Incomplete Life (2014)

Misaeng was highly recommended by friends in another website so it was with positive anticipation that I downloaded and started to watch this drama.
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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I would absolutely rewatch this!!

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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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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This drama is like an abusive relationship. You get abused and beaten most of the time, but it gives you enough bittersweet moments to keep those glimpses of hope and make you stay. It ends with a murder, but you get acquitted based on the psychological trauma playing a big factor in the crime. Now you are ready to start your new free life with people that care about you.

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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