Run On (2020)

Da questo drama mi aspettavo molto di più.

La storia si svolge in maniera troppo lenta per i miei gusti e, forse per questo, non è riuscita a coinvolgermi. I protagonisti, anche se molto bravi, non sono riusciti a farmi immergere nella storia. Lui, interpretato da Im Shi Wan, è un uomo/bambino dolce e imbranato ma veramente troppo strano. Il suo personaggio mi è piaciuto ma la sua crescita personale è minima. Lei, interpretata da Shin Se Kyung, mi è piaciuta meno; l’ho trovata a tratti irritante e troppo confusionaria. La loro storia d’amore, ai miei occhi, rimane fredda e distaccata.
Mi è piaciuta la coppia secondaria che da un po' di brio al tutto. Il finale davvero troppo lento.
Un drama da guardare senza troppe aspettative, e che un po' mi ha delusa.

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NO

Mi ci sono voluti mesi per finire questo titolo, poiché la visione è veramente estenuante e a parer mio insostenibile. La storia non parla di assolutamente nulla, la noia più totale , accompagnata poi da un protagonista veramente strano che mi ha dato molto fastidio per tutto il drama. La main couple non ha un minimo accenno di chimica,, la loro storia è stata forzata tantissimo ma soprattutto è stata scritta veramente con i piedi.. L'altra coppia un po' meglio ma comunque niente di che. Non volevo essere così cattivo, però veramente ho provato a farmelo piacer in tutti i modi ma non ci sono riuscito. Se non volete sprecare 16 ore della vostra vita, non vedetelo.

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Obiettivi e sogni

Non è sicuramente l'azione a fare da protagonista in questo drama.
Quattro i personaggi principali, con storie diverse eppure alla fine si trovano tutti insieme a scontrarsi con le loro paure, le loro debolezze e i loro sogni.
L'ho apprezzato, è stata la mia confort zone per una settimana, non l'ho divorato, mi sono presa il giusto tempo per guardarlo, per apprezzarlo.
Mi è piaciuta la storia tra Dan-ah e Young-hwa più di quella tra Mi-joo e Seon‑gyeom. L'ho trovata vera, possibile, spensierata e dolce.
Alla fine forse mi aspettavo di più da questo drama.

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Run On isn't race it's journey.

We always run towards our goals, desires, and our dreams to find happiness and satisfaction and Run On represents the journey of it. It's not the drama that has a lot of drama, extraordinary plot, thrill, action, or suspense but still, it's special for its realisticness. It's so sweet that you might get diabetes and pain in the muscles of the chin because of smiling. It's like a very sweet white chocolate with 99% without bitterness and that remaining 1% is Seon Gyeom's Father.

The plot: As I stated earlier that it doesn't have an extraordinary storyline that'll impress you but still it's refreshing and different It just goes with the flow without major twists, turns, and surprises but still it's unpredictable cause you don't know what'll happen next. The writing is the strength of drama well-written script and characters even the flaws of character were perfect and hats off for the conversations, each conversation has its own value and meaning. For me, this has the best conversations and dialogues. But still, the story is not a strong point cause it doesn't have one.

Characters and cast: The best of this is its a character with all different personalities, backgrounds, and with different backstories just blend when they are together and the more admirable thing is each supporting character has its own value it's like joining all pieces of a puzzle together for the perfect picture. We see character development in each episode. The writer did a great job in writing characters it's indeed a key point of this. The cast couldn't be more perfect than this all were perfect for each role. I would really appreciate I'm Si Wan especially for me he did the best job portraying Ki Seon Gyeom his expression and acting were just amazing he was the best for this role. Now I'm head over heels for him and his killing smile. The visuals of all actors are great with their great acting skills.

OST/ Soundtrack: The ost and soundtrack both were good and at the perfect moment. I really loved 'Sorry' especially.

