[Drama 2021] No One But a Madman/On The Verge Of Insanity, 미치지 않고서야

[africandramalover]

6 hours ago, larus said:

I like that I feel there is something more about Han Se-Kwon. I hope I am right.

 

True.... I also want to see his side of the story. He's a sniveling, manipulative, unpleasant guy, thrice removed from the company throne, but there must be something redeeming about him that made her agree to get to the marriage registration office.

 

The scene i loved the most was when Ban Seok interviewed Ja Young about Se Gwon. We don't get to see what she told him, but I'm sure the scene will be used later to give us their backstory. 

 

Spoiler

 

I think Ban Seok interviewing Ja Young was genius. I was clapping like a seal!!

 

 

Get her, Ban Seok!!

 

 

 

Exactly! She could even have written this report for herself!!

 

(Why do I think she is using this report process to fish for updated information about Se Gwon?)

 

 

 

 

FINISH HER!!! looolllll!

 

 

The exasperation!! 

 

That death stare absolutely took me out!!

 

 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Hannahmiriam said:

She did not offer a hand because of her kindness, but because of the higher ups. She was just doing her job (although I am not sure if this is the HR's role...), in the same manner she does it now.

 

The way she gritted her teeth through the entire process shows that she was definitely "doing her job", but when I analyse his "nerd" look at this point, I'm wondering what exactly endeared him to her going forward, because they do get married. What is it about his look, or is it the time they spend writing proposals together? She acknowledges this meeting and the handshake they shared was where their professional and personal entanglement began. He had a lack of self awareness in this scene ("han royalty" etc) which should stop progression of any romantic feelings on her part in the future. That's the excitement of the drama anyway.... I need to know how they got to the altar!

 

 

[larus]

1 hour ago, africandramalover said:

(Why do I think she is using this report process to fish for updated information about Se Gwon?

 

I thought she wanted to "train" Ban Seok about HR. She gave him an "impossible" task knowing well that the two of them did not strand each other. 

 

 

1 hour ago, africandramalover said:

He had a lack of self awareness in this scene ("han royalty" etc) which should stop progression of any romantic feelings on her part in the future. That's the excitement of the drama anyway.... I need to know how they got to the altar!

 

 

Exactly. I was surprised to see Se gwon so nerdy and kind of immature. I was like....she married this guy? I really hope we`ll see the backstories of the main cast. Even now, Se Gwon is an insecure man. Everything Ban-Seok wrote on his report was right. But it has to me more. When Ban Seok saw his social media must have thought that he is a narcissist but I think he is a lonely guy.

I want to know more about Ja-Young outside her job too. How she fall in love with Se Gwon.

It was easy to empathize with Choi Ban-Seok from the beginning. I like how he continue to improve himself and he never let someone bully him. One of my favorite scene was when he met Woo-Jong at the evening courses, when the young man told him that he was an exemple for him, he took his advices.

I want to see Ban Seok with his daughter more.

[africandramalover]

4 minutes ago, larus said:

I thought she wanted to "train" Ban Seok about HR. She gave him an "impossible" task knowing well that the two of them did not strand each other. 

 

I thought the same at first, that she was just being low key petty as she has been with him (telling him to deliver the birthday cakes), but that report writing was for herself personally (get info on Se Gwon) as much as it was for her professionally (to get info to use in the layoffs) and for Ban Seok to learn HR work.

[larus]

17 minutes ago, africandramalover said:

I thought the same at first, that she was just being low key petty as she has been with him (telling him to deliver the birthday cakes), but that report writing was for herself personally (get info on Se Gwon) as much as it was for her professionally (to get info to use in the layoffs) and for Ban Seok to learn HR work.

 

Whatever it was, I think Ban Seok learn a little about the relationship in the company and learn how he has to find informations from multiple sources. I think he will be adapt for this job but I still don`t see him fully a HR guy. I can`t see him doing what she did in the beginning of the show (convince the people to sign the resignation). I know it was hard for Ja Young too but it will break my heart to see Ban seok in this position. He still care a lot for the people.  But I still think that Ja Young and Ban seok complement each other in HR department. They will make a good team.

 

Speaking of the good team... I was surprised to see that the woman she wanted to recruit for the job was her friend. I laughed when she refused her generous offer.

[africandramalover]

On 7/1/2021 at 7:37 PM, larus said:

I think he will be adapt for this job but I still don`t see him fully a HR guy. I can`t see him doing what she did in the beginning of the show (convince the people to sign the resignation)

 

The question I'm asking myself is, what's his character arc? He's a technical guy who has been thrown into the HR/people side. Why? What is he gonna learn? He's already good with people and has worked in the company long enough to be a respected and loved Sunbae, so what's his endgame? He just seems to want to avoid the "management" game and survive. How's he going to grow yet he's already so competent as a character?

