Twenty-five Twenty-one: A refreshing K-drama dramatising the different colours of life

One of the noticeable changes in recent K-dramas is how they have adapted to the international standard in TV series, as manifested in a plethora of unconventional plots that pop its mainstream romantic bubble. 

From Reply 1998 to Suicide Squad, Korean dramas have hit the right chords countless times by serving brilliant storylines, which also shed light on contemporary issues, helping viewers better comprehend the socio-cultural landscape of South Korea. 

Twenty-Five Twenty-One is one of those gems that give you a nostalgic tour of the 1990s by describing a sanguine woman Na Hee-Do's (Kim Tae-ri) life throughout it. It is a quirky youth-centric drama that showcases youthful romance while describing the lives of its characters intricately. The story is described in two timelines, one in 1998 during the financial crisis, and another in 2022.

In the beginning, we see our protagonist Na Hee-Do, a middle aged woman, cheering for her daughter Kim Min-Chae at a ballet competition. Na Hee Do is a globally known fencing athlete, which somehow makes her daughter feel a bit insecure. 

On the stage, her daughter freaks out and leaves. When Na Hee Do  tries to cheer her up, she explodes on her mother and goes to live with her grandmother over a childish grudge.

Little did she know that she would find her mother's diary in her old house, which would change her perspective on life. The diary describes every little thing that her mother went through, from career to love life. 

That diary also draws you in, wanting to learn what happens next with Na-Hee-Do. Did she win the next game? Did she marry the love of her life? Did she and her mother have a rough phase in their relationship too? 

We eventually learn everything through Na Hee-do's diary. But most importantly, we learn that every human being struggles emotionally, some with bigger issues and some with smaller ones. A friendly presence can always alleviate the situation and push things towards positive outcomes.

The drama beautifully captures Na-Hee-Do as well as her other high school friends' lives. 

The most interesting plot addition may be the inclusion of her love interest Baek Ijin's (Joo-hyuk) life story. He is four years older than her, belongs to a solvent family and is a perfect boy in the conventional sense. However, the 1998 financial crisis, broke his family. 

Through Ijin's life, we get a glimpse of the struggles of those suddenly bankrupted families in South Korea, which was a crucial aspect of the IMF crisis.

Na-Hee-Do's fencing-rival turned friend, Ko-Yo Rim (Bona), is another interesting character illustrated with strong zeal. This show will leave you wanting to know more about the French-origin game, fencing, and highlights the struggles of building a successful sporting career, which is not a smooth path at all.

The lively performance of the whole cast definitely added power to the drama and made it more realistic. The Handmaiden star Kim Tae-ri was a compelling lead. Indeed the ending of the drama felt a bit hastily written, but overall the script was immaculately executed. 

Like other lovie-dovie K-Dramas, it also showed Hee-Do and Yijin's hopeless romantic phase. But the bittersweet journey of their relationship interfering with their different careers does remind you of the ending of La La Land. The subplots describing parent-child relationships and problems suffered by middle class families also enhances the value of this series.

Most K-dramas have beautiful cinematography based on two core colours. However, this drama changed the filters according to the mood, which is also one of the beautiful facets of this drama.

Twenty Five Twenty One makes you fly to your younger days, makes you want to dream big and of course, it makes you realise the different perspectives of life at different ages. It is a must-watch Netflix drama that effortlessly jumps back and forth from two different timelines and reminisces about Na Hee-Do's journey to fame and heartbreaks.