Record of Youth () is a South Korean television series starring Park Bo-gum, Park So-dam, and Byeon Woo-seok.It aired on TVN from September 7 to October 27, 2020, every Monday and Tuesday at 21:00 (KST), and is available for streaming worldwide on Netflix. It aired while Park Bo-gum was serving in the Republic of Korea Navy as part of his compulsory military service.
At the time of airing, the series recorded the highest premiere viewership rating for a TvN Monday-Tuesday drama of all time, and became popular outside Korea through Netflix. It received praise for its depiction of millennials and Generation Z, and was nominated for Best Screenplay for Television at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards. Forbes named it as one of the best Korean dramas of 2020.
Synopsis The series revolves around the lives of three young people in the entertainment industry as they strive to achieve their dreams and love without despair.
Cast
Main Park Bo-gum as Sa Hye-jun Im Jae-ha as young Sa Hye-jun A model from a working-class family who dreams of becoming a top actor. Despite failing several auditions, he postpones his military enlistment and eventually begins to make his dreams come true. Park So-dam as Ahn Jeong-ha A makeup artist, a fan-girl of Hye-jun as he models, she lives her life positively. After quitting her office job, she works at a beauty salon in Cheongdam-dong, where she is often criticized by her boss. Later, she opens her beauty salon. Byeon Woo-seok as Won Hae-hyo Noh Young-min as young Won Hae-hyo A model turned actor and one of Hye-jun's best friends. He comes from a rich family where his mother controls his professional life.
Supporting Sa Hye-jun's family Ha Hee-ra as Han Ae-sook, Sa Hye-jun's mother Han Jin-hee as Sa Min-gi, Sa Hye-jun's grandfather Park Soo-young as Sa Young-nam, Sa Hye-jun's father Lee Jae-won as Sa Kyeong-jun, Sa Hye-jun's older brother
Won Hae-hyo's family Shin Ae-ra as Kim Yi-young, Won Hae-hyo's mother Seo Sang-won as Won Tae-kyeong, Won Hae-hyo's father Cho Yu-jung as Won Hae-na, Won Hae-hyo's younger sister
Kim Jin-woo's family
Jung Min-sung as Kim Jang-man, Kim Jin-woo's father Park Sung-yeon as Lee Kyung-mi, Kim Jin-woo's mother Jang Yi-jung as Kim Jin-ri, Kim Jin-woo's younger sister
Others Kwon Soo-hyun as Kim Jin-woo Baek Soo-min as young Kim Jin-woo Shin Dong-mi as Lee Min-jae, Sa Hye-jun's manager Lee Chang-hoon as Lee Tae-soo, Hye-jun's former manager and the new director at Park Do-ha's entertainment company Kwon Eun-soo as Gateway casting interviewer Park Se-hyun as Choi Soo-bin, Ahn Jeong-ha's friend and co-worker at the salon. Yang So-min as hair salon director Jo Ji-seung as Park Jin-ju, Ahn Jeong-ha's senior co-worker at the salon. Lim Ki-hong as Yang Moo-jin Kim Gun-woo as Park Do-ha, a top actor Kim Min-chul as Chi-yeong, Hye-Jun's chauffeur
Special appearances Kim Hye-yoon as Lee Bo-ra, a makeup artist (Ep. 1) Lee Seung-joon as Charlie Jung, a fashion designer (Ep. 1–2, 10) Lee Hae-woon as a producer/director (Ep. 1, 3) Kim Min-sang as director Choi Se-hun (Ep. 1, 4–5, 9) Kang So-young as a runaway model (Ep. 2) Seol In-ah as Jung Ji-ah, Hye-jun's ex-girlfriend (Ep.4, 7–15) Seo Hyun-jin as Lee Hyun-soo, an actress (Ep. 8–9) Bae Yoon-kyung as Kim Su-man (Ep. 8–16) Kang Han-na as Jessica, host of OVN Drama Awards (Ep. 9) Park Seul-gi as host at a press conference (Ep. 9) Park Seo-joon as Song Min-soo, an actor (Ep. 9–10) Lee Sung-kyung as Jin Seo-woo (Ep. 12) Lee Hye-ri as Lee Hae-ji (Ep. 13) Choi Soo-jong as a mall visitor (Ep. 14)
Production
Casting In April 2020, Park Bo-gum confirmed his appearance in the drama directed by Ahn Gil-ho and produced by Pan Entertainment. Park So-dam and Byeon Woo-seok were also confirmed to star. The first script reading of the series took place in July 2020.
