Run On. Move On - A drama about life
Story: I love the flow of the story all through out. It is not a sports drama but about life. How you keep moving forward when it comes to career, love life and family issues. I commend the writer for illustrating life as a race. We all must keep moving forward in life though there's a lot of struggles, it's ok not to be swift, It's ok to change your line sometimes what matter is we stay on track and keep enduring it until you reach your goal. It's normal to get tired and that's ok just keep trying and keep moving. Just don't stop.Expect that this drama is not perfect but you can just ignore it and focus on the funny scene.
Acting/Casting:
I love everyone but I'm not fully satisfied with Shin Se Kyung acting. She's beautiful and ok sometimes but I think there's a better actress that can act better as Oh Mi Joo.
I love Im Si Wan acting as always. He's really good in every role he got.
Kang Tae Oh is also a versatile actor. He has a cute role here as Lee Yeong Hwa.
I am very satisfied with Sooyoung this time with her role. She's really great as CEO Seo Dan Ah.
Music:
All of the ost are ok it just that not all of them is my type of music. I recommend Run To You by LUCY.
Rewatch Value:
I will rewatch it again if I will miss to see Im Si Wan again hehe.
Overall: I am satisfied with this drama. One of my Top 20 of 2020 Korean Drama. I will recommend this drama to someone who feel lost and who's a fan of Im Si Wan, Kang Tae Oh and Sooyoung.
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Jam Packed with Themes
I was immersed in this since it got me to reflect on my own life but by the end of it I still felt something was missing. Perhaps it may have been because this was a splice-of-life drama so there was less story to develop.However, I was pleasantly surprised to see all the themes this drama was able to touch upon. These were some I noticed even if they weren't explicitly mentioned:
1. sexuality
2. family and socio-economic status
3. self-love/care and mental health
4. boundaries and personal space
5. masculinity and emotions
6. strong and independent females
7. disability (visible or invisible)
8. dreams and goals
9. environmentalism
10. friendship
11. justice
12. ageism and seniority
Just seeing all these themes in one drama today made me happy and I'm sure there were some I missed. It seems that shows/entertainment are moving towards a more positive direction where these topics (some more sensitive than others) can become more open for discussion. If you're curious about how these themes were incorporated, I would recommend trying this drama out. Perhaps you can notice more than I did.
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Slow burn slice of life
I would categorise this drama as 'slice of life'. It takes it's time to develop each scene and shows the characters life as it is, their struggles and frustrations.We can see the male lead's frustration. A sprinter who is fighting the hierarchy system in the sports industry where seniors bullying juniors is the norm. He tries to go against the system and fight with the abilities that he has while upholding his beliefs which could end his sports career. He exhibits extreme control over his emotions, I feel it's more like he feels dead inside probably due to his upbringing with an absent superstar actress mum and an oppressive dictating politician dad.
I do appreciate that almost everyone behaves like an adult. The don't go off the rails at any misunderstanding and do speak their mind when it calls for it. There isn't an instant love at first sight, this drama takes its' time to develop friendships and relationships. Although each episode runs around 1 hour, it does feel longer than that. Despite it's slow pace, it isn't boring.
If you're ok with slow burn dramas then this is right for you. I liked Run On, but i wasn't obsessed with. I enjoyed watching it but I don't think I'll crave watching it again.
As for the acting, I think this is the first Shin Se Kyung work that I liked and I think she should pick more of these strong adult roles although script availability is another matter.
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The most heartwarming drama ever!
I loved so much the actors, songs and story. Everything is so perfect, it is amazing see how they grow up, how they change during the drama, how the love can help you to be a better person, not in a bad way, but the best one. This drama it is full of lessons, and help us a lot to be better too. It is about selfcare, it is about learn how deal with the problems, it is about forvige. I think this drama it's not for everyone. It is slow, soft and the story is constructed little by little. This is for sure the best drama I've watched!!! So heartwarming that I am smiling during the write. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. Just perfect!!!!Was this review helpful to you?
