A romance grounded in reality

Run On is a story that perfectly depicts the process of getting to know and fall in love with somebody, without the exaggerated "drama" that typically defines the genre. There's no love triangle; there's no saving the girl from attempted murder; there's no ridiculous breakup and get get back together; there's no ridiculous success story, no fairy-tale. You get the gist.

What this show truly gets right, is the little details, and it all starts with the initial awkwardness - you know, those moments of silence where both people are enjoying one another's company but have no idea what to say next - and the actors really capture the emotions and facial expressions of those instances against a backdrop of beautiful cinematography. The making excuses to see one another, the learning from one another, making food for one another, the fumbling around going for the first hand holding, the first hug, the first kiss. All of these little scenes are cute, awkward, uncomfortable yet comfortable. Acted perfectly.

It's dialog heavy, but touches on patriarchy, feminism and learning to love oneself, ultimately a far more mature approach to relationships than I've seen in any other kdrama. If you're fed up with clichés, I implore you to watch this.

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An Emotional Masterpiece

It's really hard to explain My Mister to somebody, as I found recently when trying to convince a friend to watch it. But you really, really must. The synopsis isn't exciting - an unhappy man in a good job meets an unhappy girl in a minimum wage job and the two help each other, whilst surrounded by office politics, grim personal lives and the odd comedic moment. Where this drama really comes alive is in the acting, the characterisations and the reality. This drama is so real, gritty and sadly relatable and does a wonderful job of portraying the value of human connection.

The male lead, Park Dong-hoon, expertly portrayed by Lee Sun-kyun (LSK), is the eldest of three brothers, stoic and very much the one in his family who has "got it all together". He shows little emotion to his family and co-workers, but very quickly the viewer sees the pain he's suffering in his day to day life. He's also a genuinely good person, full of integrity and compassion, and LSK shows a phenomenal amount of emotion through his acting - largely through his eyes and facial expressions in a notably quiet character. You can't help but want the best for him.

Meanwhile, Lee Ji-an, played by the songstress IU (or Lee Ji-eun), delivers the best performance of her career living the life of a young woman in poverty, whose sole purpose in life seems to be taking care of her disabled & deaf grandma in her dilapidated studio. Barely able to scrounge a meal together for herself, she genuinely looks dead inside, and comes across as cold and guarded. It's a remarkable performance from one of Korea's most effervescent personalities. Even more so than LSK, IU's character has numerous heart-breaking moments throughout the show - they're phenomenally performed and desperately sad.

Overall, the story is incredibly hard-hitting. It really highlights problems of poverty, depression and corporate greed whilst making it clear that people can really make a positive impact on each other's lives. With Breaking Bad levels of characterisation, a wonderful supporting cast that I'll let you experience for yourselves, an amazing OST that will make you tear up months after finishing the show, phenomenal cinematography and direction, My Mister is truly one of a kind. You'll be locked in until the end, rooting for everyone to find happiness, walking away with a knot in your stomach with conflicting pain from what you just witnessed and optimism for what might become.

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