#so its not like im getting much viewership in the first place anyway

[ayzrules]

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[thekoreanlass]

Misaeng (미생 – 아직 살아 있지 못한 자; Misaeng – Ajik sala ittji mothan ja) is a 2014 South Korean television series based on the webtoon series of the same title by Yoon Tae-ho. It aired on tvN from October 17 to December 20, 2014 for 20 episodes.

The title translates to Go (Baduk) terminology meaning “an incomplete life” (literally “not yet” (미) “birth” (생), meaning “not yet alive”).

Misaeng became a cultural phenomenon and recorded high viewership ratings for a cable network program in Korea. tvN is known for its record breaking dramas.

For starters, Misaeng isn’t your typical K-Drama. If you’re here for something out of cute ol’ sappy romance or melodrama, you’re on the wrong boat. You might not enjoy and appreciate Misaeng if that is what you’re looking for.

However, if you wish for something to relate to, especially for white-collar job workers, I think this is something you’d want to spend some time on and emotionally invest yourself to. Not that I am saying you should, but I am trying to give you reason to. It’s not your typical dose of K-drama and I’d say it’s more biting and true than most dramas, you’ll find yourself a little frustrated at the different situations portrayed in the drama, but would eventually find yourself as celebratory with the little victories our protagonists experience as the drama gradually progresses and approaches the end.

The Cast:

Im Si-wan as Jang Geu-rae Lee Sung-min as Oh Sang-shik Kang So-ra as Ahn Young-yi Kang Ha-neul as Jang Baek-gi Byun Yo-han as Han Seok-yool Kim Dae-myung as Kim Dong-shik Shin Eun-jung as Sun Ji-young

The Plot:

Since he was a child, the board game baduk has been everything to Jang Geu-rae. But when he fails at achieving his dream of becoming a professional baduk player, Geu-rae must leave his isolated existence and enter the real world armed with nothing but a high school equivalency exam on his resume. Through an acquaintance’s recommendation, he gets hired as an intern at One International, a large trading company.

There, Geu-rae meets his boss, manager Oh Sang-shik, who’s a workaholic and has a warm personality; fellow intern Ahn Young-yi, who attracts her colleagues’ ire because of her impressive educational credentials and by being extremely competent at any task; and Jang Baek-gi, a geeky co-worker whose anxious nature masks his inner ambition. Geu-rae learns to navigate and adapt to corporate culture, with baduk as his guide.

Review:

I wasn’t really attracted to Misaeng at first sight. Reading the plot talk about the main character, Jang Geu Rae (Im SIwan), being an ex-Baduk player and it being his guiding principle as he drown in the ocean of harsh reality isn’t really the kind of description or plot I was expecting, since most of the time I loved the promise of sappy, hilarious romance and not what happens in and out of the office or the co-existence of a co-worker to another or their families. No, it didn’t sound that interesting at first and then I discovered that Im Siwan was acting the main role and that made it a bit more appealing than before.

Basically, Im Siwan is what pushes me to watch the drama.’

It wasn’t his first drama project, but I think Misaeng is what became the main turning point to his career, to which he received the most recognition for playing the role of a common white-collar job worker.

But what makes it different to his previous roles? I think everything. I mean, surely Siwan has already proven himself to be a very resilient actor. He had minor roles in the past, but he stood out on his own. People loved him for his looks, but his talent in acting is just one of a kind. He just gives off this positive vibe–that makes you believe how good his heart is and how honest his character is. I think, in some ways or two, Misaeng revealed another side to Im Siwan; the side which is the worker–the one working hard, but consequently still receives criticism from people–the public–who don’t really know him.

Considering this, his character in this drama is quite different from his most recent drama The King In Love. His character in that drama is quite adorable and laid back at some point, but I also loved the transformation that exhibited his masculinity and prowess in playing the role of a King who assumed his title the harsh way.

Anyway, just saying he has so much in store for you even in Misaeng if you haven’t watched the drama. And I think if you’d been distraught by his role in that drama (or wants to see more of him or just craves something Im Siwan) you will definitely enjoy watching him as Jang Geu Rae to the point you’ll no longer look at him as Im Siwan again, but Jang Geu Rae–the common office worker, who probably half of its viewers could identify themselves to.

