Youth of May

As someone with Korean heritage, it was very interesting to see the period in which my parents' generation grew up in, particularly as this "between" period after the Korean war, but before the economic boom and nostalgia of the 90s isn't something I've seen reperesented on screen before. The production did a great job.

However, the script and storyline fall short. It starts strong, in the present, with the mystery surrounding a news story which we can assume alludes to what happens to one of the main characters.. and creates a sense of huge melodrama.. but as the drama gets to the late stages (starting around ep 9-10) the story becomes rushed with plotpoints being brushed aside immediately after they happen in preparation for the next development, making character and story progression seem unearned and abrupt. By the last couple of episodes major plotpoints are rushed through so quickly and inconsequentially that it just started to lose what sense of believability it had earned during the early stages.

Really my main gripe is the pacing which mainly results from the 12ep 1 hour run time (the shortest I've seen from a kdrama that isn't considered a mini-series), and they should really have chosen either to present this as a 2 hour movie or a properly fleshed out 24 hour drama. The first 8 eps feel like they belong as the opening act of a 24 ep arc, and then within 3 eps the story comes to an abrupt end (the 12th being the present day epilogue).

If you're curious about Korean history and want a short series to watch then this isn't an awful watch, I've still given it a 7 because the beginning was pretty good, but it does flatter to deceive on what it can deliver and the climax falls on its face for me.

It's a drama based on a historical event. The main leads have amazing storylines and show how they both battle their individual hardships. There's great chemistry between the leads and I loved how they portray the female lead's relationship with her family and especially her younger brother. It's definitely a must watch.

The Plot and the Screenplay are well put-together.

The show is about one hell of a star-crossed love between a medical student and a nurse weaved around a dark-time in south Korean city Gwangju.

Brace yourself for some heartache by the ending.

The low-rating reviews are from let-down expectation of a cute lovey-dovy romantic story with a happy ending.

This definitely goes into my re-watch list later in future.

This drama is "the masterpiece" of this year. I happened to stumble upon this drama through an Instagram page that revealed a major spoiler. So, yes I had known the ending but still decided to give it a go and boy, I'm not disappointed at all. Despite of me knowing what exactly was gonna happen, I was moved to tears during plenty of scenes. It has the right amount of episodes and everything was conveyed clearly with no loose ends. The cast did a brilliant job. Kudos to the writers for this excellent script. This is a must watch for all the k-drama lovers out there!

I chose to watch this because of the interesting historical period it represents. As a European, I didn't know anything about Gwangju uprising although it is quite recent history.

I agree with most other reviewers that the production is great, acting is generally good. Leading couple has a great chemistry and the main villain is even more frightening than in Crash Landing on You. So I would have liked to give this more stars. I just hope they would have had better script.