K-DRAMALAND WANTS YOU! 🫵
Have you fantasized about a fascinating job you saw in a k-drama (while fangirling over your favorite oppas or unnies)? We’re highlighting some of the most interesting jobs in our “Career in K-drama” series!
MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!
Start-up Company Mentor 🤝
Kim Seon-ho, Start-Up (2020)
*Must be brutally honest; Dimples a plus!
Han Ji-pyeong (Kim Seon-ho) is the no-nonsense, straight-talking adviser of a start up company. Even if it sometimes means he is seen as unsupportive, Ji-pyeong makes it a point to give the team comments that are difficult to accept but necessary for success. Some of his mentees might not like his version of tough love, but Ji-pyeong’s heart is in the right place. Like any good teacher, he intuitively knows to straddle the fine line between challenging and supporting his team.
Tutor 👩🎓
Kim Seo-hyung, SKY Castle (2018)
*Must be innovative and driven, preferably without a criminal background
Kim Joo-youn (Kim Seo-hyung) is a super exclusive tutor that guarantees anyone’s child entrance into the top three universities of Seoul. She employs time-tested and unethical tactics that are both fascinating and chilling. Operating on the notion that “we all lie” (*wink, wink), she doesn’t think twice about doing what it takes to get the job done. Although no sane parent would ever hire her for their child, Joo-youn’s single-minded determination at her job is a sight to behold.
Translator/Subtitler 👩💻
Shin Se-kyung, Run On (2020)
*Must be bilingual; Flawless complexion optional
Oh Mi-joo (Shin Se-kyung) is an English translator (and interpreter on the side). But her real job is putting English subtitles in Korean films. Mi-joo deftly explains that it’s more than just translating sentences word for word—it’s really about getting the feel of the scene and bridging two languages and cultures. K-drama audiences can surely resonate with her character's appreciation for the often taken-for-granted art of subtitling. After all, we’re all happy to traverse the “one-inch barrier of subtitles.”
PD for Variety Show 📽
Ji Chang-wook, Melting Me Softly (2019)
*Must be a risk-taker and be temperature-adaptive
Ma Dong-chan (Ji Chang-wook) is the director with the golden touch. His intuition and go-get-them attitude make him one of the most successful directors of his time. His 110% involvement in his own shows finally gets him into hot water (pun intended) when he agrees to be a test subject for being cryogenically frozen for 24 hours.
Robot Impersonator 🤖
Chae Soo-bin, I'm Not a Robot (2017)
*Must be versatile and hypoallergenic
Jo Ji-ah (Chae Soo-bin) is forced to pretend to be a robot named Aji 3. The humanoid robot is owned by Kim Min-kyu (Yoo Seung-ho), a chaebol heir who gets allergies from human touch. Ji-ah has got to use all her wits if she wants to keep convincing Min-kyu that she’s really a robot, and not just a human pretending to be a robot, trying to mimic a human.
Delivery Person 🛵
Go Kyung-pyo, Strongest Deliveryman (2017)
*Must be fast and resourceful
Since the pandemic struck and people became less mobile, delivery persons have become essential workers. But even before 2020, Choi Kang-soo (Go Kyung-pyo) already knew his worth. He is the good-natured, motorcycle-riding, friendly neighborhood delivery man who finds joy in bringing people their longed-for orders. Because of his passion for his job and his concern for his fellow workers, he unwittingly becomes the head of his own cohort of delivery workers who take on a big-name company.
Food Therapist 🍽
Song Seung-heon, Dinner Mate (2020)
*Must be a licensed psychiatrist and exemplary cook; With signing bonus if good-looking
Kim Hae-kyung (Song Seung-heon) is a psychiatrist who believes that food and the experience of eating can be therapeutic. He takes his clients out for meals and helps them process their trauma. Some people eat to live. Others live to eat. But for Hae-kyung, cooking, eating, healing, and loving are all part of the smorgasbord of a meaningful life.
MMA Fighter 🥊
Park Seo-joon, Fight For My Way (2017)
*Must be physically fit and mentally tough; Abs optional
Ko Dong-man (Park Seo-joon) is a former taekwondo athlete who has dreams of making it big as a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. Without the backing of wealthy sponsors and while maintaining his day job, Dong-man must now make his way from the bottom of the list with nothing but his determination and his fighting spirit.
