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''Racket Boys'' () is a 2021 South Korean television drama. The series, directed by Cho Young-kwang and written by Jung Bo-hun, stars Kim Sang-kyung,
Oh Na-ra Oh Na-ra (; born October 26, 1974) is a South Korean actress. She began her career by joining the Seoul Performing Arts Company in 1996 and made her debut in the musical ''Simcheong'' the following year. She went on to star in various producti ...
, Tang Jun-sang, Son Sang-yeon, Choi Hyun-wook,
Kim Kang-hoon Kim Kang-hoon (; born June 7, 2009) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in the television series ''Pride and Prejudice'' (2014), ''Criminal Minds'' (2017), '' Mr. Sunshine'' (2018), '' When the Camellia Blooms'' (2019), and '' Rac ...
,
Lee Jae-in Lee Jae-in (; born February 6, 2004) is a South Korean actress. She first gained recognition through the mystery film '' Svaha: The Sixth Finger'' (2019). Lee also starred in the television series '' Racket Boys'' (2021) and '' Night Has Come'' ( ...
, and
Lee Ji-won Lee Ji-won (; born August 30, 2006) is a South Korean actress. She is mostly known for her role as Kang Ye-bin in Sky Castle. Filmography Film Television series Awards and nominations Notes References External links * ...
. The series follows the growth of sixteen-year-old boys and girls, and the challenges faced by the badminton club at their school. It premiered on
SBS TV SBS TV (Seoul Broadcasting System Television) is a South Korean free-to-air television channel operated by Seoul Broadcasting System. The channel was launched on 9 December 1991. Unlike competing network MBC, SBS operates using a federalized ...
on May 31, 2021 and aired every Monday and Tuesday at 22:00 ( KST). The series is available worldwide on
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
for streaming.


Synopsis

A city kid is brought to the countryside by his father's new coaching gig — reviving a ragtag middle school badminton team on the brink of extinction. A story of a boys' badminton team at a middle school in Haenam as they grow, both as people and as players. Yoon Hyun Jong was once a very good badminton player, but now he struggles to make ends meet for his family. Therefore, he jumps at a chance to coach a middle school team, only to find it on the verge of disbandment with only three players: Bang Yoon Dam, Na Woo Chan, and Lee Yong Tae. The three boys struggle along, improving as Yoon Hae Kang, Yoon Hyun Jong's son, joins the team along with Jung In Sol. Now having enough players to enter competitions, they try to soar to new heights. Meanwhile, Ra Young Ja, former top badminton player and Yoon Hyun Jong's wife, is the coach of the girls’ badminton team at a girl's middle school in Haenam. On her team are Han Se Yoon, the #1 ranked junior female player in Korea and Lee Han Sol, Se Yoon's best friend, allowing them to be one of the best teams among their peers.


Cast


Main

* Kim Sang-kyung as Yoon Hyun Jong: Father of Hae-kang, and a badminton coach who moves to the countryside to earn more money. *
Oh Na-ra Oh Na-ra (; born October 26, 1974) is a South Korean actress. She began her career by joining the Seoul Performing Arts Company in 1996 and made her debut in the musical ''Simcheong'' the following year. She went on to star in various producti ...
as Ra Yeong-ja: Mother of Yoon Hae-kang and Yoon Hae-in, a living legend in the badminton world, and a junior high school coach. She is also known as "Ranos" for her go-by-the-book attitude. * Tang Jun-sang as Yoon Hae-kang: An ex-badminton prodigy and baseball enthusiast, who starts playing badminton again after moving to the countryside. * Son Sang-yeon as Bang Yoon-dam: The captain of the badminton club and their ace player. He wants to have 100,000 followers on Instagram. He is quite handsome. * Choi Hyun-wook as Na Woo-chan: A mediator who mediates conflicts between congregations with a caring personality and excellent empathy. *
Kim Kang-hoon Kim Kang-hoon (; born June 7, 2009) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in the television series ''Pride and Prejudice'' (2014), ''Criminal Minds'' (2017), '' Mr. Sunshine'' (2018), '' When the Camellia Blooms'' (2019), and '' Rac ...
as Lee Yong-tae: The youngest member of the badminton club, and a big fan of badminton player
Lee Yong-dae Lee Yong-dae (; ; born 11 September 1988) is a South Korean professional badminton player who had been successful in both men's and mixed doubles. He reached world number 1 ranking with 4 different partners, Jung Jae-sung, Ko Sung-hyun and Yoo Ye ...
. *
Lee Jae-in Lee Jae-in (; born February 6, 2004) is a South Korean actress. She first gained recognition through the mystery film '' Svaha: The Sixth Finger'' (2019). Lee also starred in the television series '' Racket Boys'' (2021) and '' Night Has Come'' ( ...
as Han Se-yoon: A badminton player who dreams of becoming the youngest member of the national team. *
Lee Ji-won Lee Ji-won (; born August 30, 2006) is a South Korean actress. She is mostly known for her role as Kang Ye-bin in Sky Castle. Filmography Film Television series Awards and nominations Notes References External links * ...
as Lee Han-sol: A student and a talented badminton player. She has a crush on Bang Yoon-Dam.


