It may seem odd, even impossible, that a TV show focused
on Korea's 90s could elicit such a distinct feeling of nostalgia in a
full-blooded American citizen, but that’s part of what makes the show so good.
Even though it is based in a foreign country, many of the emotions and cultural
changes are the same.
Just to give you an idea of how smitten I was with this
show, I managed to watch all 16 episodes in less than a week despite schoolwork
and other commitments. I was, in a word, obsessed, and after you’re done
reading this post, you’re going to be obsessed too.
Answer Me 1997 has a really unique format that grabs your
attention as soon as it starts. In the first episode, we’re at a 2012 high
school reunion, and we’re introduced to a group of six friends. We’re told that two of those friends
are announcing their engagement that evening, and then we’re transported 15
years into the past, to the year 1997, to see how it all happened and to find
out who is getting engaged. The rest of the series flips back and forth between
the late 90s, when the group is in high school, and 2012, as they all remember things from their teenage years. The drama keeps you in suspense until the last few
episodes as to who all the couples are, and along the way you get to see how
each member of the group grows and matures.
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| The high school reunion |
If you thought that South Korea was a conservative, culturally backwards country, then you have been very, very misguided. South Korea's culture is actually very similar to that of the United States, even back in the 90s. As proof, here are some of the show's major themes:
Pop groups
The girls in the drama are obsessed with boy bands, and
interestingly enough, the 90s boy bands of South Korea were very similar to
those of America. The drama features boy bands H.O.T. and Sechs Skies, whose American
counterparts would be something like the Backstreet Boys and N*SYNC. They even have rivalries between the fans of different groups. We’re also briefly introduced to the girl group Baby V.O.X., which vaguely resembles the Spice Girls.
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| Fan rivalries: on the left we see Sechs Kies fans and on the right we have H.O.T. fans |
H.O.T.
Baby V.O.X
First love and first
heartbreak
The happy couples we see at the 2012 high school reunion weren’t always that way. Answer Me 1997 shows us the ups and downs in their
relationships as well as how they finally ended up together.
Technology
We also see the first mobile phones,
StarCraft (which was evidently extremely popular in South Korea), portable CD
players, Tamagotchi pets, and the infamous dial-up internet connection.
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| Tamagotchi! |
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| StarCraft |
Family Dynamics
Family plays a central role in this drama. We get to relive experiences like sending kids away to college for the first time as well as coping with things like family tragedy. The drama also shows how family members in Korea interact. The story, which is primarily centered in Busan and Seoul, depicts the typical "Busan" family, including the use of the Busan dialect.
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| Watching the Korea soccer match against Japan |
There are also some pretty neat connections made between the past and current Korean legends, something I only discovered after looking those particular characters up. In one scene, we see a slightly overweight, young baseball player practicing. When he turns around, the subtitles translate his jersey name as "Lee Dae Ho." After looking up his name, I found that Lee Dae Ho is now a famous Korean baseball player.
Friendship
Last but not least, we get to see just how strong, and long-lasting, some friendships can be.
Happy watching :)
