K-drama Review: Twenty-Five Twenty-One
Twenty-Five Twenty-One is a K-drama that focuses on the lives of young adults and teenagers nearing adulthood. It explores what friendships look like as you grow older, as well as romantic relationships.
Na Hee-do is one of the main characters, and we follow her as she runs full-tilt toward her dream of becoming Ko Yu-rim’s rival in fencing. We see her through the clumsy errors of immaturity and the passions of youth as she gradually grows into adulthood. An important part of her story is her friends and rivals, whose lives we also get to follow. Characters like Moon Ji-woong, Ko Yu-rim, and Ji Seung-wan experience their own struggles, and another major character, Baek Yi-jin, navigates the fallout of his family’s bankruptcy and the effort he makes to bring them back together and save them from financial ruin. The show also explores young love and examines what it means to find a dream when you don’t yet have one.
Artistry and Craftsmanship
I loved the cinematography and how the story was shot, as well as the pacing of the script and storyline — it was well thought out and left plenty of room for character growth. The pacing of this drama is moderate. As a coming-of-age K-drama, it isn’t fast like an action series or slow like a melodrama; rather, it is steady and gives the series space to explore character arcs and relationship growth in a way that feels earned.
I thought it was clever how the show visually and musically recreated the 1990s. The soundtrack and OST were very much on-theme for the era, full of synths yet still carrying the “bubbliness” of coming-of-age dramas. The music really added to the atmosphere of traveling back in time. I also loved the inclusion of ’90s pop-culture references, such as the Full House manhwa and the choreography challenge to “The Solver” by Shinhwa, which Na Hee-do had to memorize to join the team.
I also loved that the story is framed through Na Hee-do’s diary and her daughter reading it. Although the K-drama takes place during COVID, this narrative structure reminds us of the existence of both a past and a future — no matter what that future looks like. I also appreciated the recurring motif of the tunnel, symbolizing change, growth, and the act of looking back on memories ★★★★.
Themes and Messages
Twenty-Five Twenty-One explores many themes central to maturing, such as the pains of personal growth, the struggles of evolving relationships, and how some connections feel like they will last forever. While it depicts the highs of friendship and the reasons these relationships are celebrated in coming-of-age stories, it also explores the quieter, often painful side: growing out of relationships, drifting apart, and the cost of holding on when something is fading. Sometimes, through the strain of trying to maintain connections, we lose them — but occasionally, we grow closer.
The drama shows both growth and release, demonstrating that relationships are shaped by our choices. While many things are inevitable, how we respond is ultimately up to us. At the same time, the show reminds us that sometimes separation isn’t a matter of choice — as we grow, our paths may diverge, not from a lack of effort, but because life redirects us through trials and victories. Sometimes there is no simple answer to why things happen, and that’s okay.
Through Na Hee-do, this loose control is further explored through the K-dramas setting. Sometimes life overrides those decisions and leaves us with nothing but “the times.” This concept recurs throughout the drama — moments of hardship arise from crises like the IMF collapse, yet opportunities also emerge. The times are unpredictable; all we can control is our reaction to them.
This theme continues in Na Hee-do’s character arc. Her high-school fencing team is disbanded because of the IMF collapse, and her coach tells her to move on. She then tries to join Ko Yu-rim’s team by transferring schools. Na Hee-do earns her spot not by relying on luck — such as the dice roll her coach suggests — but by following her own will. This message is made explicitly clear near the end of the series, when her coach guides her through a difficult decision. When Na Hee-do considers flipping a coin, her coach reminds her: “It was always your will.”
The drama also reflects on our relationship to memories, the necessity of sometimes letting people go, and the courage to pursue our dreams without fear of how things might turn out. It teaches that even if we are not each other’s “forever,” our memories remain — growing more precious with time.
Twenty-Five Twenty-One reminds us that it doesn’t matter where we came from; what matters is where we’re going. It celebrates the antics of youth and the vibrancy of companionship — playing in water fountains, running down empty school hallways at night, taking spontaneous beach day trips, and scrubbing graffiti off walls — all done together.
Ultimately, the drama teaches that “this” is practice for the life ahead. Every hurt, every triumph, every mundane conversation and task — each moment shapes who we become, if we let it★★★★★.
Final Thoughts
Twenty-Five Twenty-One is a K-drama where every stage of relationships is shown — growing closer, growing together, and growing apart. In this story, goodbye sounds less like a farewell and more like thank you. I would recommend this drama to anyone who loves to reminisce fondly, to those experiencing rapid personal growth, or to anyone who has experienced heartbreak in any type of relationship — whether friendship or otherwise. If you do decide to watch the K-drama, I hope you cheer for the characters as they grow, just as I hope you cheer for your own. Overall, this K-drama is four and a half stars.
Content Disclaimers
Mention of death, smoking, drinking, kissing, some minor swearing, poverty, and physical abuse.
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