With the heat of “retro” sweeping across the country, the 80s and 90s culture and fashion have been reviving since this drama started. “Reply 1988” successfully finished with a rating that had never been reached in the history of tvN: 18.8%. What made this drama so successful? The answers are all here.
“Reply 1988” was produced by Won-Ho Shin and written by Woo-Jung Lee. There were two “Reply” series that were broadcasted before “Reply 1988” and that pulled off a huge success. As the past series became more and more renowned as being worthwhile to watch, the sky-high expectation of “Reply 1988” placed an overwhelming pressure on the producing director who even commented that, “this drama is going to be a failure.”
Just as the past two “Reply” series were hugely based on the themes of family and friends, the central theme of “Reply 1988” revolved around family and friendship. In the drama, Duk-Sun, Jung-Hwan, Sun-Woo and Dong-Ryong are high school students and Taek is a go player. These five characters have been friends since they were little kids. They all grew up together in the same neighborhood, and their families got close together as well. Each family brought different emotions that touched the deepest corners of every viewer’s heart. After all the struggles and problems the families confronted, they eventually overcame as a whole, teaching the importance of family love. Many viewers were touched by Duk-Sun’s words: “The home inflicted upon you outside the home, the scars inflicted on you by life itself and the pain inflicted on you by your family… the people who will hold and stand by you until the end, it’s family”.
As the episodes moved on, the purpose of watching “Reply 1988” was no longer about families and friends; it was all about the “love triangle.” The drama portrayed the nerve-racking and hurtful first love very well. Hence, many viewers were able to sympathize with the characters’ feelings as they betrayed, fluttered, loved, and hated each other. Duk-Sun, a very envious character, won the hearts of two gentlemen, who were Jung-Hwan and Taek. The viewers even divided themselves up into Team Jung-Hwan (Uh-Nam-Ryoo), and Team Taek (Uh-Nam-Taek), debating on whom Duk-Sun would marry in the end.
“Reply 1988” was so successful because of the meaningful lessons it portrayed throughout each episode. The interesting setting of 1988 brought the adult viewers back into their childhood memories, feeling nostalgic of the 80s and 90s. Maybe the producing director of “Reply 1988” should never become a prophet, because the drama was not a failure after all.
Sooyoung Chang (11)
“Reply 1988” was produced by Won-Ho Shin and written by Woo-Jung Lee. There were two “Reply” series that were broadcasted before “Reply 1988” and that pulled off a huge success. As the past series became more and more renowned as being worthwhile to watch, the sky-high expectation of “Reply 1988” placed an overwhelming pressure on the producing director who even commented that, “this drama is going to be a failure.”
Just as the past two “Reply” series were hugely based on the themes of family and friends, the central theme of “Reply 1988” revolved around family and friendship. In the drama, Duk-Sun, Jung-Hwan, Sun-Woo and Dong-Ryong are high school students and Taek is a go player. These five characters have been friends since they were little kids. They all grew up together in the same neighborhood, and their families got close together as well. Each family brought different emotions that touched the deepest corners of every viewer’s heart. After all the struggles and problems the families confronted, they eventually overcame as a whole, teaching the importance of family love. Many viewers were touched by Duk-Sun’s words: “The home inflicted upon you outside the home, the scars inflicted on you by life itself and the pain inflicted on you by your family… the people who will hold and stand by you until the end, it’s family”.
As the episodes moved on, the purpose of watching “Reply 1988” was no longer about families and friends; it was all about the “love triangle.” The drama portrayed the nerve-racking and hurtful first love very well. Hence, many viewers were able to sympathize with the characters’ feelings as they betrayed, fluttered, loved, and hated each other. Duk-Sun, a very envious character, won the hearts of two gentlemen, who were Jung-Hwan and Taek. The viewers even divided themselves up into Team Jung-Hwan (Uh-Nam-Ryoo), and Team Taek (Uh-Nam-Taek), debating on whom Duk-Sun would marry in the end.
“Reply 1988” was so successful because of the meaningful lessons it portrayed throughout each episode. The interesting setting of 1988 brought the adult viewers back into their childhood memories, feeling nostalgic of the 80s and 90s. Maybe the producing director of “Reply 1988” should never become a prophet, because the drama was not a failure after all.
Sooyoung Chang (11)