Misaeng
I only purchased this one because it had really high ratings and that it was there and not expensive. I have read the recaps of the first episode but was not really captivated. Then I decided to give it a go and thank God for that since this is now among my all time faves. It shows what good writing, good acting and good directing can make any mundane story into one that is worth telling and worth watching.
I have finished it last night and still under the spell. This is is an office drama, telling us about the employees focusing on the time they spent at work. I now realise that one main character is missing from the dvd cover.
Our lead duo is
Jang Gu Rae - who was trained since from seven years old to be a baduk (Go) player - a la Nicholai Hel - but in the end he had to give up when his father passed away due to financial difficulties. He was accepted to a small firm but was still in the funk and left there to complete his military service. When he came back he drifted from one part time menial job to another until his baduk connections got him an internship at a big corporation.
This is him acted by Im ShiHwan. I don't know who this guy is but he really made it work. I was all team Gu Rae, rooting for him to come out victorious from each challenge, hating the guys who tried to give him a hard time.
Oh Sang Shik acted by Lee Sung Min is the manager of the team Gu Rae started as a trainee. The great thing is that he is just a regular good guy who loves what he does for a living. He is not a hero or anything. He is just a decent man, a good superior and a very capable worker.
Ahn Young Gi is one of the other trainees and she is not only smart and resourceful but also an excellent worker with know how and instincts. However she is discriminated because of her gender and also she has a despicable father who gets all her money and spends it on booze or non sensical projects. Poor thing was so much under duress for many episodes. But she persevered and came out on top and further more she got
Jang Baek Gi who is not only hot but also smart and educated with great skills. He lacks imagination and innovation but he is ambitious and hard working. At first I thought he was going to be a villain but it is not that kind of a drama. He had a nice character arc starting with feelings of entitlement and petty envy for the ones with more success despite their lack of education and ending up as a considerate guy who is confident with his own skills and helps out other instead of being jealous. He also starts a nice relationship with Young Gi, treating her as equal. I wonder why he was not included on the dvd cover.
And I need to mention his superior Assistant Manager Kang
He is not only hot but one of those aloof, capable types who value work performance and was a great manager to Baek Gi. He is my second fave Assistant Manager because my first is
Kim Dong Shik acted by Kim Dae Myung is like a cuddly teddy bear with his ahjumma hair and chubby cheeks. He can speak Japanese, Chinese and English and he is a hard worker who enjoys what he does and does it well. He is also very kind hearted. If I had to pick one guy among the Asistant Directors I'd pick this one (yeah over the hot manager Kang) since somehow I felt close to him and even found him and his horrible wig sexy. Also this is a guy who is turn down by a marriage prospect because his not selfish enough.
Aaaand last but not the least we have
Han Seuk Yol acted by Byun Yo Han is like the office clown who hears all the news and distributes them. He is from a humble back ground but is a smart engineer with a practical mind and he also loves what he does but stuck with a truly horrible assistant manager who takes credit for Seuk Yol's work, treats him like he is a slave and also has a horrible private life. But in the end Seuk Yok learns that being right doesn't always mean you need to act rashly. He takes the high road in the end and is rewarded for his action :)
I just loved this drama and enjoyed peeking through the day to day lives of the characters above. I now understand why this drama deservedly got high ratings. Kudos and thanks to everyone who worked in it.
