Scripted series · tvN
Twenty Five Twenty One
When we were 18, we first called each other by name. At 21, we fell in love.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Kim Tae-ri
Na Hee-do
16 eps
Nam Joo-hyuk
Baek Yi-jin
16 eps
Bona
Ko Yu-rim
16 eps
Choi Hyun-wook
Moon Ji-woong
16 eps
Lee Ju-myoung
Ji Seung-wan
16 eps
Kim Hye-eun
Yang Chan-mi
16 eps
Choi Myeong-bin
Kim Min-chae
16 eps
Joo Bo-young
Lee Ye-ji
16 eps
Choi Min-yeong
Baek Yi-hyun
16 eps
Kim So-hyun
Adult Na Hee-do
16 eps
Park Yoon-hee
Baek Sung-hak
16 eps
Kim Young-sun
Yi-jin's Mother
16 eps
So Hee-jung
Seung-wan's Mother
16 eps
Choi Tae-joon
Jung Ho-jin
2 eps
Seo Jae-hee
Shin Jae-kyung
16 eps
Lee Ye-jin
Park Han-sol
16 eps
Heo Ji-na
Yu-rim's Mother
16 eps
Kim Dong-gyun
Yu-rim's Father
16 eps
Lee Chan-jong
Seo Joong-hyuk
16 eps
Choi Sia
Baek Su-yeong
16 eps
Baek Suk-kwang
Na Sung-jin
2 eps
Jung Yong-ju
Delinquent boy
2 eps
Lee Jung-ok
Fencing club coach
2 eps
Ri Min
Chinese restaurant owner
2 eps
Moon Woo-bin
Kang Ji-soo
3 eps
Bang Eun-jeong
Lee Da-seul
3 eps
Ok Joo-ri
Ahyeon Supermarket owner
5 eps
Jung Chung-gu
Myeongjin Book Rentals owner
3 eps
Bae Seong-il
Mr. Baek's ex-employee
2 eps
Ok Ye-rin
Na Hee-do (young)
3 eps
Kyung Da-eun
Ko Yu-rim (young)
2 eps
Kim Bum-joon
Ji-woong's friend
3 eps
Jo Nam-hee
Taeyang High School headmaster
2 eps
Seo Jeong-bin
Kim Jong-chan
2 eps
Yeon Seung-bin
Choi Won-hwan
2 eps
Kim Ha-ru
National team fencer
3 eps
Lee Seon-gu
National fencing team coach
4 eps
Jeon Yeong
Yogurt lady
2 eps
Lee Kyung-oh
UBS Network director
2 eps
Lee Dong-kyu
UBS Network Sports anchor
3 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Twenty Five Twenty One actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Twenty Five Twenty One reads strongest on Character Depth, Bingeability and Emotional Weight.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
In a time when dreams seem out of reach, a teen fencer pursues big ambitions and meets a hardworking young man who seeks to rebuild his life.
The run
Seasons
1 season · 16 episodes.
Season 1 · Complete
Season 1
202216 episodes
8.5IMDbThe dreams of two young people are crushed by an overwhelming financial crisis in the 1990s. But when they reunite at the ages of 25 and 21, the spirited pair finds friendship and affection in times of adversity as they venture into adulthood together.
Best episode · S01E09 Episode 9
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S01E01
Episode 1
When the IMF financial crisis threatens to slash Na Hee-do's dreams, she sets out to get herself transferred to another school with a fencing program.
- Directed by Jung Jee-hyun
- Written by Kwon Do-eun
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Heo Seok-wonProducer
- Kim Seon-taeExecutive Producer
- Park Hun-jooProducer
- Kim Young-kyuExecutive Producer
Writing
- Kwon Do-eunWriter
Direction
- Jung Jee-hyunDirector
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- NetflixStreaming
- Netflix Standard with AdsStreaming
If you liked this
Similar Series
Series that share this one's texture, not just its genre tags.
Like Flowers in Sand
2023
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo
2016
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
The Summer I Turned Pretty
2022
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
From Me to You: Kimi ni Todoke
2023
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Always Home
2025
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Guardian: The Lonely and Great God
2016
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Kiznaiver
2016
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Heartstopper
2022
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Last Twilight
2023
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
When I Fly Towards You
2023
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Stay With Me
2023
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Young Royals
2021
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Where to go from here
Watch Next
Our editors' suggestion for the show you should start tonight — and why.
Young Sheldon
2017
Need something lighter afterwards? Start here.
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
2023
Another invented world built with the same seriousness — start at episode one.
Tracker
2024
A crime story told with the patience of a novel.
Flinderella
2004
A palate cleanser with real writing behind the jokes.
The Chosen
2019
Keep the scale up — another series that spends its budget on screen.
The Rookie
2018
A crime story told with the patience of a novel.
Never stop watching
Related Collections
No related collections yet
This title isn't in a published Nutevio collection yet. It will appear here automatically as soon as it is.
Join the conversation