Kdrama Review: Answer Me 1997 (AKA Adolescence, the Korean Edition)

I didn’t do so on purpose, but I’ve continued my non-romantic-comedy-drama watching streak with another in a different genre: “Answer Me 1997” or “Reply 1997,” the epitome coming-of-age / teenage-experience story. Unlike my other genres of late (cop show “You’re All Surrounded” and political “King 2 Hearts”), this one did not feature adventure, action or Lee Seung Gi. But it was strongly recommended by a friend and the internet.

“Answer Me 1997” is compilation of flashbacks and flashforwards, following a group of friends through their high school years in the late 90s to a present day reunion, where one couple is about to announce their engagement. Feisty Shi Won is obsessed with kpop group H.O.T. (yes, they really did exist in the 90s). Her best guy friend is straight-A Yoon Jae, whom she’s known for forever. Her best girl friend is Yoo Jung, who shares her love for kpop, though not at the same level of loyalty. The friend group rounds out with the dude who never shuts up, the nice guy, and the new kid from Seoul. Throw in Shi Won’s argumentative parents for good measure.

This is the first kdrama I’ve ever seen deal so directly with serious topics such as homosexuality, pornography, racy fan fiction and premarital sex. It caught me off guard at first, not because I didn’t expect these kinds of issues to surface in a show about teenagers, but because I didn’t expect them to surface in a Korean show about teenagers. Goes to show you never know what you’ll find when you leave the fluffy, innocent, rom com kdrama niche.

What I appreciated about this drama: the nostalgic feeling, steady romantic mystery (WHO DOES SHE END UP WITH?), depiction of friendships and family relationships, angsty romantic tension, general 90s hilarity, early kpop (kpop is great), fulfilling conclusion, and that goat noise every time something awkward happened (which was quite often and quite hilarious). This drama has some good things going for it and was really well received.

However, my overall reaction is “meh.” I mean, I understand why so many people like it, but it’s not my favorite. The mid-drama lull, which generally happens and I can usually push through, almost did me in on this one. Maybe I went in with too high expectations? Maybe once you’ve seen one coming-of-age story, you’ve seen them all? I think one turnoff for me was how American it seemed (I mean, other than the fact that everyone spoke Korean). I’ve seen all this before: porn is acceptable, being gay is difficult, first loves are awkward. Meh. American media got that covered.

There’s also something deeper that’s preventing me from really liking this drama. Coming-of-age media tends to pride itself on a few things: awkward situational humor, identity formation, and real-life honesty. “Answer Me 1997” nails the humor, and the life-lesson monologues are a nice touch (though you have to pause in order to catch all the subtitles). But when the serious topics portrayed in this drama overlapped with my life experiences, I was disappointed in the lack of honesty. One example: depicting teenage boys viewing and distributing porn, but not showing the destructive results of their sexual addiction in their lives or relationships. In fact, the results of their addiction were primarily comical. If you’re going to be brutally honest about “what real teenagers deal with,” then be completely brutally honest – don’t gloss over or glamorize the issues and their consequences.

That said, maybe another reason I didn’t fall head over heels for “Answer Me 1997” is because I secretly miss my first kdrama love: rom com. It’s time to go back to where I belong, where parents don’t regularly argue in front of their kids and sexual exploration is implied at most. Nothing diabolical against “Answer Me 1997,” but I’m ready to move on.