 

Secondly, the second female lead has only appeared in the last 4 episodes for all of three minutes. What's going on??!!

 

[reddragon]

I have a different take on this. The female lead is ambitious and greedy. She wanted to be the first female exec in that company whose top execs seem to be involved in dubious deals. Why are they selling different departments to other companies.

 

She saw an opportunity when she met the arrogant Han and helped him to stay in the company. Her attitude is the same as her ex husband. If you look closer, she's too old for the Han guy, and it shows on her face.

 

As head of HR, I find her ineffective. So BS was sent there as a senior manager. She knows very well that he's an engineer. He explained that he knows nothing about HR. Instead of giving him lectures (sarcastically) about how HR works (not all company HR departments function like that) she should give him the company HR guide, which they should have and tell him to learn the ropes. Why assign him ridiculous tasks? She's a user and a manipulator. She kow tows to the higher ups and she only knows the qualifications of the heads of the departments. She, as the head of HR should know each and every employee's capability. She doesn't even know that there are juniors in each department who are more capable and knowledgeable about the work they should perform. No wonder they are losing talents. I do not think she even knows why these younger people leave. Does she even do exit interviews?

 

Just imagine. Because the top brass told her that the buyer of the Biz Dev department wants to include all the people in the department in the buy out, she's willing to forget the sexual harassment case and even offered the sleazy guy, who's already doing things to sabotage the company, an overseas post.

 

She may be in a difficult position because she knows the company secrets. But the way she handles the situation leaves a lot to be desired. She's conscious and willing to look the other way because she was promised the position she's been aiming for.

 

BS is right. She knows nothing about the rest of the company employees. And he should be given the chance for his personal development. BS knows how chaotic the entire company is and even took the initiative to identify all the cliques. He's just cruising along, trying to remain employed because he has a young daughter and an elderly mother to look after. But we see him wanting to learn new things, such as software dev, and he's also looking for another job because he knows that the company has a bad habit of shuffling capable people around and discarding others to reduce their overhead. They do not care if those people broke their body to make the company prosper. They do not care if they are talented, which is why rival companies find them a fertile ground to fish for talents.

[backstreetboysfan]

I like that ML always figures things out, he is very smart.

[larus]

4 hours ago, reddragon said:

They do not care if those people broke their body to make the company prosper. They do not care if they are talented, which is why rival companies find them a fertile ground to fish for talents.

 

So true. It was hard to watch how people who worked so hard for the company were discharged like they are not welcome anymore. Everything is a number for them. They only care for profit. Now, there will be lots of tension in the company because they want to do the same now too.

 

It was frustrating to watch when they want to make that sexual harassment guy stay in the company. There are things that should not be hidden even if it is in the interest of everything to appear fine. 

I wonder why they did not tell Ban Seok the real reason why the company is insisting to not let people leave. I doubt that he will agree wholeheartedly to this like Ja Young. The higher ups like the ambitious and unscrupulous people do to fulfill their interests but the company and its people need a person like Ban Seok. 

 

 

6 hours ago, africandramalover said:

He's a technical guy who has been thrown into the HR/people side. Why? What is he gonna learn? He's already good with people and has worked in the company long enough to be a respected and loved Sunbae, so what's his endgame? He just seems to want to avoid the "management" game. How's he going to grow yet he's already so competent as a character?

 

People learn all the time.  And he can learn new things at this job as well. He is not trained for this new department but I think he has the qualities for a good HR man (He is too direct somethimes. ). I like him so much as a character. He is a competent engineer, very good at his job but he is willing to learn new things to keep up with permanent changes in this profession.

He is a valuable man in the company and if they don`t want to see it it is their lost.

It was humiliating how they treated him when he moved to this branch. Just the fact that they moved him to HP without any good reason it is a sign that they don`t really care about their people.

No wonder that he wants to leave his job and other people as well. He is staying just because he hasn`t find a new job in Korea.

I think he will learn how HP department works and I think we`ll see that he will be good at his new job as well. I hope he will start to like it and help the people in the company. I also think Ja Young will benefit from professional growth around this man. 

 

Now I go to watch episode 4.

 

[confusedheart]

EVENT ALERT: chingus vote for your favourite second leads for 2021 H1 dramas! 

 

 

re: @agenth, @confusedheart326, @Sleepy Owl, @partyon 

[larus]

I watched episode 4. I really loved how Ban Seok resolved the case of  Motor team. he was right that Woo-Jong did all the work and he deserved a promotion. I really like that Ban seok doesn`t give up easily, he resolve what he things it is right.

I laughed when he caught Ja young talking on the pnone with No Jae-Yeol .

 

I am glad that Ja Young told the HQ guy that it is weird to reduce personnel by 80% before the selling. Really? Hanmyeong Electronics agreed with that? It is not really that easy. Instead of selling, they should organized the business to work more efficient. The thing I was worried it will become true. I am curious what Ban seok will do next.

