She also finds a way to survive, but there are no victories here.īan-seok and Ja-young both wind up reassigned to embarrassing positions and the pall of death hangs over the whole campus, as we’ve known from the start that Hanmyeong Electronics is planning to sell it off and dissolve the unit.
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However, what goes up must come down, and the series ploughs through a pretty glum narrative in its final stretch of episodes.Īfter orchestrating a painful round of voluntary resignations at the start of the series, Ja-young is once again forced to put employees on the chopping block, including Ban-seok, in episode 11.īan-seok doesn’t take his forced dismissal lightly and fights back, which puts a temporary halt to the layoffs but also causes a superior to demand Ja-young’s resignation. This ever-present tension allows for characters to rise and fall in quick succession, and the show builds to several satisfying mini-climaxes throughout its midseason run.
Ultimately everyone is trying to survive, including the company itself, but no matter how loyal any individual worker is, they are only ever one gaffe away from dismissal. Painfully aware of his own shortcomings, he’s vindictive, tramples over people to get ahead and only cares about chasing promotions.įor the legions of salaried workers in the country, On the Verge of Insanity offers a relatable view of Korea’s oftentimes suffocating office culture.
Se-kwon is also completely absorbed in his work, but his singular focus is neither a by-product of his loyalty or any pride in his work. Se-kwon is rich and has family connections, including his distant cousin Han Seung-ki (Jo Bok-rae), the CEO of Hanmyeong Electronics. Then there is Han Se-kwon (Lee Sang-yeob), the perpetual thorn in everyone’s side. Ja-young is single, lives with her friend Shin Jung-a (Cha Chung-hwa), another admin manager on the Changin campus, and essentially has no personal life, save for occasional incidents concerning her ailing father.Įngineer Choi Ban-seok (Jung) doesn’t share Ja-young’s slavish devotion to Hanmyeong, but he’s equally driven in his work, and will go to the ends of the earth to perfect the products he’s working on. She places the company’s needs over any personal concerns and frequently runs afoul of workers who view her as a company stooge. Human resources manager Dang Ja-young (Moon) is exceptionally devoted to her work. Within the vaunted sanctums of these companies, unwavering loyalty is expected from employees – loyalty that isn’t always returned. South Korea’s tough work culture is notorious, and few things are as prized in the country as job offers from the country’s all-powerful family-run “chaebol” corporations, which include Samsung and LG, known for their household appliance divisions. The drama within the story is almost exclusively derived from office politics family drama, though present, is kept to a minimum, and there’s barely a hint of romance.
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The series is led by Jung Jae-young and Moon So-ri, veteran stars better known for their acclaimed film roles than TV dramas, and the setting is the Changin research and development campus of fictional household appliance maker Hanmyeong. On the Verge of Insanity is one of these smaller shows. Not everything has the messy charm of Vincenzo. While it’s true that the more you throw at a wall the more likely it is that something will stick, the resultant mix of incongruous elements can sometimes be off-putting.
Modern K-dramas are often overstuffed as their creators try to seduce a diffuse and increasingly global audience. Not every TV series is designed with a broad audience in mind, and although lower ratings may seem a less appealing prospect for broadcasters, programmes with a narrow focus can often communicate their message more effectively to viewers.
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