Jinyoung, Jung Chae-yeon, Ji-soo
Ahh, the trope that will never die in dramaland: the first love. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good youth romance centered around that near-mythical first love, so I’m excited to see how Netflix fares with its latest foray into Korean dramas. Tentatively titled Because This Is My First Love, the online service has secured Jinyoung (Moonlight Drawn By Clouds), Ji-soo (Bad Guys: City of Evil), and Jung Chae-yeon (Reunited Worlds) to star as a trio of twenty-somethings navigating first loves and friendships.
The plot sounds pretty straightforward: Because This Is My First Love will portray a pair of friends who are strictly platonic, or at least in the beginning. They attend the same university, and the girl begins to develop feelings for the boy’s best friend. Earlier reports indicate that Ji-soo will play the friend in the middle of his two best friends’ romance, which kills me a little inside. He’s so good at being the wounded-puppy second lead, but I desperately want him to end up with the girl someday. Someday soon, preferably.
Jinyoung’s character is the prickly, cold type, and a complete model student. He rarely shows how he actually feels, but will slowly open his eyes to first love. And, of course, we have Jung Chae-yeon, whose character will receive both boys’ affection. Based on Moonlight Drawn By Clouds and To Jenny, they both seemed to have a natural and charming presence onscreen, so I’m looking forward to them joining Ji-soo in this campus romance.
Writer Kim Min-seo of My Black Minidress will be penning the script, while writer Jung Hyun-jung, whose credits include Discovery of Love, the I Need Romance series, and Because It’s My First Time (another youth-centered romance), will be in the creator role. PD Oh Jin-seo, whose genre-hopping credits include Yong-pal, My Sassy Girl, and Modern Farmer, will be directing.
Because This Is My First Love, which is being planned for a 8-episode run, is slated to begin production this year for a 2019 release on Netflix.