Misaeng: Episode 4

by odilettante

It’s D-Day for the interns as they finally give their presentations in hopes of passing one more hurdle on their way to becoming official employees. Only a select few will be able to pass this round, though, and there’s a strong chance Geu-rae’s strategy in selecting Seok-yul the “dog wall” as his partner has come back to bite him. But for the intern who could only come up with “effort” as his useful qualification, there’s no such thing as giving up.

 
EPISODE 4 RECAP

In a voiceover, Geu-rae says that he now has to sell an item to the one person he doesn’t want to, and down on street level, Chief Oh watches the executive director’s car pass him by. Then it stops and he runs up to it, bowing deeply. He humbly asks the executive director to drop the disciplinary case on Dong-shik as a favor, but instead of directly answering, the executive director orders his driver to continue on.

On the rooftop, Geu-rae and Seok-yul are reeling from the news about the second part of their presentation. Geu-rae sees it as another game strategy: It’s about revealing yourself through your partner. If he decides to buy his partner’s item, it will only make his partner look good. But if he rashly rejects the item, then it makes him look petty.

Seok-yul proves that he doesn’t care about seeming petty, though, as he warns him that no matter what Geu-rae tries to sell him, he’ll never buy it. Never.

All the interns are busy working on their presentations and staying late at the office, keeping careful tabs on how each other is doing. As everyone researches the company archives or tries to find unique ways to figure out what one item their partner would surely buy, Geu-rae considers his partner’s motivations.

Seok-yul had said that he doesn’t consider someone without onsite knowledge to be a superior, which means he either only cares about the onsite factory locations or doesn’t care about office clerical work. But as Geu-rae looks back at Dong-shik’s and Chief Oh’s empty desks, he realizes that the onsite work can only come from office approval.

Chief Oh and Dong-shik are at a restaurant, silently pouring each other shots of soju. Dong-shik eventually screws up his courage to tell Chief Oh that he could have just left it alone. He knows how much his boss hates asking the executive director for favors, and he was just going to be put on probation for a few months — it’s not worth the threat of Chief Oh losing his own job.

But Chief Oh points out that the error Dong-shik made was just a mistake. Dong-shik should be worried if it happens more than once, because then it means it’s a lack of skills.

Geu-rae tidies up the office, and as he comes across a blank contract form, he pretends that he’s presenting it to Seok-yul, telling him that factory work is completed in the office, and in order for all the products to be made onsite, it needs his signature and the signatures of upper management for approval. So his solution is to sell the pen needed in order to sign off on the factory order.

He sighs that this presentation is no good, though, and is startled by Chief Oh’s agreement as he arrives back in the office. Chief Oh adds that Geu-rae sounds more desperate than persuasive.

Geu-rae is convinced that the clerical work is just as important as the factory work, but he’s struggling to come up with a way to defend his opinion. Chief Oh points out that if only the factories were important, then this big office building would be pointless — site work is completed in the office. Both divisions are equally needed in the trading industry.

As Chief Oh leaves, he nonchalantly gives Geu-rae some more of his cryptic Yoda-isms: “Run as if your feet were on fire when you’re at the site; work until your feet sweat when you’re in the office.” That suddenly gives Geu-rae an idea, and he searches under all the desks in the empty office, pleased to have found what he needs for tomorrow’s presentation.

The next morning he eats breakfast with Mom, who wryly tells him she’s increased her laundry service since he’ll be unemployed tomorrow. When he grumbles that it sounds like she doesn’t want him to pass, she says that it’s okay if he doesn’t — because if he does, she’d no longer be eligible for her public-assisted laundry job. So she’s not sure if she should hope for him to pass or fail.

Aw, but Mom totally cares as later on she keeps an eye on the clock and wonders if he’s presenting now, trying not to be too worried since she knows he’s faced worse pressure in his baduk tournaments.

All the interns gather outside the meeting room, their arms filled with boxes of their items to sell to their partners. Seok-yul is not in a friendly mood as he snidely tells Geu-rae to please try and do well. Geu-rae wishes the same to him, but Seok-yul warns Geu-rae not to be concerned about him.

