Taking us down memory lane to the 80s, we follow the story of two girls as they navigate adulthood and become friends. Their personalities and dreams couldn’t be more different, but they complement each other perfectly.
Joining them on this journey is a young man burdened with emotional scars. Will this encounter result in another messy love triangle? Or will our girls adopt the adage “sisters before misters”?
Bunny S. watches A Hundred Memories on Viki
Opening Week Ratings:
A Hundred Memories Opening Week Story
“We were young but our lives were exhausting and threadbare. But because we had each other, we shone ever so brightly.”
Opening the drama on another busy day in 1980s Seoul, we meet our first heroine, Bus Attendant Go Young-rye (Kim Da-mi), as she navigates a large crowd of people and squeezes them onto the bus. A mission that people on the street thought was impossible. Ironically, the bus takes off before Young-rye can get on. And if not for some help from a young lady on the bus, Young-rye would have missed her bus.
Despite suffering from motion sickness, Young-rye works diligently to send money home while cutting back on sleep to study and achieve her dream of attending college. One wouldn’t know what might happen in life, so Young-rye picked up a few certificates, as they might come in handy later.
Sharing a tiny room with the other attendants, Young-rye’s long day doesn’t seem to end as she has to catch a cockroach so the other girls will stop screaming. Not to mention, having to humor a nasty senior colleague. A new hire shows up at the dorm that night, the young lady from earlier, our second heroine, Seo Jong-hee (Shin Yi-eun). Jong-hee has a dazzling aura, and one can’t help but stare at her. From smacking her bubbly gum to standing up to the senior colleague who tries to give her a hazing, Jong-hee makes a remarkable entrance.
The next day, Jong-hee tags along with Young-rye for training. And she gets impressed by Young-rye’s skills, recognizing a counterfeit ticket with a glance. When a few delinquents run away without paying, Young-rye gives chase and catches one of them. Yet she almost gets hit by a wooden rod if not for a mysterious savior taking the hit for her. The guy then beats the delinquent and makes him pay for the tickets.
Wrapping a towel around her wounded hand, Young-rye is instantly smitten by the mysterious savior. Hoping she would meet him again, she cherishes the towel and even irons it thoroughly.
“At the end of this road, I met you. And that is how our story begins..”
An awful case of diarrhea has all the girls, minus Young-rye and Jong-hee, missing work. The senior colleague suspects Jong-hee of spiking their food with laxatives, betting her job on it. Yet, with some help from Young-rye, Jong-hee proves her innocence. Instead of quitting, Jong-hee wants the senior colleague to stop giving the other girls a hard time. They are all exhausted here.
This incident brings our girls closer, and they strike up a friendship as they chat about their dreams. Young-rye wants to take the GED, get into college, and become a teacher. Yet Jong-hee wants to become Miss Korea and then pursue acting, shining brighter than the stars. The reality of her situation makes Jong-hee think it is a pipe dream. Yet, Young-rye spurs her on, reciting her mantra. “Girls, be ambitious.”
Spending their nights together and hanging out together on their day off, our girls hit it off and become joined at the hip. One time, they are headed to watch a movie when they come across the mysterious saviour from before, Han Jae-pil (Heo Nam-joon). Having gotten into a fight with other guys, Jae-pil is trying to hide from the police hot on his heels. But he gets caught after Jong-hee mistakes him for a pervert and kicks him in the shin.
With a handsome face, a strong build, and a wealthy family background, Jae-pil might look like a have-it-all guy. But he has a painful past and is at odds with his abusive father. Rebelling against his father, Jae-pil secretly took up boxing. Yet, when he fills in for another boxer during a tournament, Jae-pil’s secret is exposed, and his father gets him a full-time driver to keep watch on him.
At the police station, Jae-pil’s father arrives with a lawyer and secures his release. The other guys are suspended, while Jae-pil and his friend get off the hook. Guilty, Jae-pil strikes a deal with his father. In return for lifting the suspension, Jae-pil agrees to be tutored and study hard to raise his grades. Also, he shall train in boxing three times a week. So, it is a win-win situation.
“I just hope we can write a new chapter in our lives together.”
Meanwhile, Young-rye can’t stop thinking about Jae-pil, though she doesn’t even know his name. The only clue she has is the word “Giant” embroidered on the towel. It refers to the gym where Jae-pil trains. But a clueless Young-rye mistakenly heads to a nightclub called Giant and almost gets into trouble with the police. Yet they let her go after checking her ID.
Following that incident, Young-rye resolves to forget about “Giant” and focus on her future, enrolling in a night school and dragging Jong-hee into it, arguing she needs a diploma to enter the Miss Korea Beauty Pageant. After turning in their applications, they visit Young-rye’s house for a meal.
Hearing that Young-rye is attending school again, Young-rye’s mother brings the mood down by mentioning money. However, Young-rye’s elder brother gives her his notebooks as a sign of support. He doesn’t talk much but genuinely cares about Young-rye. Seeing how Young-rye’s mother is focused only on her son. We wrongly thought Young-rye’s brother would be another troublemaker who doesn’t pull his weight and mooches off his sister. But he is a dependable guy.
“If all those stars were money, I’d stay up all night, and I’d pick them all, every last one.”
Things happen, and Young-rye’s mother gets into an accident, and her cart is broken. She refuses to see a doctor to save on money, worried about how she will get by now that her source of livelihood is gone. When Young-rye’s boss refuses to give her an advance, she swallows her pride and asks her awful uncle for money. But he claims the business is slow and condescendingly hands over a few pennies for the bus fare. Which Young-rye refuses to take.
Getting drenched in the rain, Young-rye tries to fix the cart, but she injures her nails instead. She is crying her eyes out in the yard while her mother beats herself up inside. Figuring Young-rye’s situation, Jong-hee hands over her savings to her. At first, Young-rye refuses to take the money. But Jong-hee insists. If it makes Young-rye feel better, she can pay Jong-hee back a certain amount each month until it is cleared.
As we end this week, Jong-hee and Young-rye fill in for two high school students for a four-on-four blind date. Young-rye is nervous about pretending to be an ordinary student. But Jong-hee drags her there. Arriving at the blind date spot, Young-rye finally comes face-to-face with Jae-pil. And that is how the story of our trio begins.
A Hundred Memories Opening Week Musings
It feels gratifying to get a drama with a female friendship at its center instead of a typical love story. Of course, developing feelings will be inevitable as our trio gets entangled together. But instead of fighting over a man, we hope our girls’ bond remains strong whatever situation they find themselves in.
Kim Da-mi and Shin Ye-eun are both talented actresses, so it is delightful to see them together. Living up to the expectations, they are nailing their roles and their chemistry is outstanding. Heo Nam-joon is doing a good job too though it takes some suspension of disbelief to buy he is a high schooler.
For now, it isn’t clear whom Jae-pil will fall for though we have a hunch he will like Jong-hee. Who knows? Perhaps, the drama might flip our expectations and have him consider both girls as just friends.
For all her cheerfulness, Jong-hee seems to harbor some secrets pertaining to a traumatic childhood, given how she got terrified and hid from a guy. Unlike Young-rye who is an open book, Jong-hee is quite hard to read. So, we hope she musters up the courage to open up about her past.
The drama is off to a strong start. And if the writing remains tight and the story doesn’t take messy turns, then we are up for an entertaining and nostalgic ride.
Photos and Videos: JTBC Drama
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