I was really excited to watch this K-drama due to the hype that this series has been receiving on social media (especially the K-Drama subreddit thread). I've also heard a lot about Park Bo Gum and about how this is his last drama before his military draft. I was excited to see my first K-drama starring him. It's also pretty cool to see Park So Dam, from the Oscar-winning 'Parasite' as the FL. Though the episode was a bit slow, by the end, I was hooked! I am really liking this series so far! It is nice to see a K-drama focus on people struggling to achieve their dreams against their family's wishes or mean superiors which is definitely relatable for millions of people around the world. I also liked the cinematography, which was clean and soft.

On a side note, why is Hye-jun struggling to make money, working as a bodyguard, at Subway and as a busboy if he is a top model whose looks customers, other models and a top fashion designer fawn over? Also, why is Jung Ha's boss so b*tchy? Like she even interrupted Hye-jun who was trying to defend her? Like what?! I'm quite sure that she is allowed to do that since she is technically working for the models. I'm so ready to see her pummeled into the ground by Jung Ha's imminent success!

Watching the second episode, the pacing of the series seems to have established itself. This drama is slow. It's more like a slice-of-life drama but I'm really liking it! Park Bo Gum's character has immediately become my favourite and I found myself waiting for him to appear onscreen. I cannot wait to see him achieve success and make his naysayers, including his family, gape in disbelief!

On a side note, I love that there is LGBT representation in these newer K-dramas, first Itaewon Class and now, Record of Youth! Although the character in this drama is a fashion designer who lusts after and wants to exploit Hye-jun, it is nice seeing more people like me represented. Hopefully, they will be able to humanize him like Itaewon Class's Hyeon-yi though it doesn't seem like they will...

Episode 3 wasn't as strong as the previous episodes as not much actually happened. I do continue to find Park Bo Gum captivating and absolutely LOVE his scenes. I really feel like the drama hits its stride when it focuses on Hye-jun and his burgeoning career. I don't really care for the other characters to be honest, even the FL who I'm not really feeling the romance between the two leads. Probably because of how rushed, unrealistic and cheesy it is. The snappy dialogue between them feels unnatural too (as others have pointed out) (or at least the translation seems awkward) (not sure if it flows better in Korean though). Anyways, I'm getting the feeling that Hae Hyo is gonna backstab Hye-jun in the future. I feel like Hae Hyo is kind to Hye-jun specifically because he feels bad for him. He pities him. Having him around makes Hae Hyo feel more successful. However, when Hye-jun gets more famous and successful, Hae Hyo will try to backstab out of jealousy. He's already trying to see An Jeong behind Hye-jun's back. It seems like he likes her just because she doesn't like him, which makes him feel more attracted to her. The fact that An Jeong is a fan of Hye-jun and not him clearly irks Hae Hyo, so he wants to make her his fan. He sees her as a challenge. That's my thoughts on Hae Hyo so far. Hopefully, I'm wrong...

Episode 4 was quite slow as once again, not much happened and there were a lot of filler scenes which padded out the running time of the drama. There was a lot of Hye-jun and An Jeong moments which I didn't care for to be honest. Their relationship is way too rushed and to be frank, I'm tired of seeing straight couples. I actually ship Hye-jun with Hae Hyo lol. I did love the ending (which although a bit too rushed was satisfying) where Hye-jun gets to upstage the actor who was mean to him in the first episode though. On a side note, the fact that Hye-jun got the villain role in the film was quite big! I thought that he would just be like a friend. I don't get why Jin Joo hasn't been reported by any of the employees. There's no way that An Jeong was the first co-worker she bullied.

Watching Episode 5, my fears for this drama are starting to manifest. There was once again way too much filler scenes that focused on side characters who I still didn't care for. The family melodrama about the brother moving out was unnecessary and served no purpose. The snappy banter between the main couple still feels forced and unnatural. Still don't see any chemistry between Hye-Jun and Jeong An. That confession at the end was random and way too rushed. I still ship Hye-Jun with Hae-Hyo to be honest. The only part of the episode that shined was when it focused on Hye-Jun's career in the last 20 minutes where Hye-Jun's acting talent was displayed as he delved deep into his villain character. Hopefully, the drama focuses more on his career though I doubt that it will...

Episode 6 was much better than the previous episode though there are a number of plot points that didn't make sense. Like why is the old manager angry that Hye-jun left him when he was literally not paying him? Da fuq? How was he even able to get a high-paying job at a good company representing a top actor when his old agency was barely getting by, not being able to pay its clients? And why is Hye-jun's new manager not going to bat for him? Shouldn't she be tracking down that director and explain why Hye-jun left his old manager? And why would a director drop an actor just because he changed representation?

Family scenes continue to bore. I didn't care for the main romance, just Hye-jun and his career.
A gay relationship is scandalous while a straight relationship would have been praised. After the ground-breaking portrayal of a transgender character in Itaewon Class, this handling of an LGBT topic is just disappointing. What a horrible reporter! She doesn't even check her sources! It's so obvious that Lee Tae-su will try to slander Hye-jun for leaving the agency.

Though this drama wasn't particularly good, I still did enjoy it a lot and will greatly miss looking forward to watching it every Monday and Tuesday night when I get home from work :'( Record of Youth kind of exemplifies the charm and appeal of K-dramas for me. There's just this innocence, this purity and optimism that is just perfect for escapism, especially for someone like me who goes to school everyday studying something he hates, something that his parents pushed him to do. After long, exhausting days of school, and dreading the start of every week, it was a blessing to have something to look forward to every Monday and Tuesday night. Watching K-dramas, such as Record of Youth, calms me and gives me hope. Hope that I will be happy someday. And what more can we ask for...