My First First Love || Kdrama Review

My First First Love is a coming-of-age Korean drama featuring young adults chasing their dreams and finding love.

When it released on Netflix, it was heavily advertised and pushed on almost everyone’s feed. There were so many people watching it and commenting on it. In fact, my friends who had never seen Kdramas watched this before me! And they said they really liked it too.

So I was quite curious about the drama and whether it would live up to my expectations.

what is My First First Love about?

The drama primarily follows 5 people who are stepping into their adult lives.

Yun Tae-o has been living independently in his grandfather’s house and enjoys the life of a bachelor. One day, three of his friends end up crashing in his place and ask him to allow them to stay for a while. Unable to say no to them, he reluctantly agrees for the time being.

The three friends include Han Song-i, Tae-o’s best friend and his old crush; O Ga-rin, a very old friend whom Tae-o hasn’t spoken to in years; and Choe Hun, Tae-o’s close friend from school.

The last main character is So Do-hyeon, Tae-o’s closest friend in college.

My First First Love follows these characters as they find themselves, chase their dreams and fall in love.

my thoughts on the Kdrama

I started the drama only after Netflix released both seasons. While marketed as two seasons, My First First Love is like any other with 16 episodes. In fact, there wasn’t even a cliffhanger or a break in between the seasons. The plot flowed through continuously. I assume it was split just as a strategy and nothing to do with the plot of the drama.

• The drama is completely character-driven.

We don’t have a very specific plot going on, other than following the ups and downs of the main characters. It is a slice-of-life drama.

The lack of any specific plotline means that there’s no true point to the Kdrama, which didn't interest me. I binged all 16 episodes in a short span of days, and the drama didn’t leave much of an impression on me. It was quite underwhelming.

But because it was character-driven, there was a lot of character growth. I LOVE that. I do with that the plot was done better but at least the character focus was done well.

The main characters had some growth but the supporting cast had great character arcs. Choe Hun and O Ga-rin honestly stole the show for me.

• It is slow-paced.

Very slow, at times. I’m not someone who is good with slow paces, so this was another negative for me.

My First First Love had 16 episodes, but the content of the drama was very little. In the end, I was just wondering how they managed to buff it up to 16 episodes because the content was not much.

We focused a lot on character's feelings, which became repetitive at times, and had a lot of slow moments.

• It was quite funny, though.

What makes the drama actually fun to watch were all the hilarious moments peppered in. Since the drama is slow-paced, there’s enough room for funny scenes to make the viewers laugh.

It was nice to watch the interactions between the characters with them dissing each other or acting like kids.

• There is a love triangle.

There are a few romances in the drama. The main one was part of a love triangle. Now, I’m not a fan of love triangles AT ALL but I can admit that it was done well here. It was believable. The drama showed how you can like someone else and can grow apart from them due to situations.

The love triangle became cumbersome afterwards because it was dragged on for longer than necessary.

• The main romance was underwhelming.

Normally, I'm all for best-friends-to-lovers romances. That is actually my favourite trope.

But the romance here was dragged on for so long and took multiple detours. By the time they actually got together, I wasn't interested. I understand that the plot was necessary for what they wanted to show but the main romance was not important after all that.

• My favourite romance was between Choe Hun and O Ga-rin.

It was super cute and pure. I absolutely loved watching them fall in love and continue to support each other through the drama.

I liked them way more than the main romance. They grew together, crossed hurdles together, were better at communication, and showed affection openly. They were perfect.

the characters

Yun Tae-o

Yun Tae-o is the son of a wealthy real-estate owner. Nicknamed famously as “The First Love” by girls in his college, Tae-o is known for his charm. He has tons of friends, is always upbeat and carries around a positive energy.

Tae-o was my favourite in the beginning, simply because he is very charming. But as the drama went on and I started critically analyzing the characters, Tae-o fell short.

Considering that this drama focuses on characters only, they could have worked more on crafting him. Tae-o had no depth or layers like a normal person would. He was very surface-level, with his crushes and antics. He didn’t have a dream or passion and made no effort to find one.

Season 2 did a little better on fleshing out Tae-o’s character, but it still wasn't enough compared to other characters.

Han Song-i

Han Song-i is an architecture student in college. After her father died her mother ran away, leaving Song-i alone. When her house is foreclosed, Song-i is forced to seek Tae-o’s help.

Throughout the drama, Song-i is featured more than the others. It clearly felt like she was given more thought to during the creation of the drama than other characters. We talk about her past, her relationships, her feelings, and even see quite a bit of her journey as an architecture student.

Song-i was definitely nice to follow, but I was disappointed that the other characters weren’t given as much attention like her. There was a lot to show for others as well. Her storyline wasn't enough to captivate me throughout the drama.

Choe Hun

Choe Hun is a dreamer. His wealthy parents want him to choose a sensible career like them but he breaks the chain and chooses to pursue becoming a musical actor.

We see his struggles with auditions and his family’s reaction to his dreams throughout the drama. It was really nice to see a character whole-heartedly pursuing his dreams no matter what is thrown in his way, or how much people discourage him. It was quite inspiring.

His outlook and positivity throughout made him very endearing and he quickly became one of my favourite characters.

O Ga-rin

O Ga-rin had the best storyline, in my opinion. Her mother is very protective and coddles Ga-rin to the point that Ga-rin has no freedom. In order to live her life and find her passion, Ga-rin escapes from her mother and seeks asylum at Tae-o’s home.

As the show progresses, we watch as Ga-rin learns how people live and interact in the world, and tastes new food! Since she has lived away from people and normalcy all her life, it takes her quite some time to learn how to live with everyone else. I found that process very endearing.

As Ga-rin learns about new things, she also exposes herself to many possible dreams. I really liked her plot, especially in season 2, and how the drama ended for her.

Seo Do-hyeon

Seo Do-hyeon, Tae-o’s friend from college, is a serious person. He is nicknamed as the dependable “Last Love” by girls in college. Do-hyeon cares about academics and setting up for a dependable career than dating or goofing around like other college students.

Do-hyeon was hard to understand as the show progressed. There was so much potential to him, with his layers and ambitions, but he was under-developed. Justice wasn’t done to his character, which was really disappointing. At some points, it felt like his character existed just to add plot and complexity to other characters’ lives.

Towards the end we barely saw him because he was not part of any couple. His character was relegated to the side and became a disappointment.

overall

My First First Love did well in portraying young adults and their struggles with hopes and dreams, while also dealing with emotions and relationships. It’s not a drama that I would rewatch because it’s not up my street, but I can see how it can be liked by many others.

It’s a good drama to chill and watch, or even binge when you’re in the mood for something light-hearted. There are places where the drama fell short, but it’s a good watch if you’re not looking for an engrossing plot.

other Kdramas that you might like

• 

• 

• 

let's chat!

Have you seen My First First Love? What did you think of the plot and the characters?

Do you prefer slice-of-life shows like this or ones with a proper plot? Do you think a specific plotline is unnecessary as long as there is something to show?