Backstreet Rookie (2020)

This one is killer

I started this after many viewers flagged this with sexual harrasment and racism ??. But there is NOTHING WRONG with this. Female lead is too much badass maybe that's why many are complaining ?. I don't find anything wrong. Actually it's in my top 5 list of all time. Too much engaging. Dont go for others views. Sometimes MDL sucks. She is way too cute to handle.

Edit
Almost toward the end. I'm suprised how this picked up after second part. From 8th episode it picks up so much. I mean it. It gets better like hell. Sudden glow in drama in half. Lots of emotional scene mixed with mesmerizing love b/w main couple and their parent too.

Edit - Finally it ended and I think it ended very well. Though they teased us with kissing scene. I can forgive them as last episode was did a lot well. Kuddos to the parent of DH what a great role both of them played. Most of their were so emotional and loving. Some might think they are the lead couple.
BUT still i think there was too much focus on the that "EX" thing. One cannt focus much of main couple due to annoying EX (YJ) .
Totally loved the chemistry the glow in their eyes was phenomenal. Like they really felt for each other. There was age gap but it never felt like that. Both did so childish thing. Cutiee cutiee. No wonder JCW is such a great actor.
Loved how both of them loved each other opinion. They didnt forced the other to behave as they want. Wether it was ML or FL. Sacrifices for each other without being proudy at same time. Unlike most of the drama where either lead force the other one. There was nothing like that. Waited for each other till both of them were comfortable. How cute.

I really really want their another project like anything. There weren't too much pure romatic moment b/w the lead. I really want either season 2 or another project.

Definitely worth your time. Dont think a second whether to watch or not. JUST GO FOR IT. Perfect drama to lighten the heart and life the mood.

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Ji Chang Wook + Kim Yoo Jung = Perfection!

This drama is crazyyy! crazyyy! I loved it a lot! Ji Chang Wook is the best and Kim Yoo Jung is great. These two have excellent chemistry. I liked this couple very much <3 I didn't feel the age difference at all(he has that boyish face that could pass as a teeneage). The story is sometimes funny, sometimes romantic, and sometimes it touches themes that are so real that you put yourself in the characters and their lives. I would have preferred a little more romance on screen, they left us wanting a lot more ... it's definitely one of my favorite Kdramas. I recommend watching it.
-Peace and Love <3

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AWESOME, LOVED IT

I don't know why people hated this show, Why they were so mean and narrow-minded, I too Love Kim Yoo Jung, she is a baby, she is my little rabbit, But She has grown up, Its high time Ajummas and Ajussis, Harabojjay and Halmonni, Omma and Appa derrrr..... start treating this girl as you treat you children who have grown up, Start giving her privacy and space to grow in her own. It's so annoying to hear from the majority of ppl that How can she star along with an old man, like 12 to 13yrs difference, Like why she kisses shamelessly, why she is not playing school roles. Why she does not take roles her age. Why she is not being young and play roles we love her to play. BECAUSE It's her life and she has all the right to experiment and play roles she feels she can do it.
Like this one here she played such a role with such perfection and determination. Some actions were done by her, her emotional performance is a plus point and so is her comedy timings.
How maturely she handles all her problems and how she shows her brave face. Her growth in her character is remarkable. The chemistry is awesome. JCW was awesome, He nailed that dazed, confused, kind-hearted but doubting character. We kind of understands his point. The supporting cast was great too. The parents were lovely.
I just want to say, Please don't judge harsh, Watch this drama with heart and you will enjoy it, as this drama is all about heart, understanding, pressure, growth, family, emotions, and everything.

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Best ML/FL Chemistry I've ever seen

This is definitely not the kind of drama that you expect from Ji Chang Wook, he's far from that cool badass image that we all imagine about. That being said, this drama IMO was really really good.
The story was pretty average, pretty typical and nothing special within, but I like how it's so relatable to most of us, just ordinary people make a living and having a relationship with others on our daily lives.
The plot was pretty easy to read, but what makes this drama special was the chemistry between the casts.
JCW and KYJ's chemistry was off the chart, so much that their presence together will carry you throughout the whole series even if somehow you end up not liking the story. They look so cute together and clicked so so well. The chemistry between the FL and the 2nd FL was also really good, along with JCW's family was also very entertaining to watch.
The overly exaggerated animation on some action sequences was made to be funny, can be a bit cringy at first, but u'll get used to it, don't think about it too much.
Now time to submit the review and re-watch the whole thing again after I just finished it 2 days ago!

