Fight for My Way

Fight For My Way (Korean: 쌈 마이웨이) is a 2017 South Korean television series starring Park Seo-joon and Kim Ji-won, with Ahn Jae-hong and Song Ha-yoon. It premiered on May 22, 2017, every Monday and Tuesday at 22:00 (KST) on KBS2.^[2][3]

Fight for My Way
Promotional poster
Hangul	쌈 마이웨이
Lit.	Fight My Way
RR	Ssam maiwei
MR	Ssam maiwei
Genre	Workplace Slice of Life Romance
Written by	Lim Sang-choon
Directed by	Lee Na-jeong
Starring	Park Seo-joon Kim Ji-won Ahn Jae-hong Song Ha-yoon
Music by	Eom Ki-yeop
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	16
Production
Executive producers	Moon Joon-ha Kim Hee-yeol Jeon San
Producer	Yoon Jae-hyuk
Running time	70 minutes
Production company	Pan Entertainment
Budget	₩3.8 billion[1]
Original release
Network	KBS2
Release	May 22 (2017-05-22) – July 11, 2017 (2017-07-11)

The series was the slot leader during its entire run and topped TV popularity index for 3 consecutive weeks. It was praised for its realistic plot and great performances.^[4][5] Fight For My Way was later adapted into a manhwa.^{[citation needed]}

Synopsis

The story is about underdogs with big dreams struggling to survive and striving for success in a career they are under-qualified for. A long time friendship is blossoming into romance between two immature friends Ko Dong-man (Park Seo-joon) and Choi Ae-ra (Kim Ji-won) whose childish dynamic has not changed despite reaching adulthood.^[6]

Cast

Main

The Crazy Fantastic Four

They are four individuals who are considered to be lacking of abilities, but eventually in the series, they will grow as both individuals and friends.^[7]

• Park Seo-joon as Ko Dong-man^[8]
  • Jo Yeon-ho as young Ko Dong-man

A former taekwondo player who used to be famous but had to stop because of a painful past, is now a nameless mixed martial arts fighter. Later, he falls in love with his long time best friend, Choi Ae-ra, while struggling to succeed in his career and love life.

• Kim Ji-won as Choi Ae-ra^[9]
  • Lee Han-seo as young Choi Ae-ra

A strong and sassy girl. She is working as a department store employee at the information desk but dreams of becoming an announcer. She has not given up on her dreams, even though she is not eligible and faces too much humiliation specifically because of her rival in love, Park Hye-ran. She keeps on striving for her dream to come true.

• Ahn Jae-hong as Kim Joo-man^{[10][unreliable source?]}

The so-called "brain" of the four. He landed a permanent position at a home shopping network. His loyalty and love for his girlfriend of six years, will be put to the test.

• Song Ha-yoon as Baek Seol-hee^[10]
  • Kim Ha-yeon as young Baek Seol-hee

An innocent and quirky girl of the group, who is working customer service at the home shopping network. For six years, her universe revolves around Joo-man and she is extremely in love with him.

Supporting

People related to Dong-man

• Son Byong-ho as Go Hyung-shik

Dong-man's father.

• Kim Ye-ryeong as Park Soon-yang

Dong-man's mother.

• Jo Eun-yoo as Go Dong-hee
  • Go Na-hee as young Go Dong-hee

Dong-man's younger sister.

• Lee Elijah as Park Hye-ran^[11]

Dong-man's ex-girlfriend. A famous anchor who is divorced after being married to a wealthy man but still has luck in fame and appearance. She's trying to get back with Dong-man after dumping him.

• Kim Sung-oh as Hwang Jang-ho^[12]

Dong-man's taekwondo coach and loyal friend.

People related to Ae-ra

• Jeon Bae-soo as Choi Cheon-gap

Ae-ra's father.

• Jin Hee-kyung as Hwang Bok-hee / Ganako Hwang

A mysterious woman in the village where the main characters live. Choi Ae-ra's mother who left her due to some problems and went to Japan. She had breast cancer which was cured. She returned to South Korea as fantastic four's landlady and lived with her adopted son Nam-il. She had a mysterious flip mobile in which she kept many photographs of Ae-ra and Nam-il as memories of their childhood.

• Kang Ki-doong as Jang Kyung-goo

A broadcasting production director and an acquaintance of Ae-ra.

• Kwak Si-yang as Kim Nam-il, Hwang Bok-hee/Ganako Hwang's adopted son.

People related to Joo-man

• Pyo Ye-jin as Jang Ye-jin^[13]

Joo-man's new workmate at the home shopping network, secretly a daughter of a wealthy household. She will put Joo-man and Seol-hee's love for each other to the test.

• Kim Hee-chang [ko] as Head of Department Choi

Joo-man's and Ye-jin's boss.

People related to Seol-hee

• Lee Jung-eun as Geum-bok

Seol-hee's mother.

