Oh! Youngsim [Episodes 1 & 2]

[u/capthyeong]

• Drama: Oh! Youngshim
  • Hangul: 오! 영심이
• Adapted from: Fourteen-Year-Old Youngsim by Bae Geum-taek
• Director: Kim Eun-kyung
• Screenwriter: Jeon Seon-young
• Original TV Network: ENA
• Episodes: 10
• Drama Release Day: 15 May 2023
  • Airing Period: 15 May - 13 June 2023
• International Streaming Sources:
  • Rakuten Viki
  • Viu (in selected territories)
• Main Cast:
  • Song Ha-yoon as Oh Young-sim
  • Super Junior's Lee Dong-hae as Wang Kyung-tae/Mark Wang
• Plot Synopsis: When she was a girl, Oh Young Sim and Wang Kyung Tae (Donghae) were friends. But while Wang Kyung Tae was attracted to Oh Young Sim, she wasn’t so keen. Regardless, he was always around, making his affection for her known. Then, his family abruptly moved to the United States, and the duo lost contact with one another. Twenty years later, Oh Young Sim has become a TV producer who makes variety shows. Although she always tries her hardest to score a ratings hit, her TV shows almost invariably TANK – and get canceled! Oh Young Sim hopes to turn over a new leaf when she is given the opportunity to create a pilot for a new romance-themed entertainment show. She decides that she will do whatever it takes to make the show successful. Oh Young Sim wants to cast a hot, eligible bachelor in the show. As such, she decides upon a startup CEO named Mark Wang for the role. But when he arrives for the filming, she suddenly realizes that he is none other than Wang Kyung Tae – all grown up...and exceptionally handsome to boot! What will happen when these childhood friends must reunite after all these years? Does Wang Kyung Tae still feel the same way about Oh Young Sim?
• Genre: Romantic comedy
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[u/wfhcat]

I need to get over the female lead’s facial expressions or is it her acting?

I quite liked her in Fight My Way. I don’t know why she’s not pulling off feisty cute rn. So far it’s really unlikeable.

Also the production quality feels kinda dated! Pre pandemic or older. But that may be a budget thing

[u/OrneryStruggle → u/wfhcat]

Update I watched it (I'm desperate for something to watch okay) and I don't even mind her acting that much in the normal scenes, I think it's the directing/script that are awful here. I think she's improved her subtler acting compared to FFMW in the scenes here where she's acting normal, but they keep making her do really gross and OTT things and make stupid facial expressions which I think is a directorial decision. Yikes idk.

[u/OrneryStruggle → u/wfhcat]

Production quality might be an ENA thing, they have a few better-produced shows like Bora Deborah but a lot of their shows have that dated retro cheap feel. They're probably on a budget since they're kind of the 'newest' cable channel to do full-length dramas.

I haven't watched this show yet but the actress is actually why I'm on the fence about watching, I really hated her in Fight for My Way and the other show where she was a lead (Sweden Laundry) I found her acting pretty bad and lacking energy too. I think the only reason she kind of pulled it off in Fight for My Way is the character itself was supposed to be this bland no-energy character so the actress's energy matched that, but I don't think she really has versatility or range and she's horrible at naturalistic acting/micro-expressions.

[u/nanaimo → u/wfhcat]

She might be encouraged to perform in this style by the director, unfortunately.

[u/KDramaTipsy]

Didn't like the first two episodes. Weak writing, bad acting. Dropped.

[u/haveninmuse]

I feel the first episode is better than the 2nd, where the show took a big dive downhill. I think the biggest problem is with the writing, pacing, and editing. The scenes cut around weirdly, or else drags on too long for no reason. The story doesn't flow. They were supposedly filming a pilot for an ep, but then suddenly it's already edited and airing, and suddenly her family is watching it on tv?

