Episode 2&3: You Don’t Work Alone

Part of the reason that “Misaeng: An Incomplete Life” is so popular, even today, is because of its authentic portrayal of the working culture in Sourth Korea. The social hierarchy that is portrayed in the drama is a good representation of the work culture in Korea. Every workplace has a standard hierarchy, however, in “Misaeng,” it portrays the hierarchy amongst the interns and also the management team. It portrays the strain that a high-performance work system has on a person and their well-being. In episodes, two and three, the main issue that is addressed is social hierarchy. In episode 2, the audience is introduced to the intern presentation where the interns must find a partner. In the search for partners, we find that there is a hierarchy amongst the interns themselves, not necessarily ranked by their social status, but rather by their abilities. In episode 3, we see that our protagonist has found himself a partner for the presentation. However, Sales Team 3 is in trouble with management when a shipment is in jeopardy of being cancelled. It is this episode that clearly shows the management hierarchy. It is with these two episodes that the audience sees how the management hierarchy is set.

Social hierarchy exists in all fields of society, however, due to South Korean’s hyper-competitive lifestyle, the social stratification becomes very evident. When the interns are talking amongst themselves, they talk about the various qualifications of each intern and what makes worthy of being at One International. This then creates a power dynamic between the interns themselves. They look down on Jang Geu-Rae due to his lack of education and that alone sets him apart from the rest of them. They use his lack of education as a contrast to their high education and want to use him as a pawn in their mission to become a full fledged employee. They know that Geu-Rae has to work harder than they do in order to impress the bosses, which is why he puts in a substantial amount of hours into work and just sleeping at his desk instead of going home. It is his sheer determination to make it in the workplace that the other interns recognize as invaluable in the selection for partnership on the intern presentation. By having someone on your team that is of a lesser social standing than you, they believe that it will help them stand out more.

The power dynamics that are presented in “Misaeng,” are typical to the working environment of South Korea. There is no real definition of a power structure. There is a social structure in place, however, the power dynamics are skewed. When a manager gives a subordinate a new task, this new task takes precedence over their regular tasks. This then creates a problem for the subordinate as this means they will have to do overtime in order to finish their regular tasks. The more unexpected tasks a subordinate is given, the more overtime they will have to do. The unspoken expectation of the subordinates is to place their manager on a pedestal and to follow them blindly. Which is why when Kim Dong-Shik faces disciplinary action for his part in the mismanagement of the exportation of a product, Section Chief Oh is encouraged by his fellow managers to speak up for him. They know that as managers they are in some ways untouchable as their subordinates will take all the blame.

As a result, the social hierarchy of the South Korean workplace is set differently to the power dynamic structure that is also working in place. Where the social hierarchy determines a person’s experiences in the workplace, while the power dynamic sets the pressures and functionalities of the team members.

Written By: Rebecca Lai

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Here are some discussion questions..

   1. Why does everyone want Jang Geu-Rae to be his partner? What does this say about work culture in S.Korea?

   2.  Why is Section Chief Oh told to go talk to the company Executive Director to help Kim Dong-Shik with his disciplinary action? Why is Section Chief Oh reluctant?

   3.  How is social hierarchy portrayed in episodes two and three? How do you think it affects work culture?

Bibliography:

1. Kim, Sehoon, McLean, Gary N., Park Soyoun. “The Cultural Context of Working Long Hours: Workplace Experiences in Korea.” New Horizons in Adult Education and Human

Resource Development 30, no.2 (2018): 36-51. https://doi.org/10.1002/nha3.20214

2. Rhee, Seung-Yoon, Oh Hye-Jun, Yu Gun-Jea. “High-performance work systems and firm capabilities in Korea: a fit perspective with organizational culture.” Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 53, no.3 (2018): 317-340.https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7941.12134