Twenty Five Twenty One: Netflix’s K-drama all set to premiere tonight

The new K-Drama Twenty Five Twenty One will take viewers on a trip back in time as it explores life and romance in the early 2000s.

This weekend, Netflix viewers who enjoy excellent South Korean content will be spoiled for choice. Not only has the streaming giant just released the humorous Love and Leashes, but the new weekly series, Twenty Five Twenty One, is also set to debut.

Twenty Five Twenty One is a South Korean Netflix Original romantic comedy series directed by Jung Ji Hyun and written by Kwon Do Eun.

Twenty Five Twenty One Plot

The series is set in 1998, just after the South Korean financial crisis, and follows two young people, Na Hee-Do and Baek Yi-Jin, as they struggle to adjust to their new lifestyles.

Hee-Do is a talented fencer who is forced to try out for the national sabre fencing team when her high school squad is disbanded due to financial difficulties.

Yi-Jin’s family business was also severely impacted by the crisis, and he now finds himself working many part-time jobs to make ends meet. He hopes to work as a sports reporter for a national TV network while studying.

Twenty Five Twenty One Release Date

The first episode of Twenty Five Twenty One will be released today, February 12, followed by the second episode on Sunday, February 13 on the tvN television network at 9:10 PM KST.

Episodes of Twenty Five Twenty One will first premiere on the South Korean cable network tvN before arriving on Netflix.

Twenty Five Twenty One will a total of 16 episodes that will be shown over the course of eight weeks, with new episodes airing every Saturday and Sunday. 

The finale will air on Sunday, April 3, 2022.

Twenty Five Twenty One Cast

Kim Tae-ri, will be playing the role of the fencing prodigy, Na Hee-Do. The Korean actress is best known for starring in the films The Handmaiden (2016), Little Forest (2018), Space Sweepers (2020), and the historical drama Mr. Sunshine (2018). In 2021, Kim starred in the first Korean space blockbuster Space Sweepers alongside Song Joong-ki. Originally slated for a July 2020 premiere which was canceled due to COVID-19,  the film was released on Netflix in February 2021.

Nam Joo-hyuk will be playing the role of Baek Yi-Jin, the eldest son of a family that was destroyed by the IMF and became a UBS sports reporter after living a tough life – doing a part-time job at a comic book rental shop. The 27-year-old model and actor made his acting debut in a supporting role in the drama, The Idle Mermaid (2014). Nam garnered attention with his appearance in the KBS teen drama Who Are You: School 2015. He bagged his first lead role in the youth sports drama Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo alongside Lee Sung-kyung.

We will also see girl group WJSN’s member Bona in the drama portraying the role Go Yoo-rim, South Korea’s youngest fencing gold medalist and Na Hee-do’s greatest rival. She made her acting debut in the KBS2 drama Hit the Top (2017), and was cast as the female lead in the teen drama Girls’ Generation 1979.

The cast also includes Choi Hyun-wook as Moon Ji-woong, a former internet star, Lee Joo-myung as Ji Seung-wan, the class leader, and his mother will be played by So Hee-jung. Seo Jae-hee will be seen playing Shin Jae-kyung, Na Hee-do’s mother, and the main anchor of the 9 o’clock news ‘25 Twenty One.’ Kim Hye-eun will be playing Yang Chan-mi, the coach of the fencing team who enjoyed many honors as a gold medalist in fencing, and Choi Myung-bin will portray Kim Min-chae, Na Hee-do’s daughter.

Park Yoon-hee will play Baek Yi-jin’s father. He became a reporter after living in a house that was ruined by the IMF. Park Jun-pyo will be seen as Baek Yi-jin’s uncle.

As reported on Soompi, director Jung Ji-hyun spoke to Naver News and expressed his happiness at the cast even from the earliest stages. He said, “I like the emotions these two have. All of their interpretations of the script and emotions they prepared worked out well. They were so well-prepared that I was actually receiving ideas [from the actors] instead of the other way around, so they helped me a lot during filming.”

He further added, “When you reminisce on old memories with old friends, you’re bound to feel happy and excited, and I hope you feel that same happiness through watching our drama.”

Don’t forget to tune into Netflix tonight for the feel-good experience Twenty Five Twenty One is about to bring.