Conclusion: Overall it was refreshing, unique, and unpredictable which also going to be one of my favorites. I really enjoyed the show and smiled a lot but it's not everyone's cup of tea. It's a slice of life and a character-driven plot. The ending is perfect but I guess it's too much perfect and overflooded with sweetness. 'Run On' not only entertain but it's much more than that.

P.s. - It does have many weird + funny + hilarious moments and that candy movie was great!

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“Why do you Run?”

This drama is about two adults who met in the oddest way, but at the perfect time - one who is an orphan and has been living only for herself, and one who has been living for others to the point that he's left with nothing for himself. And no, they did not need each other nor did they need saving, but they grew as their own person when their worlds collided. This drama follows their journey of self discovery and self love. This drama does not have your usual tropes, angst, and fluff (at least at the beginning- wait for it!), it doesn't have a major conflict, but it just shows the characters' day-to-day lives. It shows a mature and realistic take on relationships. It shows that we are simply the protagonists of our own lives. Moreover, It shows the importance of finding yourself and loving yourself first before you are able to give yourself to others. The cherry on top? Their chemistry. The main leads' chemistry is THROUGH THE ROOF so be prepared to fall in love with them.

As the title might suggest - this isn't a sports drama, but a slice-of-life romcom. It's funny, endearing, impactful, and heartwarming. It carries so many life lessons and touches on many sensitive issues like sexuality. As the FL is a movie translator, this also includes a lot of classic movie references/ parodies that enthusiasts may like. It may be slow at the beginning but it's because of the many layers and depth that will be unveiled as the drama progresses. This is also full of parallelism and symbolism that might require reflecting before you fully understand because that's how rich and detailed the writing is. This is a dialogue and character driven drama, which might not be for everyone, but it's as good as it gets. This drama's charms are the raw, rich, refreshing, and excruciatingly honest dialogues, the witty jabs (trust me the humor is very, very well written), and how the story circles back to its title - Run On. Run On, move forward - even if it life gets difficult, you can always slow down, just don't give up. Despite your traumas, life must go on.

This drama is so healthy, real, and good for the soul - no toxic relationships or toxic masculinity. The men: the male lead is a character we haven't seen before - he's odd, awkward, but in every way charming. He is always ready to lend a helping hand to others. He has a hard time communicating and expressing himself but eventually the female lead broke his ice (isn't it fitting that the FL just happened to be literally, a translator?) The 2nd male lead is equally charming, a bit emotional and sensitive, but knows what he wants. He's quite the character. The women? Damn. The women are strong and brilliant. The female lead is the epitome of self love without any selfishness. Despite her tough past, she grew up well. The 2nd female lead is a chaebol (not your ordinary one) - a strong, independent woman, but puts up walls and boundaries. It's beautiful to see all of them grow and come together, with a bit of cute bickering on the side. The characters are very unique - roles/jobs that aren't usually shown in dramas (a translator, retired athlete, movie distributor, artist, and so) so this is quite refreshing. I also loved how all the characters have a relationship with each other (not just the leads) - bromance, sismance, even the male lead and 2nd female lead and vice versa. The friendship that developed among the leads and supporting cast is just phenomenal. The writer also managed to let the 2nd couple shine and not just make them a mere filler even until the last episodes. Even the smallest roles were given recognition. Cannot praise the writer enough for this.

If you are looking for a comforting and healing drama, this is for you. If you are at a bad place or if you are feeling lost, this is for you. Honestly it has been a while since i've been this attached to a drama. I assure that you will fall in love with the characters, the insanely beautiful cinematography, the OST, and the impeccable writing. It is in every way sensible and authentic. It is full of so, so many life lessons if you'll just go beyond the surface.

[Edit after completing] Well, it's still as beautiful as when it started. It's great from start to end, cried a lot in the last episode. The ending has to be the best i've seen in kdramas. I love how everyone was given their own happy endings. I also love how the ending shows that life just goes on for everyone - you don't need a big, grand, happy ending to find meaning in our day to day lives. Again as the title suggests, Run On. Amazing, amazing work by the writer!