They’re led into the meeting room where the tables are set up to accommodate a few dozen judges from the executive departments. Included in the judging panel are all the department chiefs, and as Chief Oh settles into his seat, the woman next to him, Deputy Director SUN JI-YOUNG (Shin Eun-jung), muses that it reminds her of when they went through their own presentation interview.

She takes special note of Young-yi, having heard that many teams want her, and Chief Oh confidently declares that she’ll come to his team “Because she recognizes my devilish charm.” Pfft.

As the moderator goes through the presentation rules, Geu-rae notices Seok-yul frantically digging through his pockets. Back at his desk, Seok-yul’s phone buzzes, and when Geu-rae asks if everything’s all right, Seok-yul says he forgot to bring “it.”

But it’s too late to go back and get whatever it is, because the executive director has started his opening speech, pointing out that this may be the last day he sees some of the interns again. He reiterates that the company is looking for progressive and positive-minded thinkers, and wishes them all the best of luck as they begin their presentations.

The first group is enthusiastic in their attention-grabbing costumes and energetic choreography, eliciting a few smiles and chuckles (and Bitter Intern sighs that they should have thought up such a creative approach). But they’re immediately shut down by the executive director who reminds them that this is a professional business environment, and orders them to change back into their suits and start again.

During the presentations, the panel of executive judges doesn’t let anything get past them, pointing out every little misstep, from the way the powerpoint presentation was put together, to a nervous intern who keeps misusing English words. The only interns to get approval are Seok-ho (and his department chief practically beams in pride), Baek-ki (whose smooth presentation makes logical sense, but Chief Oh points out that it has no heart), and Young-yi (who confidently answers all the questions the judges throw at her).

As the presentations continue, Seok-yul’s phone keeps buzzing at his vacant desk, and eventually someone calls one of the other workers in the office, only to be told he’s still in the middle of his test. But we hear the message left on his phone, asking if he remembered to take his herbal medication.

It’s finally Seok-yul and Geu-rae’s turn, and Seok-yul is visibly nervous as he takes the microphone. After a few shaky breaths, he haltingly begins the presentation. Geu-rae desperately tries to telepathically shout at Seok-yul to remember to breathe, look up, and not sound as though he’s reciting a script.

Finally Seok-yul stops and apologizes, asking for a minute to go take his herbal anti-anxiety medication. The executive director permits it, but since it would be unfair to the other interns to give them extra time, the clock will keep ticking. Suddenly Geu-rae speaks up: “I’ll do it!”

As he takes the microphone from Seok-yul, he thinks back to what his baduk teacher told him when he was younger: When you make a move, you always need to have a purpose behind it. But in a crisis, you sometimes have to let go of something unnecessary. He had chosen Seok-yul to be his partner for his eloquence, but now he must surrender that eloquence in order to survive.

Geu-rae stammers his way through his presentation, using simple layman terms instead of the technical ones, and even he realizes that this time his effort isn’t enough. But Seok-yul thinks back to his father with his permanently grease-blackened hands, who worked all his life at a factory only to be laid off, and the ensuing taunts from his childhood peers who mocked him for having a father who didn’t go to the office every day.

Aw, and the reason his phone was ringing so much was because his father and all the other men at the factory were trying to get in touch with him, wanting to wish him well on his exam since they knew he would be able to escape the blue-collar life. But they’re also worried about his extreme stage fright.

One of the directors finally stops Geu-rae, chiding him for repeating himself, and another asks if he’s ever toured one of the factories before. He admits he hasn’t, and some of the directors grumble about how interns no longer like to leave their cushy offices anymore.

This awakens something deep in Seok-yul, and he takes the microphone back from Geu-rae. He eloquently and passionately finishes the rest of the presentation, mentally telling his father that he’s not ashamed of him or his association with the factory.

As Geu-rae notes the nods of approval from the judging panel, he realizes that Seok-yul has taken back control — in the space of three minutes, Seok-yul became the male version of Young-yi.

During the break between the team presentation and the individual ones, Director Sun says it’s a pity Geu-rae fumbled the presentation, since his written report is excellent. But Chief Oh points out it’s a miracle that Geu-rae even made it this far, and he admires the fact that he knew when to give up. Director Sun cryptically adds that even though we think the past is holding onto us, it’s actually the other way around — which is what she thinks of when she sees Chief Oh.

