Twenty-Five Twenty-One

It has been a few weeks since Twenty-Five Twenty-One ended, and I still can’t seem to get the drama or it’s many characters out of my head. It is by far the best drama I have watched in recent times. The fact that I managed to already watch it three times since it ended, not to mention the countless times I went over its many iconic senes (this drama is loaded with them), should give you an idea of really how very good it is. Every single episode of Twenty-Five Twenty-One is so beautifully written that just when we thought that we had watched the best episode in the series, the writers would surprise us with two more amazing episodes the following week. I don’t think I enjoyed watching any drama while it was airing as much as I did this one. The emotional high that one gets from eagerly waiting for an episode, to watching it when it finally streams, and discussing it with fellow fans while going over the scenes and possible scenarios, is something only a true fan of the show that watched it in real time will understand.

The year is 2022, and the world is trying its best to get back on its feet, post Covid-19. Kim Min-chae (Choi Myung-bin), an aspiring ballerina is on her way to a dance competition with her mother, Na Hee-do (Kim So-hyun). Hee-do tells her daughter to not worry about the result and to just go and show the judges how much she loves ballet. However, Min-chae’s view regarding the competition is very different. She believes winning is everything. So, when she realizes that she may not be able to outdo the performance of the previous contestant, she gives up and runs away to her grandmother’s place. When her grandmother, Shin Jae-kyung (Seo Jae-hee), finds out that Min-chae has decided to quit ballet, she asks her if there is something else she wants to do. An uncertain Min-chae asks if people always have something they want to do. When her grandma asks isn’t that why she was doing ballet for the past five years, Min-chae replies, that she doesn’t know any more. She wonders if she needs to do something to look like she is doing something. Seeing how her granddaughter has the wrong idea, Jae-kyung explains it is not about something she has to do, but rather about something she wants to do, like a dream. Min-chae tells Jae-kyung that adults never accept if kids say that they do not have a dream. She goes on to ask if she really needs to have one, after all people only talk about getting a job. Hearing this Jae-kyung knowingly nods and says “You are right. These are the times you are living in”. This is a very important conversation because it puts into perspective a generation that grew up post South Korea’s worst financial crisis, the IMF crisis. Just the way Covid-19 has changed the world forever, and the world we live in now will be the norm for future generations, Min-chae lives in the new norm of South Korea, after it was hit by the IMF crisis. She will find out how different her world is from her mother’s and her grandmother’s when she stumbles upon her mother’s high-school journal.

So what is the IMF crisis? In the late 1990s South Korea which was mostly driven by chaebols was one of the fastest growing economies. However poor management, over borrowing and foreign exchange crisis led to many of them filing for bankruptcy and foreign investors pulling out. This resulted in many people losing jobs, businesses going bankrupt, college students dropping out, and schools losing funds. The times were such that people even donated their personal gold in hopes of helping the country recover. Sadly the $2B raised from the gold did little to help the country. With the collapse of its economy South Korea had no choice but to accept a bailout of $58.4 billion from IMF. While many did not understand what was happening, life as they knew it changed for almost every one of them. High-paying permanent jobs were replaced by low-paying temporary positions with no benefits (something that is still very much prevalent in the country), driven to poverty many families had to split up to make ends meet, young adults and women tried to join the workforce to help their families, and those that could not get these temporary jobs took to self-employment by setting up small roadside restaurants or stores. People were told that the only way to get out of this dire situation was to work hard, and that is exactly what everyone ended up doing, working very hard to stay afloat. Earning money to survive became more important than having dreams. While South Korea was back in its path to recovery within a year, the country has never been able to go back to how it was pre-IMF crisis. There are many people who have never recovered from it, temporary jobs far outweigh permanent positions, self-employment is still a thing, owning a house is still a distant dream for many, and landing a job is much more important than chasing a dream. It is very important to understand this to truly understand Twenty-Five Twenty-One and its many characters, especially Baek Yi-jin.

