Romantic relationships as mature and nostalgic because the love between Na Hee-do and Baek Yi-jin in Twenty-5 Twenty-One could be present in just a few different notable Okay-dramas. Changing into an instantaneous come across its 2022 launch, many fans view the K-drama as a masterpiece, praising how the collection incorporates the 1997 Asian monetary disaster in its plot, in addition to different ’90s references. The financial disaster units the collection’ core group of associates again in life, halting their preliminary plans for his or her careers.
Twenty-5 Twenty-One begins within the current day as Hee-do’s (Kim Tae-ri) daughter appears to be like by means of her mother’s outdated diary. From there, audiences are transported again to the ’90s, the place sparks between Yi-jin (Nam Joo-hyuk) and Hee-do first start to fly. The Okay-drama depicts how the lives of a bunch of 5 associates change all through the years, however the collection’ biggest power is its central love story, which is transferring and life like. Many Okay-dramas share the identical themes that made Twenty-5 Twenty-One so beloved by audiences, making them the proper collection for followers to look at subsequent.
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Love All Play (2022)
Badminton Gamers Overcome Private Struggles And Fall In Love
Twenty-5 Twenty-One and Love All Play are centered across the sports activities of fencing and badminton, respectively. In Love All Play, sports activities and romance are way more interconnected than every other Okay-drama talked about. The collection depicts Park Tae-joon (Chae Jong-hyeop) and Park Tae-yang’s (Park Ju-hyun) rising connection that begins pleasant however turns into one thing extra passionate as time passes.
Love All Play‘s low rankings would possibly counsel to some viewers that the collection is value skipping over, however that could not be farther from the reality. Whereas the romance is the collection’ most interesting part, audiences are nonetheless handled with perception into the dilemmas different badminton gamers are going through, and the collection has an general hopeful message about overcoming setbacks.
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Run On (2020-2021)
Two Folks Cross Paths Unexpectedly And Fall In Love
The aggressive nature of Run On‘s protagonist differs a bit from Hee-do in Twenty-5 Twenty-One. Not like Hee-do, Run On‘s Ki Seon-gyeom (Im Si-wan) is a aggressive sprinter whose dedication to his sport has left him remoted and with out many associates rising up. Nonetheless, this modifications when he meets movie translator Oh Mi-joo (Shin Se-kyung). The 2’s sudden encounter results in a candy and compelling romance.
The Okay-drama is generally involved with the central romance, however there is a compelling examination of 1’s objective in life that provides a little bit of depth to the collection’ narrative. There is not as a lot substance to dissect in Run On as there’s in Twenty-5 Twenty-One, however the former collection does have a comparable lighthearted tone that makes for a straightforward watch.
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Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born (2024)
A Younger Singer Turns into A Star
Whereas it is probably not thought of considered one of the best K-dramas of 2024 by some, Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born continues to be an entertaining collection that’s in contrast to anything out proper now. Primarily based on the webtoon of the identical title, Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born sees its titular character (Kim Tae-ri) dwelling within the aftermath of the Korean Struggle and depicts her journey to turning into a beloved singer.
Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born has an efficient underdog story that is supported by themes of trauma and inventive integrity, creating an extremely well-rounded collection. On the floor, Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born could not seem to have a lot in frequent with Twenty-5 Twenty-One, however digging a little bit additional, it is clear their protagonists are much more alike than one would possibly assume. Not solely are Jeong-nyeon and Twenty-5 Twenty-One‘s Hee-do each portrayed by Kim Tae-ri, however every character is equally aggressive and enthusiastic about their respective pursuits.
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Welcome To Samdal-ri (2023-2024)
Two Pals In Rocky Careers Reunite And Fall In Love
The romance in Welcome to Samdal-ri, and the conflicts that pop up all through the Okay-drama’s run are paying homage to that in Twenty-5 Twenty-One. In Welcome to Samdal-ri, Cho Yong-pil (Ji Chang-wook) and Cho Sam-dal (Shin Hye-sun) have been associates since they have been youngsters, however they grew aside as they acquired older. The 2 reunite years later, and their former connection begins to take form.
Like Twenty-5 Twenty-One, Welcome to Samdal-ri has components of comedy and romance, and there is a large emphasis on careers as effectively. Within the latter collection, Sam-dal is a trend photographer, and Yong-pil has hassle as a climate forecaster, as his need to be trustworthy with audiences earns him a nasty repute at work. The Okay-drama has a extra conventional comfortable ending and is a straightforward collection to binge because of its compelling romance narrative.
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Report Of Youth (2020)
Three Younger Adults Attempt For Success
Whereas Twenty-5 Twenty-One‘s romance could also be its biggest attraction, there’s nonetheless so much to understand about its depiction of friendship and attaining one’s goals. These themes are additionally current all through Report of Youth, starring Reply 1988 actor Park Bo Gum. Park portrays one of many collection’ foremost characters, Sa Hye-jun. Together with Ahn Jeong-ha (Park So-dam) and Gained Hae-hyo (Byeon Woo-seok), Hye-jun works within the leisure business and hopes to department out to perform his targets.