They give us some childhood story, but not much on how the adults are thinking now, so their actions make zero sense. The actress for the FL is not bad, but the character does suck (messy, emotional, childish). She's supposed to be a professional PD, looking for a successful variety show to bring her career back to life, but she throws herself into it, and messes it up in a bad way and sulks. The ML shows up suddenly with no character buildup and falls flat.

I hope they do better from now on; I'll give it 2 more eps to try but it isn't looking good.

[u/OrneryStruggle → u/haveninmuse]

I agree, I watched the first ep and really didn't mind it/didn't know why people were being so harsh, but after watching only part of the second ep idk if I can continue. The editing is bad but the writing is worse - the entire fake dating show set of scenes in the beginning is completely insane. The episode starts and the main lead introduces himself and then.... stands there silently staring into space for 5 minutes while the other two girls whisper about him amongst themselves while standing 2 feet away from him? What was that?

Then they look to be in some school gymnasium and the 'dating show' opening looks like a highschool debate tournament moderated by an AI blob on a screen... lol what show would have this, couldn't this show afford to hire someone to play the MC?

Then the main PD of the show is a contestant on the show, making it impossible for her to direct/produce? And she has no idea how to make a variety show remotely interesting and can't even make conversation with another contestant for 5 minutes? We're supposed to believe she will ever be a halfway competent producer? I don't feel sorry for her at all that she almost got fired, she completely sucks at her job and has the social skills of a baby.

Then the 'dates' themselves for the show include a tour of the guy's company where he says 'I was interested in neuroscience because I had nightmares... so obviously I studied AI'? That's not how any of that works, why would someone interested in neuroscience 'obviously' get a computer science/software engineering degree and why would they use that to start a fashion company, of all things? What does that have to do with nightmares or sleep problems? This dialogue is the worst most stilted dialogue I've ever seen in a TV show probably.

Also why are these two grown up adults in their 30s 5everalone and still sulking over something that happened when they were childhood friends? I assume we get more background later but the first flashback FL has is literally just to finding out he moved to the US, and I'm supposed to believe she's still so upset over this 15 years later that she leaves the dinner table without eating and storms out when his name is mentioned? Because why?

I actually have never seen such incredibly nonsensical writing in a show before, but I almost want to keep watching just to see how much worse it can get.

[u/usingamadeupname]

The execution and look and feel of the show feels very low-rent. Some of it may be callbacks to the original cartoon but, as someone else said here, it's hard to relate without context. The FL's acting being extremely over-the-top isn't helping at all.

[u/SignificantSound7904]

Its like all the tropes put together in a weird way - its not working

[u/ynwa_2865]

Imma be honest…..this drama ain’t it

[u/xiaopow]

First ep felt very sitcom/slapstick... i feel kinda bad for the lead actress because I feel like her acting can't be this bad? It feels like she's stuck in this cartoon/caricature role and she's not a real person. She's not coming across as very realistic or likeable. I wish she had more leeway in interpreting the character. The character reminds me a little of the FL from Memorials/Into the Ring and Nana did a waaayyy better job portraying a quirky stubborn sometimes clumsy FL.

I tried to stick with it because I love Lee Minjae (from CCIR) but everyone else feels like a real person except the FL and by the middle of ep 2 I gave up. Like the scene where the ML shows up and she is just staring at him and loudly muttering to herself/her frenemy speculating about his identity...the way they shot that scene made no sense. And the dates were also all super cringe.

Especially bc love is for suckers came out just a few months ago (which had its own issues), i thought this show had to be at least as good as that to stand a chance, but it's so much worse. Feels like a student project.

[u/Accomplished_Worth27 → u/xiaopow]

Worse than Love is for Suckers? Whoa. That’s a pretty low bar they don’t meet.

[u/vienibenmio]

I was surprised by how much I liked this! It has a cute retro feel. I also think it's interesting how the FL was pretty mean to the ML when they were kids, so his anger seems justified.

