Hello, My Twenties: A (Mostly) Spoiler-Free Review

Hello, My Twenties (also called Age of Youth or 청춘시대)

is a South Korean Drama produced by Celltrion Entertainment, is a story filled with the troubles of five, young housemates - all of whom are college-age women in their twenties. This review is spoiler-free. That means that I will not talk about any of the major plot twists. Remember that this is only my opinion and review of the story, so you may have different opinions.

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CHARACTERS:
Yoo Eun-Jae (20 years old*): The story opens with a socially awkward freshman played by Park Hye-soo. Miss Hye-soo debuted as an actress in the Korean medical show Yong-pal as a supporting actress back in 2015 and I've also seen her role in Introverted Boss (It's a great show if you get the chance to watch it!). While this actress did a great job playing the role of Eun-Jae, I found myself annoyed at her quite often. The character keeps a lot to herself and seems to push others away, even missing what's right in front of her. Honestly, eve from an introvert's standpoint, I can't understand how anybody could be so dense. However, Miss Hye-soo did an excellent job playing Eun-Jae. Some might complain that her acting was bad, but she plays a completely opposite character in Introverted Boss - which was a great role.

(Above: Park Hye-Soo / 23 Years Old)

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Song Ji-won (22 years old*): This character can only be described as a "sex fiend" - by which I mean that she's completely crazy about finding a boyfriend. Ji-won is played by seasoned actress Park Eun-Bin! Her character is really fun and made me smile a lot since she's a good "older sister" figure for Eun-Jae.There were times when I thought she was being too dirty, but that's just me.

(Above: Park Eun-Bin / 25 Years Old)

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Jung Ye-eun (22 years old*): This bubbly girl is played by Han Seung-yeon from Korean pop group Kara! Before she was a famous singer, she was a child actress and has acted steadily since 2010. Ye-eun is an innocent girl in love and that can really get overwhelming at times. Despite any obstacle or suspicion along the way, this character holds her man closer above all - even friendship at times. After an alarming plot twist in between episodes 9 and 10, she gained my respect and I left the series feeling really fond of her.

 (Above: Han Seung-Yeon / 29 Years Old)

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Kang Yi-na (24 years old*): Ryu Hwa-young, who began acting in 2014, was previously a singer of Korean pop group T-ara (pronounced "tiara"). I've only seen her in a few other roles since she's relatively new. These include both Mad Dog - where she played former gymnast working for an insurance fraud company; and a cameo role in the extremely popular series Descendants of the Sun. Her character in HMT is Yi-na - a selfish, laid back woman who (SPOILER IF YOU HAVENT WATCHED UP TO EPISODE 4 OR SO) is lying about being a student. She works as a prostitute, having 3 part-time boyfriends in the series. Out of all of the characters, she was probably my second favorite. This is mostly because she seems like a b*tch, but she's actually a giant softie who loves her friends dearly - a bit like a tsundere, right?!

 (Above: Ryu Hwa-Young / 24 Years Old)

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Yoon Jin-myung (28 years old): This hardworking woman is played by Han Ye-ri and she's our last housemate. The eldest and most hardworking of the girls, she holds several part-time jobs and also goes to school. She's often seen running to her next schedule, giving no time to rest. At first glance, she seems really cold and distant; but she's actually just trying her best to keep it together. She's got a lot on her plate at both work and home, so of course she keeps it to herself. If you haven't guessed it, she's my favorite. She deals with a lot of crap during this series and I'm honestly in love with her work ethic. Miss Jin-Myung did an excellent job! Leave it to this seasoned actress to get the job done right!!

(Above: Han Ye-Ri / 33 Years Old)

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RATING:
This drama was really good. As a college student myself, I'm going to be living in a similar situation soon and this made me really excited for it! Yes, there will be drama; but I feel like this drama gave me an idea of what living with three or more girls could be like. Now, I will give some of my overall rating with some aspects - beware for spoilers!!
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STORY: 7/10

The story itself was told nicely, even giving some interesting visuals that connected to certain

aspects of the episode's story. I feel like some of the character plots - like Eun-Jae's main story

are a bit rushed somehow. If this series were given more episodes, I would have loved to see

more backstory to their tales. For example (SPOILER ALERT) how the heck is Jin-Myung's

brother become comatose?! I would have loved to know!!!