• Kim Hak-sun as Baek Jang-soo

Seol-hee's father.

Others

• Kim Gun-woo as Kim Tak-su

A star fighter and Dong-man's biggest rival.

• Yang Kyung-won as Cho-yun
• Chae Dong-hyun [ko] as Yang Tae-hee

Tak-su's manager.^[14]

• Park Gyu-young as Ahn Su-jeong
• Oh Eui-shik as Manager Oh
• Yoon Sa-bong as Kim Joo-hye
• Yang Ki-won [ko] as Choi Won-bo

Tak-su's coach.

• Go Geon-han as Moo-bin's colleague
• Lee Chae-eun
• Gong Sang-ah
• Lee Seo-hwan
• Baek Ji-won
• Kim Jae-cheol
• Jung Bo-ram
• Yoo Min-joo
• Park Ye-jin
• Yoon Yeo-hak
• Cha Sang-mi
• Kim Se-joon
• Park Seung-chan
• Han Geu-rim [ko]
• Ji Sung-geun
• Choi Na-moo
• Choi Hyo-eun as Mai-ei
• Kim Tae-rang (Voice appearance)
• Yoon Ji-yeon (Voice appearance)

Special appearances

• Kwak Dong-yeon as Kim Moo-ki^[15] (Ep. 1)

Ae-ra's ex-boyfriend, who cheated on her.

• Jin Ji-hee as Jang Bo-ram (Ep. 1 & 7)

Dong-man's schoolmate.

• Choi Woo-shik as Park Moo-bin^[16] (Ep. 1–7)

Dong-man's high school classmate who grew up to be a sweet-seeming but actually conceited doctor. He falls for Ae-ra and tries to win her over but it is later revealed he is engaged.

• Jung Soo-young as Young-sook (Ep. 1)

Moo-ki's new girlfriend who is much older than them and runs a successful restaurant.

• Hwang Bo-ra as Park Chan-sook^[17] (Ep. 1 & 2)

Ae-ra's university friend.

• Kim Dae-hwan
• In Gyo-jin as Kim In-gyo^[18]

Ae-ra's colleague.

• Jo Mi-ryung as Lee Ji-sook (Ep. 5)

Department store VIP customer.

• Ji Hye-ran as Sonya (Ep. 6 & 8)

Tak-su's girlfriend.

• Shin Yong-moon as Ring Announcer (Ep. 8)
• Kwak Si-yang as Kim Nam-il (Ep. 11–16)

Hwang Bok-hee's son.

• Julien Kang as John Carlos (Ep. 13–14, 16)

Dong-man's trainer.

Production

• The drama is directed by Lee Na-jeong^[19] (The Innocent Man) and written by Im Sang-choon^[20] (Becky's Back).
• First script reading took place on March 24, 2017 at the KBS Annex Building in Yeouido, Seoul, South Korea.^[21][22]
• It was confirmed that the cast and crew of Fight For My Way would be taking a reward vacation to Jeju Island after the conclusion of the drama.^{[23][24][unreliable source?][25][unreliable source?]}

Original soundtrack

Fight For My Way OST Album
Soundtrack album by Various artists
Released	2017
Genre	Soundtrack
Language	Korean
Label	Pan/RIAK/Warner

Part 1

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Dumbhead"	Lee Jong-soo Kim Hyo-shin Lee Hyun-joo Miste.Lee	Lee Jong-soo Lee Han-min	Arie Band	03:19
2.	"Dumbhead" (Inst.)		Lee Jong-soo Lee Han-min		03:19
Total length:					06:38

Part 2

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Good Morning" (굿모닝)	Park Woo-sang	Park Woo-sang	Kassy	03:07
2.	"Good Morning" (Inst.)		Park Woo-sang		03:07
Total length:					06:14

Part 3

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artists	Length
1.	"Fight for My Way" (쌈,마이웨이)	Eom Ki-yeob	Eom Ki-yeob	HerCheck (Super Kidd) 2morrow	03:34
2.	"Fight for My Way" (Inst.)		Eom Ki-yeob		03:34
Total length:					07:08

Part 4

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artists	Length
1.	"Ambiguous" (알듯 말듯해)	August08	Key U Wild Boar August08	Seo Eunkwang, Im Hyun-sik, Yook Sung-jae (BtoB)	03:45
2.	"Ambiguous" (Inst.)		Key U Wild Boar August08		03:45
Total length:					07:30

Part 5

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Night Is Gone, Again" (또 밤이 지나버렸네)	Eom Ki-yeob Lee Young-joo	L.a.V	Ryu Ji-hyun	03:30
2.	"Night Is Gone, Again" (Inst.)		L.a.V		03:30
Total length:					07:00

Special track

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artists	Length
1.	"I Miss U"	Kim Bum-joo Cha Yeoul	Kim Bum-joo Cha Yeoul	Cha Yeoul	03:23
2.	"I Miss U" (Inst.)		Kim Bum-joo Cha Yeoul		03:23
Total length:					06:46

