Radiant Office (2017)

Radiant Office was a refreshing pickup just in time for the warmer weather. This drama was not too heavy on their romance label (I see you there…). I mean there was more romance between the supporting characters than the main lead couple—some people probably were expecting different I’m sure (I was one…). But at the same time, the story was solid despite the lack of romance fluff. I liked the trio’s progression throughout the drama, would have liked to see more of Kang Ho’s though. The main couple were like a bland yet stimulating side dish when they were meant to be the main dish. I feel like the drama ended too soon, or the stories for the characters weren’t concise enough for 16 episodes. Maybe they could have cut out some of the filler to make it work better.

Anyways I rated it a 9.5 even though I mentioned some not so nice things. This drama does do a good job of making you think about the human condition when it comes to employment and careers. All the stress, responsibility and suffering that goes along with being successful in what you do.

I loved the drama for that aspect. There were moments of tears, sniffles, laughter, joy and happiness sprinkled throughout the story. But the overwhelming emotion I felt was rooting and cheering with the underdog and wanting them to get their big slice of pie in the sky—so to speak.

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An office drama displaying the hardships that the young unemployed face every day, during their hunt for a decent job. The theme seemed a little sad. The drama follows the principle of the mean, arrogant male lead and the good hearted but poor girl. The romance here is slow developed, as the drama focuses mainly on the office drama, as well as the girl's and her friends' condition. It was refreshing to watch, as the idea was good and well executed. The conclusion didn't come in the first few episodes, but it kept the interest high throughout the drama. However, the end was a bit not-enough as it didn't really conclude the stories, just rushed them to an incomplete ending. So, 6 out of 10.

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What I liked about this drama is the actual plot is as real as it gets. Last year I myself was looking for an internship and it was awfully hard. Getting out of the way travelling at ends of the country just to get that experience, just to become employable. I could see myself and every young millennial/gen Z person trying to get an internship and create a future in this overly competitive environment.

What do you do when you have tried everything ?
What do you do when you realise that getting the right job is not everything ? and the life you underestimated is at stake ?

Ho wons personality I really liked she was real in the sense she was humble but also knew how to stand up for herself. I would say it is a character that develops well throughout the drama.

Director Seo was also a great personality. A guy that worked hard his whole life to make himself succeed not another chaebol that you see in every bloody Korean drama. In a sense, it gives you hope that hard work and integrity can help you climb up the ladder as difficult as it may be. I also like that fact that he is no prince charming, you can tell he is a perfectionist, detail oriented, smart and cold as ice when he needs to be.

One of the most interesting parts of this drama was how the friendship of the three develops and how they're not perfect with each other but at the end of the day these three care about each other like brothers.

The comedy part of the show with Director Jerk and Jung Tae was quite amusing and also assistant manager Lee.

Romance-there was definitely something but i felt that it was slightly rushed ?

Needs improvement:

I feel like the last episode had far too much to it- if they did 18-20 episodes it would be better.

Romance needed a smoother development !

If you want something that heavily focuses on romance then thats not it ! If you want a slice of life I would definitely recommend !

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The show started off with an interesting premise, and a focus on what is probably a society-wide trend in Korea of youth unemployment. It was very much focused on the plight of our 3 main characters. However, as the characters settled into their roles in the office and the show reached the halfway mark, the story began to be bogged down by petty and sometimes frustrating office politics. When I reached the end of one episode, I found myself not looking forward to continuing onto the next episode.

Before watching this I had never seen Go Ah Sung in any show before. She did well with the character and the material she had. I had only ever seen Lee Dong Hwi in a comical role in Reply 1988 so it was nice to see him show off his dramatic chops in this show. Hoya's acting felt a little bit stiff. I am a huge fan of Ha Seok Jin so I really have no complaints about him in this show.

Overall, an okay watch which was enjoyable at times but a bit draggy in the second half of the show.

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Short: Fun, great characters and a good message overall. Music was good but nothing majorly stood out. Definitely worth a watch but don't expect it to go to the top of your list. That said, I *did* really enjoy it, but I like stories about underdogs kicking butt :)

Detail:
First time i've seen either of the leads othre than Ha Seok Jin's brief role in Crash Landing on You - and enjoyed the pair of them very much. Go Ah Sung plays Eun Ho Won, who finds out that she only has a limited time left to live and decides to be a bit more blunt and frank - a really interesting character with an absolutely rock solid moral compass.

Weak bit - The other male lead, Seo Hyun, I just thought that his story was done a total disservice. There's a conflict with his dad, and a soured relationship with his brother because of it - and yet we never see any of this, so it's really difficult to really build up any appreciation for his character at all. At one point I was convinced he was going to turn out to be a sociopath or something but I think they were really aiming for something with more depth, they just did a really awful job of actually expressing it.

This story is about three people and their respective journeys, Kang Ho and his journey for independance from a super domineering mother and a father (again, that we never see) who rejects him. Ki Taek and his relationship with his girlfriend and his feelings of inadequacy about being out of work for so long. Ho Won who just wants the opportunity to prove herself and to devote her life to an organisation and the people she works with.

Some really fun moments of humour from everyone but often from Ho Won's little outbursts or reactions to things, or Yong Jae's reactions to various things as he's either over commanding of people or sucking up to his superiors.

Must admit there was at least one friendship or potentially relationship that I thought was going to go further, but the moments they did share were good to see.

Kot Bi, the directors secretary, she was fun and again her muttered under the breath retorts were amusing.