It's a long review but in conclusion: YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS NOW!!! This is a rare masterpiece!

My favorite quote: “When you run, you don’t think about what’s behind you. The only thing that matters is what’s right in front of you. Normally, it’s the finish line. But today, it was you.”

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This drama has some nice elements but overall not for me.

Like other critical reviews of this drama say, it's not a bad drama, and I really wanted to like it and went into it blind like I typically do when I watch dramas, but... after finishing all 16 episodes, it wasn't ever really for me and I feel like I should have dropped it after 4 or 5 episodes.

I'm definitely missing something in this drama. Everyone has been praising this drama as being heartfelt, mature, relaxing, and realistic in its portrayal of relationships and how they develop. I disagree, and I'm not sure if it's due to my age (older than the leads) but I couldn't find the maturity and realism that others seem to talk about over and over again. Maybe it's because I feel like I would have communicated differently than the couples portrayed, but I didn't understand how either couple either discussed their issues with each other. Nothing made any sense to me. There were times when they were straightforward with each other, yes, but I mostly found the dialogue either dull or puzzling.

I did like some things about it. The characters themselves were nice. I loved the playful humor in the banter, it was pretty clever and sharp but those moments were few and far between. I also loved the movie references and I wish they would have put a little more time into Seon-Gyeom's finding of himself, building up of his new career and being an agent for Woo-Sik - I felt like it was clumsily done and could have been tightened and would have added a lot to his overall character development. It seemed like it was squished into the episodes as a sidenote.

I would have also liked more meaningful interaction between Seon-Gyeom and Mi Joo earlier on. I didn't feel their attraction to each other at all. Individually, they were great and in theory they seemed like they would be really cute, but for some reason the pairing felt forced to me. I think maybe the whole beginning scenario of the track team scandal, the translation job that allowed them to spend time together, and the father's interference could have been done better for me personally, and because I didn't like the way it developed and set up the drama, I think it set the tone for the rest of the drama as well. Some of the scenes felt cut awkwardly and mixed together all over the place.

I also didn't understand the second couple very much. Both were very cute and had such interesting personalities but again... I wasn't sure how they came to love each other, and then break up, and then get back together. It looked like it started to develop well, and midway through I became very confused by the conflict, the resolution, the conflict again, and then all of a sudden they're together again at the end? Maybe this is a realistic depiction of a relationship for other people, but for me personally, it didn't work, and the way they communicated their feelings to each other never felt clear to me. It seemed like they would say one thing to each other and do something that conflicted with what they said.

The addition of the best friend coming out also seemed out of place to me. While I loved Young-Hwa's heartfelt reaction to the confession and it portraying the type of kind, gentle, sensitive soul he is, and I'm all about LGBTQ representation in media, this element seemed sort of random and unnecessary. I would have liked either more development of this side story or none at all. To have it as just a blip in the drama feels like an afterthought.

Again, it doesn't seem like a bad drama but I had a really hard time enjoying it and I just don't think it was for me. It's so great that so many enjoyed it and got a lot out of it but unfortunately I wasn't one of them. Soundtrack was nice and the drama was very nicely produced. Some of the humor in the dialogue was very smart and I wished there was more of it sprinkled generously throughout each episode. I think I understand the overall message of the drama and the tone it means to convey but it never quite struck a chord with me like I wanted it to. I think viewers still learning to find themselves and their place in the world and with each other might find more meaning and poignancy in this drama than someone who is at a different point in life.

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Great characterization but unable to engage

The story had some great characters. I really like how each character was represented, their conversations, the themes the show represented, visuals and overall feel of the story. I enjoyed overall positive relationships. I liked all the couples and also enjoyed the main character's journey to find himself and how he becomes agent from an athlete.

