It teaches me a lot--literally
I watched this as I wait for the next episode of Summer Strike and it was the best thing that I did last week! God, this drama is so good. This slice-of-life drama doesn't only get me reflecting on my own life but also triggers my strategic thinking. The way the characters interact with one another also gave me some ideas on how to handle different people. The plot is also quite good, I didn't remember watching this quality in slice-of-life drama back in 2014. The scenes are all efficient. Everything that happens has its' meaning that we can see later on. There's no useless scene, really. I enjoy watching every moment in it.Was this review helpful to you?
What a disappointment, both in Story, growth, character developments, everything felt…. Unfinished.
I really had to force myself to get through the end of this show, maybe there was no drama factor here and I completely missed the plot, it was just meant to be an “as real as possible” interpretation of office life. Show, I really wanted to love you but you ended up disappointing me from the beginning.
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This review may contain spoilers
One of the dearest dramas to me :)
I really, really liked this drama, and it's one of the best I've ever seen. I started watching it because of Kang Ha-neul and Yim Si-wan, but I found myself falling in love not only with their characters but also with others like Ahn Young-yi and Han Seok-yool.The friendship between the four main characters—Jang Geu-rae, Jang Baek-gi, Ahn Young-yi, and Han Seok-yool—was one of the most beautiful and wholesome friendships I've ever seen in a series. They didn't become friends right away; it was more of a slow-burn kind of friendship. But once they did, it became such a deep and supportive bond. They didn’t hang out together or go drinking every day, yet their relationship was amazing, filled with mutual support and understanding.
The friendship between Baek-gi and Young-yi was particularly profound. If you've seen the series, you know that Baek-gi was somewhat arrogant, but when it came to Young-yi, it was different. He was so supportive of her, listened to her, and cared for her in his own way. He may not have always expressed it in the best way, but his concern for her was evident, and I found that really beautiful. I think I would have loved to see them go from friends to lovers—I shipped them throughout the entire series! :) Also, I feel there was great chemistry between Kang Ha-neul and Kang So-ra, and I would love to see them together in another drama.
Ahn Young-yi, in my opinion, was one of the strongest female characters I've ever seen in a series—independent, intelligent, kind, and diligent. She stood up against injustice and patriarchy in her workplace, and it never felt cliché.
Seok-yool’s relationships with the other characters, especially Jang Geu-rae, were so deep and meaningful. His scenes were among the most valuable to me. He was one of my favorite characters, always making me smile whenever he appeared. Such a sweet and lovable character!
Jang Geu-rae was kind, hardworking, and clever but struggled to fit into the system because he lacked certain qualifications they deemed necessary. But was it Geu-rae’s problem? Of course not—it was the system’s flaw. To me, Geu-rae was the symbol of perseverance and effort.
And finally, Mr. Oh… the best boss ever. One of those rare, honorable people you’d truly want to work with. I would have loved to work beside someone like him.
This drama tells one of the most beautiful and realistic stories I've ever seen, and I cherished every moment of it. It made me laugh, cry, and feel. I could put myself in the characters' shoes and experience their struggles. The characters felt like real friends, and I will miss them dearly.
I really hope the rumors are true and that we get a second season of Misaeng: Incomplete Life soon!
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I like films and tv shows that have a background or topic that is based on topics that affect everyone in real life, so this is definitely a bonus watching this tv series!! After all mostly you don’t have that much extraordinary happenings or out of this world romance in your life. (Those can be good to watch sometimes, but they never affect me as much.)
The main character and his colleagues develop so much. You get to see flash backs in time bit by bit with the episodes.
I liked the difficult topics - for example career changes, social issues, bullying, corruption - mixed with the particular humour of this show.
I’m not from Korea so the work place drama side was very interesting to watch!!
Of course some things are universal about bosses and subordinates… (my area of of work is quite hierarchical as well with an extremely long training pathway and lots of trappings along the way so I can empathise for sure…) also and you really feel for the characters.
