''So Not Worth It'' () is a 2021 South Korean television series starring

Park Se-wan Park Se-wan (; born September 24, 1994) is a South Korean actress. Career In 2016, Park made her television acting debut in KBS2's short drama special '' The Red Teacher''. She started gaining more attention in 2017 with her supporting roles i ...

, Shin Hyeon-seung,

Choi Young-jae Choi Young-jae (; born 17 September 1996), professionally known by the mononym Youngjae, is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actor. He is the member of the South Korean boy band Got7. Biography Choi started dreaming of becoming a singer ...

Minnie As a first name, Minnie is a feminine given name. It can be a diminutive (hypocorism) of Minerva, Winifred, Wilhelmina, Willemina, Winona, Margaret, Hermione, Jasmine, Mary, Miriam, Maria, Marie, Naomi, Miranda, Clementine, Dominique, Dom ...

and

Han Hyun-min Han Hyun-min (; born 19 May 2001) is a South Korean model and actor, who gained national recognition by becoming the first Korean model of African descent to walk the catwalks in South Korea and internationally. Early life Han was born in 2001 ...

. It is

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

's first Korean sitcom, which was released on June 18, 2021.

Synopsis

The series revolves around a group of students with different multicultural backgrounds residing at a college dormitory in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

Cast

Main

as Se-wan, Korean advisor in charge of the dormitory management. * Shin Hyeon-seung as Jamie, a newcomer from the US. *

as Sam, the son of the president of an Australian ''

tteokbokki () or simmered rice cake, is a popular Korean food made from small-sized (long, white, cylinder-shaped rice cakes) called () or commonly (). * ''Eomuk'' (fish cakes), boiled eggs, and scallions are some common ingredients paired with ''tteo ...

'' global food chain. *

as Minnie, a Thai student who loves

Korean dramas Korean drama (), also known as K-drama or Koreanovela, refers to Korean-language television shows made in South Korea. These shows began to be produced around the early 1960s, but were mostly consumed domestically until the rise of the Korean Wa ...

and good-looking guys. *

as Hyun-min, a Korean student who couldn't enter the dormitory and has to travel five hours to go to university. * Carson Allen as Carson, an American student who loves Korean food and is Se-wan's roommate. * Joakim Sorensen as Hans, a Swedish graduate student who always sticks to his principles no matter what. * Terris Brown as Terris, a

Trinbagonian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The population of Trinidad is notably diverse, with approximately 35% Indo-Trinidadian, 34% ...

graduate student, tagged as a casanova.

Recurring

* Jung Yi-rang as dorm cleaning lady / North Korean announcer / Icheon auntie. *

Kim Ji-in Kim Ji-in (; born 17 September 1996) is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in dramas ''Extraordinary You'', ''So Not Worth It ''So Not Worth It'' () is a 2021 South Korean television series starring Park Se-wan, Shin Hyeon-se ...

as Joo-ri, Terris's girlfriend and housemate. * Kim Kang-min as Kang Joon-young, a high school student. * Lee Jae-joon as Il-seop, Carson's blind date and Terris's friend. *

Kim Jae-hwa Kim Jae-hwa (born September 1, 1980) is a South Korean actress. Career Kim made her acting debut in 2009 in the film ''Harmony'' and she started to gain recognition following her role as Deng Yaping Deng Yaping (; born February 5, 1973 ...

as Aunt Mae, Se-wan's mother's debtor. * Prae as Prae, a Thai student who was Minnie's classmate in high school. * Miki as Miki, a student from Spain.

Guest

* Ha Dong-hoon as a restaurant customer where Jamie works (Ep. 1) * Lee Ji-hoon as doctor (Ep. 1), a taxi driver (Ep. 11), a barber (Ep. 12) * Kim Jung-min as a drug squad detective (Ep. 2) *

Hwang Woo-seul-hye Hwang Jin-hee (; born August 10, 1979), better known by the stage name Hwang Woo-seul-hye (), is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut as a " dumb blonde"-type character in the critically praised black comedy '' Crush and Blush'' (20 ...

as ''Do You Know the Way'' lead actress (Ep. 3) * Yoon Seo-hyun as ''Do You Know the Way'' lead actor (Ep. 3) *

Julien Kang Julien Kang (; born 11 April 1982) is a French and Canadian actor and model. In May 2012, Kang starred opposite Ryu Si-won as Kang Gu-ra, a rival fighter to Ryu's Seung-hyuk in Channel A's '' Goodbye Dear Wife''. Early life Kang was born in ...

as Frenchman (Ep. 4) *

Im Won-hee Im Won-hee (; born October 11, 1970) is a South Korean actor. Im was an alumnus of the legendary Daehak-ro theater troupe ''Mokhwa'' (), starring in many of Jang Jin's stage plays. He made his film debut in Jang's black comedy ''The Happenings' ...

as Hyun-min's mother's ex-boyfriend (Ep. 4) * Han Soo-ah as Mi Suk (Eps. 5, 6) *

Jeong Jin-woon Jeong Jin-woon (), most often credited as Jinwoon, is a South Korean singer and actor. Debuting as a member of the group 2AM (band), 2AM in July 2008, he began his acting career in 2012 with the Korean Broadcasting System, KBS series ''Dream ...

as Carson's boyfriend (Eps. 6, 7) *

Kang Ho-dong Kang Ho-dong (born July 14, 1970) is a South Korean television host and comedian, who first became known to Koreans as one of the top Korean traditional wrestlers. In 2008, Kang became the first comedian in history to win the Baeksang Arts ...

