Main Cast: Jang Dong-Yoon, Seol In-A, Choo Yeong-Woo

Summary

Oasis is the one of the latest Korean dramas and follows the story of Lee Doo-Hak (played by Jang Dong-Yoon), Choi Cheol-Woong (played by Choo Yeong-Woo), and Oh Jung-Shin (played by Seol In-A). The drama takes place during the 1980s amidst South Korea’s political change and social unrest and starts with Lee Do-Hak and Choi Cheol-Woong growing up in a small countryside town. Although they grew up together, Do-Hak and Cheol-Woong live vastly different lives. Cheol-Woong’s family is famous in their town for their wealth and role in Korea’s independence while Do-Hak’s family were former servants of Cheol-Woong’s family. Despite his family’s humble background Do-Hak is incredibly smart and consistently alternates between number 1 and number 2 student with Cheol-Woong. However, given his family’s intricate relationship with Cheol-Woong, Do-Hak’s father forces Do-Hak to promise him that he will always yield to Cheol-Woong. 

The two boys’ lives forever change after meeting Jung-Shin. Although both Do-Hak and Cheol-Woong both want to date her, Jung-Shin promises to get to know the boys over the course of the year and choose the one she wants to date. As a result, the trio quickly become close friends and spend their time watching movies and causing all sorts of mischief. However, after an unexpected incident and tragedy, Do-Hak’s life is forever changed as he once again must sacrifice himself and his happiness for Cheol-Woong. Fast forward to 5 years later, Do-Hak begins to restart his life and forces Cheol-Woong to start re-paying him for his sacrifice. However, their love rivalry continues to persist as they both still have feelings for Jung-Shin. 

Thoughts

The first four episodes of Oasis have been released on Viki and the drama is definitely captivating as it explores the incredibly complex relationship between family, friends, and socio-economic classes. From the get-go the series shows how Do-Hak constantly feels burdened by his socio-economic status and his family’s former relationship with Cheol-Woong’s family. Despite being incredibly gifted, Do-Hak never fully showcases his ability as he is worried of upsetting Cheol-Woong and his father. However, things suddenly change once the duo meet Jung-Shin. From the moment she meets the duo, Jung-Shin prefers Do-Hak and Cheol-Woong plays dirty to win her affection. The drama perfectly sets itself up for the remaining episodes of the show as it foreshadows the trio’s future interactions. 

Additionally, Seol In-A did a phenomenal job at playing Jung-Shin. She strikes the perfect balance as feisty and independent, yet cute and lovable. Her fierce love desire to forge her own path and destiny while also upholding a strong sense of morals easily makes her the star of the drama as she fights for both Doo-Hak and Cheol-Woong to be the best version of themselves, despite their troubled pasts.