Racket Boys 라켓소년단 [2021]

abs-oluteM · June 29, 2021

2 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

Also, is it me or is Coach Paeng bossing Coach Yoon around a sign of his way of showing affection? Hahaha. I just cannot help but think that way, hehe.

Most definitely ...this is such a trademark of the writer coming to think of it. Makes us think the worst of someone , then only to later reveal that the person had good intentions after all. For some reason I am reminded of Prison Officer Paeng (in PP) when I see Coach Paeng's character. (ahhaha same names!) Both seem a little shady at first but turned out really nice folks later.

Omg ...if you didn't mention it I wouldn't have recognised that Coach Yoon was Lee Kyu in the Crowned Clown. This is the mark of a good actor for sure.

ktcjdrama · June 29, 2021

Coach Yoon (Kim Sang Kyung) was in What Happens to My Family also. And his character there is cute for me. He acted opposite Kim Hyun Joo.

Edited June 29, 2021 by ktcjdrama

mademoiselle · June 29, 2021

Hae Kang :hearties: Se Yoon

stroppyse · June 29, 2021

6 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

(Am not very sure what is the beef between the two nations, perhaps @stroppyse can enlighten.)

It's mainly because of the Japanese occupation of Korea in the late Joseon period (early half of the 1900's) which only ended when Japan surrendered its territories as part of its loss in WW2. The occupation was pretty brutal, including the press-ganging of Korean men to work in dangerous situations such as mining, a program of Japanification of the culture which included all education to be conducted only in Japanese, and forcing Korean women as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers on military campaigns. Japan disputes some of this, but there are still Koreans alive who remember the occupation.

There are numerous stories of protests both covert and overt during the occupation. For instance, Sohn Kee Chung won a gold medal in the marathon at the Berlin Olympics of 1936, though he competed for Japan with a Japanese version name. In protest, he signed his documents with his Korean name, and gave interviews where he proclaimed his nationality as Korean. His running mate Nam Sung Yong won a bronze medal in the same race, also running for Japan with a Japanese version of his name.

As @mademoisellesaid, it's about the atrocities that can happen during colonization attempts. But, it's also the slights and transgressions, both real and imagined, since the occupation.

Anyway, it was nice to see that the children don't work under the same sense of hyper-nationalism and collective grudges as the older generations did. Rather, they understand about competition on the court and friendship off the court.

mademoiselle · June 29, 2021

Love this shot from tonight's episode 🥰

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQtP_APtKI-/?utm_medium=copy_link

Ep11 Preview

Edited June 29, 2021 by mademoiselle

ktcjdrama · June 29, 2021

I love tonight's episode so much!! :love:

Putting my comments in spoilers so as not to affect any of your viewing enjoyment. I do think the impact is different if you were to watch it first.

Spoiler

- Young love... Hae Kang became Se Yoon's black knight by coming out of the wardrobe alone when Coach Paeng came back. The smile that Se Yoon let out is telling about how she feels. And if I were Coach Ra, I would be confused why my son is smiling so happily running the punishment laps.... ah, love...

- A bit of flashback gives us a little clue as to the reason why Coach Ra accepted Coach Yoon. It paralleled with Hae Kang vowing to win the National Junior Sports Festival, so that Park Chan cannot confess to Se Yoon. It's that promise to fight for the heart.

- Later we also see Se Yoon being in bad mood seeing Hae Kang slacking off while resting his eyes because he might not be ready to win that match. She reminded him to keep that promise. One thing to note, Hae Kang only speak gently when the other party is Se Yoon :laugh:

- Hae Kang is supposed to rest his eyes, so what was he doing always watching TV and playing games on his phone all day long?? LOL...

- I guess Bang and Han Sol is official already? He almost got cornered into admitting something's going on, haha...

- The issue with Hae Kang not allowed to play sports is actually Coach Yoon being troubled about what Hae Kang really wants to do. He even get the boys to cut all contacts for the time being. This guy... he should have just ask Hae Kang himself instead of torturing himself and everybody wondering what to do. Good thing he finally did though, and his worry was really for nothing because his boy knows and goes for what he wants.

- One of the highlights for me this episode was the surprise birthday party for Coach Yoon. I was literally crying and laughing out loud at his reaction and at what the kids had done for him. I can't remember anymore what (or if there is) other drama that made me cry and laugh at the same time. The kids got him a training suit that was waaaay to small for him yet he was so proud of it and showing it off. Having assumed it was a last season's product bought on sale, he thought it cannot be exchanged, but wife and maknae insisted, so when he enquired, he got another surprise to find out that this is the latest model, and not cheap. How sweet of the boys not to penny pinch on a gift for their beloved coach. And how adorable is Hae Kang with that big sparkly bow on his head, haha...

