Misaeng Review

Title: Misaeng
AKA: Incomplete Life, Not Yet Alive
Genre: Drama
Episodes: 20
Broadcast Period: Oct-2014 to Dec-2014
Cast: Im Si Wan, Kang So Ra, Kang Ha Neul, Byun Yo Han, Yoon Jong Hoon, Yeo Eui Joo, Lee Sung Min, Shin Eung Jung

Jang Geu Rae (Im Siwan) is a lonely, quiet young man. He’s been working parttime jobs to support his mum. When his dad passed away, he had to stop achieving his dream of becoming the best Baduk player, now he is 26 and has no meaning in life. Somehow, he gets a job as an intern at a company One International, there he faces new struggles which he has never imagined. He starts a week after the other interns, and that’s why they all jumped to conclusions that he got the job via connections, therefor he is stamped by everyone as a loser. Even the manager treats him badly, now he has to start from scratch for his mums sake to stay at the company. Ahn Young Yi (Kang So Ra) is an intelligent young women, she speaks multiple languages and is an eagle when it comes to her job. Unfortunately there is a lot of discrimination around her. This drama will show the hardships and different difficulties there is in an office at a company.

I really wasn’t planning on watching this drama, but somehow here I am. This drama really had a serious real-life problem to deal with, so who am I to judge this drama. I can only say that it wasn’t horrific, but I one way or another got scared of it. I don’t know how to interpertate it in a good way, but if that’s how real work environment in South Korea is, I don’t wanna work there. Everytime  the characters went through hardships I kept thinking “now he is commiting suicide”, even though they’re not, but in my head that was the only conclusion to that misery. That was my first impression in the first few episodes, it got better towards the end. For the drama, it does a wonderful job of bringing everything full circle, and sucking you in so that you forget all about that circle until they smack you in the face with it again. There were no villains or angels, just regular people hurting and healing each other in different ways, for different reasons. I also enjoyed the fact that every episode, regardless of how sad it was included some humour. That touch was very true-to-life for me; people laugh and act ridiculous in almost any situation, no matter how miserable. As I was filling out the ratings, I thought I was being a tad ridiculous, but my heart and soul wouldn’t let me put anything lower.

☆☆☆☆☆ / 5 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥♥ / 5 out of 5 hearts