Copyright scmp
Lead cast: Ryu Seung-ryong, Myung Se-bin, Cha Kang-yoon Latest Nielsen rating: 3.5 per cent If the American dream is a suburban home with a white picket fence, the Korean one is a Seoul apartment and an executive title at a big company. The new workplace K-drama The Dream Life of Mr Kim seems to confirm this, not least because it is based on a webtoon straightforwardly called “The Story of Manager Kim, Who Owns His Home and Works for a Large Company in Seoul”. This so-called dream life belongs to the middle-aged salaryman Kim Nak-su, played by self-deprecating everyman Ryu Seung-ryong, who has spent a good chunk of the last few years selling fried chicken on screen – see Extreme Job and Chicken Nugget. Nak-su is an executive at ACT, a national telecoms company – a change from the family-run “chaebol” corporations that usually dominate K-dramas – and lives with his wife and child in his very own Seoul apartment. By most Korean standards, Nak-su has “made it”, yet each of his achievements comes with a disqualifying caveat, which, taken together, paint a very different life story. For 25 years, Nak-su has steadily risen at his company, playing the game and currying the favour of superiors. Yet he is still only a general manager. And though he is being considered for a move up to managing director, a title that comes with its very own office, top ACT brass routinely pass him over for promotion in favour of younger, shinier new prospects. Then there is his apartment, which, though paid for, is old and not situated in the affluent climes of Gangnam, Seoul’s real estate crown jewel. His wife Park Ha-jin (Myung Se-bin, Doctor Cha) is a doting housewife, but she longs for a sense of purpose, while his university-age son Kim Su-gyeom (Cha Kang-yoon, Head Over Heels), despite the great education he received, is filled with simmering resentment for his father. Nak-su’s tragedy is his chronic inability to read the room, which is what makes him such an ideal role for Ryu. A master of situational comedy and disarming charm, Ryu skilfully brings ordinary men to life, never shying away from deeply flawed characters. The protagonists he tends to portray are blunt, petty, thin-skinned and generally completely unaware of how unfair, uncool or out-of-touch they are. What they lack isn’t empathy, it’s a spine, and Ryu’s skill is in getting us to root for his characters to find it. Nak-su is a paradigm of learned behaviour. He mimics the actions and behaviour of people whose position in society he covets. Utterly lacking in imagination, he is only able to recognise something’s value by its price tag. One of his chief concerns in episode one is to buy a new briefcase. He opts for a very dull and nondescript model and considers the purchase a success when he learns that it is slightly more expensive than his rival’s equally nondescript briefcase. At work, he is constantly belittled by an arrogant superior, who routinely claims that he is just looking out for him. Nak-su repeats the same behaviour to his family, who he constantly peppers with little takedowns, while obtusely refusing to acknowledge his own shortcomings. Losing out on the managing director role would be a crushing blow, but a more existential crisis begins brewing around Nak-su, precipitated by the fate of a close colleague and a workplace gaffe that could spark severe repercussions. ACT hired Heo Tae-hwan (Lee Seo-hwan, Squid Game season 2) at the same time as Nak-su, but he never had the same skill for fitting in. Nak-su has done his best to help him over the years, going so far as to force a more deserving junior female subordinate to delay her promotion for a year. During a new round of reassignments, Tae-hwan is transferred to the countryside to perform a demeaning job inspecting underground tunnels. The transfer is intended to provoke him to resign voluntarily, but it sparks unintended, tragic consequences. These stoke Nak-su’s guilt and insecurity and force ACT to rethink its ruthless reshuffle. On top of that, Nak-su’s desperation to keep his superiors happy close to promotion time compels him to make a grave oversight. All of a sudden, Nak-su’s Korean dream is on the brink of turning into a nightmare. His life very well may fall apart in the coming episodes, yet this may also be the paradigm shift he needs. Here’s hoping that doesn’t mean another fried chicken shop for Ryu. The Dream Life of Mr Kim is streaming on Netflix.