- Next highlight for me is still another birthday party. The most senior resident in the village celebrating her 90th birthday. The bigger boys did well by slapping Yoon Dae's hand to remind him not to touch any food before the senior starts eating. Then when birthday girl took the first bite, our hungry boys were more than ready to dig in judging by the volume of their voice.

- We also get to see that Haelmoni played a part of finding Hae In earlier, even though her daughter didn't really want to care at first.

- Yoon Dae being the sweetest because he was the one who prepared the Memory of Busan clip for Haelmoni. In the previous episode, he asked those who trained in Busan to do things and buy food for him, but actually it was all for Haelmoni's sake, not his. How to not love this boy.

The new coach of the other school though... still giving me the Beyond Evil annoying vibes. haha...

Edited June 29, 2021 by ktcjdrama

Warm Paws · June 29, 2021

@ktcjdrama I loved this week's episodes too!

Here's my favorite part:

Spoiler

😂😂😂

And how NO ONE reacted to it, even if they left it out there on the screen.

stroppyse · June 30, 2021

Awww. I loved this week's episode. I loved both birthday parties! Yong Tae is such a sweetie for going to all that trouble for the great grandmother of the village, as well as all Bang, Sol, SY, and HK for diligently looking for everything that YT requested.

And, the boys are really sweet for throwing their coach a party and for their gift selection, even if they thought their coach was much smaller than he is. I'm glad that the shop owner was able to set the coach straight in terms of the boys' actions and intentions.

And, I was impressed by the exchange between SY and HK where she takes him to task for goofing off after he had said that he was going to win over Park Chan. HK realized that he had been in the wrong as well.

To be honest, though, I think that HK was distracted by the fact that the guys weren't in contact with him. Initially, it was glee at having a reason to play a day and eat all the ice cream he wants, however, it really bothered him that none of the other guys were around nor did they contact him at all. Of course, he didn't know that it was at the request of his father.

I was glad that the Coach Yoon finally talked to HK about what HK wants rather than trying to overcompensate. It's a maturation, not just for HK, but also for Coach Yoon as well. There is a certain innocence and naivete to Coach Yoon which has him making all sorts of sophomoric mistakes, but it's also that innocence and naive outlook which has him wholeheartedly putting everything into coaching the guys.

I do not like the new coach of the other school, btw. Grrrr. I hope the guys are able to win against them and be the main school for their region.

We're also finally getting more pieces to the puzzle that is the city couple. Despite the words exchanged, the couple are slowly becoming a part of the village, so I'm glad that the villagers are finding out a bit more about them, including the grief that initially drove them to come to the country to die.

I'm also rather loving the interaction between Coach Paeng and Coach Yoon. Coach Paeng clearly has a fondness for Coach Yoon and seems to be helping Coach Yoon develop. Contrasting Coach Yoon to the fawning minions who used to hang around Coach Paeng, Coach Yoon must be a total breath of fresh air. Not to mention that, despite his whinging about it, Coach Yoon actually does everything that Coach Paeng assigns to him.

mademoiselle · June 30, 2021

I had to restrain myself from reading everyone's spoilers before watching, especially when one starts it off with "... I do think the impact is different if..." Hahaha.

Yes, the young love here is the death of me. I'm cheering for both couples. Hae Kang being Hae Kang, protecting Se Yoon and Se Yoon's smile ~ melts my heart. Honestly Se Yoon is waiting for Hae Kang to spill his heart there...

Phew. So it was all a scare for Hae Kang's injured eye. Thank goodness, I was even thinking does he need cornea transplant or something! With regard to Hae Kang's slacking off for 2 weeks, I don't for once believe it. I think the hint was there when Yong Dae pointed out that Hae Kang hadn't finished watching Parasite and also Se Yoon complaining he should at least study the badminton matches.

Since he has set his mind and goal on becoming SK's badminton national representative, it is unlikely he spent all 2 weeks bumping around and did absolutely nothing. As we all know Hae Kang always does things opposite of what others think so I am pretty sure this is the same case. My guess is he was doing what Se Yoon said, watching badminton matches. Hopefully it'll be revealed next week.

Coach Yoon is just hilarious, LOL LOL. The farting scene. Him whining to Coach Paeng. Him wallowing in misery about his neglect on Hae Kang. Hahaha. They are one adorable family. And yes, agree that I'm enjoying his interaction with Coach Paeng.

