Fight for My Way

Male Lead: Park Seo Jun
Female Lead: Kim Ji Won
Secondary Lead: Ahn Jae Hong, Song Ha Yoon
Also Starring: Kim Sung Oh, Chae Dong Hyun, Pyo Ye Jin, Jin Ji Hee, Kim Ye Ryung, Son Byung Ho, Kwak Dong Yeon, Choi Woo Shik, Hwang Bo Ra, Lee Elijah, Jin Hee Kyung
Year Released: 2017
Number of Episodes: 16
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Country: Korea
Where I Watched It: Viki
Recommended By: Park Seo Jun
Who I Watched It For: Park Seo Jun

This drama is about the youth who is not qualified for what the heartless society demands. Without backgrounds such as high education and certificates, the world tells them to focus on playing supporting roles in life. However, they all have their advantages and deserve to be the main character in their own lives. This is a story about four individuals, Dong Man, Ae Ra, Joo Man, and Sul Hee, and the dreams they are pursuing. Dong Man used to be a top athlete in taekwondo. However, his dreams of becoming a national athlete is shredded into pieces when he helplessly loses against authority and money. Choi Ae Ra has always dreamed of becoming an announcer. Although for now, she works at a department store, she continuously goes to job interviews and fights for her way. When the world turns its back on one of them, the other rushes to comfort them.

On my journey through all of Park Seo Jun’s work, I came across this show. I was pretty excited to finally get around to watching it because I haven’t seen Park Seo Jun as a not so serious dork yet. In the shows that I’ve watched, he’s played the serious, no-nonsense kind of guy so Ko Dong Man was way different from what I was used to and boy did I absolutely love Park Seo Jun as Ko Dong Man. After seeing him in Itaewon Class and What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, seeing him in Fight for My Way was like a breath of fresh air. He plays the goofy man super well.

Fight for My Way is a best friends to lovers trope and it was such a fun show that I was so sad when I finished it. Ae Ra and Dong Man were such a delightful pair that I laughed at their bickering, I swooned with delight over how they protected each other and I fell head over heels with the two of them together. When we first meet them, they’re in school and Dong Man is at the top of his game as a taekwondo fighter. He wins his fight and is so goofy about it that he gets a slap on the back of his head from his coach. You also see a young Ae Ra and Seol Hee and that was a super fun introduction to our heroine of the show. Fast forward ten years and the gang is almost 30 years old and things are a lot different than they all thought it’d be.

Ae Ra is working at a department store and not at all happy with where her life is. Dong Man is working in a dead-end job and like Ae Ra, not happy with where his life is. After an incident from his past, he walked away from fighting and is still trying to find himself. With their 30th birthday looming, Dong Man decides to shed his fear of the past and live a life of passion. Ae Ra is inspired and decides that she too is going to go after what she really wants as well.

The secondary romance in this show follows Ae Ra and Dong Man’s friends, Seol Hee and Joo Man who are in a relationship but it’s not an ideal one. They work together so they hide their relationship from their coworkers and Joo Man’s family aren’t the biggest fans of Seol Hee so there are some simmering issues there but there’s also a female coworker that is very interested in Joo Man and that’s yet another issue that is simmering between them.

I liked that the main couple’s issues were them trying to figure out their lives while falling in love with each other. Their feelings for each other aren’t the main issue between them though it sure did take Dong Man quite a while to realize what was right in front of him for so long. I really adored the two of them coming together. They were such huge supporters of the other and seeing them hype each other up and step up for each other really got me in the feels. They were great on their own but together, they were just that much better. I adored the two of them and I was cheering for them from the jump. I loved jealous Ae Ra and I hella loved jealous Dong Man. Their fights were epic and so funny that I laughed and laughed and laughed. You can’t be cute with your boyfriend when you grew up with him and he knows everything about you. So when he knows you get gas after eating certain things, you better believe that he’s going to call you on it and seeing them learn how to be with each other, after knowing almost too much about the other was just a lot of fun.

The secondary storyline focused on the relationship between Seol Hee and Joo Man. They’re in a long term relationship and going through some growing pains together. Seol Hee is trying to do what she can to hold them together but Joo Man is distracted and not much help so Seol Hee is pretty much on her own but once she gets tired of trying to hold things down on her own, seeing Joo Man mess up and then try to make things right with her was an interesting addition to this show. I thought their problems balanced my enjoyment of the show overall because I was anxious and mad and then forgiving and hopeful for the two of them. They were great characters and fantastic friends to both Dong Man and Ae Ra.

Overall, this was a fabulously fun show with great characters and a cast of actors that really know how to deliver entertainment. I was glad to have watched this and I enjoyed everyone’s acting so much that I looked up everyone’s backlist and added all of their shows to my To Be Watched list. I can’t wait to dig into their stuff too. I definitely recommend this show if you’re looking for something fun and super cute. Trust me, you’ll want to know Dong Man for yourself. 🙂

Listen to the OST

Final Rating

4.5 out of 5