Filming Despite restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Park Bo-gum's on-going application to fulfill his mandatory military service, principal photography proceeded without delays. A departure from Korean drama convention, filming of the series was finished prior to its premiere. BMW Korea sponsored the vehicles in the drama. Filming locations of the series became popular among viewers including the Starfield Library inside Starfield COEX Mall and Baegot Hanul Park.
Release A scheduled online press conference attended by the cast on August 27, 2020 was cancelled due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19.
Record of Youth aired on TvN from September 7 to October 27, 2020, every Monday and Tuesday at 21:00 (KST). It was made available for streaming in 190 countries around the world through Netflix. While the series was airing, lead actor Park Bo-gum was serving the Republic of Korea Navy as part of his compulsory military service.
Episodes
Original soundtrack
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Chart performance Title Year Peakpositions Remarks KOR "Every Second" (Baekhyun) 2020 45 Part 3 "Shine On You" (Wheein) 172 Part 4 "What If" (Kim Jae-hwan) 120 Part 5 "Brave Enough" (Lee Hi) 186 Part 7
Reception Critical response
The series received praise for its depiction of millennials and Gen Z, and was nominated for Best Screenplay for Television at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards. Forbes named it as one of the best Korean dramas of 2020. Park Bo-gum's performance in the drama was lauded and cemented his reputation as a "National Treasure"-level actor.
Impact Despite being in the military and prohibited to promote at the time of the show's airing, lead actor Park Bo-gum ranked first in overall topicality making him the "Most Buzzworthy Performer" (TV and OTT; Drama and Entertainment) for eight consecutive weeks after the series premiered per big data analytics firm Good Data Corporation. The show also topped topicality indices until the end of its run. In addition, Park Bo-gum ranked 2nd in Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year survey in 2020. The success of the series drove the production company Pan Entertainment's stock up to 42%.
Viewership On Netflix, it topped viewership rankings in several territories.
A 6.362% viewership rating was recorded nationwide for the series's first episode, making it one of the highest premiere ratings of the network. It achieved the number one viewer rating for TVN's first Monday-Tuesday drama. Since then, it has been quickly rising without a drop rating and maintained its first place in the same time slot, even after two competitors began airing.
+ Average TV viewership ratings Original broadcast date Average audience share(Nielsen Korea) Nationwide Seoul 1 September 7, 2020 2 September 8, 2020 6.802% 8.217% 3 September 14, 2020 7.200% 9.102% 4 September 15, 2020 7.823% 9.626% 5 September 21, 2020 7.801% 9.037% 6 September 22, 2020 6.995% 8.409% 7 September 28, 2020 7.730% 9.368% 8 September 29, 2020 7.734% 9.225% 9 October 5, 2020 7.404% 8.974% 10 October 6, 2020 8.238% 10.063% 11 October 12, 2020 8.262% 9.618% 12 October 13, 2020 7.798% 9.439% 13 October 19, 2020 7.760% 9.313% 14 October 20, 2020 7.772% 9.617% 15 October 26, 2020 7.625% 9.134% 16 October 27, 2020 Average
Accolades
Awards and nominations Award Year Category Recipient Result Ref.APAN Star Awards2021Excellence Award, Actor in a MiniseriesPark Bo-gumPopular Star Award, ActorAsia Artist Awards2020Popularity Award, Television ActorPark Bo-gum Baeksang Arts Awards 2021 Best Screenplay – Television Ha Myung-hee
Listicles +Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, recipient, and placementPublicationYearListRecipientPlacementForbes2020The 13 Best Korean Dramas of 2020Record of YouthNewsweekA Beginner's Guide to the Best Korean Shows
References
External links