Moment at Eighteen

This study of community centers on two characters who are not who they seem to be. It is a moving examination of the boy who has clear hold of the title "good" and the newcomer who is quickly able to be labeled "bad." The richness of the story evolves as the bully slowly but surely appears and finally at the end of the story lets go of bullying as a life style. The tale is told with a decisive gentleness that takes a while to warm up to but really is the genius of the telling. Like heaven's garden we end up starting with an apparently modern, distracted and destructive community that is slowly and surely delivered into something better. All of the players did an amazing job in their respective roles but I must especially commend Shin Seung-ho. For his moving commitment to the broken pride and suffering intrensic to his roll as he endures abuse at home while navigating the inhuman expectations of social ordering that has gone astray. There is more than one broken person in the story, and more than one character that is healing to watch. I ended up very impressed by this story.

When it comes to teenage/school dramas, bullying/hierarchy/classes and school pressure aren't doing it for me unless they take an interesting angle of which this drama failed to do. It fell into the endless pit of vexing mediocrity. On another note, sloppy writing that is sincerely flawed and only focuses on the shininess of teenage fluff and antics, further demoting its poor efforts in creating a story. On an unrelated note, I wonder when Kim Hyang Gi would graduate from playing student roles, it's getting stale. Also, it's a waste for the adult cast to be involved in such drama. I don't recommend!

The male lead won a lot of awards in this kdrama. I think he is a promising guy to watch out for. The female lead is cute but I guess that I want another female character. The issues were common in a high school in Korea. I am just glad that it was not an overly exaggerated Romeo and Juliet scenes.

As a story centered on teenagers and school life, I was expecting this show to be mostly romance and fluff, with more of the usual subject matter: love triangles & rivals, bullying, parental pressure to excel, maybe some unfair treatment by school staff...that sort of thing. What I got instead was a poignant story of teenage struggles, covering heavy topics such as domestic abuse, social prejudice (in multiple forms), and parents' impact on their children's worldviews. The plot wasn't complex, but the subject matter and emotional weight definitely was. Thankfully, it was well written and executed, with a great cast. If you are a fan of teenage K-Drama, have a strong sense of justice, and enjoy the dynamics of complex (if mostly non-romantic) relationships, this is worth your time. LGBTQ INCLUSIVE: Yes ROMANCE RATING: * * * 7/10. To be honest, I can barely consider this show a real "romance." For one thing, the story covered so many "big" topics, the romantic developments kind of seemed more like a foil to explore those heavier subjects. Secondly, true to the age group in question, any romance that appeared was kept very pure. OSW and KHG did have great chemistry together overall, but there were only 2-3, G-rated kiss scenes. If you require a great lip lock to leave satisfied, then keep that in mind. Recommended!