# Backstreet Rookie (2020)

> A former troublemaker and a kind-hearted convenience store manager trade awkward banter and slowly warm to each other across a single, unpredictable day.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/83114

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 16
- Episode runtime: 62 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, romance
- Created by: Lee Myung-woo, Son Geun-joo
- Network: SBS
- Cast: Ji Chang-wook, Kim You-jung, Do Sang-woo, Han Seon-hwa, Ahn Sol-bin, Kim Min-gue, Lee Byung-joon, Kim Sun-young
- TMDB rating: 7.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12516712/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: breezy, whimsical, sweetly romantic, hopeful, playful

## What critics say

Audience reception of this single season is positive, with viewers enjoying its lighthearted convenience-store romance and lead chemistry.

## Synopsis

Backstreet Rookie (2020) is a South Korean slice of life romantic comedy series created by Lee Myung-woo and Son Geun-joo for SBS, adapted from a popular webcomic. Ji Chang-wook plays Choi Dae-Hyun, an adorkable and caring store manager who runs a neighborhood convenience store, and Kim You-jung plays Jung Saet-Byul, a freewheeling former troublemaker whose unpredictable habits keep turning his quiet shifts upside down. Their story begins with a chance encounter years earlier and resumes when she takes a part-time job at his store, and the engine of the show is the push and pull of their awkward, escalating banter over a series of hectic, funny days behind the counter. Supporting characters including Do Sang-woo, Han Seon-hwa, and Ahn Sol-bin add friendship and romantic subplots that fill out the store's everyday world. The sixteen episodes move at a brisk, playful clip, with each hour built around small mishaps, customers, and misunderstandings. The tone is breezy, warm, and sweetly romantic, with a lighthearted comic touch and a hopeful undercurrent. Set in a present-day Seoul neighborhood, the series is a compact, self-contained romance that fans of Crash Landing on You and Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo will find resonance with, along with anyone who enjoys a cozy, quirky love story.

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