| Record of Youth | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster | |
| Hangul | 청춘기록 |
| Hanja | 青春紀錄 |
| RR | Cheongchungirok |
| MR | Ch'ŏngch'un'girok |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Studio Dragon |
| Written by | Ha Myung-hee |
| Directed by | Ahn Gil-ho |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Nam Hye-seung |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Kim Seon-tae |
| Producers |
|
| Production company | Pan Entertainment |
| Original release | |
| Network | TVN |
| Release | September 7 (2020-09-07) – October 27, 2020 (2020-10-27) |
Record of Youth (Korean: 청춘기록) is aSouth Korean television series starringPark Bo-gum,Park So-dam, andByeon Woo-seok.It aired onTVN from September 7 to October 27, 2020, every Monday and Tuesday at 21:00 (KST), and is available for streaming worldwide onNetflix. It aired while Park Bo-gum was serving in theRepublic of Korea Navy as part of hiscompulsory military service.
At the time of airing, the series recorded the highest premiere viewership rating for aTvN Monday-Tuesday drama of all time, and became popular outside Korea through Netflix. It received praise for its depiction ofmillennials andGeneration Z, and was nominated forBest Screenplay for Television at the57th Baeksang Arts Awards.Forbes named it as one of the best Korean dramas of 2020.
The series revolves around the lives of three young people in the entertainment industry as they strive to achieve their dreams and love without despair.


In April 2020,Park Bo-gum confirmed his appearance in the drama directed by Ahn Gil-ho and produced byPan Entertainment.[3]Park So-dam andByeon Woo-seok were also confirmed to star.[4] The first script reading of the series took place in July 2020.[5]
Despite restrictions due to theCOVID-19 pandemic and Park Bo-gum's on-going application to fulfill hismandatory military service, principal photography proceeded without delays.[6] A departure fromKorean drama convention, filming of the series was finished prior to its premiere.[7]BMW Korea sponsored the vehicles in the drama.[8] Filming locations of the series became popular among viewers including the Starfield Library insideStarfield COEX Mall and Baegot Hanul Park.[9][10][11]
A scheduled online press conference attended by the cast on August 27, 2020 was cancelled due to concerns about the spread ofCOVID-19.[12]
Record of Youth aired onTvN from September 7 to October 27, 2020, every Monday and Tuesday at 21:00 (KST).[13] It was made available for streaming in 190 countries around the world throughNetflix.[14] While the series was airing, lead actorPark Bo-gum was serving theRepublic of Korea Navy as part of hiscompulsory military service.[15]
| No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Episode 1" | Ahn Gil-ho | Ha Myung-hee | September 7, 2020 (2020-09-07) |
| 2 | "Episode 2" | Ahn Gil-ho | Ha Myung-hee | September 8, 2020 (2020-09-08) |
| 3 | "Episode 3" | Ahn Gil-ho | Ha Myung-hee | September 14, 2020 (2020-09-14) |
| 4 | "Episode 4" | Ahn Gil-ho | Ha Myung-hee | September 15, 2020 (2020-09-15) |
| 5 | "Episode 5" | Ahn Gil-ho | Ha Myung-hee | September 21, 2020 (2020-09-21) |
| 6 | "Episode 6" | Ahn Gil-ho | Ha Myung-hee | September 22, 2020 (2020-09-22) |
| 7 | "Episode 7" | Ahn Gil-ho | Ha Myung-hee | September 28, 2020 (2020-09-28) |
| 8 | "Episode 8" | Ahn Gil-ho | Ha Myung-hee | September 29, 2020 (2020-09-29) |
| 9 | "Episode 9" | Ahn Gil-ho | Ha Myung-hee | October 5, 2020 (2020-10-05) |
| 10 | "Episode 10" | Ahn Gil-ho | Ha Myung-hee | October 6, 2020 (2020-10-06) |
| 11 | "Episode 11" | Ahn Gil-ho | Ha Myung-hee | October 11, 2020 (2020-10-11) |
| 12 | "Episode 12" | Ahn Gil-ho | Ha Myung-hee | October 12, 2020 (2020-10-12) |
| 13 | "Episode 13" | Ahn Gil-ho | Ha Myung-hee | October 19, 2020 (2020-10-19) |
| 14 | "Episode 14" | Ahn Gil-ho | Ha Myung-hee | October 20, 2020 (2020-10-20) |
| 15 | "Episode 15" | Ahn Gil-ho | Ha Myung-hee | October 26, 2020 (2020-10-26) |
| 16 | "Episode 16" | Ahn Gil-ho | Ha Myung-hee | October 27, 2020 (2020-10-27) |
| Record of Youth Original Television Soundtrack | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various artists | |
| Released | October 26, 2020[16] |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Language | |
| Label | |
Part 1
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Go" |
|
| Seung-kwan (Seventeen) | 3:34 |
| 2. | "Go" (Inst.) |
| 3:34 | ||
| Total length: | 7:08 | ||||
Part 2
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "You're In My Soul" |
|
| Chungha | 3:28 |
| 2. | "You're In My Soul" (Inst.) |
| 3:28 | ||
| Total length: | 6:56 | ||||
Part 3
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Every Second" (나의 시간은) |
|
| Baekhyun (EXO) | 3:33 |
| 2. | "Every Second" (Inst.) |
| 3:33 | ||
| Total length: | 7:06 | ||||
Part 4
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Shine On You" (그렇게 넌 내게 빛나) |
|
| Wheein (Mamamoo) | 4:28 |
| 2. | "Shine On You" (Inst.) |
| 4:28 | ||
| Total length: | 8:56 | ||||
Part 5
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "What If" |
|
| Kim Jae-hwan | 3:45 |
| 2. | "What If" (Inst.) |
| 3:45 | ||
| Total length: | 7:30 | ||||
Part 6
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Spotlight" |
|
| Bobby (iKON) | 3:36 |
| 2. | "Spotlight" (Inst.) |
| 3:36 | ||
| Total length: | 7:12 | ||||
Part 7
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Brave Enough" |
|
| Lee Hi | 4:05 |
| 2. | "Brave Enough" (Inst.) |
| 4:05 | ||
| Total length: | 8:10 | ||||
Part 8
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Just You" (너로 가득해) |
|
| J Rabbit | 3:51 |
| 2. | "Just You" (Inst.) |
| 3:51 | ||
| Total length: | 7:42 | ||||
Part 9
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "What My Heart Says" (내 마음이 그렇대) |
|
| Kim Se-jeong (Gugudan) | 3:51 |
| 2. | "What My Heart Says" (Inst.) |
| 3:51 | ||
| Total length: | 7:42 | ||||
Part 10
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "It's OK, Because It's You" (넌 그래도 돼) |
|
| Xani | 3:55 |
| 2. | "It's OK, Because It's You" (Inst.) |
| 3:55 | ||
| Total length: | 7:50 | ||||
Part 11
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Open Door" |
|
| Janet Suhh | 3:16 |
| 2. | "Still Dreaming" |
|
| Janet Suhh | 3:36 |
| 3. | "Open Door" (Inst.) |
| 3:16 | ||
| 4. | "Still Dreaming" (Inst.) |
| 3:36 | ||
| Total length: | 13:44 | ||||
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Remarks | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR | ||||
| "Every Second"(Baekhyun) | 2020 | 45 | Part 3 | [17] |
| "Shine On You"(Wheein) | 172 | Part 4 | [18] | |
| "What If"(Kim Jae-hwan) | 120 | Part 5 | ||
| "Brave Enough"(Lee Hi) | 186 | Part 7 | [19] |