The drama tackled more on the more serious aspects of life, especially working in the office. They had the focus on trading–it’s technicalities and what goes in the life of a tradesman–which is a good thing. It drives the story to not stick to one single plot, but instead pull through different scenarios that allows us to see how the characters gradually grow from their old habits.

I don’t know half of what they actually discuss about trading and stuff, but just like medical dramas, which use alien jargons to an outsider like me from a different field, it should be distressing to try and understand what they are talking about, but I consider it a challenge to get something from it at the end of the day, so I do my best to read between the situation and not just watch for the sake of it. Sometimes, these situation–though half the time you don’t understand just like how French or Chinese or Spanish wouldn’t be so appealing to a foreign speaker at first–gradually bring us to the moral of the story and everything just follows and finally makes sense.

In the beginning of the first episode, Jang Geu Rae is in Jordan for another assignment. I didn’t know what to think of it first, as it is a one of a kind prologue that Misaeng introduced me to; I wasn’t sure where it will lead the story to, but eventually it was what made me start to become more curious of the protagonist and what made me love Im Siwan even more.

His character is just pleasantly allegorical even in the first episode, leaning towards his passion for the game of Baduk and its principles. He used it to identify himself with the daily life of a common worker and armed himself of the lessons he gathered from playing it since he was a child.

Though, he started out as a timid, very isolated and introverted kind of person that lacked social skills, and who only had a GED under his name, his own morals has helped him to become what he is. This is clearly seen in the first few minutes of the first episode. We can tell that he has learned and became a remarkable tradesman after all that he has been through, that puts more than effort in his work, to the point he will sacrifice anything to get what he aims to do–even doing impossible stunts, running along the street while chasing a rat, and standing up even after getting hit by a car. All that will be on the first episode.

This side of Jang Geu Rae is very different to the person that he is as the drama flashes back to how he started. He wasn’t nearly as knowledgeable, and far from being an expert at anything except Baduk. The game is the only thing he ever had for the past twenty-six years and is doing things on his own since he didn’t really need friends to do that. He has been kept away for too long from the real world that stepping out of the confines of his room and of Baduk is just overwhelming for him. It made him look like a fool–not even knowing how to use the photocopy machine in the office–and people took him as a fool.

But as time goes by, Jang Geu Rae’s strong will combined with his effort to learn makes him a better candidate from the rest. The heart he puts in everything and the rawness of his approach with life because of his ignorance (about what happens in the trading world) and positivism even in any dire situation became his sharp-edged sword in the battle for survival. It made him very different from his calculative, college graduate colleagues who argued about anything and everything and gave up at any chance they had without even trying, who feared what wasn’t even in front of them. A complete opposite of Jang Geu Rae.

He is like a ray of light, but nonetheless human enough to feel the kind of  pains any struggling worker would in an arguably stressful environment.

So, this is where the other characters come in. He meets his immediate boss, Oh Sang Sik, who at any other day I’d beg to be my boss too. He’s hard on the surface, but is compassionate and a family man. He pushes away Jang Geu Rae in the beginning, realizing how much of a failure he is with only a GED and on top of that only has the right connection to earn him a position in the company. A good for nothing. But he will eventually see the positive traits the inexperienced Geu Rae has.

Dong Sik, Mr. Oh’s right hand man, also deserves an applause, considering how cute this colleague is. He first appears like such an ass during his first meeting with Geu Rae, but I think that’s just him being too busy he didn’t have time to properly attend to someone who didn’t really know what he was doing in the office in the first place. Eventually, he warms up to Geu Rae, even siding him at time that Mr. Oh is on his period and is really not in the mood to let Geu Rae off the nagging. What made him more charming, though, is his loyalty to the team, how responsible he is, and how much he cares for Mr. Oh.

Young Yi, may probably just be the best intern from their group, having an outstanding educational background and a wide range of knowledge about languages and how the trading industry works, she’s a gem that would have great stood out if lead by a leader that could have helped her release her own potential. Yet, things doesn’t go smoothly for her just as they all get hired for One International. There are just colleagues that are too sexist they didn’t acknowledge her talent and undermined her.