At the same time, there wasn't a point where I got deeply involved in the story. I never waited for the next episode and never really had any urge to complete the story. There were good elements but it didn't get to me. I also wish they had spent more time on the athlete/track side of the story and his growth. That would have been more interesting. It gets very slow sometimes and conversations between characters seem all over the place. There were many times I didn't understand what the characters really wanted to say. Also, the show doesn't really show the difference between selfishness and self-love. The terms are used interchangeably.

Overall very interesting characters & themes, coherant relationships, but not a great story telling.

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A Cinematic Journey To Love...

When it comes to writing love stories, romance dramas often tend to blow out relationships heavily into cliche territory; the female or male lead is head over heels for their significant other, jealousy spins around their love interest approaching (respectfully) other men and women, and an onslaught of dramatic misunderstandings occur as a consequence.

When you decide to sit down and watch “ Run-On” for the first time, it may strike viewers as unusual to come across several prominent, atypical features within our leads and their relationships; the most evident being that our female heroine and translator Oh Mi Joo (Shin Se Kyung) and our male lead athlete Ki Seon Geom ( Im Shi Wan) are intrinsically written as individuals, rather than the typical “ unit” approach taken in most romantic dramas.

Shin Se Kyung is brilliant within her role as our fairly down-to-earth female lead Oh Mi-Joo; a talented and hardworking translator with a difficult childhood , Mi-Joo alongside her best friend Park Mae Yi ( Lee Bong Ryun) , is more focused on her career and struggling to pay the bills than anything else.Contrastingly, Ki Seon Geom ( again, brilliantly played by Im Shi Wan) comes from a wealthy family, has a successful career as an athlete, however, he is quite simply fed up from others using him, his money and status as a social climbing ladder as episodes progress. By a whim of fate, the two individuals from opposite walks of life end up meeting and gradually developing a relationship. However, this is also where the series hits its biggest snag as well.

The “ opposites attract” cliche is one of the most infamous storyline usages in romantic dramas, yet when it came to Run-On, one of the notable elements of a storyline intrinsically based on this cliche seemed to feel unexpectedly lacklustre. By default, it shouldn’t have done; Mi-Joo and Seon- Geom were well-rounded individuals with intriguing backstories , storylines and striking similarities as characters, yet, principally rather than playing out their similarities, the show seemed to ride too heavily upon their differences which often resulted in their relationship feelings fairly indifferent for viewers .

One reason behind this can be explained by Mi-Jo and Seo Geom’s relationship progression over the course of the series. Despite their differences, Mi-Joo had many similar impacts of her past like Seon-Geom, however, neither character really tried to reach out, to talk or bond over this matter either.This should have helped to bring our couple together more throughout the drama, however, this would have only been possible if the storyline had more of an arching development for our characters, (due to little sense of climatic building),strong pacing or intrinsic development over a course of sixteen episodes.

Alongside our main couple, the drama attempts also to introduce the romantic pairing between slightly naive art student Lee Young Hwa ( Kang Tae Oh) and the cynical young CEO of a talent agency company, Seo Dan Ah ( Choi Soo Young). Before commenting upon their relationship, it is fairly striking that Dan Ah has numerous deep and likeable qualities as a character ( despite her sometimes “ overly abrupt” personality); she isn’t written off as a figure of female animosity nor as the “ antagonist”, but rather an individual hiding deep secrets, a naturally hardworking businesswoman and who is the type that struggles to reach out to others both emotionally and socially ( often leading to both comical and sad misunderstandings).

Against all odds, the relationship between the pair was arguably more appealing to audiences than our main couple at times. This is intrinsically due to the fact that Young Hwa and Dan Ah are truly the epitome of different within their backgrounds, moralities and even personality types, yet are still able to develop and bond due to their similarities( particularly their admiration of art). On the other hand, their relationship will still notably lacking in depth; a consequence of several plot inconsistencies, tropes as well as the series possibly running out of time to not truly captivate “ life imitating art” to the fullest.

