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Race: Episodes 1-2

Wow, this drama has a really great tone going already! Only one week in, and Race has set up a strong balance of close-knit characters who I actually care about, and insights on workplace discrimination that come from all angles. But rather than be merely pedantic, the many social issues give our heroes mountains to climb and giants to slay, and build a great story.

 
EPISODES 1-2

Lee Yeon-hee and Hong Jong-hyun in Race: Episodes 1-2

Hooray for a K-drama with a solid foundation that both a) does all the K-drama things I require it to and b) also has fun being cheeky and unique. I came out of curiosity for the office slice-of-life genre — and the screenwriting of Kim Ru-ri of Hyena — and I was more than pleasantly surprised. It’s layered but not too slow, simple but not thin, and I laughed out loud way more than I expected to.

The direction is also a lot of fun — with the PD of Sunbae, Don’t Put on That Lipstick and 20th Century Boy and Girl at the helm. The drama had some wildly creative transitions between scenes that gave the drama an interesting edge, but I think it’s the overall fun vibe of the drama that sold me: it creates great balance for a story that deals with some heavy issues.

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To get started, we first meet our heroine PARK YOON-JO (Lee Yeon-hee), who works for a tiny (and somewhat desperate) PR/Marketing firm. Yoon-jo is super passionate about what she does, and refreshingly proud of herself for being essentially self-made. She went to a technical high school, paid her way through online college courses while working, and puts her whole heart and effort into what she does. Don’t let the slightly messy opening scene of this drama dissuade you from continuing, because it’s worth sticking around.

As the foil to our heroine we have our hero RYU JAE-MIN (Hong Jong-hyun). The two have been friends since middle school along with bar-owner and confidant HEO EUN (Kim Ye-eun). While Yoon-jo is all passion and fire, Jae-min’s a SNU graduate who works for the PR team of a huge Seyong Group that’s set at the center of our tale. Hammering this in even more, Yoon-jo mourns that though the two friends work in the same industry, they never cross paths professionally because of the all-too-clear social divide between them.

Though I’m not discounting a friends-to-lovers element in the future, it’s not hinted at at all, and what we see of these two characters in our opening week is a solid friendship. You know the kind: text message of selfies with silly faces, checking in on each other, complaining about work, destressing together at the arcade, and later, dealing with some big waves.

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There’s a massive amount of plot in the first two episodes, and most of it is shared between Yoon-jo and Jae-min, not only for contrast, but for the near future when their work lives will indeed converge.

We get to know Yoon-jo as she deals with the high and mighty attitude of her firm’s newbie and SNU grad, who is utterly rude and eventually walks off the job. This little arc starts one of the drama’s narrative threads around education discrimination — there are expectations of workers based on their schooling, and it goes both ways. Yoon-jo somewhat wishes she went to a big-name school to land a big job, but then we see what Jae-min’s work life is like.

When we first meet him he’s trying desperately to unplug and enjoy a weekend of solitary camping in the woods (yay, another camping hero!), but that doesn’t last long. As an assistant team leader on Seyong’s Strategy team, he gets called in to deal with the company’s latest PR fire, along with his boss TEAM LEADER SONG SUN-TAE (Jo Han-chul, who is forever great in all his supporting roles.)

Jae-min is a diligent worker, but he’s none too pleased by his weekend getting bulldozed. When Team Leader Song sends him to a factory to deal with the source of the problem, a little map pops up onscreen as we see Jae-min realizing (aghast!) that it’s almost a 4-hour drive for him. This is just one example of the drama’s humor, but there’s lots more sprinkled throughout, like when Jae-min later makes a call he’s required to, but while the phone is ringing audibly begs the person not to answer so he can just leave a voicemail and walk away.

Is Jae-min a little jaded, or a little too willing to play along with the corporate game? We see this thread pulled a bit more as we head into the next major arc for Yoon-jo. Her little firm is responding to Seyong’s bid for a marketing campaign for their cosmetics line, and Yoon-jo burns the candle at both ends preparing.

Lee Yeon-hee and Hong Jong-hyun in Race: Episodes 1-2 Lee Yeon-hee and Hong Jong-hyun in Race: Episodes 1-2

Everyone who sees the presentations knows that Yoon-jo’s firm has the best ideas and should win the bid, but what her boss learns — right before their turn to present — is that the winner has already been chosen. The whole bidding process is a show. This hits hard on so many levels, and the drama plays with it quite well. We feel the bitterness from Yoon-jo and her boss, knowing their hard work won’t be acknowledged and they just have to play along. It also drives a big wedge into the trust between Yoon-jo and Jae-min, since he knew the thing was rigged all along but didn’t say a word to her.

