Netflix K-drama Racket Boys: rural sports comedy serves up diverting family fun
- Tang Joon-sang plays a young baseball prodigy who reluctantly moves with his badminton coach father, played by Kim Sang-kyung, to the countryside
- Suitable for all ages, the easy-going, feel-good comedy explores familiar family themes such as the importance of sticking together when it matters most
Part youth drama, part sports saga and part countryside comedy, Racket Boys, currently streaming worldwide on Netflix, is the latest show from Korean broadcaster SBS.
Hot on the heels of his appearance in Move to Heaven, young actor Tang Joon-sang plays the young sports prodigy who moves with his badminton coach father, played by Memories of Murder actor Kim Sang-kyung, to the countryside.
The action begins in the South Korean capital, Seoul, where Yoon Hyeon-jong (Kim) is coaching amateur badminton players but struggling to pay rent and medical bills and fund a special baseball camp for his son Hae-kang (Tang), who is on track to become a national star, which he is unable to afford.
When a better paid opportunity arises, Hyeon-jong accepts a post in the countryside and moves there with his son and younger daughter Hae-in (Ahn Se-bin). Hae-kang is livid that he can’t play baseball any more, and their humble new rural home and its lack of Wi-fi only make things worse.
Meanwhile, Hyeon-jong assumes his post as a coach at the Haenam Seo Middle School, but discovers that a formerly great team has been on life support for years and now has only three members. Without a fourth, they won’t be able to compete.