Gigi Rapadas

I have been watching Kdramas, cdrama, jdramas since the pandemic started. Never have I been so affected by a series as I have been by "Youth of May". It starts out as your usual romance drama, with blind dates, arranged marriages, family conflicts. The male lead woos the female lead, they have some misunderstandings, they make up. But it is a drama set against the backdrop of a dark and painful period in South Korea's history, May of 1980, when the Gwangju uprising happened. I had to do some research on this. Protests led by college students rocked the streets, martial law was declared, a brutal military tries to restore order by force, innocent civilians get caught in the maelstrom, and in the end an estimated 600,000 people died. Many disappeared. As with all moments in history when man's inhumanity to man surfaces, there too were shining examples of bravery and heroism, unselfishness and goodness. This was a beautiful, beautiful drama. The acting was superb, the script excellent, the cinematography and soundtrack provided the perfect foil to a compelling plot. The main storyline flowed very smoothly, and the side stories were themselves riveting. The ending shows us answered prayers, but also that God works in mysterious ways. I strongly encourage you to take the plunge, but make sure your heart is ready for this.