Report of Youth is probably not as well-known as the opposite Okay-dramas talked about, but it surely nonetheless has lots going for it. The struggles the younger adults face at work are relatable, from having to cope with troublesome bosses to failed makes an attempt at leveling up. Nonetheless, the characters stay optimistic and finally take issues into their very own arms, doing every part it takes to attain their goals.
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Reply 1997 (2012)
A Snapshot Of Life In The Late ’90s
Your complete Reply collection has earned important popularity of its performances and its capacity to seize life in its titular yr. The primary installment within the anthology collection, Reply 1997, takes place closest to Twenty-5 Twenty-One‘s timeline. Reply 1997 strikes forwards and backwards between present-day 2012 and the late ’90s, following the lives of six associates in Busan. The collection performs with the previous and current timelines in an identical technique to Twenty-5 Twenty-One.
With its popular culture references and trustworthy conversations about friendships and rising up, Reply 1997 launched the traits the Reply collection would finally go on to be beloved for. The success of the collection reignited the general public’s curiosity in Nineteen Nineties popular culture, particularly when it got here to the favored boyband H.O.T., whom Jung Eun-ji’s character, Sung Shi-won, is a loyal fan of within the collection.
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Twinkling Watermelon (2023)
A Man Travels To The ’90s And Bonds With His Dad
A captivating K-drama about friendship, Twinkling Watermelon is a couple of father and son who begin the collection off not seeing eye to eye. Ha Eun-gyeol (Ryeoun) goals of turning into a musician, however when he brings this as much as his father, the 2 get right into a struggle, and Eun-gyeol finds himself touring again in time to 1995. Dwelling within the ’90s, Eun-gyeol finds his dad, who’s unaware he is talking to his future son, and the 2 develop into nearer.
Like Twenty-5 Twenty-One, a lot of Twinkling Watermelon takes place within the ’90s. Nonetheless, Eun-gyeol’s capacity to time journey provides a whimsical part to the latter collection. The Okay-drama additionally has a higher emphasis on household dynamics, with Eun-gyeol’s odd predicament giving him the possibility to view his cussed father in a brand new, empathetic mild, making a stronger bond between the 2.
3
Our Blues (2022)
Residents On Jeju Island Expertise The Good And Dangerous In Life
Each Twenty-5 Twenty-One and Our Blues take time to discover the troubles and accomplishments of their foremost group of characters. Nonetheless, whereas Twenty-5 Twenty-One is more likely to earn just a few tears from audiences, Our Blues takes its emotional storytelling to a different stage. The collection revolves round varied people dwelling on Jeju Island. Every episode of the Okay-drama appears to be like at totally different people at various levels in life.
Our Blues sees its characters navigating each sort of relationship, together with these which might be romantic, as they expertise all of its ups and downs. The collection tackles a number of powerful topics and does so with quite a lot of consideration. The experiences of Our Blues‘ characters are refreshingly life like and are captured by the Okay-drama’s stacked solid. Lee Byung-hun, Shin Min-a, Uhm Jung-hwa, and Cha Seung-won, are just some notable actors that seem all through the present.
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Nonetheless (2021)
Two Cynical People Start To Fall In Love
The tasks in Hee-do and Yi-jin’s lives outdoors their relationship trigger pressure inside their romance. Like Twenty-5 Twenty-One‘s couple, the primary pairing in Nonetheless face their very own relationship troubles. The series is among the steamier K-dramas, because it follows two people with cynical outlooks on love. Yoo Na-bi (Han So-hee), after being damage in a earlier relationship, has given up on love, and Park Jae-eon (Tune Kang) prefers to flirt with others somewhat than decide to them.
Nonetheless, the 2 find yourself discovering themselves in a friends-with-benefits dynamic, they usually start to have a change of coronary heart with regards to love. Nonetheless options considered one of Song Kang’s best K-drama romances, as his chemistry with Han So-hee is intense. The best attraction of Nonetheless is the stress constructed all through the collection, as audiences eagerly await to see the place Na-bi and Jae-eon’s whirlwind romance finally ends up.
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Our Beloved Summer season (2021-2022)
The Reunion Of Ex-Lovers Reignites Former Sparks
The passage of time and, in fact, romance are two of the most important themes explored in each Twenty-5 Twenty-One and Our Beloved Summer season. The latter collection follows Choi Ung (Choi Woo-shik) and Kook Yeon-soo (Kim Da-mi), a former couple who ended their relationship with the promise to by no means see or communicate to 1 one other ever once more. The pair hold their phrase for some time, till the documentary they filmed in highschool goes viral years later.
When Choi Ung and Kook Yeon-soo are pressured to reunite following the documentary’s virality, they start to rekindle their friendship and, finally, their romantic connection as effectively. Differing from Twenty-Five Twenty-One‘s bittersweet ending, the top of Our Beloved Summer season is extra according to what audiences would possibly count on of a romance collection. The K-drama’s happy ending could also be a bit cliché, but it surely’s extremely candy nonetheless and never too implausible.
