“Kkondae Intern” (꼰대인턴)

By Jae-Ha Kim
jaehakim.com
July 24, 2020

Ga Yeol-Chan (played by Park Hae-Jin)
Lee Man-Sik (played by Kim Eung-Soo)
↑Note: Korean names denote the surname followed by the given name.

“Kkondae Intern” is an entertaining series that touches on workplace hierarchy. But it could’ve been a really great series if it delved into the abusive workplace culture that allows employers to abuse their employees just because they can. If half the things they do happened at a fraternity hazing, people would be incensed. But it seems to be accepted…at least in K-Dramas…that this is just how it is.

Yeol-Chan is a smart go-getter who gets accepted into an internship program at Korea’s largest ramen corporation. Rather than listening to his ideas, his boss treats him like an incompetent fool, ordering him to not do anything, throwing food at him and barely treating him like a human being. Yeol-Chan finally gives up and quits.

Flash forward a few years: The tables have been turned. Yeol-Chan now is a valued member of another ramen company. His former abusive boss, Man-Sik, has been pushed out of his job thanks to Korea’s draconian system of firing older, more expensive employees to make room for less experienced (and therefore cheaper) younger recruits. Man-Sik will end up as Yeol-Chan’s intern and, only then, does he realize how horribly he had treated his underlings.

I’ve got to hand it to the writers, though. They took a completely despicable character and made him likable, and I am kind of disappointed in myself for having fallen for it. It’s a testament to Kim Eung-Soo’s talent that he is able to add so many layers to Man-Sik.

If you’re looking for romance, there really isn’t any, other than some tepid flirtation that doesn’t go anywhere.

Park Hae-Jin proves once again what a versatile actor he is and turns in another fine performance. I especially loved how he expressed his quiet inner rage.

Meta Moment: Kim Sun-Young has a c0-starring role here as an executive at Yeol-Chan’s firm. Choi Moo-Sung makes a cameo as her boyfriend. The pair recently made a cameo appearance together in “Hospital Playlist.” The pair is best known for their work together on “Reply 1988.”

Hmmmm: There was an unnecessarily tacky example of culture appropriation early on, when Yeol-Chan is asked to star in a ramen commercial for the Indian market. Though they made a chickenless-chicken ramen, Yeol-Chan was dressed like…this…

Airdates: Twenty-four 30-minute episodes aired from May 20 to June 25, 2020 on MBC.

Spoiler Alert:

The female intern (Han Ji-Eun) working alongside Man-Sik is his daughter. Neither knew the other had applied for the job.

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