There are few things more disappointing than perfectly aligning your watching schedule to coincide with the airing of a drama's final episode without missing a day, only for the broadcast to be pushed back a whole week. That's literally what happened with Live On and man was so tilted when it happened. That's ok though because this whole drama was so worth the watch. For something that I sort of flip-flopped between wanting to watch it or not before I actually started, I was genuinely surprised by the topics that we touched on here and I truly wasn't expecting such quality. Let's dive in.
SERIES RETROSPECT AND REVIEW (SPOILER ALERT)
I do want to preface this by saying that I'll attempt a far more structured approach with this review and this is primarily because of the heavy themes covered throughout the drama, themes that warrant more of an essay-like format. Without further ado, let's start.
Introduction: It's very apparent that this drama is very tonally and cinematographically similar to the numerous Korean web dramas in recent years, and understandably so considering one of its production companies was Playlist, famous for their fairly popular web dramas over the years. Not only that, the drama delves into a variety of topics that are indeed very reminiscent of teen web dramas but don't be fooled, if you're apprehensive because you think you might get a low quality drama, fret not because this drama is absolutely worth the while, especially once we get into the meat of the story. Once again, do be warned that what I'm about to talk about can be quite distressing to some.
School violence in a South Korean context: In my initial thoughts post I mentioned that our heroine Ho-rang was clearly traumatised by an event in her past, which seemed to be people badmouthing her. I was somewhat on the right track because we find out that she's actually a victim of bullying/school violence. After that event, she retreats into her shell and pushes everyone away from her, even her best friend So-hyun, choosing to bury her humiliation and shame at being bullied under a cold diva-like façade. It is only after the drama progresses do we see her finally come to terms with what she's gone through and make her struggle public. This is the crux of the story and probably explains why this drama would cut deep for many viewers.
In the context of South Korean society, school violence is something that's a serious issue and has been on the rise over the years, with many reports depicting seriously disturbing events. In a 2019 survey, about 60000 students from elementary, middle and high school said they were school violence victims. Everything from cyber-bullying to being ostracised or even sickening physical violence, you name it, it's happened. In the worst cases, we see that victims are even driven to the point of attempting suicide, some regrettably succeeding. School violence is a huge deal in South Korea and can even be brought up as a criminal case to the police. In short, this kind of behaviour is not tolerated at all by the South Korean public and being outed as a bully can often lead to dire consequences.
If you're fairly well-read on the world of K-Pop, you'll often see cases of anonymous reports that a certain idol was supposedly a bully during their school days. These kinds of whistleblowers aren't uncommon, we've seen SISTAR's Hyorin deal with this in the past and in more recent times, Karina from the newly-debuted aespa was bogged down by such rumours as well. Oftentimes these reports are said to be untrue with many others coming forth in support of the idol but the underlying issue is there. Even if it's in a moment of folly or because of teenage angst, Korean society has zero tolerance for bullying and if someone is revealed to either be one presently or have been one, they'll be heavily criticised and shunned by the general public. By now, you're probably convinced of the magnitude of this issue.
You might wonder, well if I was the victim I wouldn't just suffer in silence, I would reveal my problems to my peers or teachers or parents. Action will be taken and I won't be bullied anymore. Easier said than done. With the deplorable things being done to them, the victims are live in constant fear of these bullies and are absolutely terrified of what might be done to them should they blow the whistle. The bullying might get even worse, so victims stay silent out of fear. Another aspect is the embarrassment that comes with it, especially if they're bullied in front of many bystanders. Bullying is a show of power by the perpetrators and victims might think that revealing the truth will just confirm that they're indeed weaker than the bullies. Likewise, they stay silent. The second factor is especially relevant to this drama and we'll get to that later.
The sad reality is that school violence perpetuates itself. Everyone knows about the vicious cycle of bullying, wherein a victim is pushed so far that they themselves become bullies to others and so on and so forth. In the same survey that I mentioned above, a whopping 22000 students admitted to having inflicted school violence and that's a depressing statistic. Who knows how many of these bullies were once victims themselves? Oftentimes bullies are dealing with a lot of stress in their own life and in the South Korean education system, which many people argue as being too rigorous and/or academic-focused, it only adds on to the reasons for bullying to happen, as outlets of anger and frustration.
With the exception of the education system bit, many of the abovementioned points are brought to the table in this drama. Under the fluffy cute romance and sugar sweet scenes, we see that it's a commentary on school violence, a problem that has plagued South Korean society forever and this is the biggest reason why I think this drama should be appreciated that much more.
