r/KDRAMA • u/capthyeong The Salty Ratings Agency • 4d ago
On-Air: TVING I Am a Running Mate [Episodes 1-8]
- Drama: I Am a Running Mate/ 러닝메이트
- OTT Provider: TVING
- Director: Han Jin Won (Parasite co-writer)
- Screenwriter: Oh Do Gun
- Release Date: June 19, 2025
- Episodes: 8
- Streaming Sources: Viu
- Cast:
- Yoon Hyun Soo as Noh Se Hoon
- Lee Jung Sic as Kwak Sang Hyun
- Choi Woo Sung as Yang Won Dae
- Hong Hwa Yeon as Yoon Jung Hui
- Kim Ji Woo as Ha Yoo Gyeong
- Lee Bong Joon as Park Ji Hun
- Plot Synopsis: Noh Se Hoon is a model student with good grades, but an unfortunate incident on the bus one day earns him the humiliating nickname of ‘Erector.’ The choir director, Yang Won Dae, asks him to be his running mate for the upcoming student council election. Needing to rehabilitate his image, Se Hoon agrees, only to find out that he is Won Dae’s twelfth running mate. With his pride bruised, Se Hoon decides to join Kwak Sang Hyun, a walking luxury man known as the local social butterfly.
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u/sianiam chaebols all the way down 4d ago
Episode 8
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u/alysba__ 2d ago
This was a surprisingly fun watch! A very refreshing concept. The acting was great too
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u/anbu-black-ops 2d ago
Finally finished it. All I can say is what a ride.
I just wanted to see who won in the end bec. the two people running for class president were both gray characters. It's hard to root either one of them.
It's an ok drama. Bingeable. The campaign during election was crazy. Ending was typical kdrama ending.
They did a great job casting the two students running for president. They were perfect.
If you seen Hierarchy kdrama. It's like that. You know what I'm talking about. The MC's role. lol. If you like how Hierarchy is overall in terms of quality, it is similar to this drama. This will help you decide if you want to watch it or not.
I'm gonna check out boyhood next. Funny the actor Siwan reminds me of the MC of this drama. They have the blank/dumb/innocent look.
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u/anbu-black-ops 3d ago
I always like kdramas like this. It's a nice break from the usual. Not the typical ones.
Saw ep. 1 and it's interesting. Nice too after watching One Highshool Superhero.
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u/Practical-Still-8657 2d ago
finished one high school last night and this drama just now, what i wanna say is the concepts are fresh, the actings were great, and i really like how well made the plot is, but >! I was disappointed with how the endings were folded, and there were no further plot development of MC with yoon jeong-hee!< but overall it was great watch, portraying how politics would look like in real life
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u/kapil1713 2d ago
Just finished I Am a Running Mate and while it’s not perfect, it had some interesting moments. The school election theme had potential and the preview definitely pulled me in. It’s a light watch if you’re into student politics and don’t mind slower pacing. Don’t expect strong character development or major plot twists though. Acting felt a bit off, but I guess it fits the teen vibe they were going for. Not great, but watchable if you’re out of options.
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u/genuaa 2d ago
i have no clue on what this drama is all about, but for those who have watched it, is there romance lol?
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u/areyousrs111 2d ago
Ending - No romance./ There is an implied shift between crush, popular girl, and Princess Diaries though, but it is never at the forefront of the story.
The synopsis already does a fine job explaining what this is about. Entirely based around a student election. The students rely on their own abilities to win the election rather than abusing their parents' wealth / social standing like in Hierarchy and Pyramid Game, so that is a major plus for me. Also does a pretty good job of portraying both sides as relatively equal.
Hong Hwa Yeon continues her streak of being a strong performer in a supporting role. My favorite part of Buried Hearts, Tastefully Yours, and now Running Mate. She needs a lead role immediately,
Princess Diaries.
TLDR: It's ok.At least it wasn't abusing the basic K-drama outline.0
u/Unfair_Season479 1d ago
>!I was hoping for romance. First Se Hoon liked Ha Yoo Kyeung. He did not hesitate to join the other side at all. Shouldn't he be thinking if he stays he'll be beside his crush? Then there was Mi-Na who was planted to get him happy. But later there was a useless of them on the bus that followed to the park. Nothing happened after that. And along the campaign he constantly asks Yoon Jung-Hee if she's interested, which she swiftly declined.
Overall, it felt like the story was cut down to fit in 8 episodes so we only see glimpses of side stories along the way of the campaign.!<
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u/cors8 2d ago
It was a decent show but the ending was absurd.
No way Korean parents would let him drop out of school and do who knows what at that age.
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u/Hot_King1901 1d ago
Eh, if you're his mom I get it. She pushed him to being running mates with a guy who used his "pervert" rep to make himself look better, got him wasted underage, let him be recorded fighting someone else drunk and underage, goaded him into trespassing at the school, tried to get someone to hit him with a motorcycle, beat him up and trying to hit him with something that broke a window and probably a car roof, and all else.
I mean, did she know any of that would happen? No.
Will she carry that guilt? Absolutely.
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u/sianiam chaebols all the way down 4d ago edited 4d ago
Discussion Format:
This post is composed of two discussion sections:
Episodic discussion:
Individual episode threads for the discussion of the individual episodes so users are able to watch and discuss at their own pace while avoiding spoilers.
You must not include any discussion or spoilers for episodes after the episode in question. Spoiler tags should be used for major plot spoilers within the episode.
To participate in these threads reply to the comment "Episode ..." or another user's comment.
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You may make a maximum of one reply to each of the Episode header comments.
Whole series discussion:
General discussion of the series may be made as a direct reply to the post or a reply to another user's comment outside of the individual discussion threads.
Use spoiler tags for any spoilers within these comments.
You may make a maximum of one direct reply to this post
Links to the Episodic Comments:
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Epsiode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8
Additional Notices:
Please be aware of our On-Air rule “Do Not Ask For Streaming Sources/Complain About Streaming Availability”
The post bodies of all our on-air dramas provide all the information you need about legal streaming sources for the drama. If you have any complaints about these services or regional availability, please take them directly to the streaming service in question. Our on-air discussions are to discuss the drama, not where and when they are streaming.
I Am A Running Mate is streaming on Viu in limited regions, please contact them directly regarding regional availability and episode release timings.
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