The series received praise for its depiction ofmillennials andGen Z,[20][21] and was nominated forBest Screenplay for Television at the57th Baeksang Arts Awards.[22]Forbes named it as one of the best Korean dramas of 2020.[23]Park Bo-gum's performance in the drama was lauded and cemented his reputation as a "National Treasure"-level actor.[24][25]
Despite being in the military and prohibited to promote at the time of the show's airing, lead actorPark Bo-gum ranked first in overall topicality making him the "Most Buzzworthy Performer" (TV andOTT;Drama andEntertainment) for eight consecutive weeks after the series premiered perbig data analytics firmGood Data Corporation.[26] The show also topped topicality indices until the end of its run.[27] In addition, Park Bo-gum ranked 2nd inGallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year survey in 2020.[28] The success of the series drove the production companyPan Entertainment's stock up to 42%.[29]
On Netflix, it topped viewership rankings in several territories.[30]
A 6.362% viewership rating was recorded nationwide for the series's first episode, making it one of the highest premiere ratings ofthe network.[31][32] It achieved the number one viewer rating for TVN's first Monday-Tuesday drama. Since then, it has been quickly rising without a drop rating and maintained its first place in the same time slot, even after two competitors began airing.[33]

| Season | Episode number | Average | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | |||
| 1 | 1.406 | 1.569 | 1.708 | 1.919 | 1.677 | 1.694 | 1.681 | 1.863 | 1.722 | 1.843 | 1.794 | 1.762 | 1.800 | 1.795 | 1.764 | 1.999 | 1.750 | |
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share (Nielsen Korea)[34] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nationwide | Seoul | ||
| 1 | September 7, 2020 | 6.362%(1st) | 7.791%(1st) |
| 2 | September 8, 2020 | 6.802%(1st) | 8.217%(1st) |
| 3 | September 14, 2020 | 7.200%(1st) | 9.102%(1st) |
| 4 | September 15, 2020 | 7.823%(1st) | 9.626%(1st) |
| 5 | September 21, 2020 | 7.801%(1st) | 9.037%(1st) |
| 6 | September 22, 2020 | 6.995%(1st) | 8.409%(1st) |
| 7 | September 28, 2020 | 7.730%(1st) | 9.368%(1st) |
| 8 | September 29, 2020 | 7.734%(1st) | 9.225%(1st) |
| 9 | October 5, 2020 | 7.404%(1st) | 8.974%(1st) |
| 10 | October 6, 2020 | 8.238%(1st) | 10.063%(1st) |
| 11 | October 12, 2020 | 8.262%(1st) | 9.618%(1st) |
| 12 | October 13, 2020 | 7.798%(1st) | 9.439%(1st) |
| 13 | October 19, 2020 | 7.760%(1st) | 9.313%(1st) |
| 14 | October 20, 2020 | 7.772%(1st) | 9.617%(1st) |
| 15 | October 26, 2020 | 7.625%(1st) | 9.134%(1st) |
| 16 | October 27, 2020 | 8.740%(1st) | 10.728%(1st) |
| Average | 7.628% | 9.229% | |
| Award | Year | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APAN Star Awards | 2021 | Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Park Bo-gum | Nominated | [35] |
| Popular Star Award, Actor | Nominated | [36] | |||
| Asia Artist Awards | 2020 | Popularity Award, Television Actor | Park Bo-gum | Nominated | |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2021 | Best Screenplay – Television | Ha Myung-hee | Nominated | [22] |
| Publication | Year | List | Recipient | Placement | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forbes | 2020 | The 13 Best Korean Dramas of 2020 | Record of Youth | Included | [23] |
| Newsweek | A Beginner's Guide to the Best Korean Shows | Included | [37] |