Overall whilst Run-On was an intrinsically sweet romance drama which had several surprisingly well-written characters, an appropriate ending , humour and touched upon several notable realistic issues including homosexuality, illness, mental health and family, notable relationship portrayals , development , plot holes and of course an overall didactic purpose for the show, felt both lacklustre and lacking in the grand scheme of things.

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Lot of potential but ultimately never lived up to its expectations.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think the drama is terrible or anything. It has its moments when it shines bright but at the same time, it's too far and few between. One of the highlights is undoubtedly the female lead. She had a lot of charm and sass to her character that it was refreshing to see. It's her character that brings the most interesting and refreshing dialogues in the entire show. The story was reasonably well-paced and give enough screen time for each and every character instead of focussing only on the main leads. The relationship between the main leads was definitely another one of the highlights as well..
And that's where my positives end.

Even though I listed so many positives it was a frustrating experience.
I have seen many reviews raving the main lead for being such a gentleman and such a refreshing character, I mean I get it where the praise comes from but at the same time, the character never had any personality. He's one of the blankest slate a character can be, so ultimately the viewers can ultimately project themselves or anyone else. This is lazy writing more than anything else.
Without going into too many spoilers, let's just say they introduce a character who is gay and never fleshes his character out and just uses him to create a conflict that ultimately does not even affect the story in an impactful way.
The second couple's story is generic and something we have seen a million times. The characters have good chemistry but the story was just basic and by the books. This is something that I have seen a lot lately if the story of the main leads is somewhat different or modern, they introduce a secondary couple with the most cliche story to satisfy a certain section of fans. I can understand why they do it because ultimately the success of the drama depends on how many audiences watch it. I don't consider it as a huge negative but I'm just stating facts for what it is...
The acting was ok overall wasn't impressed with the mail leads performance but was not hugely disappointed either.

Ultimately my frustration arises from the fact that all the negatives I mentioned above were easily avoidable if the screenplay was written a little better.

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Its good to watch if you are tried.

I feel like it is similar to dramas like "Chocolate" and "when the weather is fine" except I enjoyed those more tbh. However, this drama is really cute and all the couples' stories where very beautiful. My favourite one was defs the couple with the FL's roommate and that other person. I also enjoyed how they portrayed the reality of unrequited love. But, the story is not ground breaking, and i feel like although the character development of the main lead was great , the story felt slightly empty. I might be brainless maybe that's why I kept getting confused by the conversations of the 2 leads. I just feel they tried to make them abnormal to the point it felt dull. But, I really did enjoy the story of the main leads and their motivations for their careers. In total I would never re-watch this, it was interesting enough for me.

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"Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up." - Oh Mi Joo

This type of drama is hard to find. Every episode leaves you wanting more. The interactions between the characters feel real, every conversation makes the characters more human. Something that caught my eye from the beginning was how all the characters were introduced. As Yook Ji Woo (Seon Gyeom mom) introduces her next work she says "Its one of those love stories were one can be a nutjob (Seon Gyeom), a loser( Mi Joo), a psychopath (Dan Ah), and a piece of trash( Young Hwa) or someone's first love"
Up until now, it has no big misunderstanding, no over the top evil or annoying characters. Ki Seon Gyeom and Oh Mi Joo talk things out they leave no room for a misunderstanding to happen. One of the scenes that really surprised me was in the scene at the end of episode 7 and the beginning of 8, following a typical kdrama that was a perfect scene to make the leads fight or have a misunderstanding but our female lead doesn't walk away angry or crying instead she tells the dad that she knows her place because she has been there many times and takes the male lead with her. The way our second couple interacts is also fascinating, I cant wait to see how their story progresses.

This week's episodes really blew my mind (11 & 12), Dan Ah really blew my mind during these two episodes and what can I say about Young Hwa what he did was totally unexpected.
The breakup scene of Mi Joo and Seon Gyeom was really well written, he didn't invade her space, although it seems they really didn't break up. This is one of the first breakups that didn't get me mad because I understood how Mi Joo was feeling and so did Seo Gyeom and he gave her space to communicate how she felt.

