While there are a good number of Korean dramas that feature supernatural abilities or paranormal powers (‘Strong Girl Bong Soon,’ ‘While You Were Sleeping,’ ‘He is Psychometric,’ amongst others), this is the first Kdrama I’ve ever encountered that really leans in to the world of comic book superheroes in a Western way. Based off of the webtoon of the same name by Kangfull, ‘Moving’ is a 20-episode Kdrama about people with superpowers and a dark history that has driven them into hiding.
Directed by Park Inje (Kingdom season 2) and written by the original webtoon creator Kangfull, the story of ‘Moving’ unfolds in an interesting way. It opens in the present day following the story of 2 teens – Kim Bongseok (Lee Jungha) and Jang Huisoo (Go Younjung) – who have powers and find themselves going to the same school. As they navigate senior year and confiding each other with their abilities, we also discover that their parents also have powers but are keeping theirs secret too.
What first seems like a coming-of-age story of two kids with superpowers, begins to unravel as a complex story that involves governments, secret agents, and assassins. The story of the parents are a lot more complex than what the first few episodes show us and by the time we reach closer to the midway point, we discover that the story needs to fork into two timelines – the present and the past.
‘Moving’ boasts of an expensive budget and incredible CGI work for a drama series. Within the first ten episodes, there are images and visuals of flying, of regeneration, of superhuman strength and speed, and effects involving electricity. The show is also relentless in its action and fight choreography. Director Park Inje is also quite adept at creating striking images of the characters using their powers and while it feels exciting when it’s shown in the context of a fight scene, it’s when he uses it in relation to the young kids’ experiences of everyday life that it really shines.
There’s a great scene when Huisoo discovers Bongseok’s power of flight for the first time, it’s so elegantly done and it covers all the wonderful emotions that the two young actors can display. There’s another scene, also involving Bongseok’s flying abilities, of him cleaning a bathroom in the throes of young romance that makes a great visual.
This is what makes the show really shine. Yes, there are superpowers in it – and to the point where it feels like an MCU series – but that’s the easy stuff. The best parts is when it stays within the realm of Kdramas and work on their characters and their relationships. Bongseok’s and Huisoo’s relationship is a very special, wonderful little storyline that keeps everyone engaged. Then, playing counterpoint to each other, you have the Bongseok with his mom (Han Hyo Joo) and Huisoo and her dad (Ryu Seungryong). Bongseok and his mom is a tenuous relationship, with Han Hyo Joo’s Lee Mihyun as being overprotective and extra cautious. The tiredness and exhaustion of her character is explicit in every move she makes but the love is there, buried inside. It’s a wonderful performance that brings some very touching scenes. On the other hand, Huisoo and her father, Jang Juwon, have a more loving relationship – one that has both characters always walking on eggshells with each other. It’s so wonderfully played out that I cannot wait until the moment when the teens find out their parents have abilities.
This is why the show loses out on its strength as it gets closer to the midpoint. The first four or five episodes are working with multiple characters and weaves a tapestry of persons of interest. How they connect each other and how they relate to each other makes the show so good. By the sixth or seventh episode, they start to focus on one character’s backstory (usually a parent) and it takes the whole episode (sometimes two episodes) and I start to miss the present day storyline.
I understand that ‘Moving’ is building a world and is expanding it because it needs the space to move when all the characters come crashing into each other (by episode 10, they are still in each other’s periphery but have yet to come together) but it has made the episodes close to the midpoint feel dragging. Yes, we eventually see the histories of Jang Juwon and Lee Mihyun, but I’ve already invested in the friendship (and maybe even relationship) of Bongseok and Huisoo. There are also other characters like Lee Ganghoon (Kim Dohoon) and Chae Taehyun’s Jeon Gye-do and the assassin Frank, played by Ryu Seung-bum. Regardless, the first ten episodes of ‘Moving’ is proving to be an engaging new series that has the flavor of a Western/MCU type of superpowered show but with all the heart and the precision writing and character development of a Kdrama. It has a great cast and an intriguing, rich storyline with a lot of ground to cover. I won’t be surprised if the show ends in a cliff-hanger by the end of the 20th episode.
My Rating:
MOVING is now streaming on Disney+. Watch it here.