 

 

[confusedheart]

I love, love, love the drama. There is so different from what I usually watch, which is generally a rom-com. However, I love watching this slice of life drama. The characters feel real. I can relate to them, the dirty office politics and the struggle to survive each day, dodging the curveballs and basically striving to do your best at your work place and survive. It's a jungle out there and most people are unscrupulous in this cut-throat world of competition. It is refreshing to see Mr. Choi dodge the curveballs life throws at him with his never say die attitude.  He is an anomaly in this field of cut-throat competition. He is such an upright man, sincere in all he does and has an admirable zeal for learning even at this age. I love his laid back, composed body-language. But don't let that fool you, he has a very sharp mind. His power of deducing logically while never blowing up his fuse even when everyone's challenging him, trying to pull him down is something we should all take a leaf out of his book.

 

I am still trying to figure out why Ja Young tries to cover up for Mr. Sleazebag,  Han Se-kwon. He has no ethics, no morals. All's fair and square for him as long as he wins. I wonder if he trampled on people in the past in order to become such a 'valued' employee, besides being related to the powers above. He is shallow and vain. He hits below the belt and never plays fair. I am looking forward to seeing Mr. Choi bring Han Se-kwon a peg or two down and get rid of his cockiness. He was very fortunate that he was not caught blackmailing the Motor Head guy.  But I am glad for once, that the Motor Head guy got the better of him. I wish the company came down more heavily on that sleazebag and three cheers to that woman employee for calling him out on his very objectionable behaviour. HR should have done a better job of handling that issue of harassment. These men are such threats to the society because they feel they can get away by the virtue of their power and position.

 

Overall, a good week. Looking forward to the new face in the drama and other drama that will unfold in the next week's episodes. .

[Latte_Anyday]

I'm glad Ban Seok's a part of the HR team 'cause Ms. Dang plays it too by-the-book. I was very disappointed in the way she handled Ms. Jung's case. Btw good on Ms. Jung for fighting back. 

    No wonder South Korean women are hesitant on marriage & kids etc. Look at men like Mr. Kang & the way they handled it! A transfer to another branch? WoW seriously?

    I hope they get to hold onto Woo Jong, he's cute LoL. Can that young guy from HR shut up!? I swear he's like a woman with loose lips tsk. 

    Mr. Kang is now being threatened by Se Gwon who's just as much a scum as he is. 

[Latte_Anyday]

I knew it! That hussy was Se Gwon's side chick all along. She knew they were divorced before anyone else. 

    Good on Woo Jong, he deserve better. Good riddance of Mr. Kang such a trashy character. 

    And that's right, Ms. Dang you said Ban Seok had bad hearing LoL? Well guess what he heard everything ha-ha. Erm--will there be a loveline for Ms. Dang & Ban Seok? Probably not but please don't let her get back with Se Gwon either. 

[denny]

I'm 3 episodes in and I can happily report that this drama is really GOOD.  So far, everything about it is GOOD--the acting, the writing, the pacing -- all GOOD!!! My sole complaint is that it's only 2 episodes a week.  I really want to binge it.

[Helena]

https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3139602/k-drama-preview-verge-insanity-jung-jae-young-moon-so-ri
K-drama preview: On the Verge of Insanity – Jung Jae-young, Moon So-ri lead middle-aged workplace drama

 

• On the Verge of Insanity looks at the lives of middle management staff at a fictional South Korean consumer electronics giant
• Starting with a mass lay-off, the series examines corporate manoeuvring and sexual harassment

By Pierce Conran | July 4, 2021

Moon So-ri in a still from On the Verge of Insanity, a Korean drama about workplace conflicts set in the offices of a fictional South Korean electronics conglomerate.

The Korean dream is pretty clear and has been set in stone for years: go to a good school, land a job at a big company, get married, move to a new flat in a good school district, and have kids. But if you get that far, what’s next? MBC’s new workplace drama On the Verge of Insanity, starring Moon So-ri and Jung Jae-young, gives us a peek at what lies beyond the end of the rainbow.

For the most part, Korean dramas are a young person’s game. Characters are young and attractive and navigate the highs and lows of their lives in bright and colourful worlds suffused with K-pop soundtracks. As such, modern Korean workplace dramas tend to look like Start-Up or She Would Never Know.

More grounded than its peers, On the Verge of Insanity focuses on middle-aged employees who try to navigate the complex and treacherous world of mid-level management in a gigantic fictional home appliance corporation called Hanmyung Electronics, a stand-in for local corporate giants such as Samsung or LG.

The show introduces its characters in a rather tense and bleak scenario – a mass corporate lay-off. Human resources manager Dang Ja-young (Moon So-ri) has the unenviable task of welcoming a nervous line-up of employees into a makeshift office one by one, as they wait to hear if they’re being kept on or asked to voluntarily resign.