Set during this time in history Twenty-Five Twenty-One is about Na Hee-do (Kim Tae-ri), a happy-go-lucky eighteen year old high school girl, and what happens when she meets Baek Yi-jin (Nam Joo-hyuk), a twenty-two year old chaebol who is forced to drop out of college after his family goes bankrupt. The year is 1998 and South Korea is in the middle of its worst financial crisis, the IMF crisis. Oblivious to the gravity of the crisis, Hee-do lives in her own happy world of fencing, Full House manhwa and obsessing over her favorite idol, olympic gold medalist Ko Yu-rim (Bona). Her dream is to one day become Yu-rim’s fencing rival. Once considered a prodigy, Hee-do’s fencing skills are not what they used to be. But that does not stop her from dreaming or pushing herself to do better. Thanks to her mother’s stable job as a news anchor, she is spared from being directly affected by the crisis, that is until the fencing program at her school is canceled due to lack of funds. Desperate to keep her dream alive, she decides to transfer to Yu-rim’s school that still has funding, thanks to their star fencer. However transferring to a new school is not easy, especially without the permission of her unsupportive mother. It is around this time that she meets Yi-jin, who moves into her neighborhood and works as the paper delivery boy in the mornings and as a store manager in the neighborhood bookstore during the day. Once a happy go lucky kid himself, Yi-jin has a hard time adjusting to life without money and a family to fall back on. With his father in hiding, he becomes the prime target for creditors that were effected by his family’s bankruptcy, and being the son of a fallen chaebol makes it impossible to land a decent job. The fact that so many families were affected by his family’s bankruptcy weighs very heavily on him, making it impossible for him to be happy. It is at this very low point in his life that Hee-do appears like a ray of sunshine. With her bright smile and never give up attitude, she brings hope into his life. Her ability to change tragedies into comedies and refusing to be weighed down by failures, makes him always want to do better for himself. She is exactly what he needed, someone with the ability to open up his lonely and unhappy world, and fill it with friendship and happiness. Together they prove that to overcome any hurdles all you need is one person by your side, someone you can share your joys, sorrow, frustration, struggles and pain with, someone who will support you unconditionally.

*Spoilers – If you haven’t watched Twenty-Five Twenty-One that is currently streaming on Netflix, but plan on watching it, then please refrain from reading the rest of the blog, as it contains many spoilers.

As much as I love Twenty-Five Twenty-One, I would be lying if I said that it did not leave me heartbroken. However, I have no one to blame but myself for the heartache I suffered. From the moment I watched the trailer and the first few episodes of the drama, I knew exactly how it was going to end. The signs were all there and my brain saw them all, but my hopeless romantic heart with it’s ray of hope decided to see otherwise. I knew Hee-do was married to someone else, I knew the drama was about her first love and how those four years of her youth shaped the adult she grew into, and most importantly I knew that it was about teaching Min-chae the importance of never giving up through her experiences as a fencer. While I knew all of this, I still could not stop myself from hoping against hope and coming up with some ridiculous possible scenarios that would justify why Min-chae had Kim as her last name even though her dad was Baek Yi-jin. The signs were all there, the biggest being the fact that Min-chae did not know who Yi-jin was or even how he looked, and that Hee-do did not remember the most important trip in the time she spent with Yi-jin, the trip to the beach in summer.

While Na Hee-do and Baek Yi-jin may feel like the heart and soul of Twenty-Five Twenty-One, there is a lot more to the drama than just their love story. It is a beautiful story about youth, love, friendship and the importance of living with no regrets, because nothing lasts forever. All good and bad things must come to an end, so it is very important to never give up hope when times are bad and cherish every moment when times are good. Teaching us these important life lessons are Hee-do, Yi-jin and their amazing friends Yu-rim, Moon Ji-woong and Ji Seung-wan. What I love most about this drama is the very unique and special bond each of the characters have. Here is a look at some these special relationships.