Our leads: The previous segment was pretty heavy so let's move to lighter topics and talk about what was so excellent about this drama. Live On truly has a charm of its own and I think this is in no small part due to its web drama-like vibe, which focused a lot on the high school romance between various couples while expertly weaving them into the overarching story. I can't wax lyrical enough about how solid the acting of our six leads were. Not only did they complement each other in their respective couples but they also complemented each other as a group of friends. This is one of the few times that I truly liked not just the main couple but even the side couples because their chemistry is just popping and they're all super unique from one another. For such a short drama, we got some seriously amazing and well-acted scenes. I was thoroughly immersed in some of the stuff that played out on screen, whether it was feeling suffocated with indignation at Ho-rang's struggles or smiling like a fool at the cute scenes.
Our main couple with female lead Ho-rang and male lead Eun-taek played off each other really well. While it seems as though both have really strong personalities and even come off as standoffish to others, especially Ho-rang, we eventually find out that they've just constructed walls as a result of unpleasant events in their past. As I mentioned earlier, Ho-rang was a bullying victim who buries her shame under her new personality but throughout the drama, we see how close she is to actually cracking and how tired she is of maintaining this farce. Under her unapproachable exterior, we see that Ho-rang is still that same scared girl who never got over the bullying she dealt with, and Jung Da-bin portrays both sides of our heroine expertly. It is because Da-bin acts so well that it's very frustrating as a viewer to see Ho-rang push everyone away from her, even going so far as to insult her closest friends, because she's truly desperate to hide everything about her past. That's why it's very comforting when she finally comes to terms with her past and reveal everything, getting that weight off her shoulders.
As for our male lead Eun-taek, while his past trauma isn't as devastating as Ho-rang's, we also see that he's built up walls and starts to almost obsessively follow a structured life as a result of his parents' divorce. It's quite sad when you see that it's because Eun-taek's mother constantly broke her promises to him that he starts to hide his own emotions of sorts and drift apart from those around him. Throughout most of the drama, Eun-taek remains a fairly emotionless character but eventually he finds out that his mother (who has since remarried) was just trying her best to juggle both the responsibilities of her new family and also being a mother to Eun-taek. She was just putting on a brave front and when she finally breaks down in front of him, he learns a very important lesson, that people will do anything to hide their pain from those they love. At the end of the drama, Eun-taek's story comes full circle as he finally properly reconciles with his mother and opens up to her. Hwang Min-hyun has done an outstanding job portraying our complex hero and considering this is his drama debut, he's doing an incredible job. I take back what I said in my initial thoughts post about him giving me Cha Eun-woo vibes because, no hate to Eun-woo, his acting is pretty monotonous (which suits most of the roles given to him) but damn Min-hyun was excellent.
It's very heartwarming to see Ho-rang and Eun-taek grow closer over the episodes and as they open up to each other, they too start to come to terms with their personal struggles and become better people because of it. They share many cute scenes together and it's absolutely adorable because the softer side of both characters is definitely something that doesn't see the light of day much, making it especially special when it surfaces. Their chemistry is really insane and it especially shows when these two teenagers who experience trauma way too early in their life actually behave like high schoolers.
To balance out the emotionally heavy main couple, we have second leads So-hyun and Yoo-shin, who I might potentially ship the most out of the drama's three couples. In contrast to the far more "angsty" leads, our second leads were nothing but wholesome. I think by far and away, Yang Hye-ji gave us one of the best performances in the drama. So-hyun spent a good part of the drama resenting her former best friend Ho-rang for pushing her away without reason and their disdain for each other was very clear. However, even with all this stacked-up resentment, So-hyun still deeply cares for Ho-rang and treats her like a friend, even doing her own investigations to find out the truth behind the rumours being spread about Ho-rang. This all comes to a head when Ho-rang finds out that So-hyun knows the truth about the bullying and what happens next is my favourite scene in the whole drama because of how well-acted it is.
It's absolutely heartbreaking to see the confrontation between So-hyun and Ho-rang about the truth, and their acting is incredible, especially from Hye-ji. You know sometimes when you watch a drama and you see the characters cry you don't really feel too much because even if it looks real, you know it's acting. That wasn't the case with this particular scene because their acting is so unbelievably realistic that it actually feels like an argument that would happen between two friends. I actually felt really suffocated watching it because of how much raw emotion was in it and even now, it's a scene that lives in my mind rent free. Absolute masterclass in acting.