Supporting

* Ahn Se-bin as Yoon Hae-in: Yoon Hae-kang's little sister, who is cute and feisty like her mother. She is also independent and outgoing, and, in addition, has asthma * Jung Min-seong as Kim Tae-ho: Husband of a city couple, timid and caring. * Park Hyo-joo as Shin Phil-ja: Wife of a city couple. Kim Tae-ho and Shin Phil-ja are a typical urban couple who have been married for 10 years. They move to
Haenam Haenam (''Haenam-gun'') is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. The capital of Haenam-gun is Haenam-eup (Haenam town). The economy of the county is based mainly on agriculture, with rice and Kore ...
so they could leave the busy city life. *
Shin Jung-geun Shin Jung-geun (; born September 26, 1966) is a South Korean actor. He is most active as a supporting actor in films such as '' Running Turtle'' (2009), '' In Love and War'' (2011), '' The Grand Heist'' (2012), and '' The Five'' (2013), as well ...
as Coach Bae: A PET at Haenam Seo Middle School, and a badminton coach also known as "White Wolf". *
Kim Min-gi Kim Min-gi (; born November 22, 2002), is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in '' True Beauty'' (2020), '' Racket Boys'' (2021) and '' Under the Queen's Umbrella'' (2022). Filmography Television series Web series Televisi ...
as Jeong In-sol: Classmate of Hae-kang, Yoon-dam and Woo-chan. He is the class president and gets excellent grades, but yearns to play badminton with his new friends. *
Woo Hyun Woo Hyun (born 1964) is a South Korean actor and former democracy activist. Filmography Film Television series Variety shows References External links * Living people Male actors from Gwangju South Korean male television actors ...
as Hong Yi-jang: The head of the village and the youth president. *
Baek Ji-won Baek Ji-won (; born April 30, 1973) is a South Korean actress. She graduated in Horticultural Science from Kyung Hee University. She made her acting debut in 1996 in play ''My father got cancer''. She is known for her role in television serie ...
as Shin Song-hee: A lady who claims to be a guardian of the territorial village. * Shin Cheol-jin as Grandfather * Cha Mi-kyung as Grandma Oh-mae * Kim Ki-cheon as principal of Haenam Seo Middle School * Song Seung-hwan as Lee Seung-heon: A player in the National Spring Badminton League. * Ahn Sang-woo as Mr. No: A badminton store owner. *
Ahn Nae-sang Ahn Nae-sang (; born December 25, 1964) is a South Korean actor. He began his career on the stage, and in 1994 made his film debut in the Bong Joon-ho short film ''Baeksekin'' ("White Man" or "White-collar worker"), followed by Jang Sun-woo's ...
as Fang: A national team coach. * Yoon Hyun-soo as Park Chan: A badminton player that has a crush on Se-yoon. * Hong Seo-joon as Chairman Jung: In-sol's father. * Song Seung-hwan as Lee Seung-heon: A middle school badminton player.


