“The year was 1988, a time when it was chilly, but our hearts were fiery, a time when we didn’t have much but people’s hearts were warm.” – Deok Sun
In the K-drama world, the ‘REPLY’ series is one of the best things that happened to K-drama fans. In this series, there are three different K-dramas named, ‘Reply 1997’, ‘Reply 1994’ and ‘Reply 1988’. Writer Lee Woo-Jung’s script, and Director Shin Won-ho’s execution of the Reply series, is a great throwback to times when even if people’s houses were much smaller, their hearts were far bigger. Back to the times of youth.
‘Reply 1988’, the third chapter of the Reply series, is the story of five childhood friends who grew up and live on the same street in Ssangmun-dong, Seoul, South Korea. There’s Sung Sun-woo (Go Kyung-Pyo) the perfect student, Kim Jung-hwan (Ryu Jun-Yeol) the quiet Mr. Cool of the group who has problems expressing his inner feelings accurately and Ryu Dong-Ryong (Lee Dong-Hwi) who’s not interested in his studies, are all in the same class and get along well in their studies with each other’s help. Choi Taek (Park Bo-gum), the quietest who left his studies early on to pursue a career playing the board game Go, at which he is extremely proficient and is already representing his country in international tournaments. But in all of them, the life of the group is Sung Deok-Sun (Lee Hye-Ri), the only girl of the group, who’s not the brightest student, but more than makes up for it with her zest for life. These five are each other’s support group, who always stay right beside each other in every celebration and sorrow.
The strong friendship between the five friends is equally fun to watch and relatable. That unspoken connection that exists between the best of friends that lets each other know their hearts’ deepest desires is accurately portrayed. The affection between the five, especially in the uninvited sharing of the food, the taking over of a friend’s room even when in their absence. How even when they get mad at each other still spends the whole together should be an example of true friendship. Those of us who have been among a similar group of friends and now are unable to spend much time with due to “life”, will particularly feel rather warmly for this adorable five. Even their celebrations are rather down-to-earth.
It will amaze you that phones weren’t being used yet and still friendships back then blossomed because of the neighborhood. The trends back then were completely different from how technology changed the world today. With this drama, it’ll widen your idea on how the people lived in struggle and in comfort without too much technology.
Not only the five friends, it’s also the story of their families. Deok-sun’s debt-ridden family includes her father, mother, elder sister Bo-ra, and younger brother No-Eul. She often finds herself struggling to be the middle child of the family. Sun-woo lives with her widowed mother and his baby sister Jin-Joo. Jung-hwan’s family consists of his father who owns an electronics goods shop, his mother, and elder brother Jung-bong, who is also not a bright student but tries his hardest to fulfill his parent's dream of seeing him go to college.
Kim Jung-hwan’s family used to be just as financially weak as the rest on the street until recently when they literally won a lottery, making them the richest on the street. Ryu Dong-Ryong’s father is the Dean of the school the boys go to, whereas Choi Taek’s father Moo-sung has dedicated all his adult life to taking care of and providing for Taek after his wife’s passing. Just like the five friends, the five families also work as their own pillars and are always present for each other in sickness and in health.
The relationship between all the families feels so genuine, in the way that they share their food without invitation, or the way that they are always there for each other, happy in the other’s happiness and worrisome and right by their side to help in their troubles, without ever the need to be prompted for it. When there’s little or no food on one particular dinner table, that household still won’t go hungry that night but would in fact eat a lot more than the others because all the other households will send food without being told to. If someone is hard on cash, there will be an envelope in the returned utensils without having asked, or if any child is unwell or needs to be taken to the hospital, chances are the neighbors will be by their side before the parents get there. These are the things that matter the most sometimes, things that we, in our hectic lives today, don’t get to appreciate nearly enough because of our personal lives.
Given the series’ title, ‘Reply 1988’ gives you an overview of how was the world back then. The main highlight would be when South Korea hosted the 1988 Olympics in which our female lead, Sung Deok Sun became a country picket holder, an event that in one way or another affected the individual and the nation as a whole. The aesthetics and technology are the ones that have caught many of the viewers’ attention like, arcades, cassette tape players, Walkmans and Betamax were the source of entertainment back then.
This drama gives you the chance to know about that time. Even if you weren’t born in 1988 you will feel great watching it. In the early 2010s, when two other K-Dramas of the “Reply” series were released, those also did quite well with the audiences. But in the third, and the last, “Reply 1988” in 2015, that the series saw the most success. The show ruled the ratings, received both critical and audience acclaim with its final episode recording an 18.8% nationwide audience share, making it the fourth highest-rated drama in Korean cable television history even today, more than six years after it aired.
One thing that Reply 1988 will leave to its viewers is the beautiful memories of their younger days. The viewers can definitely relate to the characters once in a while between the episodes. It will also give you a realization of how much you’ve enjoyed your youthful years especially if you can relate to the trends and lifestyle portrayed in the series. Youth is a time you only get to experience once, and when it’s gone, it’s gone. Each person experiences their youth differently but undoubtedly can look back on parts with a wistful smile. It’s not always fun and games, sometimes it can be mundane, forgettable, or even depressingly terrible – but it’ll always be a special time in your life.
There will be a point in our life where you’ll wish to be Taek who’s earning a lot of money for playing Baduk instead of studying. Sometimes, you’ll feel lost like Deok Sun who’s not sure what to do in the future. Also, there will be times that you’ll be like Sun Woo who’ll fall in love with someone to keep you motivated, or even Dong Ryong who wanted to enjoy life as a youth. A point in our life can be relatable to Jung Hwan when there are moments in life you’ll hesitate to pursue something because of what’s at stake. This drama makes you understand the importance of your friends and family. You realize the value of your relationships and your loved ones.
In the end, it’s the emphasis and focuses on family bond, friendship, and love among the five families that kept us engaged throughout the run of the drama. Through Reply 1988, we encounter many everyday life issues that incite us to be introspective of our own lives. We witness a family struggling to get by financially, a mother who wants her child to open up to her, a father who tries his best to raise his child by himself, and much more. The heartwarming, tear-inducing moments, coupled with the perfect timing of situational comedy, make Reply 1988 a nostalgic and remarkable walk down memory lane.
*Rumaiysa M Rahman is a 10th grader at Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, Dhaka