Deets:
Reply 1988 is a South Korean coming of age series starrinv Lee Hye-ri, Park Bo Gum, Ryu Jun Yeol, Go Kyung Pyo and Lee Dong Hwi. It was first broadcasted in November 2015 and had 20 episodes.
Plot:
The series was set in the year 1988 and revolves around the lives of five friends and their families and the neighborhood they lived in. It follows their lives from high school until graduation, up to the time when they separated to pursue their own paths. The love triangle between three of the friends, as well as the romance of one of the guys with the older sister of the heroine was also a focus.
From time to time, a scene would show an older couple who seems to be reminiscing of the past while doing an interview.
My Thoughts:
Reply 1988 was the first and only series of the Reply franchise that I watched. The reason being all of the Reply series were removed from Netflix before I got the chance to watch all of them. 
Anyway, Reply 1988 was a very relatable series. The way it was set and the stories it told really hit home. It's cinematography was also amazing because every scene really seemed like it was shot in the late 80s. Everything seemed to be on point and it gave a nice peek on how life was in South Korea back in the 80s. If the scenes shown in the series were true, then I love how people in Korea were back in the 80s. There was a scene in one episode where Deuk Seon and one of the guys rode a bus. They got on the bus early so they were able to get seats. But as the bus travelled, it started to fill with passengers. As more and more people ride the bus, some guys would offer their seats to the elderly and the women. While those seating, will offer to hold the bags of those standing so they can be comfortable and won't be jostled. If this was true in Korea during the 80s, then the current generation can learn a thing or two from the past.
It's also a very emotional series. It got me bawling on the first episode. That first episode was packed with so much humor, drama and emotions that I was crying when a very touching scene played. It also made me think that if a single episode had that much storyline, I wonder how deep the actual storyline is and just how much stories each episode carried. In short, I got hooked. 
I also loved the pacing of the series. The transition from adolescence to adulthood was smooth and nicely done. There were no hanging questions or scenes that were played out too fast or stories that were forgotten. Everything that was started was ended nicely, which was pretty rare for a Korean series. One of the things about Korean dramas that I hated was how good the build up was and how elaborate the plot lines were and then suddenly, poof. It's like all that build up ended with this really weird ending that was so obviously rushed. Reply 1988 had none of that. And even the ending was very satisfying.
Anyway, I don't know if this series is still available in streaming apps but if you come across it, be sure to give it a watch. You won't regret it.
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