Direction in K-Dramas can be tricky considering it can vary from genre to genre and it's the one who should be one of the most valued (as it usually goes with movies for instance) because it sets the tone and the rhythm for the whole thing. A drama like What's Wrong With Secretary Kim for instance, the script in there isn't exactly the most groundbreaking and interesting (and I like that drama a lot) but what really makes it that watchable and fun is the (no, I'm not going to say the Park Seo-Joon shower scenes!!) directing work and, of course, the great actors who portray the main couple with that amazing chemistry. In here the direction really helps to maintain the sarcastic and sharp tone that political comedies usually go for in movies, but is not heavily handed like let's say Something in The Rain, where the director in that probably wanted to make a 16-hour long art house movie and it was hard to go through the whole thing without feeling bored or frustrated.
Everything in this drama is well-balanced to the maximum of its own strengths, which don't exactly make it a perfect drama, but a very solid watch that you can be sold to the idea by moment one or confused and annoyed right-away too. As for script and acting, Nana really nailed it, her character is fascinating cause it goes against the 'screaming quirky female lead' towards something more of a 'chaotic good and loud female lead'. She is really charismatic and even if she is supposed to be this annoying lady, it's so hard to be annoyed by her (at least for me). I'm not familiar with the male lead actor, but he made a good job too and their chemistry was really matched, specially with clever changes in dynamics. The reverse 'male boss — female secretary' was so fun to watch and now I want a whole show of that, please a reverse Secretary Kim please please Korea.
Now concerning Romance X Political Plots. If you're in for romance and romance only, you may find yourself a bit frustrated considering the show isn't 100% focused on that aspect (it's more or less 50/50) even tho the couple smooch each other a lot in the kissing scenes. And yeah, there is a bunch of political plots and sub-plots. Not that Serious Political stuff, because they deliver most of the comedy tone in those, so it's a lightweight watch with a few low points and a frenetic rhythm. Give it a try, if you're still not feeling it by episode 2 or 3 you can drop it without guilt.
Was this review helpful to you?
The acting was really good, the leads had a great chemistry between then and we love a healthy relationship, they are the most obvious in love couple trying too keep their relationship a secret while is clear to everyone that they love each other and I'm ALL FOR THAT.
Extra kudos for Goo Se Ra for being iconic, her scenes are so good and I laughed a lot.
This drama is painfully underrated and it hurts because I had such a good time and loved watching it ♡
Was this review helpful to you?
A Genuine Effort at creating a unique Romcom Experience
Even though The Plot was rather stale and nothing original The personality of the cast and Director Shines In thisThe unique Cinematography adds so much more character to the story that it seriously lackef in the first place . Performance from Nana was surprisingly good (although sometimes the quirky aspect went too far.
The one of the very few times i checked the directors previous works rather than the actor's or the screenwriter
The politics in the movie was just ok nothing intresting..
Was glad not to see a subway ad in between show
Was this review helpful to you?
This drama is soooooooo natural!
I haven't finished watching it, but for me what stands out is that it feels very natural. Don't get me wrong, I know it is not. Actually, it is written and directed from a very histrionic angle, which plays good for the humor. But what I mean from natural, apart of the way the romance has developed so far, is that you can feel the heart of the characters, at least the most important ones.Se ra, for example, is totally transparent and I love that about her. She one of my most beloved female leads just because she is honest about everything she does and she has a very healthy self esteem.
Politics are even interesting in this drama, and even the sketchy characters, you feel you want to know what they are up to.
The music is great!
Side characters are funny too.
Overall, I can't help but recommend this show.
I will tell you more when it's over.
Have fun!
Was this review helpful to you?
Boring as hell
I don't understand why this show has such a high rating and so many positive reviews.The show was so boring that I couldn't stand it. I dropped at episode 12 and picked it up again to give a change... should have dropped it at episode 12.
The premise was boring, the characters were uninteresting and you couldn't care less for the story progression.
There was no chemistry between the main cast... The premise of abusive main heroin doesn't sound very appealing for me.
I watched the last episodes while browsing my phone and fast forwarding just to say that I completed it and give it a fair review.
I feel like there was some hype around a specific actor or actress and that's why there is so many 10's reviews, there is no other way to describe why is the rating so artificially inflated.
This goes to one of my worst kdramas that I've watched.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Cute couple
I finished this drama because Seo Gong Myung and Goo Se Ra. I loved their interactions and how natural and comfortable they were with each other in their relationship. This is the first time that I watched Nana and Park Sung Hoon in a drama and I think they did well. I hope to see more dramas from both.I am not much into political dramas so wasn't into that part of the story much. It was quite frustrating that Goo Se Ra did not get any credit for her work, it was always snatched away from her in the end, but I think it was realistic as she was not a politician and quite naive on how politics worked.
So going back to Gong Myung and Se Ra, I liked how they supported each other throughout everything.
Was this review helpful to you?
There were a lot of things that weren't shown or revealed but I think that's part of the beauty of the story like we can't judge people until you know the full picture and the writers gave us a chance to draw conclusions on our own.
The main character, I loved Sera. She's not perfect but tries her best, not smart but knows what's right and wrong. She loves her friends and family without showing it. The only thing that I didn't like about her was how she was really physically aggressive towards Gong Myung.
Gong Myung was stoic but with Sera with him, he found the perfect balance. I just love their relationship. There should be more couples like this in Kdrama, couples who talk about their problem and resolve them immediately.
The OST in this drama is one of the best!
