For today’s drama review we are taking an emotional turn, with a slice-of-life and romantic drama that left us in tears. Let’s talk about ‘Thirty-Nine’.
Directed by Kim Sang-ho and written by Yoo Yeong-ah, ‘Thirty-Nine’ is a drama that navigates the life of three close friends, their lives, friendship, romantic relationships and family.
Cha Mi-jo (Son Ye-jin) and Jeong Cha-young (Jeon Mi-do) have been very close friends since their teen years. Mi-jo has been on the search for her biological mother from a very young age, and by coincidence they both meet Jang Joo-hee (Kim Ji-hyun) and end up being very close friends.
Friendships and Love
During their times as friends this trio have had each other’s back in crucial moments in their lives, and have shown unconditional love and support not just for each other but also their families. Now at the age of thirty-nine, they all want to have a good life, enjoy what they do, and be happy.
Mi-jo, who is still a frequent volunteer in the orphanage where she lived before being adopted, meets Kim Seon-woo (Yeon Woo-jin), another volunteer at the same place. They both end up liking each other, and after a one-night stand they both continue on with their lives. But destiny makes them reunite again when she finds out he is the replacement doctor she outsourced to take her place while she goes on holiday.
Getting everything ready to go on her well-deserved holidays Mi-jo has everything ready, but an unfortunate result of a medical check-up she did along with Chan-young reveals that her friend is sick, and she might not have a lot of time left.
After finding out about her diagnosis, Chang-young decides to live her life to the fullest while also trying to make her beloved ones happy. Mi-jo and Joo-hee on their side decide to help their friend to live the best life she can while she is still with them.
Slice of Life
‘Thirty-Nine’ is for sure one of the most heartbreaking dramas I have watched over the years, this production candidly touches on sensitive topics such as mental health, adoption and family issues.
With just twelve episodes, this drama is a total rollercoaster of emotions. We get to see Chan-young’s perspective and how she deals with everything she is going through, but we also get to understand Mi-jo’s and Joo-hee’s point of view, and how their priority shifts to be with their friend and protect her while they can.
We also get to see how the romantic life of these three friends develop, however, the focus point is on the emotional state and how they are individually dealing with the twist destiny gave them.
‘Thirty-Nine’ is a drama with strong female characters, and wonderful stories. Viewers are up for a good cry, but also for stunning cinematography and a beautifully written story about friends, love and family. Watch the trailer below.