Dong-shik calls to ask how Geu-rae is doing, and Chief Oh basically describes him as the biggest idiot around, ha. Besides, it’s Young-yi who’s the one to pay attention to. But Geu-rae is in the restroom washing his hands as the chief enters, and just as he leaves, Chief Oh gives one last parting Yoda-ism: “If you can’t do anything else, at least trip him. Then you can watch him fall.”

The individual presentations continue, and newly-medicated (and therefore no longer nervous) Seok-yul dismisses the awkward efforts of his fellow interns. The worst, perhaps, is Bitter Intern’s attempt to sell Young-yi a “memory,” aka a video montage of a day in her life at the office. Ugh, that has to be so mortifying for her to just stand there as it plays, much to the amusement of everyone else. But she manages to keep her composure. She’s not the “ace” for nothin’.

Finally, it’s Seok-yul’s and Geu-rae’s turn, and Seok-yul pulls out a long string of fabric samples that he’s compiled from his onsite work. He offers to sell it to Geu-rae, as well as a small notebook with his personal and detailed analysis of the communication issues between the various different departments at the factory.

Seok-yul cockily awaits Geu-rae’s answer as Geu-rae just stares at him. After taking some time to think about it, Geu-rae decides to pass on the fabric samples, but he’ll take the book. His rationale is that he can get fabric samples himself, but the analysis in the book will be a helpful time-saver when working with the factory.

But Seok-yul isn’t willing to give up so easily, pointing out that this fabric was tested personally by him so he could build up an expert database of knowledge, even though all the effort he went into acquiring that knowledge earned him the nickname of “pervert” and “dog wall.” He tries to defend his actions, but Geu-rae draws the conclusion that in the end, he still admits to inappropriate butt-grabbing.

The directors ask Geu-rae to make his final decision regarding the item, and he says that if he had to put in so much effort as Seok-yul did to understand the fabric so he could sell it, then instead of purchasing it, he would choose to sell it with Seok-yul: “What do you say — will you sell it with me?” Cannily, Seok-yul says that his answer depends on what Geu-rae will try to sell him.

Seok-yul’s ready to automatically dismiss whatever it is Geu-rae has to offer, but is momentarily dumbfounded when Geu-rae shows off his item: a used slipper. Ah, so that’s what he found underneath the desks (and it looks like he took everyone’s slippers from the office, ha!). The one he’s holding happens to be Chief Oh’s slipper, and the chief sits up in astonishment as he recognizes it.

Geu-rae’s argument is that the slippers are the combat boots of the office, because the office workers try to keep their street shoes neat for client meetings, but do the majority of their work in their slippers — hard work means the slippers eventually get worn down to the insole and smell of sweat.

The judges are impressed with Geu-rae’s argument, but Seok-yul still refuses to buy it, passionately defending the factories where they have to wear steel-toed boots to protect their feet in case equipment falls on them. In his estimation, those are the real combat boots of the workplace.

But Geu-rae points out that the only way the items made at the factory can even begin to exist is through the endless effort of the office workers who spend hours making sure every single number and word in each document is correct — documents that will approve the creation of the specific items the factories will eventually produce.

Echoing the words of his old baduk teacher, Geu-rae says that there’s no such thing as a meaningless product. Both the office and the factory are connected, and everyone is aiming for the same goal. In the end, the two work sites are not that different after all. The directors are enthralled by Geu-rae’s speech, and even Seok-yul gives a genuine smile.

With the presentations over, and therefore at the end of his internship, Geu-rae is back to juggling all his part-time jobs as he delivers chicken and waits tables at a bar. Once again he goes against the flow, returning home early in the morning as everyone else is headed off to their office jobs.

At One International, Dong-shik and Chief Oh are busy as ever, and Dong-shik automatically asks Geu-rae to photocopy some documents before remembering they no longer have their intern. Aw. Chief Oh tells him not to miss Geu-rae, since he’s convinced Young-yi will be assigned to their department.

There’s actually a good chance that will happen, since she, Baek-ki, and Seok-yul receive messages that they’ve passed the exam. In his excitement, Seok-yul wonders if Geu-rae has heard anything, too, but stops himself from sending a message.

