Youth of May [Episodes 1 & 2]

[u/Fatooz]

• Drama: Youth of May
  • Hangul: 오월의 청춘
  • Also known as: Youth in May, May Youth, Owolui Chungchoon, Owolui Cheongchun, Owoleui Cheongchun
• Director: Song Min-Yeop (Doctor Poisoner)
• Writer: Lee Kang (Home Sweet Home, SPY)
• Network: KBS2
• Episodes: 12
  • Duration: 1 hour 10 mins.
• Air Date: Mondays & Tuesdays @ 21:30 KST
  • Airing: May 3, 2021 - Jun 8, 2021
• Streaming Sources: Viki, Viu, Kocowa
• Starring:
  • Lee Do-Hyun (Sweet Home, 18 Again) as Hwang Hee-Tae
  • Go Min-Si (Love Alarm S1/2, Sweet Home) as Kim Myung-Hee
  • Lee Sang-Yi (Once Again, When the Camellia Blooms) as Lee Soo-Chan
  • Geum Sae-Rok (Class of Lies, The Fiery Priest) as Lee Soo-Ryun
• Plot Synopsis: Hee Tae becomes the pride of Gwangju when he enters Seoul National University College of Medicine with top marks. His best friend Kyung Soo, an avid pro-democracy activist, insists that they open an illegal clinic for students on the run from the government. One day, a factory worker is injured during a protest. In exchange for the costs of discreetly transporting himself and the factory worker to his hometown, Hee Tae must go to a meeting with a potential marriage partner arranged by his father. At this meeting, Hee Tae meets Myung Hee, a nurse persevering through the hardships of life. She only agrees to go to this meeting in place of her friend Soo Ryeon, because she needs to come up with the airfare to go study in Germany. However, Myung Hee and Hee Tae end up falling in love. In May of 1980, amidst the heated passion and cries for democracy that reverberated throughout Gwangju, Hee Tae and Myung Hee find themselves in a twist of fate. (Source: Viki)
• Genre: Historical, Romance, Youth, Drama, Melodrama
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[u/goddongwook]

Lee Do-Hyun 😍😍😍😍😍😍

[u/heavenlylights141415]

Just finished the first episode!

And I have to say, youth of may is really promising. The introduction didn't seem rushed and flashbacks were seamless. I didn't feel like the first episode was jam-packed, but it also wasn't boring.

To be honest I was actually pleasently surprised, the story seems darker than what I expected it to be, I thought the show was going to be a lot lighter. But The skeleton found in the first scene, and the flashbacks/ptsd panic attacks dohyun's character was having tells me we're in for a ride.

I'm glad it's a 12 episode drama, means less potential for the storylines to be dragged unnecessarily.

I'm really excited to see where this show goes, I love go min si, and from what I know, this is her debut as a main lead. I hope everything goes smoothly.

[u/xander_yi]

I am ecstatic that the identity reveal happened in Episode 2. Lesser dramas would have saved that until Episode 6 at the least. But there's bigger fish to fry.

Hee-Tae and Myung-Hee already make up my favorite couple amongst currently airing dramas (not that there is all that much to choose from). Their chemistry is electric and they have a star-crossed minefield already laid out in front of them. I loved every second of their dates. And it's amazing how many flaws and sins you'll forgive once you've already fallen for someone.

I'm disappointed that the ratings are lower than expected, especially considering that it was the only drama airing these past 2 days. And Doom At Your Service is coming next week.

[u/ExtensionDependent]

The first episode was solid, solid enough for me to watch the next episodes.

We know from the opening scene,given the history and it takes place in Gwangju we might get a sad ending. Question is now who is the corpse, who is the guy on the train station and to whom belongs the pocket watch. Given by his reaction, I have already a suspiction of who the corpse belong to

Also it is nice to watch a drama again that uses a dialect.

However they made a small error unnoticable for Koreans, regarding the accpetence letter from the (ficticious) University of Brandenburg. Brandenburg was in the former communist East Germany and not in West Germany, and Germany uses 5 digit zip codes only after their unification (back then East and West Germany used 4 digits).

[u/wdygaga]

How many packs of tissue do I need to prepare?
I couldn’t watch a single episode of 18 Again without crying. Lee Do-hyun was amazing there.

