Run On

Another drama i kept avoiding because of the rather boring narrative but i was pleasantly surprised, Run on is a very sweet romance drama starring Siwan and Shin Se-kyung. Siwan portraying a national athlete Ki Seon-gyeom stands up to bullying and violent practices between athletes and for that he is suspended from the team. Shin Se-kyung as an interpreter Oh Mi-joo meets Seon-gyeom as she is hired to translate for him. If course, they fall for each other. There are number of things i would like to highlight on this drama. First the character of Ki Seon-gyeom, a perfect athlete, incredibly high sense for integrity and fair play, stands up and looks out for his younger fellows. Innocent and in a good way, dumb. Siwan's voice is incredibly sweet, its tone and cadence was very pleasant to listen to. Another thing worth mentioning was the love story of the supporting roles, Seo Dan-ah and Lee Young-hwa. I dare to say that the dynamic and chemistry between those 2 were stronger than betwen the main leads.. and finally, in this drama you wont need to watch the annoying bickering and ridiculous characters that are present in every single kdrama, in Run on they are all more less normal ;) Overall very sweet slow burning romance, very good performance by all actors.

The initial setup was fine, not particularly exciting, but the second leads had amazing chemistry, and I found myself fascinated by the gormlessness of Im Siwan in his character. I really just wanted everybody to have a good ending and live well. They had to bring in some of the stereotypical K Drama development situations, and I keep wondering why the lead always wore such baggy clothes, but all in all a sweet and compelling view.

I would rate this show 7.5 stars, but deducted 1/2 star for difficulty of immersion. It took me 4+ episodes to get into the groove of the story, but once I got a feel for it, it was pretty good (though there are plenty of other Netflix KDramas which I personally found more appealing /enjoyable).

As an English speaker, the biggest barrier for me was actually the script. The plot itself was simple enough to understand, but the dialogue was a different matter. I got the impression that the wording was probably quite complex and clever in Korean, with lots of subtlety and nuance. However, as often happens with foreign films, the subtext which gives deeper meaning to the actual words was largely lost in translation. On top that, there were (ironically) also many places where the subtitle wording, despite being technically accurate, felt stiff or awkward (IMO). I kept having to pause to make sure I had read them correctly.

Aside from language issues, this film also features some characters with atypical personalities/backstories. For viewers who are already struggling to keep up, this adds yet another layer of complexity to the viewing experience, since the attitudes /reactions of the main cast often fall outside the norm (at least initially), and are that much harder to understand. Taken together, these issues could make it difficult to engage with the characters and leave viewers feeling like they are missing something.

However, if you are willing to persist, things do gradually become clearer, and there is a fair bit that is fresh /unusual about this film. The story has a lot going on besides the central romance(s), and delves into many social issues, including bullying, family abuse, and misogyny, and is sprinkled with plentiful acknowledgment of the gay community. If these are meaningful subjects to you and you don't mind having to read between the lines a fair bit, then this film may be perfect for you.

ROMANCE RATING: * * * 6/10. While YSW & SSK did have a certain level of chemistry, it seemed more like a cozy blanket than a raging fire, and lacked any sort of sexual tension. Personally I also might have wished for a bit more passion in the 3+ kiss scenes, but if you go for sweet and innocent rather than deep and intense, this should be just your cup of tea.

I'm really not a huge fan of stereotypical korean romance dramas cause I find them kinda corny and shallow but this drama is a masterpiece. From the acting to the story line and the individual characters there's nothing I can complain about. It's so refreshing to see healthy non-toxic relationships portrayed in a drama, they're mature, realistic and makes you feel like you're watching something genuine. All of the characters even the supporting cast are so complex and interesting and they each have their own uniqueness. This is truly one of my all time favorite dramas I laughed and cried so much, I hope everyone gives it a watch!

So it started off nicely and then honestly actress portraying Dan Oh caught my eye. Loved her chemistry with the second lead actor but I thought she was very young and there u go..Typical korean flawless beauty! How can someone look so effortlessly beautiful at 30? Then I found out she was actually a member of girls generation, one of the most popular girl band in Korea whose name u hv probably heard of if u r into k pop! Is there really something that korean ppl can't do? Way to go versatility.