Twenty-Five, Twenty-One is one of the most popular and talked about shows that aired in 2022. It starred Kim Tae Ri, Nam Joo Hyuk, Bona, Choi Hyun Wook and Lee Joo Myung in the main roles with the former two leading the pack.
Cast
Kim Tae Ri played Na Hee Do, the cheerful and daring, a fencer with a dream to be one of the biggest out there. Nam Joo Hyuk played the aspiring reporter, Baek Yi Jin who seeks comfort in those around him. Bona, played Ko Yurim, the ace fencer who values her relationships. Choi Hyun Wook embodied Moon Ji Woong the fickle appearing but genuine friend while Lee Joo Myung was Ji Seung Wan, his best friend who is the star student. Kim Hye Eun played Na Hee Do’s coach Yang Chan Mi and Choi Tae Joon made a special appearance as Na Hee Do’s first boyfriend, also a fencer Jeong Ho Jin. With such a fabulous cast backing creators and a heartwarming storyline, it was on the right path from the get-go.
Storyline
Na Hee Do wishes to be Ko Yurim’s rival, not realising that in the past she became the reason behind Ko Yurim’s burning passion for winning. She is cheerful, has a lot of emotions inside her and keeps challenging herself- dreaming of the day she gets to be on a podium with a medal around her neck. She comes across a boy named Baek Yi Jin, who makes her feel good about herself and gives her the opportunity to look at life with more meaning. Baek Yi Jin is separated from his family after the 1998 economic crisis in South Korea and lands in a new town, aspiring to become a successful reporter and a TV news anchor one day. He meets a girl nothing like him and full of hope and they naturally end up together. However, life brings them through a storm full of changes and tragic happenings, eventually making them stray away. Once a warm young love full of happiness and no expectations, as they grow older their priorities pull them apart. Spoken through the eyes of Na Hee Do’s daughter, the story is filled with exceptional camerawork that showed the world through the lens of the late 90s and then the early 2000s.
The ending
Na Hee Do and Baek Yi Jin break up, looking out for each other until the end. Their happiest time, which gave the show its name, Twenty-Five Twenty-One, had come to a painful end. Now, at crossroads they break up, leaving the fans of the show disappointed.
Alternate ending
In a parallel universe where everything would have continued to be sunshine and rainbows for the two of them, Na Hee Do and Baek Yi Jin would have remained beside each other. The daughter of Na Hee Do, Kim Min Chae would have been Baek Min Chae and ran towards her dream of pursuing ballet, understanding her mother’s struggles in the past. The most painful end where now a successful anchor Baek Yi Jin congratulated Na Hee Do on her wedding, would have instead seen him shy away at his brazenness while interviewing and confessing love to who would have been his wife, the champion fencer Na Hee Do. A mother struggling to bring her child under control would instead have been a happy couple giving their daughter the chance of making mistakes.
But would Na Hee Do be able to look back at her memories with the same fondness? Would she have found it hilarious how in her teens she put her life on the line for those around her? Would Baek Yi Jin have become a successful anchor after all? Leaving the US after the Twin Towers tragedy and choosing his lover instead, may have filled him with guilt. These questions stay at the back of our minds as we appreciate the writer’s decision to make Na Hee Do and Baek Yi Jin, a crucial part of each other’s lives and not the whole of it. ‘Twenty-Five Twenty One’ was a show meant for the dreamers and the lovers, the young ones at heart and the ones appreciating the beauty of friendship and lost love.
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