Now that we are so close to the end, ill share my honest opinion. Up until now, there has been no toxic relationships or characters. Every character has a "job", they are all there for a purpose. Something I loved and I'm sure I've mentioned before is that the writer didn't rely on the typical cliches, they took a story and made it interesting without the need for absurd drama. While watching other shows, and I'm sure a lot of you will agree, sometimes I get frustrated at the choices some of the characters make since they seem to make no sense but up until now haven't felt any frustration. All the decisions seem to be appropriate and they are all realistic. I also like that they didn't do a love triangle, nor add annoying people who are more obsessed than in love with the leads. Instead, they too 4 characters and made a unique story for them without creating any rivalries between them, which is also seen in a lot of dramas where there is 4 main lead, and in the beginning, they create a love triangle to later pair them off with the extra lead.

In the case of this drama, both father figures seem to suck, and at first, I thought the mother was going to be a problem too, but she ended up being laid back. I really liked what she said, "My life isn't yours, I worked really hard to get where I am...I am the star of my life"

FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING:
Mi Joo-"We will probably never fully understand each other, right?"
Seon Gyeom- "Yes... We're different after all."
Mi Joo- "You have your world and I have mine, but we could align our worlds next to each other, couldn't we? So let's not be disappointed in each other. That's impossible to do. Instead, we'll stick to whatever is possible."

This last episode had bittersweet moments but it all got wrapped up nicely. Not everyone has the same definition of what a "Happy Ending" is supposed to look like, it's up to us to choose our happy ending. It's sad that after such a long time this phenomenal drama came to an end. Learn how to love yourself. and learn to love others.

This drama has everything, bromance, womance, a smooth storyline. You won't regret giving it a try.

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Aesthetically pleasing and simply heartwarming that it feels like you're reading a poem.

I started watching this drama with no expectation because I'm not familiar with the actors. Moreover the previous Shin Se Kyung's dramas I've watched weren't my cup of tea.

I don't know how I ended up clicking this drama but after I watched the first two episodes I was totally hooked. Honestly, the plot is not really new and the characters themselves are obviously fictional but surprisingly this drama is so well written and nicely executed, so it still successfully gives you realistic feeling that you can relate to its story.

One of the most interesting parts about this drama is its range. I really like how diversed and woke the story is by including many aspects in life from love, friendship, family, career, gender, sexuality, environment, art, sport and many more. Although they bring up alot of issues, they still manage to keep its pace consistent and it doesn't go all over the place.

Another thing that I like about this drama is the meaningful conversation between main leads. Yes, this drama contains a lot of talking. However I don't feel bored at all. I like how honest, beautiful and pure the conversations are, even when they talk about ordinary things. They really put a lot of depth in their conversations.

You also don't have to worry about the angst because this is a lighthearted drama. So, despite its poetic vibes, you still can have many laughs. The humour itself is not exaggerated but it's right in its portion which I like it.

How about the casts? There are four main leads in this drama and I love all of them. Each one of them is unique in their own way.

1. Ki Sun Gyeom - He's so pure, selfless and innocent. I don't think this kind of person exist in real life but still I can't help falling in love with his character. Im Shi Wan portrays this role really really well.

2. Oh Mi Joo - She is probably the most realistic character in this drama but that's maybe also because I can relate the most to her character. I love how independent and straightforward she is. She's adorable!

3. Seo Dan Ah - She's a badass character here. She's a strong, an independent and a confident business woman. She is interesting.

4. Lee Young Hwa - I think he is the weakest among the main leads but he's still likable especially when he's with Seo Dan Ah and Ki Sun Gyeom.

That's all I can say about the characters. I think it's better for you to observe by yourself.

Overall this drama is really interesting and well executed. Each of episode keeps getting better and better. If you like a lighthearted and heartwarming drama, I really recommend you to watch this.

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