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This review may contain spoilers
What is your goal in life?
This is an exceptionally human drama, and I loved it from beginning to end. What impressed me most was how deeply developed the characters were by the end! You can actually feel the momentum of their growth as the story progresses, and that’s something surprisingly rare. Every character changes, struggles, and learns, and those transformations feel completely earned.
At its core, the drama is about friendship, ambition, life goals, and the dreams we spend years chasing. Dong-man is such a profoundly human character. He is flawed, desperate, insecure, and often lost, but that is exactly what makes him so relatable. He carries a deep inferiority complex and constantly wants to be seen as an equal to those around him. In his own unorthodox way, he keeps trying to prove his worth, even when his methods are questionable. You can feel how desperately he wants to make a movie and prove himself. Through his journey, the drama explores a truth many people experience: we often believe that achieving a certain goal will finally make us happy, only to discover that reality is more complicated. The accomplishment feels good, but it is not exactly what we imagined. What matters most is the person we become in the process. By the end, Dong-man has truly found himself and finally overcomes many of the insecurities that have defined him for so long.
One of my favorite aspects of the drama was Dong-man’s relationship with Park Yeong-sae. Their friendship feels painfully real. They were best friends when they stood on equal ground, but once one of them became successful while the other was seen as a failure, everything changed. They became competitors as much as friends. They judged each other, compared themselves constantly, and gradually lost parts of the people they used to be. It is an uncomfortable but honest portrayal of how relationships can be affected by success, failure, and insecurity.
His relationship with Euna is also worth mentioning. He genuinely cares about her, relates to her in many ways, and often wants to be her protector. Euna carries her own trauma surrounding abandonment, and it is heartbreaking to watch how much she struggles with her sense of self. Despite her pain, she remains a voice of kindness and empathy. She instinctively understands the feelings of others, even though she has spent much of her life cutting through people’s stories and emotions with harsh honesty—a trait that was even considered a talent in her profession.
As the drama progresses, she becomes increasingly aware of how deeply words can wound others, and there is a visible discomfort whenever she is forced to do that again. At the same time, she struggles to understand her own emotions. She is deeply sensitive and easily hurt by criticism, rejection, and the inhumanity she encounters in others. Her journey is one of self-discovery and emotional awareness. By the end of the drama, her growth is remarkable: she is finally able to recognize, understand, and name her feelings instead of expressing them only through physical symptoms. Her character development is subtle, realistic, and incredibly moving.
The drama understands that life is messy. We all have goals. We all carry trauma. We compare ourselves to others, even when we know we shouldn’t. We are hurt by people’s words, and yet we keep trying. Every character in this story is fighting for something, and every struggle feels meaningful.
The relationship between Dong-man and his older brother was particularly moving. The two brothers are almost opposites. While Dong-man still clings to dreams and possibilities, his brother is focused entirely on survival. His desperation is heartbreaking. He works endlessly just to fill the gaps in his life and keep going. He doesn’t live to enjoy life anymore; he lives simply to endure it. Their contrast feels very true to the experience of many siblings. The older one often carries burdens that are different from those of the younger one, but both are trying in their own way. That simple act of continuing to try becomes one of the drama’s most powerful themes.
If I were rating purely based on rewatch value, I would probably give it a 5/10. Not because it isn’t excellent, but because it is such a heavy and emotionally exhausting watch. You can feel the characters’ desperation, disappointment, and hopes as if they were your own. It activates your empathy in a way few dramas manage to do. I genuinely don’t know if I’ll be able to rewatch it, because it hurts in a way that feels almost too real. 🥲
Ultimately, this is a drama about people trying their best despite failure, disappointment, and uncertainty. It is deeply human, deeply compassionate, and unforgettable. I don’t know if I’ll ever rewatch it, but I know I won’t forget it. Few dramas have made me empathize so deeply with every character’s struggles, failures, and hopes. It hurt, but in the best possible way.
At its core, the drama is about friendship, ambition, life goals, and the dreams we spend years chasing. Dong-man is such a profoundly human character. He is flawed, desperate, insecure, and often lost, but that is exactly what makes him so relatable. He carries a deep inferiority complex and constantly wants to be seen as an equal to those around him. In his own unorthodox way, he keeps trying to prove his worth, even when his methods are questionable. You can feel how desperately he wants to make a movie and prove himself. Through his journey, the drama explores a truth many people experience: we often believe that achieving a certain goal will finally make us happy, only to discover that reality is more complicated. The accomplishment feels good, but it is not exactly what we imagined. What matters most is the person we become in the process. By the end, Dong-man has truly found himself and finally overcomes many of the insecurities that have defined him for so long.
One of my favorite aspects of the drama was Dong-man’s relationship with Park Yeong-sae. Their friendship feels painfully real. They were best friends when they stood on equal ground, but once one of them became successful while the other was seen as a failure, everything changed. They became competitors as much as friends. They judged each other, compared themselves constantly, and gradually lost parts of the people they used to be. It is an uncomfortable but honest portrayal of how relationships can be affected by success, failure, and insecurity.
His relationship with Euna is also worth mentioning. He genuinely cares about her, relates to her in many ways, and often wants to be her protector. Euna carries her own trauma surrounding abandonment, and it is heartbreaking to watch how much she struggles with her sense of self. Despite her pain, she remains a voice of kindness and empathy. She instinctively understands the feelings of others, even though she has spent much of her life cutting through people’s stories and emotions with harsh honesty—a trait that was even considered a talent in her profession.
As the drama progresses, she becomes increasingly aware of how deeply words can wound others, and there is a visible discomfort whenever she is forced to do that again. At the same time, she struggles to understand her own emotions. She is deeply sensitive and easily hurt by criticism, rejection, and the inhumanity she encounters in others. Her journey is one of self-discovery and emotional awareness. By the end of the drama, her growth is remarkable: she is finally able to recognize, understand, and name her feelings instead of expressing them only through physical symptoms. Her character development is subtle, realistic, and incredibly moving.
The drama understands that life is messy. We all have goals. We all carry trauma. We compare ourselves to others, even when we know we shouldn’t. We are hurt by people’s words, and yet we keep trying. Every character in this story is fighting for something, and every struggle feels meaningful.
The relationship between Dong-man and his older brother was particularly moving. The two brothers are almost opposites. While Dong-man still clings to dreams and possibilities, his brother is focused entirely on survival. His desperation is heartbreaking. He works endlessly just to fill the gaps in his life and keep going. He doesn’t live to enjoy life anymore; he lives simply to endure it. Their contrast feels very true to the experience of many siblings. The older one often carries burdens that are different from those of the younger one, but both are trying in their own way. That simple act of continuing to try becomes one of the drama’s most powerful themes.
If I were rating purely based on rewatch value, I would probably give it a 5/10. Not because it isn’t excellent, but because it is such a heavy and emotionally exhausting watch. You can feel the characters’ desperation, disappointment, and hopes as if they were your own. It activates your empathy in a way few dramas manage to do. I genuinely don’t know if I’ll be able to rewatch it, because it hurts in a way that feels almost too real. 🥲
Ultimately, this is a drama about people trying their best despite failure, disappointment, and uncertainty. It is deeply human, deeply compassionate, and unforgettable. I don’t know if I’ll ever rewatch it, but I know I won’t forget it. Few dramas have made me empathize so deeply with every character’s struggles, failures, and hopes. It hurt, but in the best possible way.
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