Hello readers! Today I’m going to do a blog on the ‘Reply series’, where I will be talking about the series- its cast, my favorite scenes, and a few other topics.
Original name: Answer Me 1997
Director: Shin Won-Ho
Episodes: 16
Release Date: July — September 2012 (tvN)
Synopsis of Reply 1997
This is the last series of the 'Reply' trilogy. It revolves around the stories of the children in that era, and how technology was a big part of their lives. This series focuses more on their friendship from the school days to their first job, and then to their college reunion.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!
My favorite confession scene
Reply 1997
The scene started on Si-Won’s birthday when all the six friends gathered to meet at the Karaoke bar. Since it was their last night together, everyone had mixed feelings. Hak-chan and Moo-young were upset because of their fight, Yoon-jae was unhappy because Si-Won started dating his brother, and Jun-hee and Seong-jae were trying their best to cheer everyone. Si-Won also had mixed feelings, ’cause she was leaving for Seoul the next day.
https://pv1.narvii.com/video/7698/29268f425f4f03643e57ba8296b2fe7f79da0378r1-1440-720_00.mp4 -> THE SCENE
The next part of the scene involved Si-Won and Yoon-jae where finally he confessed to her. I had re-watched this scene so many times and was so happy to see Yoon-jae finally saying everything out loud. Especially this, “When a man shares all his innermost feelings which he had been holding in, with the girl he likes, he is ready to risk everything for it.” This scene made me look forward to the rest of the story, as I was rooting badly for those two to be together.
Original name: Answer Me 1994
Director: Shin Won-Ho
Episodes: 21
Release Date: October - December, 2013 (tvN)
Synopsis of Reply 1994
This one tells the story of Na-jung, and her parents, who run Shinchon Boarding House. The family takes up college kids as paying guests, and the drama shows what each of them experiences, as they become adults. It portrays the era when kids had a tough choice of selecting Sports or Technology.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!
Favorite: Rainy Day Scene
This scene captured all my favorite things. That night all the seven kids gathered in the living room to have chicken and watch a horror movie. But suddenly there was a blackout, so all of them laid beside each other and enjoyed the songs on the radio.
‘Starry Night’ by Lee Moon-Sae was a radio show which all the kids in Korea wanted to listen to. (Back in the 90s all Korean provinces had their own copied version of ‘Starry Night’ by various hosts.) As, now all of them were living in Seoul, so their ‘Starry Night’ wish was finally fulfilled.
https://pv1.narvii.com/video/7698/04598a32e9c95b724e2029bd560d8e2d58b01b5br1-1440-720_00.mp4 -> THE SCENE
Taking advantage of the blackout, the Radio host created a romantic atmosphere, especially for the ones who were with their crushes. What made it even more special was that he asked his listeners to cherish those 3-minutes of the song, and imagine themselves to be in a relationship with their one-sided crush.
Original name: Answer Me 1988
Director: Shin Won-Ho
Episodes: 20
Release Date: November 2015 — January 2016 (tvN)
Synopsis of Reply 1988
This was the first series of the 'Reply' Trilogy. The story revolved around five families, their children and the how was the society during that era. It tells heartwarming stories about each family, their daily struggles, and how the neighborhood was like a big family.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!
My favorite ‘Christmas scene’
Reply 1988
This scene was my favorite Christmas scene among all the K-dramas. It was one episode long and managed to make include so many emotions in it. It started with the 'Secret Santa' game, where each of the eight kids gave their secret friends something or the other. Some were excited to receive it, while others were trying to figure out the meaning of it.
On the parent’s side, this day became extra special for Taek’s dad, as for the first time his son got him a birthday present on Christmas.
https://pv1.narvii.com/video/7698/007d92512ee8ccf77057bce7dffc328152b1dce4r1-1440-720_00.mp4 -> THE SCENE
The next part was about Jin-ju’s Christmas wish, ‘a snowman’. The whole neighborhood dived in to fulfill the little one’s wish. But to their dismay, it rained heavily that night and the snowman completely washed away. While everyone was sad about it, suddenly they realized that for Jin-ju, a snowman means an ice-cream. So they quickly went to the supermarket and got her one, and the way Jin-ju enjoyed it made everyone smile.
Each of the series had some common cast members, who were introduced through cameos and crossovers to connect the three stories. Also, some of the story plots and twists were similar, like the love triangle and husband guessing game.
Cast comparison
The ‘Reply 1997’ series mostly had a younger cast as the story revolved around High-school children. However, the roles played by the parents were acted by the same couple- Sung Dong-il and Lee Ill-hwa as in the other two series.
'Reply 1988' had a mixed cast, comprising of both veteran and young actors. Dong-il, Ill-hwa, and Sun-young are few veteran actors who have proved their acting skills now and again. While the younger cast is currently at the peak of their career as we speak.
'Reply 1997' included a lot of fangirling scenes by the main female leads. So, as a result, this drama had many 1990s famous K-pop band’s songs as soundtracks, H.O.T and Sechs Kies to name a few.
‘Reply 1994’ had a mix of OSTs, some were remakes of popular band ‘Seo Taiji & Boys’ (1993), while others were sung by a single artists and other bands of the late 1990 — early 2000 era.
Although the ‘Reply 1988' series was released in 2015, the songs used were remakes of the early 2000s hit original composition. Each and every song justified the scenes so much, and they were so addictive that I kept on humming them by myself.
Director Shin Won-ho and Writer Lee Woo-jung, collaborated as a pair to make all three projects successful. He explained in an interview that, he tries to find interesting stories in an era and then chooses a year that fits the stories. PD Shin was highly skeptical about ‘Reply 1988’s success as there had been many cases of sequel failures, but to his surprise, it recorded a high viewership rating.
Did you know that ‘HOSPITAL PLAYLIST’ is also created by the same makers?
Outroduction
If I have to rank all three according to my preference, then the first will be Reply 1988. This drama reminded me of my childhood in so many ways, and there were times when I couldn’t stop feeling emotional 😅. The only thing I was disappointed in was the 'husband-guessing game’.
My next favorite, ‘Reply 1997’ was the only series where the husband turned out to be the one I rooted for. Also, the fangirling scenes reminded me of my love for BTS.
‘Reply 1994’ was the one where I laughed a lot, but why does Go-Ara have that similar plot twist? If you’ve seen this one and Hwarang, you will understand what I’m saying. Sorry for this extra-long blog, and thank you for reading it :)