Geu-rae is busy at his courier job, delivering documents from one office building to another, and he takes a moment to stop and look around the lobby before pulling out his phone and calling Mom: “I made it.” He’s now a two-year contract employee. Yessssss!

In the morning, he dresses for the office, but this time he’s prepared with a slip-on tie. Mom brings over the necktie she bought him, telling him that by now a grown man should know how to tie a tie. She does it for him, all the while telling him his father’s rules about being an adult, such as being able to tie a necktie, and always having neat shoes and a belt without holes. He needs to not just act an adult through his words, but behave like one through his actions.

Except, ha, she doesn’t know how to tie a necktie either. But Geu-rae takes her advice to heart and confidently walks to the office in his suit (with his necktie properly tied by the local barber).

As they arrive at the lobby of the One International building, Baek-ki isn’t exactly thrilled to find out that Geu-rae also made it through. But Seok-yul is delighted to see him, and Young-yi smiles her congratulations. Apparently Seok-ho made it through, too! Yay! But he’s already been assigned to a different branch.

The four ex-interns meet with the executive director, and as they all sit nervously in his office, he looks through his files on them and makes a few remarks on their impressive past performances. Hahaha, it’s hilarious how poor Geu-rae keeps jumping to attention each time the executive director says “yes” (“geu-rae”) as he talks to the others.

But when it’s actually Geu-rae’s turn, the executive director simply smiles and tells him to “work hard.” The different treatment towards Geu-rae does not go unnoticed by the others, particularly Baek-ki.

After filling out HR paperwork, the four finally get their ID badges and work assignments. Baek-ki tries to hide his disappointment that Young-yi is assigned to the team he wanted, but Seok-yul is thrilled to be in the textile team. And Geu-rae?

He’s reunited with Sales Team 3, much to Dong-shik’s delight and Chief Oh’s horror. Geu-rae was told Chief Oh had specifically requested him, but Chief Oh doesn’t have a chance to argue, because the executive director stops by to confirm that the team looks happy.

Geu-rae returns to the rooftop and remembers his first day there, when he was in his father’s ill-fitting hand-me-down suit and Dong-shik found out how how inexperienced he was. Chief Oh joins him moments later, and the two men stand next to each other as they stare out at the cityscape.

Chief Oh admits that he’s not happy to have Geu-rae back on his team because they need someone who can handle a million different tasks, and then he bemoans once more that he didn’t get Young-yi. Even so, Geu-rae is now here, so he needs to learn to survive. Because here, endurance is work, and to endure means that you figure out how to live a complete life by whatever means possible.

Chief Oh tells Geu-rae that in baduk there’s such a thing as an incomplete life/state of being (mi-saeng) and a complete state (wan-saeng): “Here, we’re all still incomplete.”

In an epilogue, Geu-rae arrives outside the One International office building, and slowly runs his fingers along one of the metal pillars holding up the building. He stops to write down “YES” on a piece of paper and then tightly folds it up, slipping it between the gaps of the pillar.

 
COMMENTS

There’s something about this drama that is able to masterfully put you into the character’s shoes (slippers?) and make you identify so clearly with each agonizing moment. Even though I was comfortably at home, sitting on my sofa, I could still feel the burbling of a panic attack while watching Seok-yul’s first attempt to get through the presentation. I don’t think of myself as having stage fright or a fear of public speaking, yet for those brief seconds, my anxiety for him was palpable. So, too, was my anxiety when Geu-rae attempted to cover for him. Each faltering word and awkward sentence made me want to hide under a blanket until the episode was over.

Yet this is one major reason why I love this show as much as I do (and not because I’m necessarily a masochist). Despite what is an incredibly simple plot on paper, I’m continually drawn to how deeply we become entrenched in our characters’ lives, even the ones we don’t really like at first.

Just an episode ago, I would have never guessed that I would be tearing up over Seok-yul’s back story and then sincerely cheering for him when he was able to regain his confidence and composure. Yes, I still wanted to slug that smug face of his during the individual presentation because I’m forever protective of Geu-rae. But in the end, I’m pleasantly surprised that this show has managed, in such a short amount of time, to get me to completely turn my opinion around.

