Run On follows the romance between a national track and field athlete (Im Siwan) and a foreign film translator (Shin Se Kyung) as they slowly get to know each other and fall in love.
Im Siwan plays Sun Gyum. He is a national sprinter who has to quit after a series of events. He comes from a wealthy family which causes him some difficulties. His personality if kind of aloof, and he spends a lot of time alone, but that begins to change when he meets Mi Joo.
Shin Se Kyung is Oh Mi Joo. She is a foreign film translator with an upbeat personality despite some of the challenges she faces. Fate seems to bring her and Sun Gyum together multiple times, and she soon takes an interest in him.
Next, is Sooyoung who runs a sports agency. She has a bold personality and doesn’t shy away from speaking her mind. Finally, we have Kang Tae Oh as Lee Young Hwa who is an art student with a playful personality.
Run On is a drama that divided fans, although I would say reaction to it skewed more positive. Many praised it while others said it was really slow and boring. I certainly take notice when others call a drama slow because that is what I dislike most in dramas.
I went ahead and gave it a go though, and I ended up pretty happy with that decision. Run On is a slice of life romance with a very pleasant feel to it. After all of the slow comments I had come across, I was surprised that the first several episodes actually had some very dramatic moments in the midst of that easy going feel. I think that helped to add a little spice to the story as we got to know our main characters.
The drama does then transition into more of a classic slice of life romance though. We mostly focus on the characters and their personal journeys as well as their romantic relationships. There is a sprinkling of dramatics throughout, but nothing to crazy.
Our main couple of Sun Gyum and Mi Joo had an interesting journey. These are two very different, and a big part of the story is watching them get to know each other. Since they are so different, they have to take a lot of time to learn how the other one thinks and really get a deeper understanding of each other.
It was interesting to see a well-rounded exploration of how people get to know one another. As their understanding grows, their relationship deepens. It’s a slow burn kind of romance, but I enjoyed their conversations and seeing their romance blossom. They were very cute and sweet.
Then we have the secondary couple of Dan Ah and Young Hwa. This couple takes a while to even get going at all. It’s a quarter of the drama before they really start to engage with each other and over halfway through before things start to progress. These two are also very different from each other.
Their encounters are a bit more tense as they really have a lot to learn about each other in order for their romance to take shape. They kind of run hot and cold and take a while to get on the same page. I know a lot of people preferred our second couple, and I did enjoy them, but I still liked our sweet main couple the best.
Run On was a solid slice of life romance overall. I thought the first half was great and kept me very engaged. The second half did slow down some though. While it was definitely noticeable, I still found the drama quite pleasant during this time. This isn’t a drama that feels grand, but it goes in depth with its characters, provides nice relationship journeys, and explores a variety of themes. So overall, I was mostly pleased with Run On.
My Rating: 7/10
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