I. Introduction
So Not Worth It is the Netflix's first Korean sitcom starring Park Se-wan, Shin Hyun-seung, Choi Young-jae, Minnie and Han Hyun-min which premiered on June 18, 2021. The series is directed by Kim Jung-sik, who previously worked on several hit Korean sitcoms like High Kick! (2006-07), High Kick: Revenge of the Short Legged (2011-12) and Potato Star 2013QR3 (2013), and Kwon Ik-joon of Three Men, Three Girls and Nonstop (2000–06), which teamed up for the birth of a global K-sitcom. Screenwriters Seo Eun-jung and Baek Ji-hyun previously worked on the first three seasons of hit sitcom Nonstop (2000–06).
II. Synopsis
New friends, new loves, and new experiences mix together inside a colorful college dormitory in Seoul that's home to students from around the world.
Se Wan is a teaching assistant who is in charge of managing the dorm. Jamie is a new student at the dorm from America. Sam is the son of the president of a tteokbokki global food chain who grew up in Australia. Minnie is a student from Thailand who has a lot of fantasies from watching Korean dramas. Hyun Min is a stateless Korean student who was not able to enter the dorm and has to commute five hours each day to school.
III. Teaser & Trailer
IV. Episodes
V. OSTs
VI. Reception
With a critical response, So Not Worth It took second place in Thailand and top 10 in Saudi Arabia. The series lead the revival of the Korean sitcom that has almost disappeared from Korea after 10 years through OTT service. It has gotten the scores of 8.0 on Mydramalist, & 7.5 on IMDB.
VII. Decider
Decider's Joel Keller compared the series to the NBC sequel Saved by the Bell: The College Years, stating that - It reminds us of Saved By The Bell: The College Years, except with everyone speaking Korean. Keller also described the series - that could fit among Netflix's American multi-cams as not suitable as a family sitcom, due to language and themes, but it's brightly-lit, the jokes go at a sitcom's pace, and there's even a laugh-track. After watching the series, and praising the Korean skills of all the non-Korean actors, the crew at Decider recommended viewers to stream the show.
VIII. Yahoo News
Bryan Tan writing for Yahoo! News praised the chemistry between the actors, and the performance of all of the foreign cast members speaking native and seamlessly fluent Korean. He wrote - It's definitely unique in the sense that it features such a diverse cast from all over the world. Tan concluded the review as - while the plot seemed to meander off here and there, the sitcom gives off a vibrant and comfortable feel akin to the American sitcom Friends and recommended, if viewers are looking for good fun and easy laughs, So Not Worth It is very much worth a watch.
VIIII. ReadySteadyCut
In his review for ReadySteadyCut, Daniel Hart found the laugh track unnecessary - So Not Worth It is not a laugh-out-loud experience, but it does tickle the soul. There's so much chaos and ridiculousness between these young characters that the only option is to enjoy the ride. Hart called the series - incredibly engaging and flavorsome, labelled the cast as brilliant; you can tell they had a wonderful time presenting a vibrant yet sometimes dysfunctional community, and applaud the writers who completely nailed the importance of a vibrant community. He pointed that the series signifies the growing wealth of K-drama and its impact on the original slate for streaming services. There's such a loyal community, and with these one-day hitters on Netflix, I hope that it brings in more audiences. Nostalgically, older audiences will feel armored by a series like this, while the young will find it oddly relatable.
VIIV. The Review Geek
Greg Wheeler of The Review Geek, rating the series 5.5 out of 10, opined that So Not Worth It is a real mixed bag of quality throughout 12 episodes and called it - Disney Channel silliness with a couple of well-timed comedic quips. Wheeler wrote, - With heavy exposition, an episodic format and one annoying laugh track throughout, So Not Worth It is going to be divisive. He concluded by saying that So Not Worth It doesn't quite ring true to its name but perhaps should have been called it's not quite worth it.