Suk Yool, at first, may be misinterpreted as the slacker pervert, considering the way he acts to fulfill his job in the site in Ulsan where he was assigned to work for as an intern–he takes lots of women’s pictures and even touches one’s butt just to know the kind of fabric that she’d worn. That’s a little suspicious there, but he deserves the slap he gets from them. Then he meets Geu Rae–the calm in the center of the storm–and eventually a deeper story to him is released.

However, I truthfully don’t like his gossipy character, but what can I do? He’s the on point representation of those colleagues in the office who knows anything and everything about the latest snitch stories or horrors that goes on. And in all honesty, who doesn’t want a little gossip? Everyone would beg to disagree!

Baek Ki, on the other hand, as portrayed by Kang Haneul, doesn’t really deviate from his past roles–smarty-pants with an ambition, but also cute. Don’t allow this guy to smile or else it’ll be on your mind for weeks.

Anyway, to me, Baek Ki, is to whom I’ll probably identify 60% of me with back when I was still a student. He’s smart, though typically quiet to conceal his thoughts and real feelings–he doesn’t go all out, and very critical. He is a perfectionist in all sense and a strategist that plans ahead of him, making him a second best candidate to Young Yi. But sometimes these characteristics is what makes him a very mysterious and dangerous man, because he is too closed off and too firm with his opinions, that he appears a little uncompassionate. Moreso, he’s too perfect he’s always set to be on the safe side and out to fulfill his ambition. I’m sometimes like that so I understand him the best.

That’s also why I feel a little sorry for him when he is put in the Steel Team, which doesn’t really allow him to do anything but run errands. He has so much to learn and so many things ahead of him but it is being wasted away by bad superiors.

There are still many other characters that I want to talk about, but it might take me writing a book to finish and since I am still just at the beginning of the drama, I don’t think it is right to close a chapter without fully knowing everyone, so I’ll leave the introduction of the other characters in my next blog post about Misaeng (Final Impression).

Author Yoon Tae-ho has done a great job in drawing into a book the analogy between life in the modern society and the game of Baduk, a chess-like strategy board game. Baduk has played a very important role in the entirety of the drama and the life of Jang Geu Rae or the typical white-collar worker in this story in snippet amounts all throughout, giving us flashbacks of Geu Rae’s past and what he has mastered and applied in his fight to redeem himself from his slump.

Of course, the drama adaptation didn’t disappoint, considering it has shown vivid descriptions of everyday life and struggles of Korean corporate culture and the little laughs in between as his imperfect characters deal with the fierce competition for survival in a very stressful environment, interpersonal work relationship and politics in the workplace.

It’s realism has actually impacted so many white collar workers that it gained immense popularity among that bracket.

I couldn’t agree more with how well they reacted to Misaeng, since the drama talks about the small people who make up the workplace. Us. It talks about us and how in reality we deal with the many situations we face that often don’t go our way. It’s giving honor to the most hardworking people of society, celebrates their being them, giving them hope that they aren’t just mere workers in the eyes of another but a substantial member that if without can be that great of a loss as well.

Also, It gives us a view of one of the many jobs in the world from the perspective of the writer and look just how thought through, intelligent and well researched the drama is. It has lived up to its name and promise. Didn’t disappoint no matter how gradually slow the progress of the story is. It’s not frustrating but enduring. It’s just the right blend of a slice of life, a little sprinkle of romance and a bucket of cheap laughter. It’s the kind of drama that you soon start embracing and caring for the characters.

Nothing you would want to miss.

A drama you may not want to marathon in one day, but it’s like the kind of book that you take your time in reading under the light of a lamp at night because you want to relish in the beauty of it until the end. And something so great can be taken slowly for days. I think you will appreciate it more that way, just saying.

 Rating this drama so far, since Misaeng gives me the feels, I give it 4.7 out of 5.

Also, I’d like to share a beautiful quote from the drama that truly made a lasting impression to me so far. Tell me if those aren’t words of a wise man. The drama has so much wit and heart it is so hard to ignore.

Credits: (1) (2)

Review: Misaeng (First Impression) Misaeng (미생 - 아직 살아 있지 못한 자; Misaeng - Ajik sala ittji mothan ja…