Race (2023)

Some Romance but more life challenges in an office setting spolighting women in the workplace

The office scenes and situations were quite well portrayed and the idea of everyone RACE-ING constantly to some unknown was also well portrayed. While there were good examples of toxicity in the workplace it was good that they showed hope for positive workplace initiatives as well. The show felt mature in that sense.
It is rare to find a drama without truly annoying characters. There were unlikable characters but none truly annoying to me. I especially enjoyed the lack of female characters who disrespect other female characters. In fact, women uplifting and supporting women is one a compelling theme for me.
The relationships also had a similar feel. We saw the tough parts but also the supportive friendships and colleagues. I did not really “feel” the romance between the main leads. They did, however, have wonderful friendship and a deep connection which I appreciated. I also appreciated the attempts further normalize diversity in the romantic interests (same-sex, age-gap etc). Most importantly (for me) was a SML that wore his heart on his sleeve in his personal and professional life.
The music was wonderful as well and “Waterfall” of course is my favourite. https://youtu.be/4h-DAdMTECU
The overall feel of the drama was a decent mix of rom-com and pertinent societal issues. I would have rated this higher if it was in the mood for thoughtful drama content. I was not ready for it to make me think as much as it did. Plus the main couple romance… so even though the suggested is 9, I'll go for 8.5.

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Not Good Enough

Korean Drama " Race " is an office drama with an okay plot.

The drama is interesting at first, but the office politics and the annoying characters quickly get difficult to keep things enjoyable.

The story also adds a love triangle to the mix out of nowhere, shifting the focus from the female lead's struggles to be accepted as capable by her coworkers to her love life which didn't seem to be the important thing at the moment.

On the other hand, the performances were good enough, considering the material the actors and actresses had to work with.

So, overall, two stars out of ten.

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