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Slow, but it pays off.
This drama starts so slow. The first few episodes I just couldn't find it in myself to care. I couldn't understand what was happening a lot either, but maybe that's just me. An example: why did Dan-ah have to break up with Young-hwa? It took a while for things to click for me. To be honest I don't think it ever did? I'm still confused as to what the drama was really going for. The way they told the story is super confusing and sometimes I didn't know if we were going anywhere. Like the ending could've literally happened two episodes earlier and it would've made sense. So many things could've been omitted and it wouldn't have been any lesser for it.But in the end I grew to love the characters and it's a pretty satisfying ending. The last few minutes of ep16 feels like a high in happy hormones tbh. Siwan took some time to grow on me but eventually I liked him. Sooyoung and Kang Tae-oh stole the show for me though. I absolutely love their characters and how they portrayed them. I hated seeing them cry. :(
The OST was fine and idk the rewatch value bc I probably won't revisit it.
Overall I didn't waste my time watching it so that's great =)
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Running nowhere....
Run on! is a drama that has great leads with a boring story. The show focuses on its 4 leads and follows their day to day lives while dealing with their own external and internal issues.The poster main leads follow Ki Sean Gyeom, an athlete who grew up rich with a broken family and a Oh Mi Joo a translator who has no family and grew up with the challenges associated with it.
The Second leads follow Sea Dan Ah a young CEO looking to move up within her families companies who like Ki Seon Gyeom also has a dysfunctional family, and Lee Young Wha a young college student who paints for fun.
My Main gripe with this drama is that its basic and very predictable. The drama itself dragged on for way to long and struggles with pacing issues with every episode. The Main leads could have had their story wrapped up by Episode 8-10, and the second leads didnt get much development till the second half of the season in which their story could have been wrapped up within 2 episodes.
The shows first 10 episodes were great but episodes 11-16 were just a drag. 11-16 was when they shifted the focus to the second leads and their 'will they, wont they' dynamic. The second leads were good in their performances but their script and story was boring and was dragged out for way to long, Instead of the show focusing on the others interesting subplots.
This show would have benefited from being a 12 Episodes at 45min-50min a piece.
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super fun and interesting...
Run On tells the love story of Ki Seon-gyeom, a former sprinter who is working to become a sports agent, and Oh Mi-joo, a subtitle translator.Im Si-wan plays Ki Seon-gyeom. He is a professional runner who also quite socially awkward.
Shin Se-kyung plays Oh Mi-joo. She is a foreign film translator and subtitler.
Sooyoung plays Seo Dan-ah. She is a president alpha bitch but shows signs of a hidden heart of gold.
Kang Tae-oh plays Lee Yeong-hwa. He is a university student and talented artist.
I enjoyed the stories of both couples, they made me laugh and I thought they were cute. Also, I realized: sometimes it’s okay for a couple to just click and work, without all the fuss and dramatics, you know? It never felt like their respect or feelings for each other were in doubt or denied and I appreciated that. I think the second couple had more intensity but they (Dan-A) were more frustrating. I think I didn’t mind it because they weren’t the true lead/priority in the storyline, but if they were it could approach the border of toxicity. I do think the first couple is more likely to survive a pandemic together and that’s the way I judge how I feel about couples now.
Sun-Gyeom learns how to let the people around him in (friends and romance) & let people care for him like he cares for others. Though, I couldn’t tell if his obviousness was natural or forced to deal with the toxicity his family brought brought onto them. Also, re: the reason he left the sport: why so righteous?
I loved how Yeong-hwa eventually demanded respect from Dan-A, who also learns how to treat people better, all while remaining true to herself.
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Slow To Start
I started this in July 2022 & finished on April 30, 2022. I had to stop & restart a few times. It's a cute series and the actors were fun. Of course you have your typical Korean Chairman/Fathers who think they know the what's best for everyone around them.The ML in this drama took me a little while to get used to. The FL, I loved her from the start.
