Our Beloved Summer writer on what inspired the heartwarming drama

Netflix is swiftly becoming the hot spot for impressive Korean dramas and the latest to join the list is the hit romantic series, Our Beloved Summer, starring Choi Woo-shik and Kim Da-mi. And apparently, the inspiration behind the drama was Choi Woo-shik himself.

Our Beloved Summer tells the story of Choi Ung and Kook Yeon-soo, who were high school sweethearts but circumstances led to the end of their relationship. The duo meets again after 10 years after a documentary they starred in as teenagers goes viral, pushing the former lovers to face their unresolved issues.

In an interview with Sports Kyunghyang, series writer Lee Na-eun revealed that she based many of Choi Ung’s characteristics on Choi Woo-shik long before the actor was roped in to play the part.

“When I came up with the character of Choi Woong, I happened to see Choi Woo Shik in the tvN variety show ‘Summer Vacation,’ and that helped me a lot with [creating the character]. For example, I incorporated Choi Woo Shik’s insomnia from the program."

"I wrote the drama while imagining Choi Woo Shik, and thanks to a good opportunity, I had the chance to give him the script. I never imagined I’d be able to cast him. He also did a great job acting as if Choi Woong were a real person.”

Apart from Choi Woo-shik, it was Lee Na-eun’s own “clumsy” dating experience that helped her pen the complicated love story of Our Beloved Summer.

“Looking back on my youth, it was clumsy, and I made a lot of mistakes. When I thought back on it, I had a lot of regrets and wished, ‘If only I’d done better.’ I thought of writing this drama as ‘giving myself another chance."

"That’s why the drama begins with Woong and Yeon Soo reuniting. The things I regretted or wasn’t able to express during a relationship: I wondered what it would be like to show those things through the two characters’ journey of growth in the drama.”

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Our Beloved Summer wasn’t supposed to have a happy ending

Lee Na-eun further added that initially she was against the cliche cheesy ending for her characters, but as she sat down to write Choi Ung and Kook Yeon-soo’s story, she wanted the lovers to have their happily-ever-after.

“At first, I thought that ending might be childish or cheesy. Because I’m someone who’s opposed to ending a drama with ‘…and they got married and lived happily ever after.’ But as I was writing, I started to feel like I just wanted Woong and Yeon Soo to be happy."

"I wanted to give the viewers, who had suffered following along [with the two characters] up until then, laughter and hope. So I ended the drama with them as a married couple.”

All episodes of Our Beloved Summer are available on Netflix.