Yoo-shin on the other hand is a very simple character. He's undoubtedly the "happy virus" of the drama and no matter what, he has a smile plastered on his face. Yoo-shin will undoubtedly give you the most laughs in the drama, especially with how generally unaware he is of his surroundings. It generates a lot of hilarious moments. His entire story arc is basically being completely and utterly whipped for So-hyun, and he's made it very clear to everyone, including So-hyun herself, that he's actively chasing her. Amongst all the angst in this drama, Yoo-shin is a very refreshing character because he sees the good in everyone and makes friends super easily, like how he's close friends with Ho-rang even though she's quite a diva and how he effectively muscled his way into Eun-taek and Woo-jae's friendship, becoming a trio. Under that cheerful exterior though, we see that Yoo-shin is actually super mature and considerate, seeing as how he never pressures So-hyun into starting a relationship with him, leaving her to do things at her own pace. VICTON's Byung-chan has done a pretty decent job depicting this happy-go-lucky high schooler in his drama debut and I think many viewers swooned over him.
I consider Yoo-shin and So-hyun's relationship to be the purest and most unproblematic one in the drama. They're absolutely perfect for each other, which is why it was somewhat disappointing for me to not see a conclusive end to their story. At the end of the drama, we get hints that So-hyun is starting to become romantically interested in Yoo-shin but we don't get much beyond that, which is unfortunate. That leads to me to one thing that I wished the drama had expanded on more, So-hyun's backstory. It's been mentioned multiple times that So-hyun is more comfortable around boys (her friendships with Eun-taek and Yoo-shin are evidence of that), with many rumours about her being a "serial dater", but what we don't delve into is why she's never been in a serious relationship. I thought we would get that with Yoo-shin but I guess it wasn't to be.
Last but not least, we have our final couple, Woo-jae and Jae-yi. Unlike our main couple and to some extent the second leads, the romance and story of our third leads was for all intents and purposes separate from the drama's main story and that's ok. Rather than have too many intersecting plotlines that could potentially lead to a messy drama, it was a good idea to tell Woo-jae and Jae-yi's story separately. I mentioned in my initial thoughts post that their relationship bordered on toxicity and on hindsight, I guess that's not really fair. They're just polar opposites of each other, Woo-jae being the reserved and rational student councilor while Jae-yi's the outspoken "no-filter" girl. Their differing personalities is primarily the driving force behind their story, being the reason for their constant fights and arguments, with Jae-yi not seeing things from Woo-jae's perspective and him not opening up to her, instead choosing to keep his feelings and thoughts under wraps.
Some might consider their romance to be very inane and superficial, only there for the sake of being a sub-plotline but I think that they give us a very important lesson of being able to understand your partner and seeing things from their perspective, which would lead to a healthy relationship. At the end of the drama, Woo-jae and Jae-yi are back together again (of course) and have changed for the better, Jae-yi learning how to insert some "filters" into her personality and Woo-jae finally opening up to her. It's another very wholesome relationship and the actors sell their roles well. I've seen Noh Jong-hyun in He Is Psychometric before and while his role here is far more of a reserved character, he still performs well, especially in those scenes where he shows quiet exasperation. This is also the first time I've seen Yeonwoo act, having known her as an idol for the longest time and she's also impressed me. I think I'll look forward to seeing her in future dramas.
The drama's six leads aren't all about romance though because their friendships within the group are a large part of what makes this drama so interesting. We see that Ho-rang forms close friendships with Yoo-shin and Jae-yi as the drama progresses, with their antics being absolutely hilarious. They form good foils to each other, with the outgoing Yoo-shin contrasting with the standoffish Ho-rang, and with Jae-yi countering her strong personality perfectly. Seeing Ho-rang and So-hyun's friendship transform throughout the series was also very rewarding, especially once they cleared up their misunderstandings and reconciled in a very heartwarming way. While not as heavily focused on as others, Woo-jae and Eun-taek also complement each other well, both being the logical ones in the group. When you throw Yoo-shin into the mix, he adds a nice contrast that only makes their friendship grow more. These six high schoolers teach us very important lessons, whether it's about opening up to those you love, being able to wait for someone without pressuring them, or even understanding things from others' perspectives. The six have grown as people as the drama moved along and we grew along with them.
Bullying as depicted in the drama: School violence isn't a new topic in K-drama, we've seen it depicted before in Save Me and Solomon's Perjury among others in far more distressing and sickening scenarios. Having never seen those dramas myself, it may be unfair for me to say that Live On doesn't show us such severe cases of school violence but to my understanding, those two dramas don't have bullying as a central plotline (I'm pretty sure about that for Save Me but do let me know if I'm wrong here). Live On showed us pretty much all the aspects of bullying, whether it's the shame felt by victims that forces them to remain silent or even how bullying perpetuates itself. That second factor leads me to what I consider one of the best parts of the drama and that is our main villain Jung Hee-soo (Lee Se-hee).