Rightly so, Yoon-jo seems more upset of Jae-min’s complicity (“You’re one of them,” she tells him scathingly) than the actual corruption — but the convergence of both of these things makes it hit all the harder, because it’s all so realistic. From the fixed bids and internal corruption to the workers who have to shut their mouths for a paycheck, it’s unpleasant, biased, and yet an accurate representation of the corporate beast.

While Race portrays the awfulness of discrimination and corporate corruption with an accurate lens, it also does the same with its take on corporate life, and I think I got most of my laughs from watching Jae-min and his team try to get through the day.

Our first two episodes focus mostly on our main pair and the setup around Seyong as a place of business, but there are two other characters hitting the stage as well. The first is the TED-talking, NYC-living PR genius GU YI-JUNG (Moon Sori) whom the Seyong heiress is trying to pull into the company. The second is someone who starts as foe, but might end as friend.

When Yoon-jo was heading to her big presentation at Seyong, a young dude rushing on a bicycle banged into her and her coffee wound up all over her blouse. He was very polite about it and offered to reimburse her, but because this is dramaland, meeting someone on the street via accident means you’ll be seeing them later that afternoon. Sure enough, this guy is SEO DONG-HOON (Yunho), the CEO of the agency Earth Comm who “won” the bid at Seyong. To further complicate matters, he’s quite friendly with Yoon-jo’s boss, and even joins them for bottles and bottles of soju later that night.

Lee Yeon-hee and Yunho in Race: Episodes 1-2 Lee Yeon-hee and Yunho in Race: Episodes 1-2

I think what I love most about Race so far is that the relationships feel very real. From Yoon-jo’s relationships with the two women that make up her company, to Yoon-jo’s comfortable long-time friendship with Jae-min, there’s an authenticity to all the interactions that bring this story to life. It’s also authentic when it comes to the hardships, biases, and annoyances people have to face at work, right down to the inside turf wars between departments, and the desperate mid-meeting texts to your coworker in order to stay sane.

But above all, it’s the space the story allows for that murky and morally gray territory that makes these characters feel like real people: Team Leader Song being a total ass to Yoon-jo’s boss, Jae-min finding himself having to “play along” with games he doesn’t really like, or Yoon-jo having to sit and drink with Dong-hoon and pretend he didn’t just usurp the victory that was rightfully hers.

There’s a lot cooking here, not only with the story’s themes, but with where the plot will go. As we close out the premiere week, Yoon-jo’s hard work finally pays off: she’s simultaneously scouted by Dong-hoon to Earth Comm, and wins the blind open recruitment to work for Seyong’s PR team. Decisions lurk in the future for our heroine, and with so much ground laid, I can’t wait to tune in next week to see what she and Jae-min have to cope with next.


 
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Oh my, I totally invested this show already as well as our cast including the main quarter and even the PD too! I can't wait to see more storylines related to PR/marketing and my race is on!

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Thanks for the recap missvictrix.
I  stopped watching the first episode after a scene about 6 minutes in. The scene was depicting an event where people would participate in the Last Word Challenge- the latest "craze" in which people take pictures of their mock funerals and share what they want their last words to be. 
I'm fully aware this is just a tv show but I have so many problems with this. 
To associate the subject matter of death with a "craze'  for entertainment fodder in such a trivial manner, let alone in a country with the 4th highest suicide rate in the world, I find irresponsible and offensive.
This show is not for me.

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To watch or not watch, for whatever reason, is your prerogative. But you could miss out on a lot of good shows with beautiful, redeeming moments and qualities if you let one minor incident/detail offend you. My guess is that there's no show that doesn't somehow offend somebody in some manner. Think of what's common in almost all K-dramas: irresponsible drinking (offending those affected by alcoholism in their family), big gas-guzzling cars (offending the environmentalists), fit/beautiful leads (offending the beauty-at-any-size crowd), all the food left uneaten (offending the world hunger crowd). Again, anyone has the right to be offended and stop watching for any reason. But as in life, so with dramas: if we get obsessively stuck on any one issue, then we miss out on all the good, beautiful things happening such as (in Race so far) the beautifully rendered friendship between the leads, the passion/hard work of the FL in overcoming obstacles, the struggle to somehow overcome office politics and corporate culture. We're only 2 episodes in, but I think it might be my favorite depiction of office/work culture since Misaeng (though the tone/style is quite different). So far I'm enjoying seeing the difference between a big corporation and a small company, and looking forward to seeing how the FL will make the transition from one to the other, as well as how she'll balance romance with her work ambitions.