Then there is the aspect of leaving your dream career and how you deal with this in your life. How you are deeply affected by it and how it can destroy you or make you stronger.
I did also enjoy the soundtrack in this and I’ve actually listened to it quite a bit after finishing the series.
Finally, this reminded me of when I tried to learn Go when I was about 18 or 19 years old… incredibly hard!!
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It's a 10
So why I gave it 9.5? I'm asking myself that and I might change my opinion soon. But the answer is not important. Review is just a number when it comes to this drama. You as a viewer has to come up with what this drama might mean to you. And in that aspect it has a lot to offer. First of all, this review is coming somewhat late and it's my first review on MDL ever, so I might not do the drama any justice so I should give up now. But I just couldn't resist hyping up this drama. Because it truly deserves it. I have no idea at this moment what I was thinking when I went into this drama. But after watching, I am left with this feeling of comradeship and a subtle motivation. The latter I think, is in my poor formation of words, is the best thing ever.This process, this journey of life, that seems to be monotonous many times but without letting you catch a break, that's what this drama is all about. But then, how come you still feel good after watching it. I heartily give up on explaining this point right now and instead recommend you to watch it and find out for yourself.
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Awesome
Awesome❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️♥️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️♥️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️♥️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️♥️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️♥️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️♥️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️♥️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
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Jokes aside, it was not an easy watch. The show is filled with workplace abuse and unfairness, with little happy moments. If you want an underdog winning at the end against all the odds, this ain’t that. Even the positive moments, mostly led to misfortune.
And yet I did not drop it, and it’s all thanks to the characters and their relationships. I guess there is something heartwarming seeing people suffering together and trying to survive the nasty environment. The writer made sure we knew the characters, they seemed real - someone we actually could meet in the office. This helped me relate to them and care for their journeys.
The relationship that interested me the most and slowly I started to pay a lot of attention to was Young Yi and Sung Joon. They had a really interesting dynamic and it was amazing to see the differences between their interactions depending on the situation.
What’s most important - the drama never felt preachy. It shows you various characters with different takes on life, different priorities and ways of dealing with problems and tasks. It highlights how the same trait can be both an asset and a setback, depending on the situation and people you interact with.
The acting left nothing to desire. I felt physically and emotionally exhausted just looking at Lee Sung Min - his performance being one of my favorites. I could just feel the frustration leaking through my screen while I was watching the show. I also enjoyed Kim Dae Myung’s portrayal of a slightly passive, but ready to give a logical and more objective advice Kim Dong Shik.
The whole OST is a masterpiece. While these are not songs I would put on my playlist and listen to, they all matched the tone of the show perfectly.
Overall, I suffered a lot while watching, no idea how I finished the show, and yet I could not rate it lower than 8. That’s the charm - you are grateful for the frustration it caused.
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This review may contain spoilers
O drama para você nunca querer trabalhar em um ambiente corporativo
Infelizmente, não é meu caso, já que trabalho há anos em escritório, mas hoje estou salva pelo home office. Tendo essa experiência, impossível não associar algumas situações do drama sem sentir alguns gatilhos. Porém, talvez até por questões culturais (ou por sorte minha?), os conflitos do drama são bem mais hardcore. O drama retrata uma rotina de abusos e assédio normalizados por todos que estão inseridos naquele meio. A pergunta que fica é: cadê a CLT desse pessoal?Pois bem, começamos o drama sofrendo desconsoladamente pelo Geu-rae, um ex-jogador de GO que, por mais talentoso que fosse, sua rotina doméstica e familiar evitou que ele conseguisse se profissionalizar. Por indicação, ele foi trabalhar numa empresa de comércio, o que gerou comentários e atitudes maldosas por parte de seus colegas que viram tal indicação com maus olhos. Achei interessante que, no momento que passa a introdução da história dele e entendemos de onde vem suas motivações, caímos na sua rotina de adaptação na empresa e nas suas diversas situações e problemas. Vemos o personagem crescendo naquele meio, melhorando seu relacionamento com seus colegas e suas habilidades de trabalho. Assim, vem uma sensação de estabilidade. O tempo vai passando até que, lá pelos últimos seis episódios, vem à tona a questão dele ser um funcionário temporário e a desgraça cai sobre nós novamente. Um aspecto bastante interessante do crescimento de Geu-rae é que ele sempre associa os ensinamentos do GO nas atividades e dinâmicas do escritório, mas vai aprendendo, na raça, que nem sempre a teoria funciona naquelas situações. Ele fracassa diversas vezes. Esse realismo e o pouco uso da idealização das circunstâncias (e personagens) é maravilhoso!