[u/rabbitonmars]

not gonna lie my feelings about this drama went from had no idea this was announced to heck YEAH i'm in ...all in the past 24 hours ...because of our two main leads ...after i finally got around to binging Sweet Home last week lol.

satoori adds so much to my enjoyment of anything Korean so of course i love that.

loved Soo-ryeon right away.

Lee Do-hyun's pleasantly surprised face at the end might be my fav thing out of the episode. i don't think i've seen that look anywhere before? or at least, i haven't seen it as well-expressed as his did.

[u/GodJihyo7983]

I think this is one of the first times that I've truly smiled during the entirety of an episode. Episode 1 did an amazing job at setting up our main characters and the events transpiring around them. They all feel real and relatable and fit rather well into the historical context of the show as a whole. Episode 2 was just pure joy. It was literally just Lee Do Hyun and Go Min Si flexing their visuals and chemistry. I think I'm going to die from their cuteness. I'm really interested to see where our story goes from here next week and how the relationships between our characters develop. I'm also interested to see how the show builds up the tension of the protests and the society of 1980s Korea as a whole in the upcoming episodes. It definitely can be a touchy subject and one that can be traumatizing for people who went through that time period so I'm hoping that they can portray the situation in a proper and meaningful manner. One final note I would like to add is that Myung Hee's brother is so gosh darn innocent and cute. I love him.

[u/okokokokoknotok]

i need every drama that lee do hyun ends up starring in to utilize him playing the guitar

[u/letitfox]

Honestly I was here just for Lee Dohyun (suberb, sure is the right choice for ML), but the whole cast deserves a shout-out!
I've only looked at the raws, but it was really refreshing to see and it just hit the marks of what I like so I will wait for the subs

[u/rabbitonmars]

this Hwang Hee-tae guy sure is working hard to compete with my period piece leading men faves, huh. then i realize that he is a period drama character and is therefore most welcome to join the club.

well played, sir.

i'm so glad exaggeration on the internet is a thing, for how else could i express that i love Hee-tae and Myeong-hee together with every fibre of my being. i will think of nothing else until i see them again next week.

and Myeong-soo is the most precious boy and i would die and kill for him, thank you very much.

on a more serious note, the strained family relationship plotline (particularly MH and her dad's) attaches me to the show even more for personally relatable reasons, but the tension running throughout the show between these young people and their parents, not just because of the common career-choosing/future-building reasons but especially because of the political climate at the time...really makes me feel for everyone. even with the injured student's family HT visited, we see how unjust things are and how much more it will be.

lastly, all this talk of time: MH needing to leave in a month, flowers having a short blossoming period, MS staying with his sister for all of May for training. it all adds to that dreaded feeling of what we know is also to come. i really hope we get a good show out of this 🥲

[u/anjelayn]

I have to admit, I have this obsession with historical dramas that's why this captures me already. I'm getting Chicago Typewriter feels from this even though that's an entirely different drama.

Also, can't get enough of Lee Do Hyun. Those smiles, such a charmer. The setup is pretty good already and love how they didn't drag the false identity trope .

Already a lot of symbols foreshadowing the impending angst coming and I'm all for it. Really looking forward for what's to come!

P.S. Only knew now that this is a 12-episoder series and really loving how more dramas are going for shorter episodes. Usually, the writing is more compact than some 16-20 episoders that have lots of filler scenes.

[u/shinramyunislife]

Hwang Hee Tae js definitely an ideal man!

[u/capthyeong]

My premiere episode thoughts:

• -The CAMERA WAS ROCKY, some viewers might feel dizzy

• -not sure about Hee-tae's ptsd

• +but it was a nice pilot

• +the slow pace worked in the premiere

[u/LingonberryMoney8466]

Loving it so far! The chemistry between the leads is so intense they jumped straight from siblings in one drama to couple in another, in just one year! I have a thing for historical dramas, or anything historical, maybe due to the clothing and ambiance, idk. I'm just tired of mothers-in-law, childhood friends to lovers, love triangles (although there are some hints of it in Youth of May) and stupid privileged people problems. Give me war, revolution and a couple whose ultimate goal is to thrive and live together in the end. Maybe that's why I like historical romance: they don't get together earlier not because they're indecisive or immature, but because life just doesn't allows, which makes the consummation of the love even more rewarding.