For me, the weakest moment so far was the TED talk on ESG by the Moon Sori character because it sounded like a promotional, Wikepidia page (in a not-so-convincing English). I can imagine that that could have offended the anti-UN, anti-globalist agenda crowd, but just as with the Last Word challenge, my guess is that ESG will be a very minor detail in Race, so it'd be a shame if anyone stopped watching Race because it was mentioned for 20 seconds.

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loved this show already... for many factors...
1. its so much like the office environment i got rid of and many moments watching this show made me feel grateful for the life i have chosen.. and no way ill go back.
2. hard working female lead, with such supportive senior despite in the small company and well contrast with male lead in a grandest company but such toxic work environment...am sure it will bring the comparison down the line and am so eager to see how it pans.
3. HJH after so long in a drama that i can watch and ill try to watch until it bores me.

last.. loved...loved...loved...the transitions... damn those are some really cool crazy transitions in just 2 episodes..
especially the one male lead was in factory and how zebra crossing one by one comes and night turns into day.. and there are soo many more...
am all set to fill my diary to keep track of them if i need to revisit in future....

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I loved the FL as well. Ah, if only I had the mettle she has back when I was in toxic workplaces. And it is such a contrast to the compromises ML has to make, perhaps having more to lose than her.

And that zebra crossing transition was excellent. If you keep a list of the transitions, do share.

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The transitions were stand out and terrific! Some very clever ideas there.

I liked the 2 eps, and think the story has promise, but I'm not super blown away by the cast as yet, most of whom are unfamiliar to me. It was good to see Baek Ji-won, and I'll admit I'm a little bummed she's only a supporting character. I originally started for Moon So-ri, who is listed among the main characters, but she took her own sweet time showing up. Anyway, I will be watching this for a while longer!, and am interested to see how the FL's new assignment goes.

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It was just okay for me. I will continue to watch because I am a Moon So Ri fan, but the other actors were kind of one note to me. So hopefully it brings me more.

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I am giving this drama a watch so far is only because of Moon So Ri. The almost weekly coffee event promo I feel is a waste of resources. It is not an idol promotion or was it trying to make it their aim?Bottom line the other actors are just average . And Office dramas has been too saturated in the China, Japan markets already for a number of years. They should instead focus on Moon So Ri and how she can being up the rating and saved the drama ratings and poor comments from various screening platforms

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I forget if I've ever watched Younho in drama before, but I'm stunned with his nasaly speaking voice and like comes from female voice. I listened to DBSK before but this is different lol

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This was a show that had me wondering, what exactly I was watching.

The PR bloke doing the talk to the interns about the office politics as if it was a K drama scene was done so well with him randomly popping up in the scene and doing asides to the camera! I have always wondered about the whole grand entrance, like no one has work they could be getting on with rather than escorting the chairperson through a building to their desk. This character, Chuljun is really hard for me to read. Is he lazy and at serious risk of losing his job? Or is he an astute observer who knows how to play the systems and does what needs to be done. His interactions with the sales manager via text showed they were still on friendly terms and the extent of his knowledge about the undercurrents.

I love a drama that has a hangout run by a school friend it reminds me of the cafes in Love is for suckers, Thirty nine, Her private life, Hi! Bye Mama, Our beloved summer and Divorce attorney Shin where the locations became characters in themselves.

This is definitely quirky, loving the transitions too, the zooming in and out framing of shots. The swearing in the subs seems excessive which is unusual for the dramas I watch as they tend to use ‘jerk’ and low level comments rather than full on swear words. I have heard others mention this for certain platforms so I am assuming that’s the case here. I do think they wanted to make a point re the school age sister’s language.

I am in for the first four episodes and will decide whether to stay after that. I would be happy if they go for a Good manager approach with the focus on the office drama and friendships during times of trouble with hints of a love interest. If they show any romance hopefully it’s between side characters or we see clear evidence it’s likely to happen after our observations end.

