Name: Joshua M. Avila Course & Section: AB Foreign Service 201 Subject: INON08F & PEGN03F Professor: Mr. Jumel Estrañero Reply 1988 A Brief Review Executive Summary The “Reply 1988” is a Korean series that predominantly captures the setting of early Ssangmun-dong, a tiny Seoul neighborhood, following the lives of a group of five young people named ( Sung Duk-seon, Choi Taek, Seong Sun-woo, Kim Jung-hwan, and Ryu Dong-ryong) each having unique traits that perfectly blended to the overall stability of the series. Moreover, the series, being a family drama, highlighting the sorrow and joy of family and relationships with a blend of comedic and romantic taste. Overall, the series is a light-hearted watch that could be easily appreciated by viewers of any generation. Generally, as mentioned above, the series has shown a variety of heart-touching moments and relatable subjects such as Family, Friendship, and love. It depicts the harshness and goodness of life and the surprises it brings as the characters develop in the story. Furthermore, the series gave us a glimpse of what the Koreans in Seoul went through in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Although the five lifelong friends are the main highlight, their relatives, as well as the whole neighborhood, are all well introduced and have their own identity which adds to the immersion of the entire storyline. Furthermore, the series not only incorporates many subject areas in life, but it also has a rich and comprehensive timeline beginning in 1988, continues through 1989, and then jumps to 1994 and 1995. Giving the characters in the story plenty of time to develop and immerse themselves within the setting relative to the given timeline, adding an important value to the overall quality of the series. Additionally, the historical timeline of 1988 alone, practically brings us the simple life during the past days and would be highly relatable especially to the adult generations. After all, the series encompasses many aspects of life, and making it relatable to everyone is one of the main characteristics of a great film. Analysis