Oh! Youngsimi (2023) Episode 2

May 17, 2023

Episode 2 of Oh! Youngsim (also called Oh! Young Shim, Oh! Young-shim, and Oh! Youngsimi) resumes with Young-sim being floored when she sees her childhood friend, Kyeong-tae/Mark, walk in to be filmed on her dating reality show that his company is sponsoring. Unable to believe her eyes, she clumsily asks him if he is really Kyeong-tae. H says he is, but doesn’t seem to recognize her.

Jang-hwan, one of the show’s team members, rushes in and announces that one of the contestants has been in an accident and will not be able to come on the show. Disregarding the concerns of her team, Youngsim decides that she must cast herself as a contestant and heads to the make-up room.

They start to film the first date, and Youngsim is matched with Sam-doo, a fitness trainer. The two do not hit it off, and she almost yells at him but calms herself down after glimpsing at the camera. He starts making fun of her name and surprised that he has never heard of it, she begins to comically sing the theme song to the Oh! Youngsim cartoon, much to his embarrassment.

Youngsim suggests trying out a contest—eat a lot of spicy food in five minutes and then win free food for a month. Young-sim sloppily shoves food in her face while her date hardly eats anything. She finishes the food in time, and Chae-dong watches from behind the camera with admiration.

Meanwhile, Kyeong-tae and his date, Jeong-jin, are checking out a Kingvely location, and they are served pork cutlets. Kyeong-tae recalls Young-sim and him sharing pork cutlets when they were young: Young-sim harasses Kyeong-tae about not eating a spicy cutlet. Though he dislikes it, he forces himself to eat it.

Young-sim and her next date, a writer named Ho-Jae, share a pedal boat ride. She awkwardly tries to make small talk. Ho-jae tries to turn it into a deep conversation, but Young-sim suddenly gets sick from all the food she ate. She leans by the side of the boat, and Jo-hae accidentally pushes her overboard. Chae-dong jumps in to “save” her but then shouts that he can’t swim, leaving Young-sim to save him.

Kyeong-tae and his next date, Wol-sook, play arcade games. Wol-sook also knew Kyeong-tae from childhood. When there is a break, she tries to get him to confirm if he really is the little boy she once knew. He says nothing but pulls her away from the set, looking at her with a serious gaze, and she says aloud that his actions confirm his identity.

For the next date, Kyeong-tae and Young-sim have a karaoke battle. The person who scores the most points wins a wish that the other person has to grant. Kyeong-tae puts 100% into his performance and wins. For his wish, he asks for headphones. He recalls when he was a kid and saw another boy wearing the headphones she gave to Young-sim. He tries to take them from him, but the boy pushes him down.

Kyeong-tae asks Young-sim if the headphones remind her of something and comments that she doesn’t cherish others’ feelings. She mentions that he broke a promise to her.

All of the cast members must now vote on who they want to go on another date with. At the last minute, Young-sim insists that they state their feelings before voting. She and Kyeong-tae both hint that they want to resume their first love. All of the women select Kyeong-tae. But Kyeong-tae selects Wol-sook. None of the men selects Young-sim. Consequently, Young-sim’s family watches from home, disappointed.

Meanwhile, Kyeong-tae places the headphones that he won on Wol-sook while Young-sim looks on, twitching with anger.

The Episode Review

While Young-sim has let go of her grudge, Kyeong-tae is still holding on to his. Disappearing to another country for 20 years without any warning wasn’t enough damage, apparently.

This episode has some pretty funny moments, and in comparison to other rom-com dramas, this one is moving at a pretty fast pace. There are minimal slow or extended plot elements, and those that do exist are intended for comedic effect.