# Reply 1997 (2012)

> Now in their thirties, a group of school friends relive their 1997 teenage years, crushes and fandom as their reunion approaches.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/42178

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 16
- Episode runtime: 65 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, drama, romance
- Created by: Shin Won-ho, Lee Woo-jung, Lee Sun-Hye, Kim Ran-Joo
- Network: tvN
- Cast: Jung Eun-ji, Seo In-guk, Eun Ji-won, Lee Ho-won, Shin So-yul, Lee Si-eon, Sung Dong-il, Lee Il-hwa
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2782216/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: wistful, nostalgic, warm, comforting, breezy

## What critics say

Audiences warmly embraced the nostalgic school-days story and its affectionate portrayal of 1990s friendship and first love.

## Synopsis

Reply 1997 (2012) is a South Korean tvN comedy-drama romance series created by Shin Won-ho, Lee Woo-jung, Lee Sun-Hye and Kim Ran-Joo. Jung Eun-ji plays Sung Shi-won, a woman now 33 who, as a teenager, was devoted to a boy band and entangled in a first-love rivalry with her closest friends. Seo In-guk plays Yoon Yoon-jae, Eun Ji-won plays Do Hak-chan and Lee Ho-won plays Kang Joon-hee, the classmates whose friendships and crushes shaped those years. The engine of the show is the approaching school reunion, which pushes Shi Won and her friends to revisit old memories, unanswered feelings and the small betrayals of adolescence. Each episode alternates between their present-day preparations and their teenage years in the late 1990s, with the cassette tapes, schoolyard rivalries and idol posters of that era carefully recreated. The single season runs sixteen episodes and is a self-contained, emotionally grounded story rather than a case-of-the-week format. Its tone is warm and wistful, mixing gentle comedy with aching nostalgia for first love and the bonds of youth. Set in 1990s Busan, it is a Korean nostalgia drama in the vein of Reply 1988, How I Met Your Mother and The Wonder Years, appealing to viewers who enjoy reflective coming-of-age romance.

## Shows like Reply 1997

- [Our Beloved Summer (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/112248)
- [My Youth (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/176355)
- [Twenty Five Twenty One (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/107470)
- [Serendipity's Embrace (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/132523)
- [My Bias is Showing! (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/203033)
- [Reunited Worlds (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/63254)
- [Be Melodramatic (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/76886)
- [Family by Choice (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/154507)
- [The Best Hit (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/62711)
- [Reply 1994 (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/52569)

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