Na Hee-do and Baek Yi-jin

He is who he is because of her, and she is who she is because of him. They both inspire each other to be better just by being together. Had it not been for him, she would not have found the confidence to do as well as she did in fencing, or even taken up carpentry which ends up becoming her profession after she retires from fencing. Had it not been for her, he wouldn’t have summed up the courage to come back to Seoul and pursue a career in journalism. Her actions and words of encouragement during his darkest times, are what help him persevere and do better. They find the courage to overcome any obstacle, and become happy, just by being there for each other. So, while my heart aches for Hee-do and Yi-jin and what could have been, I console myself knowing that while it lasted they were able to love each other with all their heart and no regrets.

Na Hee-do and Ko Yu-rim

Of all the characters in the drama the pair that shares the deepest bond are Hee-do and Yu-rim. When asked throughout her career what was her most honorable moment, Hee-do says, “I was most honored to be Yu-rim’s rival”. This was her dream from the very beginning, to be Ko Yu-rim’s rival. As a fencer, Hee-do idolizes Yu-rim. It was her love and obsession for Yu-rim that made her never give up fencing even though she was in a slump for the longest time. Through Yu-rim and Hee-do we witness the emotional turmoil athletes go through when they are competing against each other on an international stage. Their love for each other is such that they do not let anything come in between them.

Moon Ji-woong and Ji Seung-wan

Friends since their diaper days, Seung-wan and Ji-woong give us major friendship goals. They may be polar opposites but there is nothing in this world that can break them apart. While she looks out for him in times of trouble, he lights up her life by making it fun and entertaining. Of all the amazing characters in the drama, if I have to pick a favorite, then it will have to be Seung-wan. She is not only smart, pretty, and caring, but is also someone who will not hesitate to stand up for what is right. And the only reason we get to witness these many shades of Seung-wan is because she has Ji-woong by her side.

Baek Yi-jin and Ko Yurim

The bond between Yi-jin and Yu-rim is that of a big brother and younger sister. Having known each other since childhood, they are more like family than friends. They truly care and look out for each other.

Baek Yi-jin and Seung-wan

Honestly I was hoping Yi-jin would end up with Seung-wan. I always felt that these two had a very special bond. She is very much like Yi-jin. Like him she is smart, caring, sensible and loves broadcasting. While Na Hee-do reminds him of how he was at her age, Seung-wan was more like him at his present age, like how only the two of them can see how bad the Jungle Prince performance is, and being mindful of Hee-do’s situation when going to rescue her when she is locked inside their hangout. That is why he preferred her sitting in the front seat as a navigator on their trip. There are many moments in the drama that belongs only to these two, like how she confesses her innermost thoughts only to him on the beach trip, and how he rescues her from the journalist. While it was sad that he had lost touch with the gang, I really loved how they hinted at the possibility of her being a part of his life in the end, because I strongly feel that their relationship has scope for something more and that definitely needs to be explored.

Baek-Yi-jin and Shin Jae-kyung

Almost all the adults in this drama are amazing, and they all make a huge difference in the lives of the five friends in one way or another. Of them all, my favorite is the relationship between Yi-jin and Jae-kyung. From being the one responsible for hiring high school graduates, to nominating him as her successor, her influence on Yi-jin’s life goes beyond being Hee-do’s mom. That is why, even long after Hee-do and Yi-jin have moved on, she is still in touch with him. As his senior at work, she is someone Yi-jin looks up to and aspires to be one day. They have a very special bond on a personal level as well, and that is the love they both have for Hee-do. I love how supportive she is of him and his relationship with Hee-do. The pride they share for being that special someone in Hee-do’s life is just too beautiful to watch.

Ko Yu-rim and Moon Ji-woong

Innocent, beautiful, pure and sweet are the words that come to mind when I think of the relationship between Yu-rim and Ji-woong. He is an extrovert that wears his heart on his sleeve, while she is an introvert who keeps all her thoughts and feelings bottled up. He is just what she needs to get her out of her shell, and she is what he needs to know that his dreams and passions are not trivial.

