''Misaeng: Incomplete Life'' () is a 2014 South Korean television series based on the eponymous webtoon series by

Yoon Tae-ho Yoon Tae-ho (; born September 27, 1969) is a South Korean manhwa artist. He is best known for writing the webtoons ''Moss'' and '' Misaeng''. Early life Yoon Tae-ho grew up in a rural town of Gwangju, South Jeolla Province. He came from a poor ...

. It aired on tvN from October 17 to December 20, 2014, on Fridays and Saturdays at 20:30 ( KST) for 20 episodes. The title translates to Go terminology meaning "an incomplete life" (literally "not yet" () "living/birth" (), meaning "not yet alive"). ''Misaeng: Incomplete Life'' was the first

Korean drama Korean drama (), also known as K-drama or Koreanovela, refers to Korean language, 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 ...

to film on location in

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, where actors Im Si-wan and Lee Sung-min shot the series's prologue in

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

Petra Petra (; "Rock"), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu (Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: or , *''Raqēmō''), is an ancient city and archaeological site in southern Jordan. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit systems, P ...

, and

Wadi Rum Wadi Rum ( ''Wādī Ramm'', also ''Wādī al-Ramm''), known also as the Valley of the Moon ( ''Wādī al-Qamar''), is a valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock in southern Jordan, near the border with Saudi Arabia and about to the east of ...

. Yim reprised his role as the protagonist, which he played in an earlier

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

, ''Incomplete Life: Prequel'' (2013). The series became a cultural phenomenon and recorded high viewership ratings for a cable network program in Korea.

Synopsis

Since he was a child, the board game baduk has been everything to Jang Geu-rae ( Im Si-wan). 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 GED high school equivalency diploma on his resume. Through an acquaintance's recommendation, he gets hired as an

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

at One International, a large trading company. There, Geu-rae meets his boss, manager Oh Sang-shik ( Lee Sung-min), who's a workaholic and has a warm personality; fellow intern Ahn Young-yi ( Kang So-ra), who attracts her colleagues' ire because of her impressive educational credentials and by being extremely competent at any task; and Jang Baek-gi ( Kang Ha-neul), 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.

Cast

Main

* Im Si-wan as Jang Geu-rae ** Kim Ye-jun as young Jang Geu-rae :He formerly aspired to be a professional baduk player, to which he had devoted his life since childhood, but, unable to achieve this goal, he joins One International, although he has no formal skills or training. He joins Sales Team 3 as a two-year contract employee at One International. * Lee Sung-min as Oh Sang-shik * Kang So-ra as Ahn Young-yi She joins Resource Team as permanent employee at One International. * Kang Ha-neul as Jang Baek-gi He joins Steel Team as permanent employee at One International. * Byun Yo-han as Han Seok-yool. He joins Textile Team as permanent employee at One International.

Supporting

One International Sales Teams

=Team 3 (to which Geu-rae is assigned)

= *

Kim Dae-myung Kim Dae-myung (born February 16, 1981) is a South Korean actor. He began his acting career in theater, then rose to fame in the television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any con ...

as Kim Dong-shik *

Park Hae-joon Park Sang-woo (; born on June 14, 1976), better known by his stage name, Park Hae-joon (), is a South Korean actor. He gained widespread recognition for starring in dramas '' The World of the Married'' (2020), '' The 8 Show'' (2024), ''When Li ...

as Chun Kwan-woong * Kim Hee-won as Park Jong-shik * Seo Yoon-ah as Lee Eun-ji (ep. 14) * Kim Won-hae as Park Young-ho (ep. 20)

=Team 1

= *

Shin Eun-jung Shin Eun-jung (; born January 3, 1974) is a South Korean actress. She has played supporting roles in television dramas such as '' The Legend'' (2007), '' East of Eden'' (2008) and ''Faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or ...

as Sun Ji-young * Kim Sang-won as Mr. Um * Shin Dong-hoon as Cha Soo-jin

=Team 2

= * Ryu Tae-ho as Go Dong-ho * Park Jin-soo as Assistant Manager Hwang * Kim Ga-young as Jang Mi-ra

Others

* Yoon Jong-hoon as Lee Sang-hyun * Yeo Eui-joo as Jang Ki-seok * Kim Jong-soo as Kim Boo-ryun *

as Sun Ji-young * Kim Kyung-ryong as Lee Shin-tae * Nam Kyung-eup as CEO of One International * Lee Geung-young as Choi Young-hoo * Son Jong-hak as Ma Bok-ryul * Jung Hee-tae as Jung Hee-seok * -- as Cha Jung-ho * Jang Hyuk-jin as Moon Sang-pil * Choi Gwi-hwa as Park Yong-gu * Shin Jae-hoon as Yoo Hyung-ki * Jeon Seok-ho as Ha Sung-joon * Oh Min-suk as Kang Hae-joon * Tae In-ho as Song Jeon-shik * Park Jin-seo as Shin Da-in *

Hwang Seok-jeong Hwang Seok-jeong (born February 2, 1971) is a South Korean actress. She has mostly played supporting roles in films and television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content prod ...

as Kim Sun-joo * Jo Hyun-sik as Kim Seok-ho * Kim Jung-hak as Lee Seok-joong * Kwak In-joon as Audit team leader * Han Kap-soo as One International Jordan branch manager * Choi Jae-woong as One International Jordan branch employee * Sung Byung-sook as Geu-rae's mother * Nam Myung-ryul as Geu-rae's baduk teacher * Lee Si-won as Ha Jung-yeon * -- as Senior colleague Kim * Oh Yoon-hong as Oh Sang-shik's wife * Lee Seung-joon as Shin Woo-hyun

Cameo appearances

Cho Hun-hyun Cho Hunhyun (; born 10 March 1953) is a South Korean professional Go player and politician. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, Cho reached professional level in Korea in 1962. Since then, Cho has amassed 150 professional title ...

( cameo) * Yoo Chang-hyuk (cameo) * Oh Jung-se as Husband of Chungsol's CEO (cameo, ep. 20) * Yoo Jae-myung as Factory worker (ep. 16)

Original soundtrack

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Ratings

Awards and nominations

Remake

* ''HOPE〜期待ゼロの新入社員〜'' * ''Ordinary Glory''; starring Bai Jingting, Mark Chao and

Qiao Xin Qiao Xin (, born 23 November 1993), also known as Bridgette Qiao, is a Chinese actress who graduated from the Central Academy of Drama. Qiao is recognized for her role as Guan Ju'er in ''Ode to Joy'' (2016) and '' Ode to Joy 2'' (2017). Career I ...

References

External links

* * *
''Misaeng'' webtoon
on Daum {{Authority control 2014 South Korean television series debuts 2014 South Korean television series endings TvN (South Korean TV channel) television dramas Television shows based on South Korean webtoons South Korean comedy-drama television series South Korean workplace television series South Korean television series remade in other languages