The rest of the supporting cast were very good. Lots of familiar faces here.
I'm not usually a Sports-themed drama person so I won't be rewatching.
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Not Like Every Other Rom-com
Honestly this drama is so refreshing like I really can't stress that enough, it's not too realistic as if like a reality check but it isn't completely fantasy like either, it is so far one of my most favourite romance dramas like idek what to say if anyone claims that leads don't have enough chemistry because they CLEARLY do and it's so sweet to watch , I especially like how the character of both the leads (male and female) is different and unique when compared to other romance dramas and that really adds to the refreshing feeling..and omg the dialogues are so well written and at some point you might just end up shipping female lead and the second female lead XD. This drama is SO good with their words and dialogues bro can't stress this enough. I dont really have many things i disliked about it except that it is pretty slow but then that doesnt really matter much unless you are not a fan of slow burn- overall tho this drama this is literally SO much to my liking and I AM SO GLAD that I started watching this, I have no idea why some people be not liking this I mean it's understandable if you're not a fan of romance but i-- you missing out on some REALLY good binge worthy drama. Another plus point is that it is one of the least cliche-ish dramas that I have ever watched. also a very motivating drama that gives you hope for life hahaAlso not to mention, the OSTs are so so good! i think i most importantly i liked how the story isnt too intense or too light and like a perfect balance between the two. even tho there are not many plot twists, its still very interesting and a really unique romcom. Oh also ye it has sport aspects too!
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Life is a Marathon, a Guide by Oh Mi-Joo (and Ki Sun Gyeom!)
This is the kind of drama that feels like a morning in spring and everything is slow and soft and kind.I originally liked Shin Se Kyung in QSD, and in this drama, she is as soothing as ever. Oh Mi Joo is a translator, and by some events she repeatedly met Ki Sun Gyeom in passing, before finally making acquaintance with him.
What I liked the most about this drama is that for me, this is a character driven story as much as it is a plot driven one. The characters aren't just pretty face. They have depth, principles, and different characterization that makes their scenes alive.
While Ki Sun Gyeom is more detached, calm and naive, Oh Mi Joo is honest, open and i think a bit wise as well. These contrast were my favorite one because in some way and another, they slowly find that they complete each other in a way as they navigate through life.
Both are kind and intelligent, and both are laid-back and simple.
While our other couple, the CEO Seo Dan Ah and Lee Yong Hwa has a more dramatic relationship, in a sense that Dan Ah is someone who's not familiar with intimacy and love, and Lee Yong Hwa is passionate and unabashed in his love. But they are cute and I think has more fire than the other couple because they both are too calm...
But all in all, I really recommend this if you are looking for a simple drama to watch in between study or work session, and whether you are in the right headspace of not, i think you can still enjoy this drama as it's not so heavy and conflicted.
Happy running!
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As light as you can get
If you're looking for a light, and i mean really light, romcom, this might be it. It delivered well with the cute and comedic scenes and i often felt myself swooning for and laughing with the characters in the moment. However, I think there is a lot of wasted potential due to how plot points were handled. Most conflicts were left with little to no consequence, so the heavy moments (which where acted well by the cast) often felt lacklustre in comparison to the acting. It appeared as if characters where crying their heart out for things that didn't warrant that much emotion. Maybe because the conflicts where rarely fleshed out but more on presented to tease you and then abandoned altogether, often giving a simple or random solution. Considering we had two couples that were made up of fairly interesting characters whose actors had pretty good chemistry, i felt like the series could have been so much more if it had not tried to keep every single conflict so light. Halfway through (or maybe even less than 8 episodes in), I lost interest in the first couple (runner and translator) and was only waiting for the development of the second couple (ceo and painter). Even the friendship between the two main female leads were more interesting for me than the first couple.Overall though, it wasn't all that bad. If you want anything light, that you can watch without much concern or with little attention, this really is for you.
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