Choikang Baedalggun

I discovered this 2017 K-Drama by accident & am glad I did. A key factor was seeing Chae Soo Bin in the credits, & this was the show she did before the wonderful "I'm Not A Robot". The story here centres on the world of scooter riders in Seoul & the meals they deliver. Specifically, a small restaurant where the main rider is ( unusually ) a female called Dan Ah ( CSB ). She's a tough, cynical young woman who is diligently focussed on saving money & emigrating away from Korea ( or "Hell Joseon" as she calls it ). Into her life comes innocent/idealistic new delivery recruit Kang Soo ( Go Kyung Pyo in his first lead series role ). Also important is rich playboy Jin Kyu ( Kim Seon Ho ) & black-sheep rich girl Ji Yoon ( Go Won Hee ) rounding out the main group. And eager to destroy the small eateries in the area is an evil corporate competitor. So it isn't very hard to guess the basic outcomes, be they personal or business, yet the script is well-written ( apart from an annoying little lapse regarding the apocalyptic final ep & a villain without much personality ) and is pleasingly thoughtful most of the time. The ending is a major beneficiary of this approach & all four relationships in the series are also handled well. Of course, a K-Drama requires tragedy/tears & we get them, plus there's an undercurrent of pessimism which definitely recalls the tone of "Parasite". But don't worry, there's plentiful humour too & even a few bits of Japanese-style cuteness. A large cast are typically accomplished & the leads have good chemistry. I do want to single out Go Won Hee, though, for special praise : she steals most scenes she's in & is a fun, engaging presence throughout ( a scene where she challenges Dan Ah to a fight is especially memorable ). As to the title, I would've preferred "We Deliver !". Or an apparent alternative is "Best Deliveryman". You decide.

Here's a fable for the underdogs.

SDM follows the overlooked, everyday workers. They deliver when ☃ in winter, and 🔥 in summer, 💦 in spring, and through the lugubrious fall🍂. They are sneered more than cheered. SDM finds them forming a supportive group that gives them all a lift.

Kang-soo is the catalyst. He turns friends and acquaintances into family. His formed-family is contrasted against several actual families in the show that tear eachother apart. The family we choose is often the best we can get.

Kang-soo shows up in town and lands a job at Lively Handmade Noodles. From there, he deconstructs the whole delivery system and then rebuilds it, all while outsmarting the powerful corporate eateries. The storyline is entertaining, though formulaic. I don't see formulaic as the worst criticism, necessarily. Life, and our shared human experience, is usually formulaic. It's the journey that is most important. The journey you will take with this crowd is fun, like a Disney Channel show.

This would be a good show to watch with kids as soon as they can keep up with the subtitles. It reinforces hard work, honor, helping others and living right. In exemplifying all the above, Kang-soo is a perfect role model. He makes loyal friends out of strangers by helping others. He inspires Ji-yoon to follow suit.

The primary romance falls slightly flat. I'm not sure if the cause is the dialogue, the directing, or just a lack of seasoning. Perhaps it's a little of all the above. The secondary characters' relationship was a better story.

SDM is best suited for tweens and teens, and parents won't mind watching along. It is a simple story in the After School Special tradition, and solidly PG/PG-13.

IMHO... 🎬7 🤔5 🎭8 💓5 Suggested Age 10& up.

While we're talking about kids and family viewing, here's some recommendations:

4+ My Neighbor Totoro-8.2, Ponyo-9.1

5+ Balto-8.3

6+ D4DJ-7.5

7+ Cardcaptor Sakura-7.4

8+ Spirited Away-9

9+Trollhunters-9.5 (slightly scary. Worst language is "butt snack")

10+ C🇨🇳 Accidentally in Love-6.5 B-level scripting, acting, and directing, but still fun/strangely relaxing to watch, Howl's Moving Castle-8.9, K🇰🇷 A Love So Beautiful-7, My Dog Skip-8, K🇰🇷 Part Time Idol-5.5 (suicide addressed), Paulie-7.4, Saiki-8, K🇰🇷Spark-6.4,

11+ Belle-8.5, K🇰🇷 Flower Boy Next Door-7, Girls Und Panzer-8.1 (1 each d@mn, he!!), Labyrinth-7, C🇨🇳 A Little Thing Called First Love-8.5, Love Chunibyo And Other Delusions-8.4, K🇰🇷 The Miracle-7.7, One Piece-7.5 there is scattered PG-13 language, Watership Down-8.5

12+ K🇰🇷99 Days With the Superstar-7, Colourcloud Palace-8, Farming Life in Another World-7.7, Goonies l-8, Here Comes Miss Modern-7.8, Hotel del Luna 8.4, Jumanji-9, K🇰🇷 My ID is Gangnam Beauty-7.5 , C🇨🇳 Love Between Fairy & Devil-8.9, Piano In The Forest l-8, K🇰🇷 So I Married My Anti-fan-6.8, Your Lie In April-9

13+ K🇰🇷 Boys Over Flowers-8.3 ~ melodrama to the max; K🇰🇷 Heirs-7.3, K🇰🇷 My Shy Boss-6.5, K🇰🇷 Playful kiss-7.3, Princess Resurrection-7.6, Senryu Girl-7.5, Special A Class-8.2

14+ Toradora-8.5, Princess Principal-8.6.

Makes me laugh and reminds me that everyone struggles everyday, whether you are rich or poor and in debt. Keep moving and dont forget to enjoy your life no matter how bad it may seem or what you are going through.

A more realistic, more natural history, without exaggerations. The script is well written, distributing balanced enough interesting content in all the episodes, without falling into exaggerations. A bit of small business, stories of love, friendship, solidarity, with humor. The team of actors is made up of experienced veterans, but also young actors, at that time at the beginning such as Kim Seon Ho and others. Chae Soo Bin has a demanding role, in which he shows his talent to express different emotions, he goes from hardness and hopelessness in society, a bit of martial arts, strikes more or less delicately 😂, humor then reaches feelings and more feminine approaches than the beginning as an independent woman. Go Kyung-Pyo also does a good role, like everyone else. It's the series with the highest density of shining eyes on the screen, the cinematography would have had something to do with it😍. There would be many things to note, but the best is to see. It doesn't bore you, it doesn't keep you in suspense for nothing, it's the work of a team that does exactly what it has to do, to entertain the audience. For me, as a European, they succeeded.

This show is cute, sweet, and light without being too silly or over the top. The acting was good, and most of the male characters were likable, especially the male lead, Kang-soo. None of the female characters were likable except the grandma who sold ox bone stew. The female lead, Dan-ah, was too violent, and the secondary female lead, Ji-yun, was just plain psychotic. It also would have been nice if the soundtrack consisted of more than three songs, but I think that's just how K-dramas are in general. Aside from that, it was an enjoyable show to watch, even if it is just fluff. You could definitely do worse.