'My Youth': Song Joong Ki returns to screens; to star opposite Chun Woo Hee in bittersweet romantic-drama

Song Joong Ki is stepping back into viewers' hearts with

JTBC

's new romance drama '

My Youth

,' set to premiere on September 5. Known for larger-than-life roles in past thrillers and blockbusters, the actor takes a strikingly subdued turn as

Sunwoo Hae

, a man who once lived under the bright lights as a beloved child actor but has since retreated into the quiet life of a florist. In the newly released teaser, his character's journey resonates with themes of weariness and renewal. Surrounded by stacks of flowers in the early morning market, Sunwoo Hae speaks with the calm resignation of someone who matured too soon, carrying the weight of a past tangled with success and disillusionment.

Complex characters with fractured dreams

Opposite him is

Chun Woo Hee

as

Sung Je Yeon

, a woman whose ambitions of becoming a judge or lawyer unravelled, leaving her instead to navigate the relentless world of entertainment management. Their story intersects with

Mo Tae Rin

, portrayed by Lee Joo Myung, a once-promising child actress now uncertain of her place on screen, and

Seo Ji Hoon

as

Kim Seok Joo

, a privileged heir to an entertainment company who nonetheless wears the mark of a jaded adulthood. Each character embodies the tension between youthful aspirations and the compromises adulthood forces, grounding the narrative in struggles that feel deeply human, even when wrapped in the soft filter of romance.

The spark of a first love revisited

The drama's central driving force is the reunion between Sunwoo Hae and Sung Je Yeon after 15 years apart. In their tentative smiles and instinctive familiarity, the teaser suggests that first loves never entirely fade, even when buried under time and unfulfilled dreams. Their chance encounter shifts the quiet rhythms of their lives, sparking both nostalgia and the fragile hope of renewal. Meanwhile, a more tender subplot unfolds between Mo Tae Rin and Kim Seok Joo, whose exchange of pain and reassurance hints at unexpected warmth beneath the cynicism of adulthood. Such moments carry the promise of emotional depth, positioning the drama as less a glossy romance and more an intricate meditation on love and loss.

A drama of fleeting beauty

As the teaser closes with the line, "I just want my world to be beautiful, even if it's only once in a while," 'My Youth' reveals its central yearning: to capture beauty, no matter how fleeting, amidst the weary passage of adulthood. With its evocative premise and a cast that balances star power with emotional nuance, the series signals a shift toward reflective storytelling in

Korean drama

. For Song Joong Ki, the role marks not only a return to television but also a reminder of how much artistry can lie in life's quieter corners.