I guessed right that Train to Busan was the pick however I didn't think it was scary at all, to the point of fainting. Hahaha. I burst out in tears, touched by the length the Racket boys go for Halmoni. The surprise for me here wasn't the birthday parties but the sincerity and thoughtfulness of these boys (and girls).

One of my favourite scene is when Coach Yoon talks to his friend Doctor while the drama showed us the boys won the game with Hae Kang at the audience seat cheering. It is paralleling what Coach Yoon and Doctor discussed about finding true friends. Hae Kang already knows and found them.

Behind the Scenes

Another version of OST No.3

Spoiler

ktcjdrama · June 30, 2021

3 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

With regard to Hae Kang's slacking off for 2 weeks, I don't for once believe it. I think the hint was there when Yong Dae pointed out that Hae Kang hadn't finished watching Parasite and also Se Yoon complaining he should at least study the badminton matches.

I also didn’t believe he was slacking off. I think he’s been preparing himself somehow too, and yes, got it from the same hint. Can’t wait for the next episode. I feel that these past two weeks been going by so slow for me.

3 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

They are one adorable family.

Did you notice their sleeping pose? LOL...

mademoiselle · June 30, 2021

2 minutes ago, ktcjdrama said:

Did you notice their sleeping pose? LOL...

YES!!!!

abs-oluteM · June 30, 2021

I just got off the episode, and it was a very sweet one highlighting how some kindness and thoughtfulness can go a long way! I was quite tickled at how Se Yoon scolded Hae Kang for lazing around. So cute - I kept thinking she's already gone into girlfriend mode ! Don't you all think that Se Yoon & Hae Kang's relationship dynamics are similar to his parents? SY is serious like Coach Ra , and HK is playful and a bit of a "airhead" like his father?

I do empathise with Coach Yoon when he couldn't decide how to approach HK about what he wanted. He is after all a father to a teen for the 1st time. When we become parents , no amount of reading or advice for others can really prepare you for parenthood. You make mistakes and sometimes you're unsure of your decisions even though it is obvious what you should be doing simply because the stakes feel so high.

The ending did feel a little darker than usual. I felt sorry to find out that the city couple have had not been able to conceive despite trying . I know how hurtful & annoying it can be when people kept asking you about things from your status (single vs married) to why you don't have children , to when you are going to have the next. The other dark bit was about Head Coach's reputation of being such an abusive coach. I don't know if those days that was considered as discipline or tough love , but if the rumors are true, his methods would be rather excessive. Nevertheless as this show has proven time & again, there will be some twist in next week's episode.

mademoiselle · June 30, 2021

3 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

Don't you all think that Se Yoon & Hae Kang's relationship dynamics are similar to his parents? SY is serious like Coach Ra , and HK is playful and a bit of a "airhead" like his father?

Yeah I get that same vibe too. Hahahaha. Well I guess in previous episode people already said Se Yoon resembles Coach Na.

ktcjdrama · June 30, 2021

5 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

I felt sorry to find out that the city couple have had not been able to conceive despite trying .

I am guessing it’s more than just that to warrant a suicide attempt. They probably did manage to conceive but lost the baby which resulted in her not being able to conceive anymore. Then probably everyone blaming the wife.

mademoiselle · June 30, 2021

2 minutes ago, ktcjdrama said:

I am guessing it’s more than just that to warrant a suicide attempt. They probably did manage to conceive but lost the baby which resulted in her not being able to conceive anymore. Then probably everyone blaming the wife.

I think it might be a combination - lost of jobs, lack of money (IVF can be very expensive) and unable to conceive. She kept saying the hubby is gullible so I think it also hinted that perhaps he lend money to others (like Coach Yoon).

mademoiselle · July 2, 2021

Behind the Scenes ^ ^

mademoiselle · July 2, 2021

Hahahahaha the awkward look on Hae Kang's face :laugh:

abs-oluteM · July 2, 2021

36 minutes ago, mademoiselle said:

Hahahahaha the awkward look on Hae Kang's face

So cute ! To be 16 again ahahahahah.

So the battle will happen next week. This actor always plays villain / shady characters

https://www.xportsnews.com/?ac=article_view&entry_id=1443894

ktcjdrama · July 2, 2021

3 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

Hahahahaha the awkward look on Hae Kang's face

So realistically portrayed ya.... that face, that distance.... that awkwardness of teenage love :love:

stroppyse · July 2, 2021

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