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Character Development: 8/10

  All of the characters appeared really annoying at first, but it's part of that "scary roomates"

feel they were going for. 

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Relationships: 6/10

Oh my days... (MANY SPOILERS AHEAD) I really loved a few of the relationships -

namely the relationship between Jin-Myung and Jae-wan (the hot chef)... Not only was he

caring towards her, but he was also really handsome (which is a plus in my book!).

Their growth was really slow and I was occasionally annoyed that she couldn't open

up to him, but I understand since it's her character's closed space. My favorite scene

ever is when he was chopping the onions while she was getting inspected by the boss.

That jealous SLAM of the knife onto the cutting board-! Can I just say: DAMN!

(Above: Yoon Park / 33 Years Old)

[Appreciation for how amazingly attractive Yoon Park is - especially in the chef uniform.]

⧫

Next, the relationship between Eun-Jae and Jong-Yeol was just... awkward and annoying?

I loved his character since he was really sweet and cute, but she was always thinking

wrong and not trusting him. Like, girl! STOP! YOU ARE RUINING IT!!! *sigh*

But he's a cute potato, so it makes up for how much she's lacking.

(Above: Shin Hyun-Soo / 28 Years Old)

 ⧫

The relationship between Yi-na and Dong-Joo. I always thought the way he seemed to

care about her (besides their average "date for fun" mood) was so sweet. He let her spend

his money and would talk with her like they were friends, not business partners. Sure,

he slept with other girls while he was with her, but she was only supposed to be a

"woman on the side". However, when he ran to her in Episode 11, my heart stopped.

And the way he looked at her during the last episode-!!!

Please, drama gods, let them be together forever. Amen.

(Above: Yoon Jong-Hoon / 34 Years Old)

⧫

Ye-eun and Doo-young... *sigh* I won't lie: I was disappointed by the end. On

the first episode, I was so excited because they were so cute and lovey, but after

things started to go south and the dreaded plot twist, I was deeply depressed. I

often seemed to ask myself aloud, "What the f*ck is his problem?!" *sigh*

But it was cute while it lasted, I guess...

(Above: Ji Il-Jo / 32 Years Old)

⧫

Finally, the relationship between Ji-won and Sung-min (the journalist). This was

very subtle and didn't get very far at all. Often, her character seems to push men

away since she can be overbearing and not very lady-like. I found myself

cringing at her behavior, but I still really liked her. Given the ending, so did he, clearly...

However, I felt like this relationship was way too rushed since he always seemed

really strong against her attacks until the end when he was randomly attracted?

It could just be me, but I wasn't all that into it. 

(Above: Son Seung-Won / 27 Years Old)

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 Honorable Mentions:

Shin Yool-Bin (AKA Hair-Flip Dude) played by Yoon Yong-Joon

(but why was he unnecessarily handsome by the last episode?! ㅎㅎㅎ)

⧫

Oh Jong-Gyu played by the legendary Choi Deok-Moon!

 (There's something about how lonely his character is... The scene where he cried during

the light show at the Belle Epoque was beautiful... Mr. Choi is honestly such

an amazing and seasoned actor. Cheers to him!)

 ⧫

Resturant Manager played by Min Sung-Wook

 (He's had some other roles I've liked and I really love his smile and forehead -

don't ask - but I want to see him in more things. One of my favorite shows

he was in was I Can Hear Your Voice.)

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  Overall: 8.5/10

FINAL THOUGHTS: This drama is totally worth the watch, even for those who haven't given Korean dramas a try! It's fun and might draw an occasional tear from you. It's not perfect and there are things that I would have liked to see different or characters to be touched upon further... but that being said:

THERE IS A SEASON 2!!!!

-which I totally will be watching as soon as can between school and work. Not sure if I will write a review of the second season or not, but we'll see how it goes! I really look forward to more growth from these guys! Cheers~ ♥

-Tori

*All character ages are written by the Korean calendar, which means that they are about a year younger than what is written. For example, Eun-Jae is listed as 20 years old, but she's actually 19 according to the American calendar.
**All Actor and Actress ages are listed by the American calendar.