We Are All Trying Here (모두가 자신의 무가치함과 싸우고 있다) Season 1 Review

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Hwang Dong Man is an aspiring director who has not shot ANYTHING at all in twenty years. At least, all of his ideas have remained scripts, while all of his acquaintances have already made it big and found their place in the industry. But Dong Man himself is not particularly bothered by this; he seems content with his chaotic life as a poor part-time teacher with breaks for catering work. The same cannot be said about his friends: the “Eight Club” is so tired of the never-ending eccentric who trashes everything and everyone that they are seriously considering declaring a boycott against him.

At the same time, a modest girl named Byun Eun Ah works at a competing production company. She used to be brilliant at tearing apart other people’s scripts, but now she has “lost her edge,” as her boss believes. Although in reality, the secretary-evaluator is already at her limit, so much so that the slightest stress makes her nose start bleeding. How much longer can Eun Ah endure? And could she have anything in common with that strange unemployed dreamer whom the girl meets one evening while moving?

 

 

The main character of the series, Hwang Dong Man, is an annoying hyperactive optimist with a loud, high-pitched voice, undiagnosed ADHD, and a clear life motto: “The worse it gets, the better!”. The self-taught screenwriter still dreams of making his own film with deep meaning, famous actors, and expensive special effects, but understands that the dream is unlikely to come true. Therefore, he consciously sabotages his life in major ways in order to remain himself in the small things. The paradoxical lifestyle of an unrecognized genius from a Korean Khrushchev-era apartment. A true person of art, the protagonist is used to ignoring his own mental problems for the sake of emotional impulses and a life free from expectations.

Byun Eun Ah is completely different. Reserved, quiet, thick-skinned. She stoically endures any insults. She only presses a reddened handkerchief under her nose. Her entire life is poisoned by a recurring trauma that she desperately tries to overcome. Like Dong Man, Eun Ah tries to analyze her life and emotional state: after all, they both have the same emotion-tracking watches. Yes, she is a quiet and thoughtful introverted intellectual with enormous inner strength, while he is a not-so-smart chaotic person with the charisma of a forty-year-old mischievous boy, but still… shared wounds and quiet mutual respect can become the foundation for truly deep feelings.

 

 

“We Are All Trying Here” (in the original — “Everyone Is Fighting Their Own Worthlessness”), is one of the most unusual, emotional, and life-like Korean series of this year. Despite the fact that it has no epic plot, tangled intrigues, or complicated moral dilemmas. No. Here, everything is simple and complicated at the same time.

This is a story of searching for and accepting oneself, beginning from the very bottom. A story of cautious love based on unconditional acceptance and trust. A story of overcoming prejudice, personal weakness, and social stigma no matter what.

And it does not rest only on the main couple: the other characters, although they play less prominent roles, are written with no less detail and realism. Special mention should be made of the “archenemy” Park Kyung Se: the prolific screenwriter has already made five films (even if each one is worse than the last), but he is still deeply angry and offended by the teasing of his former friend. His wife, Producer Kim, patiently endures her husband’s antics because in her world work matters more than feelings. A completely opposite situation is faced by the main star of their shared film: Jang Mi Ran only appears to be a spoiled rich celebrity, but in reality she is a friendly and even romantic person. Oh, one gloomy man with a drinking habit and obsessive thoughts is going to have a rough time!

The series has the good vibes of the old “Friends”. Tired intellectuals gather at the “Agit” bar, like Ross, Rachel, and the others at “Central Perk”, to drink, complain about creative crises, and roll their eyes when an uninvited guest, the thirteenth apostle, bursts in again and starts spewing hyperactive nonsense that immediately makes everyone’s ears wither. A safe place instantly becomes toxic when the general atmosphere of “successful success” and “achievement culture” is spoiled by the one puzzle piece that refuses to fit into place.

 

 

The script, of course, is simply excellent. A dramatic and engaging “slice of life” where every line is either a sharp aphorism, a plot trigger, or both at the same time. The story focuses on exploring modern loneliness and a crisis of purpose, criticizing the accepted pursuit of abstract success at the cost of self-destruction, but most importantly, it aims to realistically portray living, imperfect people. Even if they are dramatically “polished” for beautifully completed character arcs.

Another thing I liked: this is not a cliché love story. The characters barely touch each other, do not hold umbrellas for one another, do not pull each other away from under the wheels of white death trucks… damn, they do not even kiss once! Can you imagine a rom-com without a kiss? Turns out, it is possible! And it can work many times stronger than many romantic dramas. When the focus is not on magnetic attraction and funny situations, but on human warmth, acceptance, and understanding, it hits harder than any confession in the rain.

 

 

The only noticeable criticism that can be made is that in real life, a person like Hwang Dong Man would be even more unbearable. And he would hardly be as deep, sincere, and noble as he is in the series. But this is a common trait of many leading characters in Korean dramas: they must have inner strength, dignity, and clear moral principles. Even a difficult protagonist cannot be a jerk. Otherwise, it would be uninteresting to watch — or even more painful.

“We Are All Trying Here” balances between heavy, funny, and liberating, thanks in part to its excellent actors. The lead role is played by the incredibly talented Koo Kyo Hwan (you may have seen him in the 2025 film “What Will We Become” with Moon Ga Young, as well as in the miniseries “Parasyte: The Grey”), and it is clear that the actor put something very personal into this role: he himself directs films and writes scripts, so his Dong Man is not just a strange fool, but a very real figure. His on-screen partner is Go Youn Jung (“Alchemy of Souls”, “Death’s Game”, “Can This Love Be Translated?”), for whom this is another role as an unusual, complex, deep, and strong, though broken, heroine. She can show almost no emotions on her face at all, and yet one painful look from her tired eyes will still make you want to cry. The strongest performance of hers that I have seen.

(It is also worth mentioning the key supporting roles of Oh Jung Se, who, for a change, plays an almost normal person, but as always makes him very vivid and distinctive, and Park Hae Joon, who seems not to have relaxed since “When Life Gives You Tangerines” — just like us, hyung, just like us…).

The series is directed very competently and cinematically. The lighting is handled professionally, the cinematography is good, and even the color grading is slightly muted and grounded. “We Are All Trying Here” looks like an honest and rather expensive indie film about people who dream of making such a film themselves.

It is worth fighting for your dreams, even if fulfilling them takes twenty years. After all, those will be twenty years of a journey, not empty regrets.

Rating: 9/1o, one of the strongest dramas of the year. “We Are All Trying Here” is not as famous as louder titles, and watching this series may not be easy, but it is a pure and sincere statement about art, dreams, and people who forget the most important thing: simply not giving up is enough. Moving step by step. Word by word, scene by scene, page by page. If there is someone nearby who will listen, understand, and hug you, gently covering you with their sweater — then it was all not in vain.

 

Автор: Updated at Aug 1st 2026