Na Hee-do and Ji Seung-wan

Seung-wan and Hee-do are the first girl friends they each have. While they may not be the best of friends, they understand, respect and support each other. Their friendship is uncomplicated and pure.

Na Hee-do and Moon Ji-woong

I really loved watching these two. Hee-do and Ji-woong are like siblings. They may fight and tease each other, but are there for one another when needed. They fill the space of the sibling that is missing in each others lives.

Baek Yi-jin and Moon Ji-woong

The love and admiration Ji-woong has for Yi-jin, shows how much he misses having an elder brother in his life. The fact the Yi-jin lies to the coach to take the girls to the concert, shows that while he may deny it, the sibling feeling between them is mutual.

Another reason I love this drama so much is the nostalgia that comes with being a nineties kid. It reminded me of the simpler times we lived in, when we would all watch the same movies, television shows, listen to the same music or read the same books, and spotting a telephone booth while having the correct change in your pocket gave so much joy. The choices were limited, so moments as simple as waiting for the release of a book were precious. I remember how excited I used to get when I would shop for a dear friend or sibling. The joy of buying a gift for someone you love or receiving a gift from someone you love, without first checking or telling them what it is you really want and what you already have, is something this generation will never know. I could fully relate to Hee-do’s excitement regarding Full House, and her joy of receiving Vol. 15 from Yi-jin.

I am not sure how long my obsession with Twenty-Five Twenty-One will last, but until then I will keep revisiting the drama while I soothe my aching heart and convince myself that Yi-jin has also found his happily ever after. For the sake of my sanity and closure I really hope that they make one special episode in which we get a glimpse into Yi-jin’s current life. I completely understand why despite loving each other so much Hee-do and Yi-jin had to break up. As someone who spent her whole life waiting, being letdown and then finally giving up, the last thing Hee-do wanted was someone like her mother. As a reporter with a sense of responsibility, Yi-jin ended up becoming just like her mother. His dedication and sense of duty meant that Hee-do would once again have to spend her life alone, waiting and disappointed. Sadly they lived in a time where finding a good stable job was almost impossible, especially for someone like Yi-jin. With just a high school degree he was lucky to have a job, and it was extremely important for him to do well. There was a lot at stake not just for him, but for others like him. That was why he could not quit his job even though he knew the toll it was taking on his relationship and Hee-do. So, as heartbreaking as it was, I accepted the fact that their break up was inevitable. That is why I really want to know how he is doing now and if he also forgot that summer beach trip like Hee-do. Based on the epilogue in the final episode it did seem like he is doing alright, and the fact that his password question is the name of his first love, there is a possibility that he might have fallen in love again. I have made peace with Hee-do’s future and I just want the same closure from Yi-jin. While they are at it, I really hope they give us a glimpse into Seung-wan’s life as well, because I am really not happy with how her character ended. Seung-wan is by far the best character in the whole drama. She was meant to do great things when she grows up, and I really want to know what those great things are that she ends up doing, because carrying props in a reality television show is not how I pictured her character to end up.

Forecasting Love and Weather

It is not often that we come across a drama that gives all its characters a very satisfying ending. After having my heartbroken in some way by the dramas that ended recently, it was so satisfying to watch the finale of Forecasting Love and Weather. Not only did this drama tie up all its loose ends, it also gave a very beautiful and heartwarming ending to every single one of its characters, which by the way is not an easy thing to do considering how many characters there are in the drama. The best part is how they made it all happen so seamlessly without ever making us feel like they were rushing to check off all the boxes.

