The South Korean 10-episode BL series “The Eighth Sense” has a short but emotional story, with each episode lasting an average of 30 minutes. The series addresses themes such as gay love, BL, university life, loneliness, and emotional exploration. It is among the boys’ love stories with a dramatic subtext. I always love stories with a subtext, themed around growth and finding oneself. Since series have no expiration date, good drama is always watched.
It is a more realistic and serene series than the usual “idol” focused youth series in Thai BL dramas. The reason for this is that it is in the South Korean style. Although the locomotive of the BL genre is Thai dramas, K-BL can offer more mature stories. Also, I love melancholic and troubled characters.
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Plot and Summary
Ji Hyun, who is newly starting university, is a timid and introverted person who moved to Seoul from a small town. In this new life gained with the support of his family, although he has to stay in the same house with his childhood friend, his careless attitudes are literally a burden for Ji Hyun.
While continuing his school during the day, he works in a small restaurant in the evenings to make a living. While he struggles to get used to city life, the loneliness he falls into grows even more.
Breaking up a dispute among a group of youths coming to the restaurant where he works one evening, Ji Hyun meets Jae Won in the meantime. Jae Won is someone who recently returned from the military, extroverted, but with a complex inner world. After this first encounter, their paths cross more than once; they begin to see each other on the university campus as well.
While Ji Hyun tries to adapt to city life on the one hand, on the other hand he tries to make sense of his feelings towards Jae Won. The duo joins the university’s surfing club together and goes on a trip. Ji Hyun, who begins to learn surfing, starts to get to know himself anew through the new bond he established with both nature and Jae Won. But a kiss on the beach one night complicates everything. Was it a real feeling, or just a momentary intoxication?
Following this kiss, the distance between them increases. Ji Hyun’s confusion, the suppressed emotions Jae Won tries to resolve within himself, and the expectations coming from their surroundings will put these two youths’ story into an intricate state.
Review and Commentary
The Eighth Sense: Is the Series Worth Watching?
Yes, the series is definitely worth watching. Slightly outside the general BL tropes that BL viewers have seen a lot and are almost fed up with, it is a calm and slow-progressing series. You will watch a real fiction without screaming fan bases, fake actings, overly luxurious places, and overly sappy relationships.
One of the best and most sincere productions among South Korean BL series. If you are going to choose among hundreds of movies, you can choose this series; that’s what I did. With its emotional narrative, calm plot, and handling of the characters’ internal conflicts, it wouldn’t be out of place if I call it a breath-taking alternative for the viewer bored of the stereotypical structure of general youth, university BL series.
Far from ostentation, closer to real life, and emotion-focused, this production tells the fragility of relationships, the ambiguity of orientations, and the emotional chaos of youth in a plain but effective language. Coming not with high expectations but with a sincere story, this series offers an average but heartfelt viewing, I can say. A sincere story. As a viewer, slowly becoming part of the characters’ inner worlds is truly impressive.
In the series, the characters and their chemistry are also quite successful. The contrasts and emotional closeness of both characters complement each other very well. You can add “The Eighth Sense” to your watch list right away; I can tell you in advance that you will definitely not regret it.
Character Dynamics Are as Follows
Seo Jae Won is a character who tries to create space for himself in university life, carrying deeper and suppressed emotions. Kim Ji Hyun, on the other hand, is a youth who appears calm and sensitive from the outside, but harbors strong storms in his inner world. The encounter of the duo forms the beginning of a bond completing each other’s missing parts.
Jae Won’s effort to hide his emotional wounds and Ji Hyun’s sensitive approach towards understanding him grow the attraction between them on a natural and fragile ground. As they get closer, the processes of confronting past traumas and building trust determine the main axis of their relationship. In my opinion, these contrasts and the theme of growth make the series worth watching. Being able to read the inner worlds of the duo is important.
More Details
The Eighth Sense (여덟 번째 감각) is a series themed around the search for identity, belonging, trauma, and healing, set in a university environment. I have always loved these themes. The emotional transformation of the characters and overcoming their personal resentments was also a good viewing for me. The 10-episode K-BL drama is streaming on Viki. Technical details are on the MyDramaList site.