Charted songs

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Sales	Remarks
		KOR Gaon
"Good Morning" (Kassy)	2017	89	KOR: 21,935+[26]	Part 2
"Ambiguous" (Seo Eunkwang, Im Hyun-sik, Yook Sung-jae (BtoB))		37	KOR: 155,093+[27]	Part 4

Chart performance

Ratings

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share
		Nielsen Korea[28]		TNmS
		Nationwide	Seoul	Nationwide	Seoul
1	May 22, 2017	5.4% (NR)	6.2% (NR)	5.6% (NR)	6.4% (NR)
2	May 23, 2017	6.0% (NR)	6.3% (NR)	6.4% (NR)	6.7% (18th)
3	May 29, 2017	10.7% (7th)	11.4% (5th)	9.1% (11th)	10.2% (6th)
4	May 30, 2017	10.0% (6th)	10.5% (5th)	9.0% (9th)	10.9% (4th)
5	June 5, 2017	10.6% (5th)	11.5% (4th)	8.3% (11th)	9.7% (6th)
6	June 6, 2017	11.4% (5th)	12.1% (4th)	9.4% (8th)	11.4% (4th)
7	June 12, 2017	10.9% (5th)	11.3% (4th)	8.7% (12th)	9.2% (5th)
8	June 13, 2017	9.8% (6th)	10.1% (5th)	8.7% (13th)	10.1% (4th)
9	June 19, 2017	12.1% (4th)	13.5% (4th)	9.9% (8th)	12.0% (4th)
10	June 20, 2017	11.2% (5th)	11.9% (4th)	10.3% (6th)	11.3% (4th)
11	June 26, 2017	12.0% (5th)	13.2% (4th)	10.5% (5th)	12.7% (4th)
12	June 27, 2017	11.9% (4th)	13.1% (4th)	8.5% (12th)	9.4% (5th)
13	July 3, 2017	12.6% (4th)	13.5% (4th)	11.2% (8th)	11.6% (4th)
14	July 4, 2017	13.0% (4th)	14.2% (4th)	11.4% (6th)	11.5% (4th)
15	July 10, 2017	12.9% (4th)	13.8% (4th)	12.0% (5th)	12.5% (4th)
16	July 11, 2017	13.8% (4th)	14.4% (4th)	11.4% (9th)	11.4% (4th)
Average		10.9%	11.7%	9.4%	10.4%
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. NR denotes that the drama did not rank in the top 20 daily programs on that date.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
2017	Brand of the Year Awards	Drama of the Year	Fight for My Way	Won	[29]
	10th Korea Drama Awards	Excellence Award, Actor	Ahn Jae-hong	Nominated	[30]
		Excellence Award, Actress	Song Ha-yoon	Won
	1st The Seoul Awards	Best Drama	Fight for My Way	Nominated	[31]
		Best Supporting Actor	Ahn Jae-hong	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Song Ha-yoon	Nominated
	9th Melon Music Awards	Best OST	Kassy ("Good Morning")	Nominated
	31st KBS Drama Awards	Top Excellence Award, Actor	Park Seo-joon	Nominated	[32]
		Top Excellence Award, Actress	Kim Ji Won	Nominated
		Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries	Park Seo-joon	Won
		Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries	Kim Ji Won	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Kim Sung-oh	Won
		Best Supporting Actress	Song Ha-yoon	Nominated
		Best New Actor	Ahn Jae-hong	Won
		Best New Actress	Pyo Ye-jin	Nominated
		Netizen Award – Male	Park Seo-joon	Won
		Netizen Award – Female	Kim Ji Won	Won
		Best Couple Award	Park Seo-joon & Kim Ji Won	Won
			Ahn Jae-hong & Song Ha-yoon	Nominated
		Best Young Actor	Jo Yeon-ho	Nominated
		Best Young Actress	Lee Han-seo	Nominated
		Best OST	Seo Eunkwang, Im Hyun-sik, Yook Sung-jae (BTOB) ("Ambiguous")	Won
2018	30th Korea Producer Awards	Best Drama	Fight for My Way	Won	[33]
	54th Baeksang Arts Awards			Nominated	[34]
		Best Screenplay	Lim Sang-choon	Nominated
		Best Actor	Park Seo-joon	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Ahn Jae-hong	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Song Ha-yoon	Nominated
	KBS WORLD Global Fan Awards	Best Couple	Park Seo-joon & Kim Ji-won	Won	[35]
	13th Seoul International Drama Awards	Best Comedy	Fight for My Way	Nominated	[36]
		Excellence Award for Korean Drama		Won
		Best Screenwriter	Lim Sang-choon	Nominated
		Outstanding Korean Actor	Park Seo-joon	Won
		Outstanding Korean Actress	Kim Ji Won	Nominated