First Impressions: “Summer Vacation” Is A Realistic Youth K-Drama With An Unexpected Twist
Life can change in a single moment, especially when you are young. At a certain age, everything can become either an adventure or a nightmare. Wavve’s K-drama “Summer Vacation,” starring Cho Yi Hyun as Kim Ha Yeon and Jin Young as Jo Yu Gyeom, is a show that explores the lives of two very different yet similar teenagers. Their destinies take an unexpected turn the moment they meet, changing it forever. Here are some first impressions on this original new story!
Warning: spoilers from episodes 1-2 ahead.
Kim Ha Yeon is what you would call an ordinary teenager. She doesn’t have a particularly interesting family, outstanding talents, or great dreams. She is only hoping to get by without big complications in her life, aiming for an ordinary and rather boring future. However, in the summer of her senior year in high school, she reluctantly joins her family, who temporarily move to a coastal town for vacation and work. So far, it seems there’s not much going on in the story, but actually there’s a lot to unpack already.
Ha Yeon appears as a shy and meek young woman who is unable to stand up for herself, always getting pushed around by her allegedly friends, teachers, and even her family. She is what people would easily call a pushover, since she simply keeps on enduring the bad treatment and neglect. But in reality, she is on the verge of collapsing. Inside, the frustration and loneliness are eating her away, not so much that she ends her own life, but close enough to consider it. Her character is not only pitiful, but also very complex. Despite living in constant dissatisfaction with her life and herself, she doesn’t dare to get out of her comfort zone. And eventually, she keeps going on in an endless cycle of exasperation, resignation, and boredom.
On the other hand, there is Jo Yu Gyeom. He is the sole grandson of a prominent, royalty-like family in the coastal town where Ha Yeon moves. There, he is considered what would be a crown prince, excelling both in looks and ability as an exceptionally proficient swimmer. So, in contrast to the female lead, he is the perfect archetype of a male lead. Only that he is also deeply dissatisfied with his life. Apparently, having a wealthy and comfortable life can be taxing in its particular way.
Although Yu Gyeom’s family looks like the perfect picture of civility and decorum in front of the whole town, behind closed doors they set rules and norms that restrict his life. These impede him from doing what he likes or desires, confining him inside a golden cage, to the point where he can’t even have a normal relationship with his own mother or his girlfriend. However, he is also either too naive or too content to ever try to change anything in his life. In light of such circumstances, when he meets Ha Yeon for the first time, it does feel like a fateful encounter. They are two young people living suffocating lives, one out of too many expectations while the other is too tired of being ignored, finding an escape in each other.
But the originality of this show doesn’t lie in the characters’ personalities or their circumstances alone, but in the realness of their actions. They feel and act exactly how confused teenagers who are barely finding their place in the world would. The moment they meet, it feels exhilarating, as if a miracle is about to happen, but the next time they happen to see each other, they start to hesitate and even pretend not to know each other. Even when it seems as if their summer is frozen in time, they still have to attend classes. After all, they are seniors in high school in South Korea.
In that sense, this K-drama doesn’t exactly follow a fairy-tale-like story. It is crude and real, even in the way both characters experience the outcome of misogyny and patriarchal values, but from very different standpoints. While Yu Gyeom is considered only as a golden doll, a sort of price for whoever gets him, Ha Yeon is treated more like a maid than a daughter in her own household. That context also adds weight to their already heavy hearts, and probably also makes their secret encounters even more exciting. However, as previously said, some times in life turn unforgettable for the best or the worst reasons.
What seems to be the start of a unique romance between Ha Yeon and Yu Gyeom takes an unexpected and creepy turn when his girlfriend, Seong Sae Ryeong (Hong Ye Ji), comes into the picture. She is the classic white lotus girl who looks as beautiful as a flower but hides a nasty personality. The moment Sae Ryeong realizes that Yu Gyeom is interested in Ha Yeon, she starts to harass her right away, threatening to kill her after revealing her true, poor background.
Out of nowhere, any whimsical feeling this story might have given so far disappears with a crazy plot twist after it is Sae Ryeong who ends up killed by Ha Yeon in an honest accident. Now Ha Yeon and Yu Gyeom’s melodramatic summer romance transforms into a suspenseful thriller that most likely will keep on giving us more surprises. Let’s discover how things will unfold for this pair in the following episodes of their “Summer Vacation”!
Watch the premiere episodes of “Summer Vacation” here:
Andy zar is an avid drama watcher, from K-dramas to C-dramas, she believes any weekend is a good weekend to enjoy 12 hours of binge-watching dramas. She loves romance, web comics, and K-pop. Find her on Instagram @wuaitboni.
Currently watching: “Summer Vacation“ and “Welcome back, First love”
Plans to watch: “Make Me Tingle“
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