Title: 스무살 Seumoosal
English Title:
- 20's
- Twenty Years Old (20 Years Old)
Language: Korean
Year: 2014
Episode: 04
Cast:
- 이기광 Lee Gi Kwang (기광 Gi Kwang)
- 이다인 Lee Da In
- 김혜지 Kim Hye Ji
- 김동석 Kim Dong Suk
- 강태오 Kang Tae Oh
SYNOPSIS
Kim Hye Rim is twenty years old; young and eager to experience romance. She's devastated to find out that her crush is not the person she thought he was and Hye Rim's best friend takes her to an idol concert to distract her from her love problems.
Lee Gi Kwang is a member of the idol group Beast. He is also Hye Rim's old friend from middle school and her first love. They coincidentally meet after the concert and Gi Kwang reaches out to Hye Rim after a long time to rekindle their close relationship.
Gi Kwang confesses to Hye Rim that he has liked her all this time. They begin to date secretly.
REVIEW
Twenty Years Old is a short drama about young love but it also talks about the complications of a celebrity dating a non-celebrity. It is a light drama that tackles a difficult issue and I'm surprised it works quite well.
I like Kim Hye Rim as a character because she's the typical young woman. She doesn't know how to properly apply makeup and needs expert advice. She finds wearing high heeled shoes uncomfortable but she wears them anyway because beautiful shoes take its wearer to places. She indulges in fantasies even in broad daylight.
However, I didn't like how matter-of-fact she discusses blacking out whenever she drinks a lot of alcohol and how the most mysterious part about blacking out is those moments when she suddenly becomes sober and aware of her surroundings.
I suppose for most people, they go through that phase where they drink a lot of alcohol to the point that they lose their senses. In a way, it is just a reflection of modern society, particularly the young college students who are exploring different things.
But I wish drinking a lot of alcohol to the point of blacking out is not often presented as perfectly normal. It may be ordinary but I think it shouldn't be the case. What's the point anyway, of drinking too much alcohol that you lose your senses?
Anyway, Hye Rim and Lee Gi Kwang are childhood friends and sweethearts that lost contact with each other over time. I would normally find this predilection to first love infuriating but it is somewhat necessary for this narrative. Their history makes it easier for them to get in touch when they coincidentally meet years later and to become closer again in a short time.
The drama shows how difficult it is for Hye Rim and Gi Kwang to do the whole dating thing, given that Gi Kwang is a celebrity. They have to wear clothes that hide their faces whenever they go out. They have to go to places separately and they again have to leave separately.
Celebrities don't really have to expose their private lives to the public if they don't want to but there are times that they have to hide certain information and that's when things get complicated because they end up lying and denying the existence of someone special in their lives.
It must have been frustrating for Hye Rim when people don't believe she has a boyfriend. When people think she's not dating anyone, their reactions prove that Hye Rim and Gi Kwang are doing the dating secretly thing right. It should be a good thing except it's not in some ways because when you love someone, you would normally want people to know how amazing he is.
She must also be quite sad that when there are rumors of Gi Kwang dating someone, his management agency responds to the rumors by saying Gi Kwang is not dating anyone and that he is just spending time with a friend.
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스무살 Twenty Years Old
