Racket Boys

Racket Boys (Korean: 라켓소년단) 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, Tang Jun-sang, Son Sang-yeon, Choi Hyun-wook, Kim Kang-hoon, Lee Jae-in, and Lee Ji-won. 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 on May 31, 2021 and aired every Monday and Tuesday at 22:00 (KST). The series is available worldwide on Netflix for streaming.
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.
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, Oh Na-ra and Kim Sang-kyung, was confirmed on January 26, 2021. Lee Jae-in 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 appeared together in the 2019 office themed drama, Miss Lee.
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.
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.
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 [the director] uses 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.
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.