Racket Boys

KOREAN TITLE: 라켓소년단

YEAR OF RELEASE: 2021

GENRE: Sport Drama

STARRING: Tang Joon-Sang, Oh Na-Ra, Kim Kang-Hoon

# OF EPISODES: 16

PLATFORMS TO WATCH ON: Netflix

SYNOPSIS: 

When a family uproots their lives from the loud city of Seoul to the rural countryside, their lives get changed forever. Yoon Hyeon-Jong, a former badminton athlete and father of 2, decides to take a coaching position at Haenam Middle School, a once very prestigious school known for badminton. Yoon Hae-Kang (Tang Joon-Sang), a well sought after pitcher, is forced to give up his love for baseball when they move. But who knows, everything always seems to happen for a reason.

This drama follows the lives of determined middle schoolers trying to make a name for themselves in badminton. Not only at the middle school level, but the national level as well. Not only do they get to play the sport they love and respect, but they get to play and go on this journey with the ones they love. 

REACTION: 

I freakin’ love this drama! I have been following it since day 1. And by day 1, I mean the day they first announced the drama. I found myself anxiously waiting for the next episode every week. First of all, I am SO happy they made a badminton drama. Being a badminton player myself, I know how overlooked the sport is. But I think after watching this drama, it will change the minds of a lot of people. The players do an amazing job of expressing all of the emotions that come from playing this sport. 

The story is a beautiful one and doesn’t just focus on the wonderful sport of badminton. It involves friendship, blood-family, chosen family and community. It doesn’t focus on the players themselves, but also the people around each player. It really shows that focusing on sports is important, but family is always a top priority. 

All I can say is that this drama had me crying! I will say, a lot of people may not cry but if you do, know that you are not alone. It had me crying but even more, it had me smiling and laughing. This drama definitely ranks high on my favorite list. They did a really great job. 

HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO: 

• All badminton players

• People who don’t believe badminton is a sport

• People of all ages (yes, the main characters are in middle school but there is so much more to it)

• Anyone who wants to genuinely smile and laugh

FAVORITE SONG FROM OST: 

So I just realized while writing this post, this may be the first time I did not truly think about the OST. Not that the OST wasn't good, it's just that I was so locked in to the storyline I didn’t even think about it. Listening to the OST now, I would have to say my favorite one is “Will Be” by THE BOYZ. As soon as I played the song, all of the scenes from the drama started playing in my head. This song was a staple of friendship and perseverance. Every time the song played in the drama, I found myself smiling. It was typically played as an outro song so I always found myself with a huge grin on my face while the pictures flashed in the credits. It’s truly an inspiring song.

Honorable Mention: “Focus on Me” by Coffeeboy, honestly all of the instrument tracks

OVERALL REACTION WITH GIF: 

You can't help but do their team cheer every time!