Was this review helpful to you?
Weird in the best way
Into the Ring is a really cute story. If you’re in the mood for an underdog tale or if you’re having a bad day and just want to watch a girl and her long lost best friend be adorable, I’d totally recommend. But when it leaves the main cast, it’s not nearly as fun to watch.At first, I think this show knew that its strength was the couple at the center, and it never strayed away from them for very long. While not laugh out loud funny, the directing was off-kilter in a good way and the heroine was delightfully weird. I even liked the some of the odd side characters. The female lead’s two friends and the little boy they babysit are all fun to watch, though I wish we got to know them more.
I’ve been trying to pin down what didn’t work for me. It’s not the writing; I think the plot moves along pretty well. The story wasn’t slow, but it was just kind of boring… the cute scenes stopped being enough for me after a little while. The villains are the corrupt politician types, and while I think Ahn Nae-sang was good in his role, I didn’t particularly like or care about him or any of the other sketchy politician people.
Nana was pretty great, especially at the beginning. I'd totally watch Park Sung-hoon be a serial killer. These two made this show watchable. The OST is low-key, but it's got a couple songs I really liked.
All in all, Into the Ring was alright; it just needed a more compelling main conflict. It’s a simple show with some really sweet moments that I think I’ll remember it fondly.
Was this review helpful to you?
Honestly this Is Boring
The drama received great reviews, so I decided to give it a chance, only to discover that it was quite boring, and getting through it was tedious. There were just too many uninteresting political storylines that really didn't pay off. While I've enjoyed political dramas and consider myself a fan of the genre, this particular drama simply fell flat for me. I believe the best rating I can give it is a 6.5/10, although I feel that a lower rating might be more appropriate.The ending just felt out of place like the antagonist gave up, and we never really saw what clearly took him down. The chemistry between the main characters (ML and FL) was okay at best, and the romantic scenes didn't stand out. Furthermore, oftentimes, the story progressed leaving multiple loose ends with no tie-ins. For example, there was a side story where FL friend who owns the comic book shop meets the girl she injured, but it added no value whatsoever to the main plot.
I'm writing this review because the other positive reviews didn't make any sense to me, and I wanted to provide a more balanced perspective on my experience with the drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
serotonin boost
Usually it takes me 1 to 2 weeks to finish a drama but it only took me 5 days to me finish watching Into The Ring. I honestly enjoyed every second of this drama, most of the time I was giggling like a child because of sera and gongmyung. I love their banters so much and the little things that they do for each other. The way that their relationship developed feels so natural, they were also able to bring out the best version of themselves together.The story was a good balance of politics, romance, and comedy. the characters were interesting and a breath of fresh air. Goo Sera embodies the youth of today, hopeful and determined. Seo Gong Myung is also a refreshing male lead. He may seemed stoic and uptight but he was just shy and cute bean. I was always looking forward to the scenes where he's smiling.
On other rom-com dramas, when the leads are already together, their relationship becomes flat and corny. However, Sera and Gong Myung were able to maintain their good dynamics. Their on-cam and off-cam chemistry is also cute! I'm also glad Sera and Gong Myung were able to avoid that cliched i-love-you-but-we-need-to-break-up plot around ep 13/14 skjdksd. Their healthy and supportive relationship is definitely the best among the kdrama pairings!
Into The Ring is undoubtedly one of the best dramas this year and probably my current favorite rom-com drama. Bonus points on the cinematography, loved the wide-angled shots!
Was this review helpful to you?
Quirky Take on Politics
This certainly wasn't a drama that was about taking itself seriously. I like the style of this drama but the execution of the plot was inconsistent at times. Being silly, in essence, gives the drama leeway on this fact.I was onboard with the quirky female lead because it was a new take on the typical K-Drama Kongji & Patji dramas. She's a lot stronger FL than most, and not trampled on hardly at all. Her setbacks are all situational and manipulated but not from a specific case of those "out to get" her.
Towards the middle her character turns less dogmatic about the things that drove her choices which felt a bit out of character. Even the ML pointed it out in passing a few times. I was irked a bit, but they brought her back around to be more in character, and she never lost her passionate side or strength one time. Being quirky sort of meant spacy and she flies from one train of thought to the other but not in a ditzy or chaotic matter. It's just more messy at times.
The ML is stoic but with a heart of gold. He's the calm in the storm. The passion for doing the right thing match the FL, and they make great leads with wonderful interactions that come across genuine and natural. It's refreshing, and the drama around them drives them forwarding as characters rather than stymie them.
This was a fun ride although the ending felt as if they production didn't know how to end things. The time jumps were a bit awkward, and the characters either when in a strange direction or ended up, after all that forward movement, back to where their character's personality was before everything started. But, again, this is on the quirky side so it played to the style of the drama. I just prefer to have a more wrapped up ending.
Was this review helpful to you?
Cute Political office Rom Com
I started watching this after I saw Park Sung Hoon in Diary of a Psychopath and he definitely did not disappoint in this one! His character is totally the opposite to that as he plays a cute, shy office worker here.The two main leads have really good chemistry and there were some really cute and funny moments between the two. I love Nana's cute laugh and her acting was really good.
Overall this was a pretty easy to watch drama. A bit on the political side but it was interesting as you see the tough side of being a politician. The storyline was good though the last two episodes might be slightly draggy to some who get bored really fast. But like I said, it was an easy watch so I was ok with it.
Also, this drama had nice OSTs.
Was this review helpful to you?