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Interesting that you perceive the swearing in the subtitles as excessive, which is not typically the case in dramas we have watched. Different shows may emphasise certain aspects of character development, including the school-age sister's language, to make a point or enhance the authenticity of the portrayal. While some may find the explicit language unnecessary, it's worth considering that the show might be aiming to portray a more realistic depiction of how young people speak when they are not in the presence of parents or are in a more informal setting.

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It made sense with the sister’s character and I actually found it funny but it was a bit like a Japanese film I watched recently where every scene someone was smoking. It stood out because it felt over the top and whilst I know some people chain smoke it is unusual for me to see it on tv these days because I only watch K dramas and it is very rare on there.

The swearing stood out for me because it was most of the characters doing it at one point. I am sensitive to smoking and swearing so will notice it more than others and purposely avoid it on tv and in real life. We all have different tolerance levels for certain features and that is one of my low tolerance areas.

I tried to watch The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel the other day which I loved to watch in the past, for the outfits as that is my favourite era for female dress designs. I remember the swearing being a bit of a feature but watching it now it really stood out and I had to stop watching and won’t go back to it now.

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Yes to your thoughts on smoking in Korean dramas cause its one thing i really have an aversion to too. I think we are gradually seeing more it though and in a couple of recent shows there was shown women smoking which is not as prominent as men. Being a retired RN, I know the dangers of it and personally can't see a good point about it, but that is how I feel. Smoking is just not glamorous or savvy to me plus the money one spends on them I can use other places. I don't intend to sound preachy or condemning but just how I feel and how knowing health risks associated with it.

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The bar was such a cool setup. But seriously, it never had another customer. It shouldn't be losing money; it should have gone bellyup by now!

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Okay, D+, maybe I will have to cave and subscribe. I want to see this even more after reading the re-cap and others beanies comments. I also have a soft spot for Yunho since DBSK was one of the first forays into the fan life of following/supporting Kpop groups. I am hoping he is improving his acting with each experience! I thought he was quite decent in his last project and definitely better than when he started his acting career. Hwaiting Yunho! Hwaiting Race!

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I've decided to watch this because of the good reviews here. But I found myself wanting to stop watching not even 15 minutes on the first episode. Stayed until the end hoping for a cliffhanger that would make me want to watch episode 2. And I really don't know why but the ending was not that suspenseful or "cliffhanger" like the other dramas but I now want to watch episode 2. Maybe I am hoping that something will happen that will make me like this drama. Especially because I like the main leads. Is episode 2 better? Didn't really read this whole review to avoid spoiler

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This drama takes a conscious effort to watch and the decision to make is whether it is worth it. I thought of Gaus electronics as two different dramas having experienced the contrast between episode one and two. It was easier to make a decision after watching the second episode and thankfully the rest of the drama followed the style of episode two. However, I feel I need to give this drama longer before I can make an informed decision on whether to continue watching.

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so far the 2 episodes does not live up to the hype in their almost daily promotion. It is kind of poor script and kind of slow. And the actors are just not really outstanding. Maybe I will give it another 2 episodes before deciding whether to stop investing in the drama further

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I liked the first 2 episodes. It was a good introduction of the characters and their different mindset about their work and how the work place is influencing them.

I liked this PD's last 2 dramas. It was fun to see Rowoon's cameo as a advertiser of the bread.

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I enjoyed these episodes, and am looking forward to seeing how our heroine chooses. Good set up.

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I confess I played on both episodes because it was you, missvictrix weecaping... you always chose special ones and I always want to follow you, and I also confess I hadn't read anything about it, but then... Moon So Ri, and that was reason 2 to watch.

I enjoyed the first episodes, loved the transitions, and I totally agree about the characters and relationships feeling real.

Let's see how it goes.

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@eazal I just saw this! Thank you, that's very kind -- half of the time it's just good luck and not good choices on my part haha. But I'm really liking this one. Hope you stick around!

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A little late to the game. But I'm on team #keepwatching. Like others who did like this, I enjoyed the characters, their myriad relationships, and the workplace elements.

Having worked in both a scrappy company and a big corporate (among other workplaces), this felt more real to me than your typical kdrama. Bosses can be little shits, ideas get stolen, the best don't always win, and before you know it, your integrity is compromised inch by inch. But you also have your friends, you have your laughs, and you try to do your best/what's right, and sometimes, it pays off.

One dissent, I'm smelling a friends to lovers arc. The care and consideration our ML showed toward the FL felt more than friendship. And there may even be a love triangle. In the kdrama universe, if a cute boy spills coffee your blouse, you know something extra is also brewing.

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