Special appearances

* Kim Min-seok as Hun-hoon : Takes Grandma Oh-mae from the subway station to Father's Table restaurant in spite of his busy schedule (ep.2). * Park Ho-san as Park Sun-bae : Yoon Hyeon-jong's friend (ep.1). * Jonathan Thona as Jonathan : An exchange student and
GFriend GFriend (stylized in all caps; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by Source Music in 2015. The group consists of six members: Kim So-won, Sowon, Yerin (entertainer), Yerin, Eunha (singer), Eunha, Yuju (singer), Yuju, SinB, and Umji. They deb ...
's fan (ep.1). * Jo Jae-ryong as a restaurant owner (ep. 2) * Park Ok-hool as Bang Yoon-dam's mother * Kim Tae-hyang as Bang Yong-shik : Bang Yoon-dam's father, who is very supportive of his son. It is evident that Yoon-dam is his favorite child as he makes his children eat Yoon-Dam's favorite food every single day. * Choi Dae-hoon as a reporter for a badminton magazine * Yoon Bong-gil as a baseball coach * Im Chul-hyung as Woo-chan's father : A military man and a father with an iron fist. Initially, he disapproves of his son's passion for badminton. * Jo Ryeon as Woo-chan's mother *
Kim Sung-cheol Kim Sung-cheol (; born December 31, 1991) is a South Korean actor. He achieved initial success in stage musicals before being cast in his debut television role as Kim Young-cheol (a.k.a. 'Jailbird') in ''Prison Playbook'' (2017). He is recogni ...
as General Secretary Park * Ko Soo-bin as Ivana Putri : An Indonesia's badminton player (ep. 5). *
Park Hae-soo Park Hae-soo (; born November 21, 1981) is a South Korean actor. He is best known worldwide for portraying Cho Sang-woo in the first season of the Netflix hit series ''Squid Game'' (2021), which earned him a nomination for the Primetime Emmy A ...
as Lee Jae-joon : He has been exercising with Yoon Hyeon-jong since childhood (ep. 6). * Lee Jun-hyeok as Banjang Yu (ep. 6) * Kwon Dong-ho as college coach for Hyeon-jong and Jae-joon (ep. 6) * Ki Eun-se as Lee Yu-ri : A former badminton national team player, and coach of Seoul Jeil Girls' Middle School badminton team, in rivalry with Haenam Jeil Girls' Middle School coach Ra Young-ja (Ep.7, 8). * Jo Deok-hoe as a disciple of director Bae *
Jo Jae-yoon Jo Jae-yoon (; born October 29, 1974) is a South Korean actor. He made his acting debut in 2003 and has since starred as a supporting actor in numerous films and television series, including '' The Man from Nowhere'' (2010), ''The Chaser'' (20 ...
as a comic performer in 'The End of the Earth Avengers' (Ep.7, 8, 14) * Seo Do-jin as a comic performer in 'The End of the Earth Avengers' (Ep.7, 8) *
Lee Si-eon Lee Si-eon (born Lee Bo-yeon on July 3, 1982) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his comic supporting role in the popular campus drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance ...
as a Busan citizen (Ep.9) * Heo Sung-tae as Coach Cheon (Ep.10) * Jung Hee-tae as Hong Jeong-hyeon : The younger brother of Hong Yi-jang. *
Lee Yong-dae Lee Yong-dae (; ; born 11 September 1988) is a South Korean professional badminton player who had been successful in both men's and mixed doubles. He reached world number 1 ranking with 4 different partners, Jung Jae-sung, Ko Sung-hyun and Yoo Ye ...
as himself (Ep.15) *
Kang Seung-yoon Kang Seung-yoon (; born ), also known mononymously as Seungyoon or Yoon, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, actor, and leader of boy band Winner (band), Winner. His appearance on the reality television singing contest Superstar K (season 2), ...
as Kang Tae-seon : A former badminton youth national team player. He used to be a badminton player at Haenam Seo Middle School (Ep.12-16). * Kim Jung-young as Seon-yeong : Coach Bae's wife. * Lee Seok-hyung as Lee Kyung-min : A former national badminton player and a senior of Kang Tae-seon. * Seo Dong-won as Dong-hwi (Ep.15) *
Kwon Yu-ri Kwon Yu-ri (; born December 5, 1989), known mononymously as Yuri, is a South Korean singer, actress, and songwriter. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation (and later its subgroup Girls' Generation-Oh!GG) in August 2007, which ...
as Im Seo-hyun (Ep.16) : A national badminton player, the person Han Se-yoon considered as a role model. * Lee Kyu-hyung as Park Jung-hwan (Ep.16) *
Kim Seul-gi Kim Seul-gi (; born October 10, 1991) is a South Korean actress. She is known for starring in the television series ''Oh My Ghost (South Korean TV series), Oh My Ghost'' (2015) and ''Splash Splash Love, Splash Love'' (2015), as well as the fil ...
as Jang PD (Ep.16) * Jo Jung-shik as an SBC news anchor (Ep.16) * Kim Ji-young as Ah-young (Ep.16)


