Reply 1994

Reply 1994 (Korean: 응답하라 1994) is a 2013 South Korean television series and the second installment of the Reply anthology series. It stars Go Ara, Jung Woo, Yoo Yeon-seok, Kim Sung-kyun, Son Ho-jun, Cha Sun-woo, Min Do-hee, Sung Dong-il, and Lee Il-hwa.^[1]^[2] Set in 1994, it follows six university students who live together at a boarding house in Sinchon, Seoul. It aired on tvN from October 18 to December 28, 2013 for 21 episodes.^[3]^[4]

Also known asAnswer Me 1994

Hangul

응답하라 1994

Hanja

應答하라 1994

RREungdaphara 1994

Quick facts Also known as, Hangul ...

Reply 1994
Promotional poster
Also known as	Answer Me 1994

Hangul	응답하라 1994
Hanja	應答하라 1994
RR	Eungdaphara 1994
MR	Ŭngdaphara 1994

Genre	Romance Comedy
Written by	Lee Woo-jung
Directed by	Shin Won-ho
Starring	Go Ara Jung Woo Yoo Yeon-seok Kim Sung-kyun Son Ho-jun Cha Sun-woo Min Do-hee Sung Dong-il Lee Il-hwa
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	21
Production
Executive producers	Kathleen Herles Chris Gifford
Producer	Lee Myung-han
Running time	60–90 minutes
Production company	tvN
Original release
Network	tvN
Release	October 18 (2013-10-18) – December 28, 2013 (2013-12-28)
Related
Reply 1997 Reply 1988

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Written by Lee Woo-jung and directed by Shin Won-ho,^[5]^[6]^[7] it is one of the highest-rated Korean dramas in cable television history with its final episode garnering an average viewership rating of 11.509%.^[8]^[9]

Synopsis

Set in 1994, six university students from various provincial areas of South Korea (Jeolla Province, Chungcheong Province and Gyeongsang Province) live together at a boarding house in Sinchon, Seoul, which is run by a couple with a daughter named Sung Na-jung (Go Ara). It follows a nonlinear story telling where it shifts between the past in 1994 and the present in 2013, making the viewers guess who will become Na-jung's husband among the male characters.^[10]

The series covers the historical and cultural events that happened in the country in 1994 and the years that followed, including the emergence of seminal K-pop group Seo Taiji and Boys, the Sampoong Department Store collapse^[11] and the birth of the Korean Basketball League.^[12] The names of the boys are revealed later, to avoid spoilers. They're mostly just referred to by their nicknames listed below.

Cast

Main

Go Ara as Sung Na-jung^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18]

Originally from Masan, Gyeongnam, she specialise in Computer Engineering at College of Engineering, Yonsei University, has an easygoing personality and is a big fan of Basketball player Lee Sang-min who is the star of KBL.

Jung Woo as "Sseureki" (meaning "Garbage", "Rubbish" or "Trash")

A medical student at Medical College of Yonsei University.^[9] He was the best friend of Na-jung's late older brother, and grew up with the Sung siblings. (Hometown: Masan, Gyeongnam)

Yoo Yeon-seok as "Chilbong" (meaning "Seven Shut-outs)

Although he is only a freshman, he is the number one pitcher of Yonsei University's Baseball team. He has a crush on Na-jung.^[19] (Hometown: Gangnam, Seoul)

Kim Sung-kyun as "Samcheonpo" (referencing his hometown)

He looks much older than he actually is. He is a student at Department of Engineering, Yonsei University whose specialty is Computer Science.^[20] (Hometown: Samcheonpo, Gyeongnam)

Son Ho-jun as "Haitai" (referencing baseball team Haitai Tigers)

His father is the CEO of the bus company Suncheon Transportation Inc.^[21]^[22] (Hometown: Suncheon, Jeonnam)

Cha Sun-woo as "Binggeure" (meaning "Smiley"; referencing baseball team Binggrae Eagles)

Chilbong's cousin, and Garbage's junior in school.^[23] (Hometown: Goesan, Chungbuk)

Min Do-hee as Jo Yoon-jin

A fan of Seo Taiji and Boys, and a quiet, aggressive student. (Hometown: Yeosu, Jeonnam)

Sung Dong-il as Sung Dong-il

A coach of the baseball team Seoul Ssangdungi, and Na-jung's father.

Lee Il-hwa as Lee Il-hwa

She runs a boarding house in Seoul along with her husband Dong-il and daughter Na-jung.

