3 Things We Loved & 1 Thing We Disliked From The Premiere Of "My Youth"
“My Youth” is finally here, and it’s just what die-hard romantics need to feed their lovelorn souls. Nostalgic moments of first love, unresolved heartbreak, a fateful unanticipated reunion, and despite the shifting dynamics in the present, the irresistible pull of attraction is clear.
Sunwoo Hae (Song Joong Ki) lives an ordinary life, though nothing about his past has been ordinary. A former child star who grew up in the spotlight and later a novelist, he is now a florist who also works part-time at his friend’s restaurant. His past is a long-forgotten memory, one he chooses not to acknowledge.
Sung Je Yeon (Chun Woo Hee) is a dynamic management leader at a talent agency. Her search for the once-celebrated child star Sunwoo Hae as well as for the author of a beloved book leads her back to her first love and someone she hasn’t seen in 15 years.
As the two face each other again, the initial awkwardness and unresolved feelings resurface. But neither Sunwoo Hae nor Je Yeon are the people they used to be. Here are three things we loved and one thing we didn’t in the premiere episodes!
Warning: spoilers from episodes 1-2 ahead.
Loved: the enduring and endearing male lead
Sunwoo Hae is not someone who lingers in regret or nostalgia. Once a child star in the spotlight, he now leads a quiet, ordinary life. The boy who once collected bouquets as gifts now sells them as a florist, running his shop while picking up shifts at a friend’s restaurant. His world is simple, even mundane, yet is defined by endurance. Life has always been about making ends meet.
One thing you’ll notice about Sunwoo Hae is that he has always carried more than his share of burdens. Even in his last year of high school, he worked multiple part-time jobs, including at a motel, an act that made him a target of mockery and reprimand. Yet Sunwoo Hae never explained himself and never sought sympathy. Behind his silence is a heavy truth: at just 19, he was not only paying off his father’s debts but also raising his four-year-old half-sister, left in his care by the very man who should have protected them both. Despite the weight of these responsibilities, Sunwoo Hae remains dependable, wise, and deeply grounded.
There is a quiet poetry to his character. He even authored a thoughtful novel under a pseudonym, and when asked by his classmate Je Yeon on why he wrote it, his answer was blunt: to make money. His honesty is both heartbreaking and admirable, and it’s a reminder that for Sunwoo Hae, dreams and desires are luxuries he could not afford. The only moments of lightness came in Je Yeon’s company, though he knew love and romance are not meant for him.
At 35, Sunwoo Hae remains steadfast, his past as a one-time celebrity a distant memory he refuses to revive. Casting directors may call, but he hangs up, uninterested in becoming someone’s nostalgic spectacle. This refusal defines his strength. Though he was used as a cash cow by his father, Hae emerges as someone enduring, resilient, and quietly amiable. He’s a man who continues to move forward without bitterness.
Song Joong Ki, returning to romance after nine years, brings his signature charm while adding layers of restraint and depth. He makes Sunwoo Hae instantly empathetic, capturing both his stoic exterior and the tenderness hidden beneath. Nam Da Reum, as the younger Sunwoo Hae, is just as compelling, nuanced, moving, and magnetic in his portrayal. Their combined performances make Sunwoo Hae one of those rare characters who stay with you.
Loved: the impulsive and unapologetic female lead
Sung Je Yeon (Chun Woo Hee) is as ambitious as she is unapologetic. A team leader at a talent agency, she can go to any lengths to secure an assignment for her clients and the firm. When a producer asks her to reach out to child prodigy Sunwoo Hae—someone from her past who once broke her 19-year-old heart—she takes it on without hesitation.
15 years have passed since she told him never to see her again. When they meet, she acts nonchalant, thinking he won’t recognize her. But the moment he does, Je Yeon comes straight to the point: she wants him in a documentary. He flatly refuses. Soon, another twist pulls them together when a director she’s working with insists on meeting the author of a book he wants to adapt. And that author happens to be Sunwoo Hae. Once again, her work leads her back to him, and while he is disappointed by her professional pretext, Je Yeon is unruffled, convinced it could only benefit him, even if it means taking him out of the peaceful oasis he has created around himself.