Um dos pontos mais bonitos do drama é que, no fim, muito se resume à relação do Geu-rae e do Sr Oh, que é o chefe da equipe de vendas onde o Geu-reau é alocado e é um sujeito à beira de um burnout. Durante todo o drama vemos como um ajudou o outro a crescer como profissional e como pessoa. Muita da pressão que o Sr Oh sofre está relacionada à sua personalidade forte e relutante em ceder à todas as restrições da empresa. Ele tem seus princípios e sempre dá um jeito de segui-los de forma que não prejudique a companhia. Um impacto claro da sua relação com o Geu-rae é quando ele deixa de lado esses princípios ao tentar manter o novato na empresa e torná-lo funcionário fixo.
Os demais novatos que entraram com o Geu-reu na empresa também tiveram ótimos destaques!
O Baek-ki é um mala egocêntrico aprendendo as verdades da vida. Levou muitas cortadas do seu colega, Sr Kang, e foram esses golpes de humildade que o ajudou a refletir sobre sua própria arrogância.
Particularmente, me identifiquei um pouco com o Seok-yul sobre ver outros se beneficiando em cima do seu trabalho. Ele é bastante extrovertido e vê-lo perdendo a animação, aquele brilho no olhar, pelos abusos de autoridade do Sr Sung, foi bem triste. A mudança de corte do cabelo foi bastante simbólica. Ele aprendeu, na marra, que não se deve combater fogo com fogo. No fim, ele focou no que importava: fazer bem o seu trabalho e deixar o carma agir sobre o Sr Sung. Porém achei um equívoco grotesco terem retratado ele como um pervertido, no começo da história, com algumas atitudes que beiravam o assédio. E pior: foi usado como artifício de humor no drama. Numa narrativa que condena diversas situações de abuso, isso me pareceu um pouco incoerente.
Finalizo com a Young-yi, que comeu o pão que o diabo amassou, tanto no serviço quanto em casa. Ao chegar na empresa, ela se submete ao assédio moral e maus tratos dos colegas. É extremamente frustrante o quanto ela abaixa a cabeça para essas situações. Ela realmente não retruca ou combate em nenhum momento. Porém, quando ela conta sua história, todas essas atitudes fazem sentido. Ela sempre foi rejeitada pelo pai por não ter nascido homem e sustentou a família que sempre perdia dinheiro em maus investimentos; então, lutou desde nova para garantir sua independência e personalidade própria. Ela prefere se adaptar para poder sobreviver. Engraçado que a mudança de atitude dos colegas dela veio quando eles viram outras pessoas tratando ela da mesma maneira que eles a tratavam (ou até pior, vide o Sr Ma). Ela conseguiu perseverar no meio de tanto abuso. Não sei se teria tanta força para aguentar e não sei nem se deveríamos ter. É criminoso aquele ambiente de trabalho.
Para finalizar, passei o drama inteiro tentando entender quais seriam as circunstâncias que levariam àquela perseguição do início. Por mais que tenha sido legal por si só, super bem produzida, contextualizada e tals, achei que ficou tão fora do tom do drama. Pareceu algo à parte, dirigido por pessoas diferentes ou retirado de outra produção que não deu certo. Sei que o Geu-rae já tá amadurecido pela passagem de tempo (que foi de apenas um ano), mas pareceu outro personagem. Pode até ser algo simbólico, por finalmente estarem livres daquele empresa e em um ambiente mais amigável, mas foi uma quebra estranha.
