Kdrama Review: Cheer Up

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Main Genres: Mystery, Romance

Sub-Genre: Comedy

This is officially my new favorite kdrama. I loved it so much and could simply not get enough of it. It had a lot of different aspects that came together to create this masterpiece (in my opinion of course). 

Continue reading for more details.

Synopsis: Do Hae-Yi (Han Ji-Hyun) is a student at Yonhee University. She is a bright and diligent person. Because of her family's poor financial situation, she places a priority on making money rather than school. One day, Do Hae-Yi suddenly joins cheering squad Theia. She only joins the club for money. The cheering squad has existed for 50 years at Yeonhee University. While participating in the cheering squad, Do Hae-Yi experiences the joy of campus life and meets various people from Theia including Park Jung-Woo (Bae In-Hyuk), Jin Sun-Ho (Kim Hyun-Jin), Tae Cho-Hee (Jang Gyu-Ri), Joo Sun-Ja (Lee Eun-Saem ) and Bae Young-Woong (Yang Dong-Geun). Bae Young-Woong was once a member of Theia and he is an alumnus of Yonhee University. He supports the cheering squad financially and emotionally.

Do Hae-Yi is an upbeat and cheerful person towards others. She cares a lot about her loved ones, but she has some trauma from the past. She’s optimistic and doesn’t seem to think she’s in danger until the issue escalates. She takes up a lot of side jobs in order to make money so her mom and brother don’t have to struggle. Money is everything to her and it’s her first priority. When she started university, she still prioritized finance over anything. The only way she joins the cheering squad, Theia, is when she was bribed into it by one of the previous (and rich) members of the club, Bae Young-Woong. 

Park Jung-Woo is the captain of Theia. He is very passionate about the cheering squad and is trying to make sure it doesn’t disappear as people don’t love it as much as they used to. They also don’t have enough members due to the three dangerous prophecies that were read about the group and so far, the first two have come true. This last one is especially dangerous as it is said that one member of the group would die this year. This prophecy seems like it’ll come true once Do Hae-Yi seems to be targeted by a mysterious person. Park Jung-Woo is determined to keep this club going and all of the members within it safe.

Jin Sun-Ho is also starting university this year. He has a lot of money and looks too. He could get any girl he wants but he wants Do Hae-Yi and Do Hae-Yi only. He joins Theia because of her joining it and he’s not ashamed to say as much when he got asked why he was joining Theia. He seemed a bit cocky since he kind of gave off the mindset of “I want it, I should get it”. Though, in reality he just wanted her love because he’s experienced loving his dad a lot as a child, especially, but not receiving love back. Jin Sun-Ho is also a nice person who is always smiling and laughing and getting along with the people around him. 

The plot of this kdrama was really intriguing and the perfect pace. It wasn’t too fast or slow and had the perfect mixture of romance and suspense. The suspense, especially wondering if someone’s actually going to die, started early on and was present for most of the show. It was an important aspect of keeping me invested in this show. It was a little twisty as well, making it seem like we finally knew who this mystery guy was going after Do Hae-Yi. When it was officially revealed who the creeper was and we got to know his motives behind why he did what he did, I was so shocked. His reasoning was so incredibly ridiculous, I honestly didn’t see it as a big deal. Maybe some people do, but I didn’t think he needed to take it to the extent that he did.  

The romance in this show was a love triangle. I hate love triangles because nine times out of ten I’m usually on the wrong ship, but I have to admit, that was a big reason why I flew through this show. I needed reassurance that my guy was endgame. Though, another reason why I love this kdrama is because this time I was on the right ship.  Obviously, I’m not going to say who as my reviews are spoiler free but for the most part it was kind of a no-brainer who Do Hae-Yi was gravitating towards in the show. Though, there were times where it seemed like she was swaying between the two boys. The guy I supported throughout this whole show I instantly liked when he was introduced in his first scene. I don’t know why, but I think it was the personality I really loved which made me support that character. Though, in this show I wouldn’t have been furious if she ended up with the other guy because both guys were thoughtful and caring.

 If you haven’t guessed already, the two love interests were Park Jung-Woo and Jin Sun-Ho. 

Jin Sun-Ho started noticing Do Hae-Yi and ended up falling for her. Do Hae-Yi was full of energy, quirky, and all smiles. It makes sense why he started to like her. Jin Sun-Ho was really persistent and bold when expressing his love towards her and made sure to make his emotions clear to her. He was really caring towards her and did give her his complete love. I have never seen a guy try this hard for a girl, if I’m being honest, and it was so sweet. His character, in general, was so sweet and his smile was the type of smile that makes me want to smile just because he was. 

Park Jung-Woo and Do Hae-Yi started off on the wrong foot as Park Jung-Woo caught her doing something she shouldn’t have and more incidents like this happened. This is how they got to know each other, so kind of like enemies. Though, it didn’t stay like this for too long. They did eventually soften up to each other and became friends but all the parts where they weren’t completely friends or enemies were my favorite because of the awkwardness. I really enjoyed Park Jung-Woo’s awkward moments as it made him seem like a regular guy. After he softened up, he was portrayed as caring and nice too even though, at first, he seemed kind of uptight. His passion and energy for Theia was incredible and admirable. 

I also just want to add how the friendship relationships/bonds were so touching in this show. Do Hae-Yi was best friends with Joo Sun-Ja. They were both perfect for each other as they’re energies matched with both of them being bubbly and bright. Their friendship was so close and so beautiful. They were there for each other when the other one needed it, especially Joo Sun-Ja, and also were thoughtful about each other. They had their ups and downs, but that still didn’t keep them from supporting and helping each other. The other members of Theia also quickly became close and were so helpful and sincere when Do Hae-Yi needed them as she was going through some hard things at home. Their genuine love and support for her made me a bit emotional as it was honestly so heart-touching and beautiful. 

Overall, this show was so good. I was obsessed with this show and made sure to make time to watch this daily amidst my busy schedules. As soon as I finished, I wanted to rewatch it. It has a special place in my heart, and I was actually sad to finish this show. It made me feel a variety of emotions and had me in a chokehold till the last minute of the show. Definitely go watch it if you enjoy love triangles, suspense/mystery, and drama!

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