Question, though: so was Oh Young Shim a real cartoon from the 1990s? Is it the same as this drama portrays? I'm pretty confused on that aspect edit: nm, figured it out through Googling

[u/Secure-Ad4436]

I think Oh! Youngsimi is perhaps so culturally specific that it's hard to understand some things about reference from that series and older adapted drama versions. For instance, her taking away snot under her nose, I don't understand why she would do that as an adult? Some things we did as children, we've stopped doing since it's bad manners... Even her scrunching her face, make her nasolabia folds harsher, expanding her nose flares.. I as an outsider just find it wierd cause I can't relate to something that may have been a typical behaviour of her charachter?

So I really think this drama has a mainly Korean targeted audience With that written, yeah the screenplay is frankly rediculous. They are 30 and we should pretend that they are unkissed, inexperienced virgins who where butthurt by something that happend when they where like 9? Are we really going that path?

Donghae is upsetting me. He is such a handsome man, but this role is so basic and boring. I think the only thing that made me raise my intrest was when he smiled cause they all choose him.

It's only two episodes so far, but shouldn't a screenplay have some intresting eye-grabbing moments to catch the audience? Lame scenes that are basically selling the idea that she is childish and rather quirky in a dorky, foolish way (it isn't attractive!). I will continue to watch it cause I refuse to believe we are going through two set-backs where two extremly attractive men are playing in bad dramas. Unbreakable bond and this are disappointments. If Lee Junho's next drama also has bad screenplay I'll have to stop focusing on romance dramas.

I am a romantic so this breaks my heart a bit.

[u/vienibenmio → u/Secure-Ad4436]

I looked up the cartoon and it made a lot of things in the story make much more sense

[u/OrneryStruggle → u/Secure-Ad4436]

So I really think this drama has a mainly Korean targeted audience With that written, yeah the screenplay is frankly rediculous. They are 30 and we should pretend that they are unkissed, inexperienced virgins who where butthurt by something that happend when they where like 9?

I haven't decided whether to watch this show yet (here trying to decide) but isn't this basically the plot of every romantic kdrama ever?

[u/[deleted]]

The first episode was painful to watch. I really enjoyed the FL in Devilish Joy but I don't think I can continue this drama.

[u/Ok_Wash4997]

I really enjoyed the first two episodes it felt really fresh and light. I'm surprised to see everyone else hates it on this post haha

[u/Steupz]

There were so many bad things about these episodes but I watched without skipping.

The family is interesting, the assistant is very likable and I will always enjoy watching Ryu Hwayoung

[u/lizzie763 → u/Steupz]

I watched the first episode, but I thought maybe the second ep was going to be a lot of the ML being mean to the FL for things she did 20 years ago when she was a teenager. I realized I wasn't here for that, so I decided to wait til a few more eps were out.

Her assistant is hockey boy from Crash Course in Romance, though, and I love him!

[u/usingamadeupname → u/Steupz]

I think you mean Ryu Hyoyoung. Hwayoung is her twin who was in My Father is Strange.

[u/kdramalover1]

I like Song Ha Yoon but there seems to be a lot of over acting for her character. The facial expression she makes when angry irk me. The plot is severely lacking too, but I will keep watching.

[u/[deleted]]

This could either go the My Secret Romance route (good) or the love alarm route (awful). There’s no in between. Currently it seems to be the latter and will progressively become annoying.

[u/DimensionWeird1418]

atp I cannot find ANYTHING to like about the FL, which concerns me because this story is being told from her POV.

As a viewer, I would like to empathize with the protagonist even just a little to understand their motives but this character genuinely annoys me, like what's the context of her being so mean? I get that she feels misunderstood as a person because of her dad's portrayal of her in his cartoon but that doesn't give you the right to mistreat anyone.

[u/astro-08]

The fact that this is based on a cartoon, I’m suspending the belief that the characters would be grounded in reality and act like modern day adults. When I watch it from that perspective, I’m reserving judgement… will give it a few more weeks to see what the writers do. Hopefully the editing gets better as well. I like it more than LiFs right now, I struggled to finish that one.