drama but they weren't met. I started watching because of Lee Dohyun but his acting was kinda average in this. I think the character didn't fit him. For me, Go Minsi's acting stole the show. I was so impressed by her. Overall, the story had a lot of potential but I think the drama was badly directed and the script was lacking. The drama deal with very serious situations and a lot of time I felt like it just couldn't live up to the seriousness of the situations; It felt superficial. I found it inconsistent, sometimes forcing comedy when it just didn't fit. It took a lot of me to finish it. Despite this, I was satisfied with the ending.

Leia Mais

Expectations Vs Reality.

Before i say anything else, I'll let y'all know that for me(someone who's watched countless dramas prior to this) this was most probably the hardest drama I have ever had to rate.
Honestly, i could've given this a 10/10, but at the same time i could've given it a 1/10.
Why? Reason being the ending.
And I'll j leave it at that.

Getting into the review, this is basically a reality check of a drama trying to tell us how irl even the "MCs" or protagonists don't get the ending they want always. cuz irl there rly aren't any protagonists to begin with. everyone gets treated alike in this life and there're no "chosen ones". One sad and tragic but real story. Leaves you pondering.

P.S. A friendly advice. Prepare some tissues if you chose to watch the entire show. All the best!

Leia Mais

“A Worthy Watch”

“Youth of May” is a compact 12-episode series which means that the storyline is not stretched nor interspersed with irrelevant, useless scenes. Each scenario and conversation are integral to the plot so they manage to keep the viewer’s interest and maintain their attention.

The effort to transport the audience to life in the 80s, most specifically during the turbulent month of May 1980 in Gwangju, is aptly seen and felt in the set design, props, styling and music.

I was continuously entertained with the delirious mix of drama, romance, suspense, comedy, action and history. Although it leaned more on the brutal side of humanity, the lead characters’ love for each other and towards others, made up for the emotionally heavy and gory scenes.

Moving and heartfelt, you will fall in love alongside Myung-hee and Hee-tae, despise and abhor Hwang Ki-nam, sympathize with Soo-ryeon, feel sorry for Hyun-cheol, root for Kyung-soo and empathize with Soo-chan. So many different emotions in a rollercoaster ride throughout 12 memorable and action-packed episodes.

Leia Mais

Beautiful love story during Gwangju uprising

The acting is great and Do Hyun never disappoints.

Is is a love story set during Gwangju uprising. The main couple had to go through some many obstacles to get their happy ending which last probably one minute but it is such a beautiful story. The last episode is very emotional and you will cry. I was hoping for a happy ending but I guess the ending made it more realistic about what really happened in Gwangju.

It is very well written and also it states all the facts about cruelty of the military and that thousands of innocent people lost their lives.

I really love this drama. You need to watch it!

Leia Mais

A beautifully crafted drama capturing the reality of the Gwangju Uprising.

Youth Of May is a melodrama set in May 1980 during the Gwangju Uprising. Its about Myung Hee and Hee Tae navigating through the trials of this hectic period of time.

First of all, the acting is amazing. Literally a 11/10. Go Min Si and Lee Do Hyun played Myung Hee and Hee Tae in an amazing way. I like how they literally brought the characters into life and brought a memorable performance. They had great chemistry and their acting just felt so realistic.
Everybody portrayed their characters well.The writing and the whole story was good and overall I loved watching the show entirely. The OSTs were giving off the sad vibe which I enjoyed listening to and also I also came to know about how harsh 1980 May was in Gwangju and how much the people were actually suffering for no reason.

I definitely recommend this drama to anybody who loves watching realistic dramas with no fiction. If you enjoy politics too, then this drama is for you. It's totally worth the watch and is one of the best dramas that I've seen.

Leia Mais

Value to watch on this Lockdown.

I started to watch this after I saw the spoiler in tiktok. So i guess i might have a try and watch it.

I guess i'm the only one who have problem with this drama 😅 when most of the viewer cry at the end of the episode but I'm more curious about what happen with the 2nd lead female and her brother? The 1st female lead mother and grandma after the uprising? And why didnt the director show a bit about them at the end of the episode. Well there is a bit sneak peak scene but that didnt help my curiosity😅 Well, I did enjoyed watch it but thanks to the fast forward button.

And Pd-nim, I know its a period drama but the soundtrack..🤏 boring. 🙂

Leia Mais

A good drama, could have been better.

I have Really mixed feelings about this drama.
On one hand, the drama was good, I really liked it but on the other hand, there were some ick-y things here and there. There was so much potential but the writer just didn't go down that route.....
The drama is kind of boring and draggy, cause I guess, it's slow paced, but I really liked how they showed how the lives were affected by the Gwanju uprising, how innocent people lost their lives to achieve the democracy South Korea has today, how scary death is, and how terrifying and traumatising the uprising would have been and how brave and courageous these fighters were to not give up even after being faced by these horrendous things and it's so inspiring to know that they did win in the end, after years of struggle. These all things make you really grateful and feel the responsibility of the privileges we normally take for granted.

The chemistry between the leads was amazing, I could really feel their love and it was heart wrenching to know how the female lead won't survive. This made their happy scenes 10x sadder for me and I'm not complaining, I like to know beforehand if it will be a sad ending.
The things I feel ick-y were like when both the leads were so devastated and that was how it was portrayed to us to, like it's the end of the world and they can never meet again and all that.... but.... the next episode, the second female lead so easily tells the male lead to go to the female lead and it was like, the viewers were made all that sad for....... nothing. Weird.

Then the climax, I feel like was really really rushed. Also, I really feel like the drama didn't do Myeong-Hee's character justice at all. She just died..... so easily. There was no drama, nothing. Like Are you kidding me? It's the fricking female lead!
They should have made it distressing, disturbing, upsetting, heart rendering, tragic, the kind where you sob and sob and can't stop sobbing. They should have made Hee-Tae be with her in final moments, with both of them crying and us viewers, bawling the heck out of our hearts. It was honestly really disappointing, how the drama failed to make me cry, I remained completely dry eyed, and especially cause I picked this drama for a good cry, but alas the drama completely failed at that.
But I guess, this was what made it sadder and more tragic too, the fact that he suffered so long trying to find her or at least her body and had no idea where she is or what happened to her. The fact that this may have happened to lovers or people in general, that so many of them must have lost their loved ones this way. Not knowing what happened to them or where they are is actually the saddest thing.
Then, we also didn't get to know about or what happened to Soo-Chan or Soo-Ryeon or Hwang Ki-Nam or the protesters or how did the uprising ended, etc. In short, the ending just felt Really rushed, incomplete and dissatisfying. I feel like they had to leave out parts to adjust it all in 12 episodes.

The cinematography was good, I really liked the whole old school, nostalgic vibe with a tinge of sadness all the time.
The OSTs were fine, okay-ish. They complemented the drama really well, with the same old school nostalgic sweet and sad vibe, but the problem is majority of them were really forgettable and mediocre, at least for me. "I regret" and "Winter of May" really stood out to me though, you could feel the pain through the lyrics.

This drama teaches you a lot of things about life, hardships, freedom, democracy, dictatorship and especially, how precious freedom is. This drama will stay with me for a long time cause of the stories it portrayed and the lessons it taught.
Over all, the drama was good, could have been better though.

P. S. Y'all listen to Bigger Than The Whole Sky by Taylor Swift! The lyrics fit the leads perfectly, it's like Taylor really, actually wrote it from Hee-Tae's perspective for Myeong-Hee!!

Leia Mais