Snowdrop is a love story wrapped in a war. Set in 1987 Seoul, it follows Eun Yoeng-ro, a female university student, and Lim Soo-ho, a graduate student who shows up at her dorm covered in blood. The series airs on JTBC, running 16 episodes from December 18, 2021, through January 30, 2022, airing Saturday and Sunday at 22:30 KST.
The premise is simple. The execution is anything but. Soo-ho is not who he claims to be, and the series spends its runtime uncovering what that means. The setting matters too. This is 1987, a year of mass protests and political upheaval in South Korea, and the show leans into that history rather than hiding behind it.
Trailer, via Rotten Tomatoes TV.
Soo-ho and Yoeng-ro
The heart of Snowdrop is the pairing of Jung Hae-in as Lim Soo-ho and JISOO as Eun Yoeng-ro. Their chemistry carries the early episodes, and the tension between them comes from the secrecy of his identity as much as from any physical distance. The show trusts its audience to sit with uncertainty about Soo-ho’s true role, and that patience pays off.
Snowdrop takes place in 1987, a pivotal year in South Korean history.
The Cast Around Them
The supporting cast fills out the world around the leads. Yoo In-na plays Kang Cheong-ya, Jang Seung-jo plays Lee Kang-moo, and Yoon Se-a plays Pi Seung-hee. Kim Hye-yoon plays Kye Boon-ok, Eugene Jung plays Jang Han-na, Huh Joon-ho plays Eun Chang-soo, Park Sung-woong plays Nam Tae-il, Kim Min-gue plays Joo Gyuk-chan, Choi Hee-jin plays Yoon Seol-hee, and Kim Jong-soo plays Kim Man-dong. The casting was announced over months, with Kim Hye-yoon confirmed in June 2020, JISOO confirmed in August, and Jung Hae-in’s offer reported in August before his official joining in October.
The Political Context
The series does not shy away from its historical setting. The June 1987 Democracy Movement, the December 1987 democratic elections, and the end of the Fifth Republic are all referenced directly. That grounding gives the romance weight. These two students are not simply falling in love; they are doing so against a backdrop of national crisis.
The Romance Itself
The romance is the engine, but the danger is the fuel. Soo-ho’s true identity remains a mystery for most of the series, and the show keeps the audience guessing. The political stakes mean the relationship cannot exist in private for long. That pressure makes the quieter scenes land harder.
The Production
The series looks and sounds like a high-budget production. The costumes, sets, and lighting all point toward a careful recreation of 1987 Seoul. The music matches the tone, moving from quiet intimacy to tense urgency as the plot thickens.
The Verdict
Snowdrop succeeds because it commits fully to both its romance and its politics. It does not treat the historical context as window dressing. It treats it as the room the characters breathe in.
The series runs 16 episodes, and each one builds on the last. The final stretch resolves the mystery of Soo-ho’s identity while also delivering on the promise of the romance. It is a satisfying conclusion, even if the resolution leaves some questions open.
This is a strong entry in the genre, one that rewards attention and patience. The acting is consistent across the board, and the writing holds together a story that could easily have fallen apart under lesser hands.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.
