Of all the Korean dramas she has watched, Kiran Rao has picked one she would like to make her own. The Laapataa Ladies director has said she would love to remake Reply 1988, the much-loved 2015 series about five families sharing an alley in Seoul. What drew her in, she says, is the show’s adults, not its teenagers.
Rao made the remark on The Popcorn Hour podcast while talking about her love for K-dramas. She named the series without hesitation. “Best K-drama is a show called Reply 1988. It’s a fantastic show. It’s actually set in 1988. In fact, that’s something I would love to remake,” she said.
The real stars, in her view
Reply 1988 is usually remembered for its childhood friendships and its long-running mystery over whom the heroine will marry. Rao, however, pointed to the generation above. In the show, the mothers and fathers have their own worries, relationships and disappointments. They are fully drawn characters, not just there to guide their children or move the plot along.
“The genuine jewel of this show is the older women, the mothers, and the fathers. They are just so good. It’s set in a para, as they call it, a neighbourhood in Seoul in 1988. In fact, in Kolkata also you call it para only,” she added.
Her comparison to the Kolkata para suggests why the show could travel well. Its world is one where food is shared, doors stay open and neighbours step in when someone is struggling. Those are familiar rhythms for Indian audiences.
A neighbourhood, five families and seven years
Directed by Shin Won Ho and written by Lee Woo Jung, the 20-episode series is set in Seoul’s Ssangmun-dong. It opens in 1988, around the time of the Seoul Olympics. It follows a group of childhood friends: Sung Deok Sun (Lee Hye Ri), Sung Bo Ra (Ryu Hye Young), Kim Jung Hwan (Ryu Jun Yeol), Choi Taek (Park Bo Gum), Sung Sun Woo (Go Kyung Pyo) and Dong Ryong (Lee Dong Hwi). Together they navigate school, family expectations, first love and the uncertainty of growing up.
The story moves between 1988 and 1995, and glimpses of the characters’ adult lives add another layer. The parents’ storylines carry equal weight, covering friendships, marital strain, money troubles and dreams set aside. These threads often bring as much humour and heartbreak as the children’s.