★★★★☆
The 2019 Korean drama starring Ji Soo as
Yoon Tae-Oh, Jung Chae-Yeon as Han Song-Yi, Jung Jin-Young as Seo Do-Hyeon,
Choi Ri as Oh Ga-Rin, Kang Tae-Oh as Choe Hun, and Hong Ji-Yoon as Ryu
Se-Hyeon. Directed by Oh Jin-Seok and written by Kim Ran. Between two seasons,
there are 16 episodes total, running anywhere between 42 and 56 minutes apiece.
Brief summary: Yoon Tae-Oh, because of his
family’s wealth, moves out into his own house shortly after becoming a legal
adult. Now a college student, just as he thinks the world is going his way,
three of his friends show up at his house saying they have nowhere else to go.
Their persistence chases things out of this control again and Tae-Oh has to
deal with helping his friends out the best that he can, versus winning the
heart of his new love interest. All of Tae-Oh’s friends have their own
struggles and secrets and Tae-Oh’s house becomes the melting pot for all of it.
But these youths are just coming of age and trying to make their way in the
world.
This drama is a quirky, coming of age story
that warms the heart. It’s not crazily unrealistic like we’re used to seeing in
the dramas, although it does play with the tropes we are familiar with. The
drama is very much about falling in love in your best friend, which is how we
like to picture the relationships that could last forever.
In episode 4 of the second season, Tae-Oh
says “We all need at least one person we can love unconditionally, that makes
us feel connected to this world.” In Tae-Oh’s perspective, life is really lived
when you spend your energy on caring for the people around you, even if it’s
just one person. It doesn’t matter if those people or that one person return
your affection—the satisfaction comes from loving rather than being loved.
Whether we agree with his perspective or not, it’s certainly thought-provoking.
My
First First Love examines what it really means to
“be there” for someone. Who is really there for Han Song-Yi when she is kicked
out of her home? Who is there for Tae-Oh when he finds out about his mother?
For Han Song-Yi, Seo Do-Hyeon can’t be there like Tae-Oh could. This influences
how the relationships between the three of them play out in the end. When
Tae-Oh is the one in need, however, the whole circle comes together to his
support, reminding us that the whole drama was about friendship from the
beginning.
I still find it fascinating that Ga-Rin is
the one that manages to bring Tae-Oh inside when he’s at his lowest. It’s like
we almost forgot that Ga-Rin has a personal connection to Tae-Oh as the main
character, just as well as anyone else in that circle of friends. Her
personality and role are unique to all the other characters, but she’s still
essential.
Hun reminds us in episode 7 (season 2) that
a romantic relationship is about becoming each other’s top priority. It’s a
voluntary choice to put that person first. This isn’t just something we see
between Ga-Rin and Hun, either. It gives us different perspectives on all the
couples—Tae-Oh and Se-Hyeon, Han Song-Yi and Seo Do-Hyeon, and even Han
Song-Yi’s mother’s situation. We come to draw different kinds of conclusions
when we watch them with that thought in mind.
Of the drama’s flaws, sometimes the plot
moved a little slowly or cyclical. This drama doesn’t have much excitement or
thrills available—It’s just about the relationships between a circle of
friends. Moreover, Tae-Oh and Han Song-Yi seemed to be thrown into a pattern of
misunderstanding each other or keeping secrets. But of course, these things
become resolved by the finale.
In conclusion, My First First Love is a cute drama, full of the ups and downs of
youth and young adulthood. I may have been expecting a little more from Ji
Soo’s first project as the first lead, but he acted to suit the role, so I
can’t exactly fault him for it. Overall, it’s a drama that reminds us of the
meaning of friendship and the affection in that relationship. 4/5 stars!
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