Record of Youth


Record of Youth is a South Korean television series starring Park Bo-gum, Park So-dam, and Byeon Woo-seok.It aired on TVN from September 7 to October 27, 2020, every Monday and Tuesday at 21:00, and is available for streaming worldwide on Netflix. It aired while Park Bo-gum was serving in the Republic of Korea Navy as part of his compulsory military service.
At the time of airing, the series recorded the highest premiere viewership rating for a TvN Monday-Tuesday drama of all time, and became popular outside Korea through Netflix. It received praise for its depiction of millennials and Generation Z, and was nominated for Best Screenplay for Television at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards. Forbes named it as one of the best Korean dramas of 2020.

Synopsis

The series revolves around the lives of three young people in the entertainment industry as they strive to achieve their dreams and love without despair.

Cast

Main

Sa Hye-jun's family

  • Ha Hee-ra as Han Ae-sook, Sa Hye-jun's mother
  • Han Jin-hee as Sa Min-gi, Sa Hye-jun's grandfather
  • Park Soo-young as Sa Young-nam, Sa Hye-jun's father
  • Lee Jae-won as Sa Kyeong-jun, Sa Hye-jun's older brother

    Won Hae-hyo's family

  • Shin Ae-ra as Kim Yi-young, Won Hae-hyo's mother
  • Seo Sang-won as Won Tae-kyeong, Won Hae-hyo's father
  • Jo Yoo-jung as Won Hae-na, Won Hae-hyo's younger sister

    Kim Jin-woo's family

  • Jung Min-sung as Kim Jang-man, Kim Jin-woo's father
  • Park Sung-yeon as Lee Kyung-mi, Kim Jin-woo's mother
  • Jang Yi-jung as Kim Jin-ri, Kim Jin-woo's younger sister

    Others

  • Kwon Soo-hyun as Kim Jin-woo
  • * Baek Soo-min as young Kim Jin-woo
  • Shin Dong-mi as Lee Min-jae, Sa Hye-jun's manager
  • Lee Chang-hoon as Lee Tae-soo, Hye-jun's former manager and the new director at Park Do-ha's entertainment company
  • Kwon Eun-soo as Gateway casting interviewer
  • Park Se-hyun as Choi Soo-bin, Ahn Jeong-ha's friend and co-worker at the salon.
  • Yang So-min as hair salon director
  • Jo Ji-seung as Park Jin-ju, Ahn Jeong-ha's senior co-worker at the salon.
  • Lim Ki-hong as Yang Moo-jin
  • Kim Gun-woo as Park Do-ha, a top actor
  • Kim Min-chul as Chi-yeong, Hye-Jun's chauffeur

    Special appearances

  • Kim Hye-yoon as Lee Bo-ra, a makeup artist
  • Lee Seung-joon as Charlie Jung, a fashion designer
  • Lee Hae-woon as a producer/director
  • Kim Min-sang as director Choi Se-hun
  • Kang So-young as a runaway model
  • Seol In-ah as Jung Ji-ah, Hye-jun's ex-girlfriend
  • Seo Hyun-jin as Lee Hyun-soo, an actress
  • Bae Yoon-kyung as Kim Su-man
  • Kang Han-na as Jessica, host of OVN Drama Awards
  • Park Seul-gi as host at a press conference
  • Park Seo-joon as Song Min-soo, an actor
  • Lee Sung-kyung as Jin Seo-woo
  • Lee Hye-ri as Lee Hae-ji
  • Choi Soo-jong as a mall visitor

    Production

Casting

In April 2020, Park Bo-gum confirmed his appearance in the drama directed by Ahn Gil-ho and produced by Pan Entertainment. Park So-dam and Byeon Woo-seok were also confirmed to star. The first script reading of the series took place in July 2020.

Filming

Despite restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Park Bo-gum's on-going application to fulfill his mandatory military service, principal photography proceeded without delays. A departure from Korean drama convention, filming of the series was finished prior to its premiere. BMW Korea sponsored the vehicles in the drama. Filming locations of the series became popular among viewers including the Starfield Library inside Starfield COEX Mall and Baegot Hanul Park.

Release

A scheduled online press conference attended by the cast on August 27, 2020 was cancelled due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19.
Record of Youth aired on TvN from September 7 to October 27, 2020, every Monday and Tuesday at 21:00. It was made available for streaming in 190 countries around the world through Netflix. While the series was airing, lead actor Park Bo-gum was serving the Republic of Korea Navy as part of his compulsory military service.

Episodes

Original soundtrack

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
'''Part 11'''

Chart performance

Reception

Critical response

The series received praise for its depiction of millennials and Gen Z, and was nominated for Best Screenplay for Television at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards. Forbes named it as one of the best Korean dramas of 2020. Park Bo-gum's performance in the drama was lauded and cemented his reputation as a "National Treasure"-level actor.

Impact

Despite being in the military and prohibited to promote at the time of the show's airing, lead actor Park Bo-gum ranked first in overall topicality making him the "Most Buzzworthy Performer" for eight consecutive weeks after the series premiered per big data analytics firm Good Data Corporation. The show also topped topicality indices until the end of its run. In addition, Park Bo-gum ranked 2nd in Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year survey in 2020. The success of the series drove the production company Pan Entertainment's stock up to 42%.

Viewership

On Netflix, it topped viewership rankings in several territories.
A 6.362% viewership rating was recorded nationwide for the series's first episode, making it one of the highest premiere ratings of the network. It achieved the number one viewer rating for TVN's first Monday-Tuesday drama. Since then, it has been quickly rising without a drop rating and maintained its first place in the same time slot, even after two competitors began airing.

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Listicles