Drinking Solo (also known as Let’s Drink) follows the lives of teachers and students in an area of Seoul famous for tutoring academies. Ha Suk Jin plays the arrogant star teacher who likes to drink alone with Park Ha Sun as the struggling but hardworking new teacher.
Drinking Solo was a very fun drama that was an easy watch. It’s like a quirky slice of life drama. We get a look into a tutoring academy as we watch the joys and struggles of the teachers and students. But this little world is populated by some very unique and off-the-wall characters that provide lots of laughs and entertainment.
It took me a couple episodes to really warm up to the show, but then I was really pleased and comfortable with it. The show has plenty of heart to go with the comedy.
This was my first time seeing Ha Suk Jin as Jin Jung Suk. He played the cocky and arrogant star teacher perfectly. Once I really got warmed up to him, his deadpan delivery really cracked me up. And he makes some really great faces that adds this hilarious charm to his character. He just gets progressively more fun as the drama goes on.
Park Ha Sun as Park Ha Na was really delightful. Ha Na is a bit of a pushover and let’s people walk all over her. Of course, she is sweet as can be, but it’s difficult for her to stand up for herself. It’s definitely a struggle being a new teacher and trying to get ahead. But this girl was all kinds of hilarious and her expressions were a delight. I found her adorable!
We have our second lead Jin Gong Myung (Gong Myung) who happens to be Jung Suk’s younger brother. He’s such a sweet guy, and he falls hard for Ha Na, who is his teacher at the academy. He was pretty adorable, and I even found myself rooting for him for a long while.
Our other students consist of Gong Myung’s friends. I thought Key did wonderful for his his first full length series as Ki Bum. His character can be a bit obnoxious, but he’s super funny at the same time. He has quite the love-hate relationship was the cold but very popular Chae Yeon (Jung Chae Yeon).
Dong Young (Kim Dong Young) is the guy who has been trying to pass the civil service exam for a very long time. He’s also very observant and gets to humorously watch many of our love triangles play out.
Chae Yeon (Jung Chae Yeon) is the girl that almost every guy wants to date, but her cold personality and desire to do nothing but study keeps them all at bay. But even though she never intended it, she finds herself in the middle of a bit of an unexpected love triangle.
I really got a kick out of the other teachers at the academy. My favorite was the outgoing and funny Jin Woong (Min Jin Woong). He loved to do impressions of famous T.V. and movie characters to liven things up.
Every episode he would show up at work doing a new impression, and I always looked forward to it. But don’t let his outward goofiness fool you. There is a sweet and sensitive soul underneath all of that humor.
Jin Yi (Hwang Wool Seul Hye) was also great as the nice but conceited friend of Ha Na at the school. She’s loud, confident, and an emotional mess. She really was a fun character on many levels.
Finally, we have Director Kim (Kim Won Hae) who likes to drag everyone from work along with him everyday to go on various activties from drinking to hiking. He would certainly be a difficult boss to work for, but he too has a good heart.
Concerning our potential couples, I definitely had some second lead syndrome during the first half of the drama. Ha Na and Gong Myung spend a lot more quality and fun time together than Ha Na and Jung Suk. I really liked their cute rapport, and I wondered if I would ever really be completely won over by Jung Suk.
Finally, in the second half, Jung Suk starts to come around a little bit, and we get much more time between him and Ha Na. And he is a true delight when he actually lets himself be happy and enjoy the company of another. It turns out, he’s a pretty great guy, and I easily found myself supporting him and Ha Na.
Now this drama is called Drinking Solo, so of course there is plenty of alcohol and drinking. Everybody drinks a lot! Where I come from, most of these people would be considered alcoholics, hehe. The drama tends to paint the idea of indulging in alcohol to deal with your problems as a positive thing.
While I appreciated that it really highlighted the reasons why people turn to the comfort of alcohol and how it could sometimes help, I do think it romanticizes it too much. The fact is, if you drink as much as these people do, your life will probably be a mess! Find better ways to deal with things, lol.
For the most part, Drinking Solo is a light and fun drama that will make you laugh. But along the way, you become invested in all of the characters and their lives and struggles. When difficult things happened to them, the drama nicely balanced the humor with the seriousness.
I’m not a huge fan of slice of life dramas, but when you make them this fun with such well-crafted characters, how can I not like it? All in all, Drinking Solo gave me some nice laughs and created a fun little world that I enjoyed spending some quality time in. Cheers!
My Rating: 7.5/10
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