Forecasting Love and Weather is about a group of people working inside the National Weather Service and the challenges they face both at work and in their personal lives. Jin Ha-kyung (Park Min-young) is a newly appointed director of the weather predicting Chief Team 2. Assigned to her are the newly transferred Severe Weather Forecaster Lee Si-woo (Song Kang) and Senior Forecaster Eom Dong-han (Lee Sung-wook). Ha-kyung is a meticulous perfectionist who depends solely on figures and data to make her predictions. Si-woo on the other hand relies mostly on his hunch when it comes to final predictions. He has a keen eye when it comes to observing weather and his predictions are most often accurate. Dong-han uses his years of field experience to make his predictions. Also on her team are neighborhood forecaster Shin Seok-ho (Moon Tae-yu), Head of analysis team Oh Myung-joo (Yoon Sa-bong), and short-term forecaster Kim Soo-jin (Chae Seo-eun). As the main people responsible for the severe weather forecast, Si-woo and Sung-wook often butt heads with their opposing predictions, with the responsibility of making the final call falling on Director Jin. As someone who prefers to go by the book Ha-kyung’s predictions are often very conservative.

However, going by the book is not always a good thing when it comes to forecasting something as unpredictable as the weather. All it takes is one slight variation for the weather to change drastically. This is why forecasters have to be very cautious when making a prediction. If they issue a severe weather warning and it does not occur, then billions of dollars are lost trying to prepare for a disaster that never happened. If they are too cautious and do not issue a warning because the numbers show that the chances of its occurrence is low and the weather does take a turn for the worse, then the damage it causes to life and property can be devastating. Since there is anyway no winning when it comes to wrong predictions, Ha-kyung prefers to take the safer route, by not issuing a warning until and unless she is really very sure. The drama is about how Chief Team 2 work together to issue the best possible forecast that has the least impact on the safety and convenience of the public. Of course, weather is not the only thing that consumes this team’s lives. Working in such a demanding job, makes balancing home and work very hard for most members of the team. How this team faces these challenges and how they help each other overcome these obstacles is what Forecasting Love and Weather is all about.

I love watching dramas that introduces me to a world I know very little of. Whether I am planning for the day or a trip, the first thing I check is the weather app on my phone. One look at my screen and I know exactly what the day or the weekend is going to be like. I know when the sun is going to rise and set, how hot or cold it is going to be, whether I am supposed to carry a jacket or an umbrella, water my plants or move them inside, etc. I plan almost my entire day based on what I see in the forecast for the day, and yes I have been guilty of cursing the forecasters for their wrong predictions when my day did not go as planned due to a wrong prediction. Little did I know that behind every prediction is a team of people working very hard to make sure they make as accurate a prediction as possible, so all of us can have a safe and comfortable day, and how difficult it sometimes is to make an accurate prediction.

What makes Forecasting Love and Weather such an enjoyable watch, despite being a little too technical at times is Park Min-young and Song Kang and the amazing chemistry they share. We all know what an amazing actress Park Min-young is, and how flawless her on-screen chemistry is with all her costars, Forecasting Love and Weather is no different. Whether it is the vulnerability of a woman in the midst of an office romance especially after just being at the receiving end of a bad workplace breakup, or the sensibility of a newly appointed director who has to win over her colleagues, she nails every aspect of her character. Complementing her is Song Kang as the young and energetic newly appointed forecaster with views of his own when it comes to relationships or predicting weather. Song Kang has been on a roll in recent times, giving us one unforgettable character after another, and Lee Si-woo is no exception. He nails his performance as a young man trying to make a life for himself despite being plagued by a troubled past. It is always a joy watching both Park Min-young and Song Kang, and to see them together in a drama is a treat in itself.

So, if you are in the mood for a workplace drama and don’t mind learning a little about what goes on inside a weather service station, definitely checkout Forecasting Love and Weather on Netflix.

