K-Drama rewind, Our Beloved Summer: How Choi Woo-shik and Kim Da-mi captured the quiet ache of lost love

During an episode of the 2022 fun variety show In The Soop, South Korean star Choi Woo-shik had embarrassedly confessed to his close friends, Park Seo-joon, Park Hyung-sik and Kim Taehyung, that he was always nervous about his acting in emotional scenes. He was never quite sure about whether he could really portray the raw vulnerability that an emotionally-charged scene required.

He doesn’t have to worry. The actor, who is returning to the K-drama scene with Melo Movie, had portrayed one of the most nuanced characters in recent K-drama times, with Our Beloved Summer, which released in 2021, a show that starred Kim Da-mi. Amidst the sweet, saccharine spate of shows that released that year and following on the heels of the successful Hometown Cha Cha Cha, Our Beloved Summer showed the bittersweet journey of two lovers finding their way back to each other. On the surface the story is simple: Choi Woong (Woo-shik) and Kook Yoon-seo (Da-mi) are sparring schoolmates, who fall in love while shooting a documentary that goes viral. There is something endearing and real about both the leads; their warmth reflects in each word and banter. Yet, both have unresolved internal conflicts and Yoon-seo’s issues gradually build to a boil. Nevertheless, for the next few years, their entire relationship is filled with sweet moments, but also fights, which slowly pave the way for the final break-up for the relationship.

Yoon-seo is burdened with responsibilities and emotions, and is unable to communicate to Woong, the exact nature of her troubles, leaving her to abandon him abruptly. Their relationship is summed up by Woong in a voiceover, “She could take me to the highest peak of joy and happiness, but also send me crashing.” As she tells him with a rather seemingly blank face that they can’t be together anymore, Woong asks frustrated, “Am I the only thing you can abandon so easily?” She just walks away down the dark alley, unable to answer him.

Cut to five years later. Wounds haven’t healed, as evident from the way Woong sprays Yoon-seo with a water gun when he sees her again. Destiny brings them together again, to relive their old documentary, and old, burning emotions come to the fore again, nudging our leads to find their way back to each other again. You know they will, but what’s more interesting, in a non-preachy way, is their path to accept themselves, before they can be with each other again.  There is no effusive display of emotion, tears and meltdowns, just quiet tearful exchanges, that just twist the knife. One of the most beautiful scenes, is when Woong, just sitting across Yoon-seo for a dinner, pleads with her to love him again. And the sheer shock of such a declaration reflects on her face, as she was beginning to think that he had moved on for good from her. Woo-shik does a stellar job of quiet tears and anguish, showing a man, who is just tired of being alone, battered and broken.

Our Beloved Summer also stands out for the unusual, yet heartbreakingly real nuances of the leads. Woong is a brilliant established artist; yet, it isn’t something that he seemingly cares much for. It’s something he does, regardless of the praise or criticism. Yet, it also keeps him alive. The show is peppered with other such characters too, as well as Kim Ji-ung’s Sung-Cheol, who isn’t just another piece in a love triangle, but has a painful arc on his own.

The show has a light-hearted and fun touch, and yet, is imbued with heavy emotions. It’s not a difficult watch, but it’s not entirely easy either.

Our Beloved Summer is streaming on Netflix.