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Sortir de l'enfance, devenir adulte, responsable, trouver sa voie,...
En coréen, « Misaeng » se traduit à peu près par « vie incomplète », et par suite par « naissance ».Le terme est utilisé dans le Baduk, jeu de stratégie coréen proche du Go, pour désigner les pions prêts à entrer en jeu et dont le destin n’est donc pas encore déterminé. Un peu comme Jang Geu Rae (Im Siwan).(StellarsSisters)
Dès son arrivée, il porte l’étiquette infamante de « pistonné » et cela entraînera pas mal de déboires dans ses débuts.
Personnellement j’ai adoré ce drama, mais si vous cherchez la romance, l’amour et les histoires habituelles de chaebols et de leur fils bons à rien ou leurs filles pimbêches fans de shopping de luxe, ce n’est pas là qu’il faut aller !
Par contre, si vous aimez la Corée telle qu’elle est, avec son bon et son moins bon, et que vous avez envie de savoir ce que signifie vraiment être « salary man » là-bas, allez-y, foncez !!
Jang Geu Rea va être assigné au départements des ventes, section 3, et son chef (Oh Sang Sik) l’accueille très mal (il déteste tout ce qui ressemble au favoritisme). La situation est dure pour Geu Rae, mais assez rapidement il va comprendre que la vie en entreprise peut être considérée comme une gigantesque partie de jeu de Go (jeu de stratégies par excellence) et son expérience va lui permettre non seulement de s’intégrer mais d’avoir une vue totalement neuve sur son travail…
Il n’est pas seul, il fait partie d’un groupe de 4 mais les 3 autres ont suivi le parcours classique, lycée, université, et ils sont stagiaires avec l’espoir de devenir permanent à la fin des deux ans de contrats. Les relations qui vont se créer entre les 4, et en particulier celles des 3 diplômés par rapport à Geu Rea sont très bien exploitées et écrites, chacun réagissant d’une façon différente.
Ce qui est passionnant dans ce drama c’est la mise sous microscope d’un univers fermé : l’entreprise, mais au niveau le plus bas, celui des intérimaires, et leur statut bien spécial. La Corée est un pays de classe, celle de l’âge, celle de la fortune, celle de la famille, et il y en a sûrement d’autres et là elles se superposent et s’ajoutent sans oublier la conviction des Coréens que les Coréennes leur sont forcément inférieures au travail ! Ici le statut est fondamental et le harcèlement moral est un des piliers de ce drama qui prend hardiment le parti des victimes. C'est par là que nous sommes en territoire fondamentalement coréen, qui se différencie du monde de l'entreprise française.
On peut comprendre aisément pourquoi le webcomic d’abord puis le drama ensuite ont eu un très gros succès en Corée, particulièrement chez les trentenaires salariés !! C’est leur vie, leurs histoires, leurs problèmes qui sont exposés ici.
Mais n’imaginez pas du tout qu’on s’y ennuie ! Il y a beaucoup de scènes intenses, ou drôles, ou touchantes, ou émouvantes, jusqu’à être bouleversantes et une fin totalement inattendue, se démarquant totalement du reste du drama, dans un feu d’artifice de beauté et de couleurs, ayant été tournée en extérieur en Jordanie, avec de l’humour et un bel optimisme !!
L’interprétation est exemplaire de justesse, de finesse et d’humanité ! Difficile de se souvenir qu’en fait il y a caméras et techniciens autour ! Je connaissais déjà Lee Sung Min pour sa magnifique prestation dans « Memory » et j’ai découvert le jeu tout en finesse et intelligence d’Im Siwan que j’aimerais bien voir dans autre chose ! Ce n’est pas si souvent que les idols se trouvent être des acteurs talentueux !
L’OST est excellente, compliment que je fais rarement !
Je l’ai déjà vu et revu, et je suis sûre d’y revenir encore !!
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