Well, maybe not completely, because he still seems worthy of the “dog wall” nickname. But now that we’re able to understand the motivation behind his swagger, he seems like less of an obnoxious threat than before. I’m actually happy and excited that Geu-rae has an ally and a peer in this corporation, and because they both come from unexpected backgrounds and have a lot to prove, I’m anticipating that this is only the beginning of a beautiful bromance.

Despite Chief Oh’s incessant protests about wanting Young-yi, I’m also excited that we get to keep our Sales Team 3 trio together! Not that I ever had any doubt — well, okay, maybe I did a little bit. Due to the gritty reality that underpins this show, I was slightly worried that it might be a longer journey to reunite everyone.

I’ve been onboard Chief Oh as his mentor since day one, and there’s definitely so much that Geu-rae needs (and wants) to learn. But there are also lessons that Chief Oh must learn, and it seems like Geu-rae may, perhaps, be that teacher for him. However hilarious it is to have Chief Oh try to use baduk as a life lesson assuming Geu-rae doesn’t know anything about the game, I think it’s actually incredibly powerful. Baduk is the language Geu-rae’s known for so long, and even though the chief may not be aware of it, he’s somehow been able to unlock the key to communicating with this kid who is still figuring out the basics of the corporate world.

I wonder if it’s actually because Geu-rae spent so much of his childhood looking up to his baduk teachers that he clings so tightly to Chief Oh. Where the rest of the office sees a rumpled, sleep-deprived middle-aged man that perhaps hasn’t been able to move up the ladder as fast as his peers, Geu-rae sees another wise instructor, one who will teach him how to navigate the game of office life.

This is a man who has gotten where he is because he’s fought hard, perhaps too hard. He isn’t the type to have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. As Geu-rae pointed out, he pours everything he has into his job, even wearing down his slippers. Yes, he’s bull-headed and prone to making mistakes, but he’s willing to fight for what he believes is right. Most importantly, he’s willing to fight for the integrity of his team — even humbling himself before the executive director, even though it goes against every fiber of his being.

While I’m content to let the show gradually unfold everyone’s backgrounds at the languid the pace it’s already set, I’m still dying of curiosity to know what the deal is between Chief Oh and the executive director. Clearly there’s some antagonistic history, yet I get the feeling assigning Geu-rae to that department isn’t the punishment Chief Oh seems to think it is. So, too, am I curious about the connection between the executive director and Geu-rae. The way he said, “Ah, so you’re Jang Geu-rae” seems to imply that this was the first time he’s actually knowingly met Geu-rae.

Which makes me wonder if Geu-rae’s contract-employee hiring is still somehow a connection, or if he truly earned it with his presentation. I believe he earned it, because even if the team presentation was a near-failure on his end, he was able to completely dominate the individual portion. Someone who is that passionate and persuasive, and who his able to make most of the executive staff sit up and take notice, couldn’t be dismissed so easily.

Although I’m apparently not the only one to be suspicious about the details of Geu-rae’s hiring. I haven’t talked about Baek-ki much since he’s been a relatively minor character who’s predominately flown under the radar (despite being one of the top interns, and, y’know, Kang Ha-neul). But I get the feeling we’ll start to see what’s truly behind that pleasant smile of his. My best guess is that cunning intelligence and ruthless ambition lurks behind his pretty face.

To be fair, those are traits needed to survive in the corporate world (er, the intelligence and ambition — although I’m sure the pretty face helps, too), and I can understand any frustration on his end for feeling looked-over despite doing everything “right” (going to a good school; doing well on his tests; giving excellent presentations; making the right connections). I don’t know that I would be able to blame him for feeling resentment towards Geu-rae, since he assumes Geu-rae just succeeds in life thanks to everyone else giving him those opportunities, and not due to having the right skills and requirements.

However, unlike baduk where two opponents face off, the corporate life is a communal game that requires cooperation between all teams and departments. Just because one person succeeds, doesn’t mean another is therefore automatically the loser. That’s a lesson that may be difficult to understand, especially in the competitive arena of job-hunting — but thankfully that’s one that Geu-rae has already begun to grasp.

 
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