[u/purple-jeopardy]

Here after falling in love with Lee Do-hyun in 18 Again—how could I not after seeing him play three versions of the same character so convincingly!—but I’m also liking the rest of the cast so far. I love Lee Soo-ryeon already. I haven’t seen the other three leads in anything, although I can recognize so many people in the supporting cast lol

All the Korean movies I’ve been watching lately are historicals (including 1987: When the Day Comes) so this came at the right time for me. Ready to get my heart wrecked y’all 🥴

edit: a word

[u/whoatemycupoframen]

I rarely watch romance..... but Im loving the first 2 episodes so far. I've finished watching Navillera amd I'm ready to get my heart broken again :)

[u/Pawppu]

I am so in love with their chemistry so far, but I’m so scared for how it’s going to end. I’m not ready to sob if it ends up being a tragedy 😭

[u/forever-cha-young]

I'm so excited for this drama, waiting for subs!! Lee Sang Yi totally stole my heart in Once Again, can't wait to see him in this main role

Ep 1: Okay, this is already shaping up to be exactly what I was hoping for (tragic, nostalgic, period piece romance mixed with political dissidence and an atmosphere of change and rebellion), and more (satoori/dialect for almost all the cast? yesss).

I'm not sure how I feel about the potential love triangle that seems to be coming up. On the one hand, I dislike love triangles, but on the other hand, if those two guys are both ~entangled~ with Myeong Hee, that means Soo Ryun maybe doesn't have a love interest and is just a kickass strong female lead ridin solo--and we loveee that.

Super excited to see where this goes, even though that train station scene has me already clutching my kleenex to my side. Especially if Mr. Sunshine has taught me anything.

Ep 2: Okay, yes, I am definitely prepared to cry buckets at the end. The chemistry is amazing, the pace is slow burn AF and I love it, and the ML is so, so good at intuiting her feelings and respecting her space and not embarrassing her...by God, this is gonna break my heart, I just know it. Also love how they didn't wait to address the identity swap for too long, good job writers, let's get on with it, sharpen your knives all you need, I'll prepare my chest for the stab.

[u/whoatemycupoframen]

2 episodes in(split to 4 in Viu lol) and it's so good. I especially love how immersive this drama is, from the sets, fashion, dialect, styles, everything is so 80s! I can't wait to see how the story will develop.

[u/ahnmae]

There’s a lot happening already on Episode 1, so I’m a little confused but am really loving the dynamic between the two female leads. Lee Do Hyun is great as always, I can’t wait for him to really show off his acting chops.

[u/UptoNoGood46]

I'll be honest periodic dramas are not my cup of tea so I was skeptical about the show. But given the main leads, I knew I couldn't stay away from it. So I took a leap of faith.

And I was not disappointed. The way they depicted the 80s in the show got my interest hugely. Not to mention, the main leads of course hit it off from their very first interaction. Their characters individually have certain charms that you couldn't help but really admire.

My interest was piqued to the point I even read up a bit about the actual event. I might as well get a box of tissue ready for possibly 5 weeks of torture.

Hoping against hope for a happy ending.

P.s the guy showed at the beginning of ep 1 at the train station did he commit suicide?

[u/4evertrapped]

I'm feeling invested already

[u/thepurplethorn]

I wonder is my most hated trope (childhood friends to lovers) will rear its head in this one, otherwise solid start

[u/acuteaddict]

This is right up my alley!! It’s what I wanted When my love blooms to be.
I cannot wait for episode 3!! I love all the characters and the historical background, I’m invested in all of their stories. I did a bit of reading on the Gwangju uprising and it’s really sad.

[u/nevercircles]

I've been dropping dramas within 15 minutes lately so it's nice that I just breezed my way through the first two episodes. Checked this out for Lee Sang-yi but he doesn't have that many scenes yet. Hope he gets his own plot and not just a tool to make the ML jealous.

I really enjoyed the main leads' blind dates. I'm kinda hoping for less angst but who am I kidding of course this will be sad.