Production


Casting

Tang Jun-sang was invited to star in the sports drama on November 30, 2020. The cast of the series, Tang Jun-sang,
Kim Kang-hoon Kim Kang-hoon (; born June 7, 2009) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in the television series ''Pride and Prejudice'' (2014), ''Criminal Minds'' (2017), '' Mr. Sunshine'' (2018), '' When the Camellia Blooms'' (2019), and '' Rac ...
,
Oh Na-ra Oh Na-ra (; born October 26, 1974) is a South Korean actress. She began her career by joining the Seoul Performing Arts Company in 1996 and made her debut in the musical ''Simcheong'' the following year. She went on to star in various producti ...
and Kim Sang-kyung, was confirmed on January 26, 2021.
Lee Jae-in Lee Jae-in (; born February 6, 2004) is a South Korean actress. She first gained recognition through the mystery film '' Svaha: The Sixth Finger'' (2019). Lee also starred in the television series '' Racket Boys'' (2021) and '' Night Has Come'' ( ...
joined the cast on February 25, 2021, while Park Hyo-joo joined in March 2021. On March 25, the production company Pan Entertainment announced that with six boys and girls; Jun-sang Tang, Sang-yeon Sang, Choi Hyun-wook, Kang-hoon Kim, Jae-in Lee, and Ji-won Lee, the lineup of players was completed. Kim Sang-kyung and
Baek Ji-won Baek Ji-won (; born April 30, 1973) is a South Korean actress. She graduated in Horticultural Science from Kyung Hee University. She made her acting debut in 1996 in play ''My father got cancer''. She is known for her role in television serie ...
appeared together in the 2019 office themed drama, '' Miss Lee''.


Preparation

Tang Jun-sang mentioned in an interview that all the cast members who play badminton all trained extensively for months prior to filming in order to get the right forms and techniques. Kang Seung-yoon (Kang Tae-seon) also admitted in a behind-the-scenes video uploaded on the SBS Catch Youtube channel that he also took badminton lessons as he plays a top player in the drama. However, there was never a scene where he was seen playing the sport.


Filming

Principal photography began on January 30, 2021. On April 21, 2021 SBS released images of script reading. The filming locations of the series are Gangneung-si, Gangwon Province, Miryang-si and
Gyeongnam South Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World Heritage Site Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple that ...
.


Episodes


Original soundtrack


Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4


Part 5


Reception

Kim Hee-kyung writing for ''Hankyung'' opined that the drama is fresh in respect that it is 'bringing liveliness and tension at the same time'. Praising the directing technique, Hee-kyung wrote, "He he directoruses his cartoon imagination to draw white wolves and bears with computer graphics." She felt that the game scenes were portrayed realistically, and to stress on the players and present a dramatic atmosphere, voices and lights were removed.


Controversy

Episode 5 drew outrage from Indonesian netizens due to its negative portrayal of the country and its people as being cheaters and lacking in sportsmanship. Some of the dialogue between the main characters about the country and the wide gap in score between Han Se-yoon from Korea and Ivana Putri from Indonesia (21-7, 21-9) were also considered insulting given that, at the time of broadcast, a number of Indonesian badminton players were leading in world rankings while South Korean players were several places behind, leading to many accusing SBS of racism. In response to the backlash, SBS released an apology on their official Instagram account over the way the country had been portrayed.


Viewership


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* * * {{Works by Pan Entertainment Seoul Broadcasting System television dramas 2021 South Korean television series debuts 2021 South Korean television series endings South Korean teen dramas South Korean comedy-drama television series South Korean sports television series Korean-language Netflix exclusive international distribution programming South Korean television series about teenagers Television series by Studio S Television series by Pan Entertainment Badminton mass media Middle school television series Television shows set in South Jeolla Province