Overall, it's a fun story with some interesting characters. The overall message is about living for today, because if you make today happy then you'll be happy the rest of your life. We all spend too much time waiting for tomorrows happiness - but tomorrow never comes, so find your happiness today.

Worth a watch, it's fun.

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Radiant Office.

This show just finished airing and I just watched the last episode. It stars Go Ah Sung as Eun Ho Won, a young woman who has applied and been rejected for office work 100 times, and Ha Suk Jin as Seo Woo Jin, the rigid Chief at the company where she finally manages to get hired as a contractor. Eun Ho Won is hired as a contractor at the request of the son of the company's CEO (Seo Hyun played by Kim Dong Wook (who was in Coffee Prince!)) along with two fellows (Hoya as Jang Kang Ho, a timid man from a rich family whose lack of confidence has plagued his job searching efforts, and Lee Dong Hwi as Do Ki Taek, a caring man who was dumped by his long time girlfriend because of his inability to get a corporate job) that she met in the hospital after all three attempted suicide.

This show is very much about office dynamics. Seo Hyun transitions from being a doctor to trying to take over his father's company and pulls strings to get the three job seekers hired as part of his machinations to do just that. Seo Woo Jin is a follow the rules kind of guy who hates nepotism, and his arc is very much about him finding humanity in the workplace and striking a balance between his rigid desire for following the rules and doing the right thing and understanding that his subordinates are human beings with all that entails. There is a mild romance subplot between Eun Ho Won and Seo Hyun, but it's really only flavoring and not the main focus of the show itself. There are a fair number of both likable and unlikable characters in this show. The story was a little bit slow - the pacing feels a bit off - but the actors were engaging and it was an enjoyable run.

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Updated Review January 2023:

I rewatched this drama last year, and it ended up being a pleasant ride down memory lane. Radiant Office has its flaws, there’s no denying it, but there’s also a lot of heart to be had with this story. That reason alone makes Radiant Office worth watching at least once, in my opinion.

My advice is don’t expect this drama to go in quite the same way as most Kdrama’s of it’s time and genre. The office politics are pretty standard fare (and pretty boring, honestly), but everything else about the story kind of goes its own way. A subtle romance without all of the big hallmark moments we typically expect, a delightful main trio of friends who cheer each other on while also making mistakes but always making amends, and this ever-present spirit of perseverance and determination and belief in one’s ability to overcome struggles. But best and most important of all, a determined and principled female lead who when faced with the prospect of her life being cut far too short, chooses to take it as an opportunity to make the best of the days she believes she has left.

And maybe cause a little righteous trouble while she’s at it, lol.

I’ll say here that a lot of people complain about the last three episodes of this drama, and for understandable reasons. There’s some rushing in the finale, and a particular character finds out some very serious and heartbreaking news pretty late in the story, which some felt should have been brought up sooner and handled a little better. But after my rewatch, I have a deeper appreciation for what the writer was doing, and I now think the episodes played out mostly as they should have.

The other big complaint you’ll probably hear is that the romance is too subtle. But while it is subtle in some ways, it’s not really in the way you might think. There’s pretty consistent build up between the leads throughout the drama as they each gradually come to like each other and slowly find themselves forming a relationship. I think a lot of people missed that a relationship was forming between them, because there aren’t any conversations addressing the changes in their relationship until the finale. But in some ways, it’s sort of truer to life, as many relationships happen gradually over time without all of the grand gestures and pointed conversations we’ve come to expect in dramas. My only complaint about the romance is that we deserved a better kiss at the end. He gives her a mild peck, and that is simply not sufficient, lol.

It's interesting to think about this drama now, 6 years later, considering it was written by a contest winner. It seems they never went on to write anything else, and I often wonder what happened to them. Why did they never write anything else? I assume getting into the industry is quite hard and winning a contest wouldn’t necessarily mean they would go on to lead more of their own dramas. In fact, that probably was always unlikely. But I still wonder if the experience at least got their foot in the door, or if this drama was the only time they got to work on anything. Hopefully, Radiant Office was the beginning and not the end of their drama writing career, and maybe someday in the future, we’ll see this writers' work again.

Now wouldn’t that make a great story?

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Very Heartwarming Scenarios & Slow Build-Up in Romance

Where to begin? This drama had a very satisfying scenario, whereas 3 youthful people have been facing unemployment due to their special circumstances, then met together again as a "suicide squad" in the same hospital and finally into the same company.
There, they met people, both good and bad. They stayed together and overcame their boundaries, one by one.
Obviously, the story doesn't focus on the 3 together, but rather, it focuses on each of them individually, showing each character's flaws and strengths.
I could go on giving a summary of the plot events in this drama, which it deserves, since the story of it should be the main focus.
From the story to the acting, music, and general production in itself, everything was almost perfect. The drama almost depicted the reality of being unemployed in South Korea and the hurdles of knowing you may have death knocking on your door any minute as well as the power to over-come it and continue moving on in life.
The Romance was slowly built up, though I will admit, it was quite too slow and may have not resulted into the most satisfying romance, but since the drama focused on the business aspect it is respectable.
While the story was amazing, there is an unknown plot character that was never truly shown to us, like the doctor's older brother. Also, Ho Won's and Seo's families were only introduced to us for an episode, which was not enough honestly.
I believe this drama was almost a masterpiece, but I also think the Romance could be emphasized more than the Business plot.
Either way, I'm only being subjective. I think this drama is really amazing and you should definitely give it watch.
Honestly, one more thing, this drama is truly underrated in this website and it appears like the reviews are fluctuating, and many have also dropped this which kind of makes no sense to me.
Maybe this drama isn't for the patients one.

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