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Unmasking Corporate Realities: Friendship and Ambition's Empowering Journey
I was pleasantly surprised by this show, as it exceeded all of my expectations. Set in the world of business marketing, it combines elements from various genres such as life drama, business & romance.The story follows the journey of the female lead who lacks a college education but possesses eight years of marketing experience from small company. She manages to secure a position in big company like Seyong & strives to establish her name despite her lack of higher education.
Throughout the drama, several issues are highlighted, such as the challenges faced by pregnant women in receiving promotions after taking a break & the consequences of negative marketing etc.
The drama provides realistic portrayal of how large companies operate, showcasing office politics at both higher & lower levels & how they impact the lives of the employees.
One aspect I particularly enjoyed was the strong friendship between the two leads. They always supported each other unconditionally & their friendship scenes were heartwarming.
Even when the male lead rejected the FL's love confession, I was glad to see that they remained true friends.
I also loved the character of the second female lead, who held the position of CCO. Despite her high position, she displayed no arrogance or rudeness and was solely dedicated to her work.
The cinematography and color grading used in the show were excellent, providing a refreshing visual experience & boosting positive energy.
The upbeat OSTs & background music also helped elevate the mood.
After Misaeng, this business drama became my favorite. Its realistic portrayal of the subject matter was a major factor in my liking towards this drama.
In conclusion if you are interested in a drama that focuses on business, office politics & friendship, I highly recommend giving this show a chance without any hesitation.
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Some Romance but more life challenges in an office setting spolighting women in the workplace
The office scenes and situations were quite well portrayed and the idea of everyone RACE-ING constantly to some unknown was also well portrayed. While there were good examples of toxicity in the workplace it was good that they showed hope for positive workplace initiatives as well. The show felt mature in that sense.It is rare to find a drama without truly annoying characters. There were unlikable characters but none truly annoying to me. I especially enjoyed the lack of female characters who disrespect other female characters. In fact, women uplifting and supporting women is one a compelling theme for me.
The relationships also had a similar feel. We saw the tough parts but also the supportive friendships and colleagues. I did not really “feel” the romance between the main leads. They did, however, have wonderful friendship and a deep connection which I appreciated. I also appreciated the attempts further normalize diversity in the romantic interests (same-sex, age-gap etc). Most importantly (for me) was a SML that wore his heart on his sleeve in his personal and professional life.
The music was wonderful as well and “Waterfall” of course is my favourite. https://youtu.be/4h-DAdMTECU
The overall feel of the drama was a decent mix of rom-com and pertinent societal issues. I would have rated this higher if it was in the mood for thoughtful drama content. I was not ready for it to make me think as much as it did. Plus the main couple romance… so even though the suggested is 9, I'll go for 8.5.
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Not Good Enough
Korean Drama " Race " is an office drama with an okay plot.The drama is interesting at first, but the office politics and the annoying characters quickly get difficult to keep things enjoyable.
The story also adds a love triangle to the mix out of nowhere, shifting the focus from the female lead's struggles to be accepted as capable by her coworkers to her love life which didn't seem to be the important thing at the moment.
On the other hand, the performances were good enough, considering the material the actors and actresses had to work with.
So, overall, two stars out of ten.
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The friends we make along the way.
I was fully expecting an office romance but I found so much more, as a matter of fact, this aspect of the drama takes a step back and portrays a more real and nuanced reality about how corporate South Korea operates. I was pleasantly surprised.If I had to pick a genre for this drama, instead of office drama, I would go with slice of life instead because -at the end of the day- that's what it is. A portrait of adulthood and what's the best way to move through the world for each character. That happen to work for a big company.
The dynamics between the characters never get melodramatic or borderline makjang, instead we are presented people with different ambitions, social status, experiences. And they all merge in their common goal.
I really liked the friendship aspect of this drama, it is portrayed in a very mature and wholesome way, among people of the same age but also among different generations. They communicate with each other properly and respect what the other is working towards in their respective personal and professional lives. Even when they have their differences, they still are there for each other through everything.
Another highlight of the drama was the second female lead, portrayed by Moon Soo Ri, who is levelheaded, kind and humble. Her story arc was really fascinating to see develop in the screen as we think, at first, she's a woman who puts ambition before anything but by the end of the drama we can see there's more her decisions.
Technically speaking, the drama also excelled with the color palette chosen for each location/set and visually deliver what the characters are going through. A very nice complement to the solid acting given by everyone on this show.
If you are interested in dramas of these characteristics, I think RACE might be for you.
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An Office Flop
The drama failed to establish a good hook with its premise or with its first episode in general. Most of the drama was spent with an awful repetitive cycle of whining from the hardships in their workplace.The writer realized this problem and started to bring the characters' personal stories and relationships more into focus with the workplace aspect becoming less prominent as the drama went on. The workplace challenges couldn't hold their own weight to service the drama. The weak and uninteresting tension it tried to create made the matter worse. Coming from the same writer who wrote Hyena (2020), this drama wasn't good in comparison.Was this review helpful to you?
