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"Twenty-Five, Twenty-One" tells a love story between Na Hee-Do (Kim Tae-Ri) and Back Yi-Jin (Nam Joo-Hyuk).
Na Hee-Do is a member of her high school fencing team. Due to the South Korean financial crisis, the high school fencing team gets disbanded. Getting through all the difficulties, she becomes a member of the sabre fencing national team.
The South Korean financial crisis also causes Back Yi-Jin’s father's business to go bankrupt. This leads to a life change for Back Yi-Jin, from living the life of a wealthy person to a poor person. While studying, he works part-time jobs like delivery newspapers. Later, he becomes a sports reporter for a broadcasting network.
While watching Business Proposal, I also watched Twenty-Five Twenty-One. Well, let's just call it 2521 since it's too long. Compared to Business Proposal, 2521 will bring a more serious side to a k-drama. It talked about friendship, dreams, and also love.
Yi-jin and Hae-do's Story
From the title, this story is about two people in their 20s. There's Yi-jin, your charming male lead character. Unfortunately, the 1998 financial crisis has led Yi-jin's family into bankruptcy. Consequently, Yi-jin should live by himself and try to find a job as soon as possible. He must also drop out of college. Things that really broke my heart were when Yi-jin said he would promise not to be happy for the sake of his parent's employee, who should also suffer as a result of the bankruptcy.
There is, on the other hand, Hae-do. A young talented girl who adores fencing. Fencing has been a part of her life since she was a child. It's also a part of her last memories of her father. Due to the financial crisis, Hae-do's school decided to close their fencing club once. This decision enraged Hae-do. So, she attempted to transfer to another school, specifically Go Yu-rim's, a young fencer whom she idolized.
She hoped to become friends with Yu-rim and improve her skills. Unfortunately, those fantasies will not become a reality so smoothly. Hae-do's mother opposed Hae-do's wish to transfer. Then, when Hae-do finally meets Yu-rim, she is surprised that Yu-rim is so cold and harsh towards her.
Perhaps it was fate that brought Yi-jin and Hae-do together. I believe they require each other's presence to achieve their goals. Yi-jin for resolving all of his family's problems, and Hae-do for her determination to be Korea's greatest fencer. At first glance, I believe this drama will not be overly focused on the romance aspect, and I am quite right about it. 2521, in my opinion, is about dealing with life and achieving your goals as best you can.
The Story and The Diary
The story started when Kim Min-chae, Hae-do's daughter, opened and read Hae-do's diary. Starting from there, Min-chae finally knows that what her mother has accomplished is far from a flowery path. Min-chae learned about Hae-friendships do's with Yu-rim, Moon Ji-ung, and Ji Sun-wan in addition to the fencing journey. Anyway, I enjoy watching their friendship. Don't forget to include Yi-jin in the same frame.
To be honest, despite its comedic elements, I would say that this drama has a serious tone. Mbak Dewi ever told me that this drama is interesting because of the "Mistery of Mr. Kim." Yes, as you can see, Min-chae's surname is "Kim." Meanwhile, Baek Yi-jin, the male lead character who has a love interest in Hae-do, has the surname "Baek". So, who is Min-chae's father? I heard that many fans worked hard to solve the mystery. Even 2521 has an alternative title because of it. Yeah, it's called "Finding Mr. Kim". They observed every detail of the drama to find the clue. Unfortunately, we won't know who Mr. Kim is until the very end.
And apart from their wholesome story, the ending of this drama is hugely essential. I believe that the majority of viewers would agree that the ending of 2521 is terribly frustrating. For this, I must quote MbakDew... "2521 is the story of two people. How could they not mention Yi-jin at the end of the story?" Yes. I fully agree. The production team is extremely cruel. They provided no information about Yi-jin. There is also no hint of the "now" Yi-Jin at all. It really frustrated me.
I mean, I like the story; the main message is wholesome, the friendship story is something I wished for, and Hae-do and Yi-jin's relationship is fluffy but not overly so. But, with such a vague ending....? This is not your typical k-drama, that will give you a second season, please. Sigh.
Conclusion
Aside from my frustration at not being able to see the "now" Baek Yi-jin, I still enjoy the story. Every episode is intriguing, and the story is very interesting. Yeah, I love their execution for 2521. Oh, I should also mention the ost for this k-drama is really good. My favourite would be "Your Existence" by Wonstein. You should check this out.
Anyway, I still have a lot of movies and dramas to review, so please bear with me.
7 out of 10 stars.
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