Thirty- Nine and Little Women

While watching Thirty-Nine I couldn’t help but draw similarities between the drama and one of my favorite classics, Little Women. While in all honesty the only thing similar in both the stories is the fact that one of the lead characters is terminally-ill, I found myself comparing the characters from both the stories after a scene in Thirty-Nine reminded me of my favorite scene from the classic novel. The scene I am referring to is in Episode 5 where Chan-young tells Mi-jo that she is sad and feels very sorry for the pain she will cause everyone she leaves behind. When Mi-jo asks how she feels when she thinks of her, Chan-young replies, “When I think of you, I’m sad because I already miss you”. This dialogue reminded of the conversation between Beth and Jo where Beth tells Jo, “I’m afraid I shall be homesick for you… even in heaven”. Just like how Beth’s words have been imprinted in my brain ever since I first read them as a little girl, I know these words of Chan-young will stay with me forever.

It was after hearing these words that I started drawing similarities between the many characters in the stories. I noticed that Joo-hee like Meg is soft-spoken, sweet, kind, gentle, hardworking and on lookout for a husband. Mi-jo just like Jo is strong, independent, and a pillar of strength for her friends. She is someone that her friends can always depend on. Chan-young is a mix of Beth and Amy. While she is pretty, fun, and artistic like Amy, she is also someone who does not like worrying or inconveniencing others like Beth. So however hard it might be, Chan-young tries to keep her problems to herself or take care of it on her own. My obsession with the two stories did not end there. I even went as far as trying to find a Laurie in Kim Jin-seok, a John Brooke in Park Hyun-joon, and a Friedrich in Kim Seon-woo. Just when I thought I was going a little too overboard, I got a sign that made me believe that my theory wasn’t so wild after all.

That moment came towards the end of episode 11. The minute I saw the six friends looking at the snow through the window, I knew I was not crazy. Intentional or not, Little Women was definitely on the minds of the creators of the show. After all did they not end the show with Mi-jo and Seon-woo opening up an orphanage just like Jo and Friedrich? Last but not the least how can we ignore the “Jo” in Mi-Jo’s name. 🙂

Thirty Nine

Son Ye-Jin has once again proved that she is the undisputed queen of melodrama. There are great actors and then there is Son Ye-jin. While others make tears flow down our cheeks with their intense performances, Son Ye-jin makes us break into uncontrollable sobs. But don’t let the title queen of melodrama fool you. The range of emotions that Ye-jin can display effortlessly is such that she can make you fall of your chair laughing with as much ease as she can make you cry your heart out. She is so good that it is almost impossible to not fall in love with the character she portrays, and Cha Mi-jo from Thirty-Nine is no different. In fact she does such an amazing job of bringing Cha Mi-jo to life, that she managed to push Yoon Se-ri from Crash Landing On You to second place as my all time favorite Ye-jin character.

Thirty-Nine is about three friends and how they survive the thirty-nineth year of their life. Cha Mi-jo (Son Ye-jin) is a dermatologist who lives in Samseong-dong, Jeong Chan-young (Jeon Mi-do) is an acting teacher who lives in Hyochang-dong, and Jang Joo-hee (Kim Ji-Hyun) is a cosmetics manager at a department store who lives in Gocheok-dong. So how do these three women living in three very different parts of Seoul meet? It all had to do when they were in high school. Having grown up in an orphanage before being adopted by a wonderful family, Mi-jo always feels insecure and inadequate. So at the age of eighteen she goes looking for her biological mother. While the search does not result in her finding her real mother, it does end up with her making two best friends for life. At thirty-nine, having been friends for more than twenty years, Chan-young and Joo-hee are more than family for Mi-jo. So, when one of them becomes terminally ill, Mi-jo has a very hard time holding on to her world that seems to be falling apart.

