Run On (2020)
Review of Run On / 런 온 (2020)
Nowadays, my favorite way to unwind is with a K-drama. It’s becoming a slight obsession, especially because Netflix has actually been getting good with their Korean content.
The Korean movies could be a lot better, but they’re doing really well with their K-drama Netflix originals. Run On isn’t a Netflix original, but it was picked up by Netflix for global distribution. Which, after watching the drama itself, I think is a smart move because it’s a solid drama.
I was a bit weary at first. The first and only Shin Se-kyung drama I’d seen before now was Bride of the Water God, which was absolutely terrible. I remember loving the manga version of that and was so excited to see a K-drama version, but oh my god the acting and screenplay in that was absolutely terrible.
I also was weary because I didn’t like the Girls’ Generation member in this either when it comes to being an actress. I didn’t like her drama I Married an Anti-Fan. What convinced me of this one was Im Si-wan. I’ve heard so many good things about his acting that it negated all the back energy I felt surrounding this drama.
Let’s dive into this review!
Content
Our male lead in this drama is a privileged boy. His mother is a famous actress, his sister one of the world’s best golfers, and his father a major politician running for big positions in government. Ki Seon-gyeom, our male lead, is pretty famous himself.
He’s one of the best track and field runners in the country, but he’s ready to risk it all after he watches one of his friends actively being bullied by the other sprinters.
Bullied as in intense bullying to the point where this kid ends up in the hospital.
Enraged, Seon-gyeom beats up the bullies only to find out that justice is obstructed in this system; the higher-ups are willing to turn a blind eye to all of this and let all of them continue. He refuses to accept this, leading to his early retirement and media scandals.
What really sold me about this drama, however, was that I started watching it was that our female lead, Oh Mi-ju, was a big movie junkie and actually was a film translator and interpreter.
The male lead, however, doesn’t like movies. What a dealbreaker right there.
She’s pretty smart too, as seen in several high-strung situations in where she’s interpreting from Korean to English and vice versa.
Mi-ju also is very cynical compared to the male lead when it comes to the world, as she wasn’t born privileged. She grew up as an orphan and because of it she thinks that if she works hard for her dreams, she will get what she wants eventually.
Our side couple is the eccentric PR CEO who has a frigid personality, as well as the warmhearted art student whose art she keeps buying. The second female lead is a hardass who is extremely unlikable at the beginning of the drama, but then there’s the beauty of this drama: all of the characters influence each other to grow and become better people.
Mi-ju learns hope, while Seon-gyeom learns how to have, well, more of a personality. He’s kind of bland at the beginning of the series and it really shows. He’s like a lost little puppy on the path of life once he stops doing track.
I did think, however, that this drama tried to do too much within it. It starts off as a sports drama on one end, then we have the artistic people with Mi-jo and artist boy.
Then it shifts more into drama territory as he quits track and field, but then we get the slow burn on how they develop their relationships with each other. It’s really slow for some, but I didn’t get bored of it, which is a good sign considering my attention span.
I felt like we could’ve gone deeper on the aspects of privilege in the sports world, which is touched upon briefly.
I honestly wouldn’t have been mad if this drama was longer. We could’ve followed the bullied boy to sports stardom, as well as gone deeper into the professional lives of all the main characters.
Overall Thoughts
If you’re into character studies and digging into psychology and how people can change, this is the drama for you. I think it does try to do too much at times, but it’s fine if you’re just watching this casually and not trying to analyze the crap out of it. It’s cute, and I loved how artistic some of the characters are.
I spiritually vibed with the female lead and she isn’t in need of rescuing, which is absolutely great to see. As our male lead loses his job, she’s stable and passionate. I love seeing that representation in dramas, we need more dedicated women in our television.
The OST with the LOVELYZ and Monsta X member is absolutely IMMACULATE.