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It Gets Better and Better as the Episodes Go On

I loved this show! The beginning was a little rocky and I wasn’t sure if I would finish it after episode 1. It wasn’t because of the controversies other have said. It was because his friend was disturbing at first and the ML had a girlfriend ( I did not want to see the FL going after someone with a girlfriend.). To be honest I did not see the racism that others claim. I think the friend was just a weird guy who liked reggae and had dread locks. That doesn’t make the show racist. Anyways, I am so glad that I continued watching it. The show got better and better. After episode 8, I was stalking the internet to see if the next episode had come out. The final episode was very satisfying. A large part of my high rating is because I really liked the end.

The acting was great by all of the cast. I had never seen Kim Yoo Jung before and now I am looking forward to seeing her in more roles. The OST was good also. This was a great romantic comedy, not too much drama.

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sooo how about we use racist comedy and ruin our drama?! "Yes, lets do it"

It's actually fun if you only watch the cute love story and skip the rest. But I can't say I liked it because of all the racism and cultural appropriation in this show. I mean, instead of just finding it funny how he acts, they constantly ridicule everything related to Jamaican culture. They even depict him as dirty because of his dreadlocks and his darker complexion.
By the way, honestly was the blackface really necessary? It didn't add anything to his character, I mean -combined with his hair- the only goal was to perceive him as disgusting, smelly and dirty (they even added bugs around him as if he was rotten or something). I just think that's not right, if he was shown as an actual admirer of Jamaican culture and the comedic relief was only focused on his personality/obsession it would've been a lot more respectful. I basically dropped it when I saw that character, because I skipped all of it to get to the end sooner.
Seriously wtf were they thinking using racism as a "comedic story line"?
It's absurd dude, the audacity these guys have is just unbelievable.

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Beautiful story about family and relationships

Likes:
1. Despite the initial backlash, i still watched this show before making any judgments and surprised to find a beautiful story about families and relationships.
2. Daehyun's family was not perfect. They may not be rich but they make up for it by being hardworking and having a nurturing and supporting relationship with one another. (Well, except for the sister!) On the other hand, no amount of money can justify being rude and insulting to other people.
4. The relationship between Eunbyul and Saetbyul. In the end they were sisters and they have no one else to lean on but each other. And Daehyun's parents for treating them like family.
3. For relationships to work, both parties should make an effort to sustain the relationship. Yeonju didnt trust Daehyun and kept lying, concealing and even cheating. She only found out what a good man Daehyun was unless it was too late. And she still tried to force her way back to Daehyun through dirty tactics. On the other hand, Saetbyul may be younger but she fully supported and believed in Daehyun. Age doesnt matter sometimes if the couple are on the same wavelength. Daehyun always showed Saetbyul how precious she was and how she was "good enough" while Saetbyul liked Daehyun the way he was. They even have the hand gestures that only the two of them can understand.
4. Dont judge a book by its cover. Dalsik and Geumbi on the outside may look weird and hated each other at first, but once they looked past the outside and focused on the inside, they realized how well suited they are. "Find someone that matches your crazy." And turns out Dalsik's family is even richer than Geumbi! But instead of mooching off his family's wealth, he set off on his own and followed his dreams.

Dislikes:
1. The ages of Saetbyul and Geumbi could have been adjusted to 1 or 2 years older. Or have a time jump in the end where they are older.
2. The ending was too rushed, with Yeonju and her family's issue with Daehyun's family resolved with just one meeting.

Rating: 8.5

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Pure Entertainment!

Putting aside the controversies revolving around this drama in particular. This is one of the entertaining drama of all time. Of course, there are flaws to it as well like the depiction of "Reggae Boy" and ML being too kind or obsessive; he can't seem to be able to leave his Gf (SFL)and is always saying sorry even if it's not his fault. But it's sense of humor and character interactions are top-notch. It would have been better with more kissing than the slight peck at the very beginning but then again, I heard they deleted those scenes due to the controversies of the age difference between ML and FL. Personally, I don’t see why that should matter at all since they are both adults and they don't seem to have a problem with it. It was also really nice to see ML's mom redeemed herself as she realized her son being happy was more important than being with someone just because they are rich. I love the moment in the end when ML tells his parents, he wants to live with them even though they are not in the perfect circumstances. All things considered, this drama really had a lot of funny and touching scenes with some life lessons.

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A “ Backstreet” Away From Ji Chang Wook’s Successful Roles?

In all honesty Backstreet Rookie isn’t an entirely unbearable drama to watch; the story concept ( although based on a webtoon) isn’t anything new from the “ oblivious and good looking” Male lead ( Ji Chang Wook) to the girl with a secret crush ( Kim Yoo Jung) and of course all the overused tropes seen and done before ( idols, bullying and impoverishment to name just several) , however, one of the saving performances of the show was surprisingly offered not through Chang Wook’s performance, but Yoo Jung’s fairly good acting as Jung Saet- Byul. Of course this isn’t to say that Chang Wook is entirely bad here at all. However considering his renowned rep as an actor, it is fair to say that ‘ Backstreet Rookie’ is one of weaker roles to date.

