Reply 1988

2015 • TMDB 8.7 • 1 season • 20 episodes • Comedy • tvN

Where to Watch

In the US, Reply 1988 streams on Netflix, The Roku Channel, Rakuten Viki, Netflix Standard with Ads and WeTV, each with 1 season. Availability checked against US listings on October 29, 2026.

Overview

In the Seoul neighborhood of Ssangmun-dong in 1988, five families share more than a street: they share meals, worries, celebrations and the everyday chaos of raising teenagers. At the center are five childhood friends — Deok-sun, Jung-hwan, Taek, Sun-woo and Dong-ryong — whose bond is tested by first love, fierce ambition, family pressure and the quiet ache of growing up. Reply 1988 moves gently between comedy and heartbreak, finding humor in borrowed food and neighborhood gossip, and real tenderness in parents who sacrifice silently for their children. The Seoul Olympics form a bright backdrop, but the show’s true subject is smaller and more lasting: the people who know you best and love you anyway. With warm performances and a loving eye for period detail, from cassette tapes to communal courtyards, it captures a moment in time while telling a universal story about family, friendship and the homes we carry with us long after we leave them.

Creator and Main Cast

Reply 1988 was created by Shin Won-ho and Lee Woo-jung. The main cast includes:

• Lee Hye-ri as Sung Deok-sun (20 episodes)
• Ryu Jun-yeol as Kim Jung-hwan (20 episodes)
• Park Bo-gum as Choi Taek (20 episodes)
• Go Kyung-pyo as Sung Sun-woo (20 episodes)
• Lee Dong-hwi as Ryu Dong-ryong (20 episodes)
• Ryu Hye-young as Sung Bo-ra (20 episodes)
• Choi Seong-won as Sung No-eul (20 episodes)
• Ahn Jae-hong as Kim Jung-bong (20 episodes)
• Kim Seol as Sung Jin-ju (20 episodes)

Seasons Snapshot

• Season 1 (2015) — 20 episodes, premiered November 6, 2015, and ended with “Goodbye, My Youth. Goodbye, Ssangmundong.” on January 16, 2016. Take a nostalgic trip back to the late 1980s through the lives of five families and their five teenage kids living in a small neighborhood in Seoul.

Why Watch Reply 1988?

• The Ssangmun-dong neighborhood feels like a real place, full of warmth, humor and shared history.
• Its coming-of-age story balances first love, friendship and family without ever turning cynical.
• The parents are just as richly drawn as the teenagers, giving the drama rare emotional depth.
• Period detail — from the Seoul Olympics to cassette tapes — lovingly recreates 1988 Korea.
• Twenty generous episodes let the characters and their relationships grow at a natural, satisfying pace.

Trailer

Watch the official trailer on YouTube.