Flashes of their school days reveal why she once fell for him. Je Yeon, the studious class president, was charmed by his confidence. Infatuated, she confessed her feelings, only to be turned down. To her, it felt like rejection; she never realized he was trying not to hold her back. Life didn’t follow the path she imagined, and her family’s bankruptcy changed everything, but Je Yeon emerged headstrong, channeling her drive into her career.
Now, as a manager and publicist, she can be blind to Sunwoo Hae’s need to stay away from the spotlight, but she pursues him anyway because her job is on the line. And that’s what makes her striking: she isn’t softened by guilt or regret. Chun Woo Hee, returning to romance after six years, plays Je Yeon with a perfect balance of sentiment and pragmatism. She may give in to emotion at times, but she never apologizes for her ambition or her choices.
Loved: the no-fuss reunion between leads
They haven’t met in 15 years, and when they finally do, there’s no dramatic swell of sentimental music, nor the thud of overactive heartbeats. Their reunion is matter-of-fact, almost easy. Je Yeon stumbles upon Hae’s flower shop on social media, noticing he still wears the bracelet she once gave him. She remembers him as the one who broke her heart, but she also knows she hadn’t exactly been kind when they parted ways.
Now, fate throws them together again. This time, Je Yeon needs to pull him out of his peaceful life away from the spotlight for her own professional success, and she intends to. Sunwoo Hae, startled by her sudden appearance, listens as she lays out her motives. Instead of scolding her, he calmly states he has no interest in turning his nostalgic past into a public exhibit. Though taken aback, he doesn’t push her away either. In fact, he’s open to being friends again, so long as she leaves her work agenda out of it.
Je Yeon, for her part, no longer resents him, but she still struggles to see things entirely from his perspective. As they revisit memories of their high school years, it’s clear the fondness between them never really disappeared. The question now is whether two independent adults can rekindle the romance that never quite had its chance.
Song Joong Ki and Chun Woo Hee play off each other beautifully. His calm, logical depth contrasts with her impulsive, reactive energy. Their chemistry lies in this push and pull, their bickering as natural as their moments of warmth. Refreshingly, their dynamic isn’t weighed down by bitterness or resentment. Instead, it’s playful, teasing, and filled with a quiet understanding on his part and her obstinacy on the other.
When Sunwoo Hae eventually agrees to star in the show for Je Yeon, it feels like both a risk and a gesture of trust. The true intrigue, however, lies in watching whether she can handle the consequences of dragging him back into a world he once chose to leave behind.
Disliked: Sunwoo Hae’s selfish father
There is hardly anything to dislike in “My Youth” except perhaps Sunwoo Hae’s father, Sunwoo Chan (Jo Han Chul), whose selfishness casts a long shadow. He abandons his teenage son with debts too heavy to carry and a four-year-old sister too young to fend for herself. His solution? Simply hand her over to an orphanage, as if she were an inconvenience.
But Sunwoo Hae steps up and refuses to let his sister be discarded. He draws the line when his father tries to barter his future for financial security. And in that moment, it becomes achingly clear that Hae is the real adult in the family.
What makes his journey so affecting is not just the pain of responsibility but the absence of joy. He has never truly known youth; he has lived a life defined by debt, sacrifice, and obligations that should never have been his to bear. Watching him, one can’t help but ache for the boy who was denied a childhood and admire the man he has unwillingly become.
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Puja Talwar is a Soompi writer with a strong Yoo Yeon Seok and Lee Junho bias. A long time K-drama fan, she loves devising alternate scenarios to the narratives. She has interviewed Lee Min Ho, Gong Yoo, Cha Eun Woo, and Ji Chang Wook to name a few. You can follow her on @puja_talwar7 on Instagram.