The drama sees Ho-rang being harassed by a figure from her past who threatens to reveal all to the high school. Ho-rang suspects many people, even So-hyun, but it's later made known to us that the villain was close all along, with broadcasting club member Hee-soo, wanting to bring Ho-rang down by all means. I hated Hee-soo, she was just a terrible person and the things she did were truly despicable. Whether it was threatening Ho-rang with bringing the truth to light or turning the school population against our heroine, she was just so unbelievably evil. However, as we go deeper into the drama, we realise that Hee-soo herself could be considered a product of the bullying cycle herself. While it's not explicitly stated that she's a victim, we see that Hee-soo is supposedly an outcast or one of the less popular kids in middle school. At one point, Ho-rang returns her lipstick (which she dropped on the floor) and from there, Hee-soo misunderstands her intentions and tries to befriend her. Of course, under pressure from her bullies, Ho-rang brushes her off and ignores her, which is basically Hee-soo's villain origin story, sending her down the path of derangement to destroy Ho-rang by all means possible.
She feels ignored and abandoned by the world around her, and in her obsessive craze, she wants to bring Ho-rang down to her level and crush her. Hee-soo just wants attention, which she never got in middle school, and when the school population turns on Ho-rang, thinking that our female lead is a bully, Hee-soo basks in the attention and lies that she was a victim. Of course, eventually the cat comes out of the bag and she's found to be a liar and effectively a bully herself, now shunned by the school population. There's quite a cathartic moment in the last episode when Ho-rang tells Hee-soo, who's transferring schools, to stop worrying about what others think about her and just live her own life. While she's probably not forgiven her, Ho-rang's trying to break the cycle of bullying by asking Hee-soo to move on.
Lee Se-hee is an excellent actress and portrays both sides of Hee-soo perfectly. While she expertly portrays the fake nice girl persona she puts on around others in order to pull the wool over their eyes, her best acting comes when she transitions into the deranged villain of the story, obsessed with decimating Ho-rang and when that sick, twisted grimace of a smile creeps onto her face, it makes your blood boil. A mark of a good villain performance is when you truly hate the character and that's definitely the case with Hee-soo. At the same time, there's a small sympathetic element to her character and only places further emphasis on the problem of school violence.
I want to touch on the humiliation aspect of bullying victims. When a video is released by Hee-soo which shows Ho-rang being bullied, the high school students misunderstand and think that she's the bully instead of the bullied. Rather than clear up the misunderstanding and reveal that she's the victim straightaway, Ho-rang is willing to carry on with the lie and tell others that she was the bully. In her eyes, she rather be the perpetrator than the victim because she simply doesn't want others to pity her or treat her with kid gloves because of that incident. It's a very painful reality and while obviously dramatised, such things may actually happen in real life too.
Afterthoughts: With everything's that been said above, I want to make it very clear that school violence isn't just a South Korean problem, it's a global issue. It happens everywhere and many students suffer in silence, either hoping beyond hope for their schooling to finally finish and the bullying to stop, or worse, take their own lives to escape. Those who can't take the pain anymore but won't commit suicide turn into bullies themselves and the vicious cycle never ends. It is a sickening issue and this drama serves its purpose well in bringing such problems to light. While events are clearly dramatised for entertainment value, it's no doubt that these things are a reality of the education system all over the world and is an issue that needs to be addressed. Whether it's increasing the severity of punishment if brought to light or something else, a solution needs to be formed.
I'm still flipflopping on whether to consider Live On as one of my top 10 dramas but it's undoubtedly one of the greatest products to grace our screen. I feel that the 8-episode length was perfect for the story they wanted to tell and they didn't need to drag it out. I've heard many viewers ask for a season 2 or an extra 8 episodes but to me, Ho-rang's story is over and has come full circle. However, in the unlikely event we get a season 2, I think the screenwriters can focus on So-hyun this time (similar to massively popular web drama A-Teen), with Ho-rang taking on a supporting role, and delve a bit more into our second female lead's backstory. Unfortunately, I feel as if Yoo-shin might not be as strong of a character so having him been the lead might get a bit boring because he's a little bit too one-note. I don't know, we shall see.
I mentioned in my initial thoughts post that the drama's title should be pronounced like "live on radio" because of the broadcasting club setting but in truth, I think it would've been a lot better to be "I live on Earth". As our heroine Ho-rang deals with the aftereffects of being bullied and eventually coming to terms with it, she has to move on and live on through the struggles, growing as a person. In many ways, that may be the way for bullying victims to come to terms with their struggles. Should they muster the courage to bring the issue to the surface, regardless of how society views them afterwards, they'll be doing a great service by contributing to breaking the cycle of school violence and become a ray of hope for those stuck in similar situations, giving them the motivation to grow as a person and Live On. Thanks for reading.
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