In a school playground, a group of children surrounds a boy wearing a Flash cape. They watch as he climbs the ladder, mimicking the Flash's signature moves, and bravely jumps to the ground. Nearby, another boy, Kim Bong-seok, tugs at his cape, silently climbs to the top of the ladder and replicates the moves. Astonishingly, he manages to fly through the air before landing safely seven to eight meters away. He becomes the new 'king of the kids' instantly.
However, this 'heroic act' is harshly criticised by his mother, Lee Mi-hyun. Kim Bong-seok doesn't understand why he can't do things with his superpowers. 'What does having superpowers matter? Empathy is a person's true ability. Understanding others, that's the most important power'.

This scene epitomises Moving. It revolves around the theme of 'superpowers', which is very common in American TV shows. Moving deviates from the typical superhero narrative. Instead of following the usual path of telling a story about how they use their powers to save the world, the characters in this drama bear the burden of their extraordinary gifts, dreaming of living normal lives like ordinary people.

Moving is one of Disney's flagship Korean investment projects in 2023 and stands as the most expensive Korean drama ever made. With a total production cost of 650 billion Korean won, including post-production expenses of 15 billion Korean won, the series boasts the involvement of A-list Korean celebrities like Ryu Seung-ryong, Han Hyo-joo, Zo In-sung, and Cha Tae-hyun, generating significant buzz even before its premiere.

The show's overall structure adheres to the original manga, following the plotline of current events, past crises, and current crisis resolution. The first seven episodes focus on the high school lives of the 'second generation with superpowers'. Episodes six and seven delve into the past of the 'first generation with superpowers', while the final part depicts both generations facing a significant contemporary crisis. However, those expecting sci-fi, suspense and action elements might feel slightly uneasy watching this series. As the creator of the original manga, Kang Full mentioned in interviews that he carefully balanced action scenes with emotional depth, ensuring that emotions were not overshadowed. In this sense, the series is emotionally closer to a romance drama.

In the first seven episodes, Moving weaves two storylines together. One follows the teenage lives of some high school students with superpowers, including Kim Bong-seok, Jang Hui-soo and Lee Gang-hoon. The other focuses on Frank, a killer from the United States who targets retired Korean superpower agents. As the plot unfolds, these two storylines gradually intertwine, painting a complete picture for the audience. Before the whole story unfolds, Moving spends ample time explaining the troubles superpowers bring to these individuals who try to hide their identities. Superpowers may become burdens instead of tools to assist them in their daily lives.
Kim Bong-seok inherits the ability to fly from his father. When his emotions and weight change, his body starts to float. To conceal his powers, his mother refrains from smiling at her young son because she noticed he tended to float when he was happy. As he grows up, he has to eat a lot to maintain a heavy weight and carries heavy objects to school, making it nearly impossible for him to make friends. Overprotected, Kim Bong-seok is just living a seemingly normal life.
For those with superpowers but without the protection and support from their families, life is even more challenging. The character played by Cha Tae-hyun used to be a children's theatre actor and played the role of the Flash. However, he was fired after accidentally causing electrical failures in the theatre during performances.
In the first generation, only Jang Ju-won, played by Ryu Seung-ryong, barely makes a living with his superpowers. Nevertheless, his means are far from honourable. He acts as a human shield for a local gang or stages accidents to extort money for rent, putting his super self-healing powers to good use. Despite their superpowers, they can't escape difficulties in life. In this regard, the series is not a feel-good story but a realistic portrayal of life.
On the other side of the Earth, as Frank approaches Kim Bong-seok and Lee Mi-hyun’s pork cutlet restaurant, and a power hierarchy stretching from the nation to individuals becomes evident. A U.S. supernatural control agency commissions Frank. His targets are retired superpower agents involved in a joint operation between Korea and the U.S. Even though these individuals now lead ordinary lives, running barbershops, used bookstores, or pork cutlet restaurants, the higher-ups in the U.S. still want these knowledgeable people to be silent permanently to ensure nothing goes wrong after the political situation changes.
Min Yong-jun, a senior official in the National Intelligence Service, is primarily concerned not with the safety of these retired agents in his country but with how their deaths could benefit him. Kim Doo-sik, played by Zo In-sung, is a god-like figure among the super agents, possessing superman-like flying speed and excellent shooting skills. The fact that the organisation would give him a mission of such a level as assassinating the North Korean leader shows his capability. In the clutches of the organisation members, he takes Min Yong-jun hostage. After Min-Yong Jun attempts to escape, he hung Min Yong-jun from a tree but left him unharmed.
Many viewers find this part of the plot confusing. Min Yong-jun is an ordinary person with no superpowers, and Kim Doo-sik could easily kill him. Why doesn't he? Why are these individuals with superpowers leading such difficult lives? This “loophole” in the plot isn't an oversight but a deliberate choice to portray a harsh reality where even people with extraordinary abilities, including superpowers, can't challenge the system's ruthless control under pervasive authority.
Besides family ties, the organisation's consistent surveillance, control, and exploitation bind the two generations of individuals with superpowers. Jeongwon High School, where Bong-sik, Hee-soo, and Kang-hoon study, isn't an ordinary high school. It's controlled by the organisation secretly and used to select the second generation with superpowers to do their bidding. According to the terminology used by Min Yong-jun to describeindividuals with superpowers, they are 'variety management', 'transplantation operations', and 'cultivation work'. In the eyes of the national machinery, they have never been treated as human beings but as combat-ready human tools.
Being deemed fit for duty as a remarkable superpowered individual isn't necessarily good. On the one hand, they have to carry out dangerous missions involving violence; on the other, they constantly face internal control and tests from the organisation. The organisation's way of controlling these individuals is by exploiting their vulnerabilities. For instance, Lee Mi-hyun remained with the organisation until her father's death because they provided medical help for her father.
For a loner without any weak points like Kim Doo-sik, the organisation creates vulnerabilities to control him. The meeting between Kim Doo-sik and Lee Mi-hyun is a result of their arrangement. After the eighth and ninth episodes aired, their love story touched many viewers. With close-ups of the character's facial expressions, the capture of their body language, the subtle play of light and shadow and the chemistry between Zo In-sung and Han Hyo-joo, this romantic tale exudes a cinematic quality. The meticulous attention to detail, such as the recurrent appearance of the purple curtains, builds up the romantic storyline and foreshadows the separation of the two characters in later episodes.

This storyline's brilliance owes much to Korean dramas' expertise in portraying love stories. Perhaps more importantly, this love story blossoms between two individuals who have long been manipulated and schemed against in a complex and dangerous environment. This is when Lee Mi-hyun's extraordinary senses are no longer used against enemies but to listen intently to the footsteps of Kim Doo-sik approaching, or when Kim Doo-sik's ability to fly is no longer employed for missions but to hover outside her window, holding the pork cutlet rice she loves. The earlier violent and brutal scenes, convoluted political situations, conspiracies and hostilities all seem be preludes to these moments.

Some argue that Moving blends too many genres, encompassing aspects of school life, pure romance, action, violence, suspense, and everyday family drama. However, regardless of the genre, the series explores the genuine and nuanced emotional connections between people, including love, yet extends beyond it.

Even in the case of Frank, the cold-blooded killer, the scriptwriter has spared no expense in telling the background of his life being abandoned by his mother as a child and spent his life longing for the family love he was missing. The crack in the grand narrative is the connection and understanding between individuals and the love that blossoms despite no external control. These subtle emotions make people remain human even in abnormal circumstances, which is also the very thing those in power fear the most-something even more dangerous than superpowers. This is the most captivating aspect of this TV drama.
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