I really don’t know what is worse, knowing that you are terminally ill, or that someone you love is. The helplessness that comes with knowing that there is nothing you can do to save them or ease their pain can not be described in words. Equally devastating is if you are the one that is ill. Having to not only break the news to your loved ones, but also helplessly watch them live in sorrow while you slip away, knowing that there is nothing you can do to fill the void you will be leaving in their lives with your death, is a nightmare we all wish we never have to go through. Jeon Mi-do does an amazing job as the one suffering from fourth stage pancreatic cancer. From planning for her funeral to bidding all her loved ones goodbye while making sure that they are taken care of even after she is gone, through Chan-young we get to experience almost every emotion a terminally ill person might go through. When Chan-young refuses to get treated for her cancer, her friends decide to help her live the rest of her life as the happiest terminally-ill person in the world. However this is easier said than done. While they try their best to cheer her, as time passes it becomes almost impossible to ignore the sad and scary reality. One of the best scenes in the drama is a conversation Chan-young has with Mi-jo, when the cancer has almost over taken her life. In this scene Chan-young confesses that it is becoming very hard to be the happiest terminally-ill person in the world, and that she keeps worrying about many things. From being worried about what will happen when she nears the end, to wondering if she will still be able to see her loved ones after she dies. She can’t help but worry and feel sorry for all her friends and family that she will leave behind. Knowing that the worst is yet to come and not knowing what is going to happen when the end comes scares her the most. The fact that she cannot live without painkillers, she is worried about what will happen when they stop working on her. She wonders if it will be very painful when she takes her last breath. Of the entire drama this was the scene that effected me the most. As someone who has seen friends go through this very painful process, there have been multiple times when such thoughts have crossed my mind as well. There comes a point when living everyday becomes so painful that we stop worrying about what happens after we die, and start praying for death itself. It is during these times I wish that euthanasia is legal. I really don’t see the point of letting our loved ones go through so much pain, when there is no hope and nothing anyone can do to help ease their suffering.

What makes Thirty-Nine such a beautiful watch is that though the main plot of the drama is heavy, the overall feel of the drama is actually light-hearted and warm. It makes us laugh as much as it makes us cry, and in the end we walk away smiling and feeling content that we watched a good drama. The one making sure we smile or laugh the most in almost every episode is Kim Ji-Hyun’s Joo-hee. Whether it is falsely implicating Mi-jo of a fart that she is guilty of, or confidently singing in front of a crowd despite being tone-deaf, Joo-hee can change the mood in a room (however intense it might be), just by being herself. Ji-hyun plays this role of a sweet, innocent, funny, soft-hearted but strong and dependable friend to perfection. Other characters that stand out in the drama are Yeon Woo-jin as Mi-jo’s love interest Kim Seon-woo, Lee Moo-saeng as Chan-young’s love interest Kim Jin-seok, Lee Tae-hwan as Joo-hee’s love interest Park Hyun-joon and Kang Mal-geum as Mi-jo’s sister Cha Mi-hyun. While every character is beautiful in their own way my favorites were Mi-hyun and Seon-woo. I loved the wonderful human beings that these characters are, and the unconditional love they have for their adopted siblings. Having only watched her in serious roles, Kang Mal-geum was a very pleasant surprise for me in Thirty-Nine.

Another thing that Thirty-nine got right is how they handled the topic of adoption. My mom is an adopted child. She never met her biological mother until she was an adult. Though she was raised by two very loving parents, she always wondered why her biological mother gave her away. So while she did meet her biological mother from time to time during her adult life, she was never able to form a deep connection with her. Unlike what they show in movies, blood is not always thicker than water. For us to form a bond with anyone, biological or adopted, what is most important is memories. When you do not share any memories with a person it really does not matter if you are related by blood or not, that person is as good as any stranger on the street. Instead of falling into the trap that most stories often do, where magically a switch turns on as soon as a child meets its biological parent, I really liked how they kept it very realistic in Thirty-nine. I think even if Lee Kyung-sook was not convicted of fraud, Mi-jo would still have had a hard time bonding with her, because of the fact that she was abandoned (most kids have a hard time getting over this one fact) and neither of them have any memories they can share about each other that can help them connect.

It has been a few days since the drama has ended and I already know that I will be missing these three ladies very much. So if you are someone who doesn’t mind shedding a few tears and likes to watch a good drama that stays with you long after you have watched it, then definitely give Thirty-Nine that is currently on Netflix a try.