as speed quiz host (Ep. 6) *

Hwang Kwang-hee Hwang Kwang-hee (; born August 25, 1988), also known mononymously as Kwanghee, is South Korean singer, actor, and TV personality. He debuted in 2010 as a member of the boy band ZE:A. He is also known for his appearances on variety shows and wa ...

as online buyer (Ep. 6) * Maeng Sueng-ji (Ep. 6) *

Yang Byung-yeol Yang Byung-yeol (; born 23 November 1993) is a South Korean theatre, film and television actor. He debuted in 2015 in Naver TV's web drama ''Dream Knight'' and was active under the stage name 'Kang Yun-je'. He later on began working under his b ...

as Yoo Shi-jin (Ep. 6) * Choi Yu-jin as Han Hyun-ah (Eps. 9, 11) *

Lee Soo-geun Lee Soo-geun (; born February 10, 1975) is a South Korean comedian who has worked on a number of comedy shows on South Korean television. He began his career as a comedian on KBS '' Gag Concert''. Career Before entering the entertainment indu ...

as fortuneteller (Ep. 9) * Kim Hee-jung as Se-wan's mother (Ep. 10) *

Baek Joo-hee Baek Joo-hee (; born 29 November 1976) is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in drama such as '' My Name'', ''Extracurricular'', '' Lawless Lawyer'', '' Crazy Love'' and '' Today's Webtoon''. She also appeared in movies ''Someone ...

as Hyun-min's mother (Ep. 10) *

Yoon Jong-shin Yoon Jong-shin (; born October 15, 1969) is a South Korean singer-songwriter, record producer, and the CEO of Mystic Story. Early life and education Yoon completed high school at Daewon Foreign Language High School and studied Korean Language ...

as karaoke employee (Ep. 11) *

Hwang Bo-reum-byeol Hwang Bo-reum-byeol (, born December 21, 1999), is a South Korean actress and model. She began her acting career with Naver TV's web series, ''The World of My 17'' (2020). Early life Hwang was born on December 21, 1999, in Changwon Changwon ...

as Ji Eun (Ep. 11) * Lee Ji-won as Jun-yeong's tutor (Ep. 12) * as Jun-yeong's tutor's younger brother (Ep. 12) * Joo Yeon-woo as senior

Production

The series is directed by Kim Jung-sik, who previously worked on several hit Korean sitcoms like ''

High Kick! ''High Kick!'' (; "High Kick without Hesitation" or "Unstoppable High Kick") was a South Korean situation comedy revolving around the life of the Lee family. It aired in South Korea from Monday through Friday, in sitcom format. The show led to ...

'' (2006–07), '' High Kick: Revenge of the Short Legged'' (2011–12) and '' Potato Star 2013QR3'' (2013), and Kwon Ik-joon of ''Three Men, Three Girls'' and '' Nonstop'' (2000–06), which teamed up for the birth of a global K-sitcom. Screenwriters Seo Eun-jung and Baek Ji-hyun previously worked on the first three seasons of the hit sitcom ''Nonstop'' (2000–06). An online live press conference for the series was held on June 16, 2021. Park Se-wan, Shin Hyun-seung, Choi Young-jae, Han Hyun-min, Joakim Sorensen, Carson Allen, Terris Brown, director Kwon Ik-joon, and director Kim Jung-sik attended the event. Minnie, who was unable to join the interview, talked about her character through a recorded video.

Original soundtrack

Reception

Audience viewership

''So Not Worth It'' took second place in Thailand and top 10 in Saudi Arabia. The series lead the revival of the Korean sitcom that has almost disappeared from Korea after 10 years through OTT service.

Critical response

''Decider'''s Joel Keller compared the series to the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

sequel '' Saved by the Bell: The College Years'', stating that "It reminds us of ''Saved By The Bell: The College Years'', except with everyone speaking Korean." Keller described the series "that could fit among Netflix's American multi-cams" as not suitable as a "family sitcom, due to language and themes," but "it's brightly-lit, the jokes go at a sitcom's pace, and there's even a laugh-track." After watching the series, and praising the Korean skills of all the non-Korean actors, the crew at ''Decider'' recommended viewers to stream the show. Bryan Tan writing for ''

Yahoo! News Yahoo News (stylized as Yahoo! News) is a news website that originated as an internet-based news aggregator by Yahoo. The site was created by Yahoo software engineer Brad Clawsie in August 1996. Articles originally came from news services such ...

'' praised the chemistry between the actors, and the performance of all of the foreign cast members "speaking native and seamlessly fluent Korean." He wrote, "It's definitely unique in the sense that it features such a diverse cast from all over the world". Tan concluded the review, "while the plot seemed to meander off here and there, the sitcom gives off a vibrant and comfortable feel akin to the American sitcom ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

''" and recommended, if viewers are "looking for good fun and easy laughs, ''So Not Worth It'' is very much worth a watch".

Accolades

Future

In an interview, director Kwon Ik-joon mentioned that the production of a second season was dependent on the first season's popularity. He commented, "While chatting with Minnie in Thailand, I thought, 'I think it would be fun to go to a foreigner's house'. It would be fun to draw a story about going on a vacation to a country where a foreign friend lives."

References

External links

* * * {{Netflix original ended series (2019–present), state=collapsed Korean-language television shows Netflix sitcoms 2021 South Korean television series debuts 2020s college television series South Korean pre-produced television series South Korean college television series Television series about educators