Supporting

Yook Sung-jae as Sung Joon ("Ssuk-ssuk")
- Sung Joon (Sung Dong-il's son) as young Sung Joon
Shin Soo-yeon as young Sung Na-jung
Yoon Jong-hoon as Kim Ki-tae
Yeon Joon-seok as Kim Dong-woo
Lee Bong-ryun as Na-jung's classmate

Special appearances

Moon Kyung-eun as himself (ep. 1)
Woo Ji-won as himself (ep. 1)
Kim Hoon as himself (ep. 1)
Hong Seok-cheon as ROTC cadet (ep. 2)
Na Yeong-seok as Yonsei student boarder (ep. 2)^[24]
Huh Kyung-young as interrogatory student boarder (ep. 2)
Bae Woo-hee as Ha Hee-ra^[25]^{[unreliable source?]}
Kim Min-young as Lee Soon-ja (ep. 2)
Kim Kwang-kyu as Na Chang-seok, Sseureki's professor at the university hospital (ep. 5)
Kim Jong-min as doctor (ep. 5)
Lee Joo-yeon as medical student Lee Joo-won (ep. 5)
Kim Jung-min as himself (ep. 5)
NC.A as Ssuk-ssuk's girlfriend in 2013 (ep. 6)^[26]^{[unreliable source?]}
Park Gyeong-ree as one of Na-jung's friends on the group date (ep. 7)
Park Min-ha as one of Na-jung's friends on the group date (ep. 7)
Lee Hye-min as one of Na-jung's friends on the group date (ep. 7)
Lee Yoo-joon as one of Sseureki's friends on the group date (ep. 7)
Ji Seung-hyun as one of Sseureki's friends on the group date (ep. 7)
Yang Ki-won as one of Sseureki's friends on the group date (ep. 7)
Lee Kyung-shil as Dong-il's first love (ep. 8)
Jung Sung-ho as songwriter (ep. 9)
Lee Jung-eun as Samcheonpo's mother (ep. 10)
Choi Deok-moon as Kim Yoon-shik, Samcheonpo's father (ep. 10)
Jo Yang-ja as Samcheonpo's grandmother (ep. 10)
Kim Han-jong as Samcheonpo's drunk neighbor (ep. 10)
Kim In-seo as Haitai's crush (ep. 11)
Kim Byung-choon as Jung Man-ho, Dong-il's friend (ep. 12)
Jo Jae-yoon as Kim Jae-young (ep. 12)
Kim Won-hae as Sseureki's father (ep. 12, 21)
Seo Yoo-ri as Joo-kyung, Sseureki's first love (ep. 12)
Kim Min-jong as himself (ep. 13)
Choi Jong-hoon as sergeant (ep. 14)
Kim Seul-gi as Sseureki's cousin (ep. 14-15)^[27]
Song Min-ji as Min-jung, Sseureki's coworker (ep. 16–17, 20)
Yoon Jin-yi as Jin-yi/"Die Die" (ep. 16-17)
Jung Eun-ji as Sung Shi-won (ep. 16–17, 21)
Seo In-guk as Yoon Yoon-jae (ep. 16–17, 21)
Hoya as Kang Joon-hee (ep. 16)
Lee Si-eon as Bang Sung-jae (ep. 16)
Shin So-yul as Mo Yoo-jung (ep. 16)
Eun Ji-won as Do Hak-chan (ep. 17)
Kim Jae-kyung as "Yonsei's Jun Ji-hyun" (ep. 18)
Go Woo-ri as "Yonsei's Uhm Jung-hwa" (ep. 18)
Jun Hyun-moo as Haitai's junior (ep. 18)
Yoon Min-soo as married man (ep. 18)
Jo Yun-seo as Ae-jung (ep. 18-19)
Jung Yu-mi as girl who bumps into Chilbong (ep. 21)

Production

Actors Sung Dong-il and Lee Il-hwa play the parents of the female lead character in each installment of the Reply anthology series

Director Shin Won-ho and writer Lee Woo-jung had originally planned for their previous TV series to be set in 1994, which was the year they entered college (Shin studied Chemical Engineering at Seoul National University). But they decided to change the year to 1997 after casting Sechs Kies member Eun Ji-won, since H.O.T. and Sechs Kies fandom was at its peak that year, which made an interesting juxtaposition to the failing Korean economy during the IMF crisis.^[28]

Shin and Lee felt there was enough material for another series, and in a bid to replicate Reply 1997's success, cable channel tvN announced a "sequel" or "second season" in April 2013.^[29]^{[unreliable source?]}^[30] Shin said, "The stories about people moving to Seoul are full of unpredictable incidents."^[31]

Despite the same writer and director, and the casting of Sung Dong-il and Lee Il-hwa, Reply 1994 is not a prequel of Reply 1997; it uses the same concept of coming-of-age drama combined with 1990s nostalgia, but with a completely new plot and characters.^[32] A novelization was published on January 17, 2014.^[33]

Soundtrack

Soundtracks for the drama consist of re-arranged popular Korean songs from the nineties. All re-arranged songs are well received by Korean general public and topped various Korean music charts.