Why 'Misaeng' is the 'Life-Defining Drama' for Korean Office Workers
Why 'Misaeng' is the 'Life-Defining Drama' for Korean Office Workers In the glittering world of K-dramas, filled with billionaire heirs and fated lovers, one show stands apart. There are no dramatic car crashes, no shocking birth secrets, and no fairy-tale romances. Its heroes are ordinary office workers, and its battlefields are the meeting room, the copy machine, and the after-work dinner. That show is 'Misaeng: An Incomplete Life' (미생) . A full decade after its original broadcast in 2014, as of September 2025, Misaeng remains the undisputed benchmark for workplace dramas in Korea. It is frequently called an "insaeng drama" (인생 드라마) —a life-defining show that viewers carry with them forever. Its enduring power comes from a courageous choice: to find its drama not in fantasy, but in the stark, painful, and profoundly moving reality of everyday corporate life. A Mirror, Not an Escape: The Power of Hyper-Realism The primary reason for Misaeng 's ...