Chief Royal Secretary ✍️
Kim Sang-kyung, The Crowned Clown (2019)
*Must be politically savvy and goal-driven
Chief Royal Secretary Lee Kyu (Kim Sang-kyung) is so fiercely patriotic that he is willing to kill anyone standing in the way of his ideal nation. He even seizes the opportunity to hire Ha Sun (Yeo Jin-goo), a street clown, to temporarily stand in for the king, Lee Hun (also Yeo Jin-goo). Lee Kyu successfully trains the king’s doppelganger to think and act like a king. He is such a great mentor that Ha Sun learns to wisely rule the kingdom on his own.
Principal 🏫
Kim So-yeon, The Penthouse Seasons 1 to 3: War in Life (2020-2021)
*Must have had a glorious past as the “Nation’s Soprano”; Formal wardrobe required, so jeans and t-shirts are not allowed; Anger management courses await.
The legendary soprano Cheon Seo-jin (played by Baeksang winner Kim So-yeon) has long fought for her right to take over the illustrious Chung-A Arts High School, but it seems her father and family have other plans. This does not sit well with the ruthlessly ambitious Seo-jin, and so she devises plans to earn her top spot, all while managing an extramarital affair, a daughter who is losing her mind, a faithless husband, and a murder charge. You know, #JustPenthouseThings.
Taxi Driver 🚖
Lee Je-hoon, Taxi Driver Seasons 1 and 2 (2021 and 2023)
*Must look ridiculously good in a bomber jacket; Looking very cool while driving backwards is optional but welcome; Combat skills also required; Must provide own 80s-inspired soundtrack while driving; Acting skills, a plus
Kim Do-ki (Lee Je-hoon) is an ex-military captain who now works as the main muscleman for the Rainbow Taxi Company, a zany group of vigilantes who take revenge on behalf of people who have been horribly hurt and abused. He is fueled by the memories of his murdered mother, and finds himself processing his pain by fighting and punishing criminals that the law cannot prosecute. Problems arise when the group slowly gets found out by Kang Ha-na (Esom), a no-nonsense prosecutor who believes that vigilantism has no place in civil society, no matter how appealing or exhilarating it is.
School Nurse 🧑⚕
Jung Yu-mi, The School Nurse Files (2020)
*Medical and mystical skills required
Students have been feeling ill and behaving weirdly in the school where nurse Ahn Eun-yong (Jung Yu-mi) works. Fortunately, Eun-yong can see the the invisible jellies that have been ailing them. While most jiggly critters look cute, blown-up microscopic organisms, they can also be deadly. Wielding a rainbow lightsaber to fight against them, Eun-yong eventually teams up with a teacher named Hong In-pyo (Nam Joo-hyuk) who has a special aura that protects him from the jellies.
Psychic Detective 🕵️
Park Jin-young, He Is Psychometric (2019)
*Must be psychic; Physical distancing required
Aspiring psychic detective Lee Ahn (Park Jin-young) can see a person’s or object's past with just a touch. While he wants to use his special ability to uncover secrets and help the police solve crimes, he keeps his psychic power a secret from others.
Lead Singer 🎤
Jeon Mi-do, Hospital Playlist Seasons 1 and 2 (2020 and 2021)
*Must be a medical doctor and play an instrument; Singing in tune, optional
Chae Song-hwa (Jeon Mi-do) is the petite associate professor of neurosurgery and the heart of the Hospital Playlist gang. Deeply intelligent and independent, she aims to help all her patients and her interns to the best of her abilities. She’s also the resident bassist of her friends’ garage band, and is known to down a dozen egg yolks just to make sure her voice is in top shape. She has moved to an amazing unit facing the ocean and has tried to make sense of her feelings for a long-time colleague.
Manhwaga (Webtoon Writer/Artist) 🖥️ Kim Eui-sung, W: Two Worlds (2016)
*Must be creative; Transmigration skills required
Legendary manhwaga (Korean comic creator) Oh Seong-moo (Kim Eui-sung) creates the webtoon W but notices that the story in his webtoon takes a life of its own. As W becomes a best-seller, Seong-moo seeks to destroy his main character Kang Chul (Lee Jong-suk) and wrestle control of the alternate manhwa reality back from Kang Chul.
Check out our feature on k-dramas adapted from manhwas/webtoons.