On the other hand, there’s no beating around the bush that Backstreet Rookie’s sense of plot development, characterisation, and “ comical” moments were just poorly- written. In between the cheap budget special effects,
the drama has received mixed controversy for its outdated jokes and comedy moments. Whilst some may not mind this others may easily take offence. This naturally moves us onto the second problem of the drama; the actual story progression behind the “ chemistry” behind main characters of Jung Saet Byul and Choi Dae Hyun. There’s no denying that by sourcing its material from the eponymous webtoon, the drama had pretty much already sealed its fate to be inundated with classic romantic trope cliches(especially between the “ younger” female lead and the “ older” Male lead).

In all honesty, this isn’t actually main concern over this “ age difference” behind the pairing. Instead, it is more how the drama actually presented the two characters; Saet Byul’s “ feelings” for Dae Hyun through physically clinging on to him could verge at times upon harassment ( especially considering that he respectfully had a girlfriend) whilst Dae Hyun’s ignorance for the majority of the drama was fairly unbearable to watch. The cliche of “ obliviousness” is of course a classic trope in most Korean dramas, however, whilst most shows actually present the respected lead being able to soon recognise or misunderstand their own feelings, Dae Hyun’s ignorance became fairly insulting for both his girlfriend and respectfully Saet- Byul.

This isn’t to say that he should’ve given Saet- Byul , a declaration of his love and run into the sunset with her in episode one, however, it did become apparent how these misunderstandings occurred for Dae Hyun’s girlfriend and what may have caused Saet- Byul to act the way she did if Dae Hyun was sending off wrong “ signals”. This naturally led a lot of the actual relevant plot being directed by numerous cliches and the sometimes unbearable toxic behaviour of Dae Hyun’s parents at times in the show ( particularly towards still using physical corporal punishment against Dae Hyun even if it was supposedly “ playful” and his mother’s rude comments towards Saet-Byul also).

Respectfully from an acting perspective , the show is a bit of an odd and mixed bag; Yoo Jung is probably one of the few decent actors in the drama, closely followed probably by Ji Chang Wook and then his fellow costars who could have some lacklustre line deliverances at moments ( particularly Kim Sun Young and Eum Moon Suk). In regards to Ji Chang Wook, it’s fair to say that although Chang Wook wasn’t terrible within his performance and certainly added a level of less glamour in his role as a 30 year old man still living at home, his performance in Backstreet Rookie certainly hasn’t been one of his best and most challenging performances ( in comparison to Healer, K2 or even Suspicious Partner ) either.

Backstreet Rookie’s scriptwriting by Son Geun Joo, channels the bygone era of ‘90s and ‘00s Korean movies and dramas where comedy scenes and setups were often seen as the norm . Sadly Geun Joo seems to lack awareness towards changing attitudes in South-Korea in a show which feels neither nostalgic of old dramas, or retro but old-fashioned, clumpy and questionable in parts. The comedy will evidently differ amongst viewers but nevertheless whilst the romance has a slightly cutesy air to it, ‘ Backstreet Rookie’ is the epitome of “ I’m going to watch during a binge watching season because I’m bored” rather than a long-time commitment.

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well plotted rom-com drama

Some reviews are complying that Chang Wook has a lousy role in this drama but for me it is not! Definitely not! I'm glad that Chang Wook took this drama because it is a fresh plotted for me and well executed! One of the reasons why I love this drama is because of the commitment and perseverance of both leads because Saet-Byul which portrayed by Kimm Yoo Jung; she is a soft-hearted sister and a person even though she is very strong physically and her little sister is passionate towards life. Dae Hyun's role is well played by Chang Wook because of being a decent and pure hearted man whom is very family oriented and her mother is very clever towards her family and also towards his husband but he is a caring mother. Their bond as a family excluding his sister (haha) is very warming because even though they are belong in the "not so low economic status" they are dedicated to take step ahead. Also, the hated relationship of Mr. Fire Volcano and Ms. Aphrodite that turns into platonic love is very satisfying and entertaining to watch. Anyways, Yeon Joo and Ji Wook portrayed well because even if Ji Wook wants Saet Byul, he truly care event though they remain as friends and Yeon Joo is very smart but not a good woman for Dae Hyun and Dae Hyun really made his choice more satisfying than ever. The way this drama brings me so much joy and motivations towards life and love.

This drama depicts slice of life, love in family and friends, comedy and romance (all blended well). Great Drama!

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