Among the employees waiting to hear about his fate is a 22-year company veteran, engineer Choi Ban-seok (Jung Jae-young). He already has another job lined up if he gets the chop, but he doesn’t seem too thrilled about it either way.

His friend, family man Kim Young-soo (Choi Deok-moon in a guest role), is far more worked up about a potential dismissal, and when he does get the bad news, Ban-seok gives up his job offer, recommending Young-soo instead.

When Ban-seok is called in to Ja-young’s office, he learns that he’s being kept on, but he’ll have to switch departments. He winds up in a robot vacuum cleaner development team, working under the younger team leader Han Se-kwon (Lee Sang-yeob), a relative of the chairman of Hanmyung who rides to work on a bike worth more than most small cars, and who happens to be recently divorced from Ja-young.

Ban-seok immediately recognises the issue with the prototype they’re working on, which Se-kwon acknowledges but privately resents him for. On the day of the big presentation, the prototype fails and Ban-seok takes the heat – transferred once more, but this time to Ja-young’s HR department where his technical know-how will go to waste.

Suspecting foul play, Ban-seok looks into the prototype and discovers it was tampered with by Se-kwon, which sets their feud into overdrive. But Ban-seok is stuck in HR filling out personnel evaluation reports for Ja-young, while she tries to make sure that no one leaves the company, on orders from higher-ups, owing to a potential corporate merger.

Img2
Jung Jae-young in a still from On the Verge of Insanity.

 

Ban-seok and Se-kwon’s feud continues when Kang Min-goo (Lee Sam-woo), the team leader of the motors department, gets into hot water for sexual harassment. The problem is, he’s already preparing to leave for a rival company. Ban-seok is pushing for him to apologise, while Ja-young is desperately trying to keep him from leaving.

Se-kwon makes things worse when he blackmails Min-goo into sabotaging a rival team’s prototype.

Best known for their film work, Moon and Jung have been among the most celebrated actors in Korea for the past two decades, and it’s surprising that it’s taken this long for them to share the screen. Moon skilfully strikes a balance between cold company stooge and individualistic career woman who has sacrificed her personal life for her work.

Jung has long excelled at playing taciturn and saturnine characters, often to terrific effect in films such as Castaway on the Moon, and he does so again as Ban-seok, although he makes him even more lethargic and tired than he did his characters in past films. I guess that’s what 22 years of corporate grind will do to you.

Img3
Hanmyung Electronics staff in a still from On the Verge of Insanity.

In a country obsessed with chaebol – South Korea’s large family-run corporations – On the Verge of Insanity offers a sobering look behind the walls of a corporation with a suffocating work environment. The series is set and shot in South Gyeongsang Province and casts many local actors, including Lee Sam-woo.

The show is quick to highlight shady corporate manoeuvring, as well as how sexual harassment occurs and is really handled in the workplace – as a negotiation. The sexual harassment storyline provides an interesting insight into the troubling corporate logic that drives the settlement of such cases, but the show also presents a disheartening paradox: Ban-seok is the one pushing for real action against the predatory Min-goo, while Ja-young seeks to brush it under the rug in the best interests of the company.

Outside the office, Ban-seok and Ja-young discover that they live in the same block of flats. Though old by today’s standards, their units were probably top of the line as they chased the Korean dream 20 years ago. As they slowly warm to each other, will this pair take on adversaries together, or will a workplace drama also morph into an office romance?

Img4
Lee Sang-yeob (left) and Jung Jae-young in a still from On the Verge of Insanity.

On the Verge of Insanity is streaming on Viu.

[larus]

On the 6th, ahead of the 5th episode, the MBC Wed-Thu miniseries ‘Only Without Going Crazy’ (played by Jeong Do-yoon, directed by Choi Jeong-in, produced by iwill media) revealed Choi Ban-seok (Jung Jae-young), who perfectly adapted to the personnel team.

 

 

https://www.gukjenews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=2261978

 

 

[larus]

Kim Sun-A (1994) confirmed to appear in 'Without Crazy'

 

 

Actress Kim Seon-ah joins the cast and works with Moon So-ri, Jung Jae-young, and Lee Sang-yeop in 'If You Don't Go Crazy'.

According to her agency Woong Bin E & S, Kim Seon-ah appeared as a senior member of the 4th development team Kim Seul-ah in the currently popular MBC Wednesday-Thursday drama 'Only Without Crazy' (directed by Choi Jeong-in, written by Jeong Do-yoon, produced by I Will Media).

Kim Seon-ah, who made her debut as Eun Gak-ha in the tvN drama 'Reply 1997' in 2012, left a strong impression by appearing in tvN's 'Crazy Young Ae', SBS 'Alice' and the movies 'You Will Be There' and 'Real'. In particular, she once again made an eye contact with the role of Kim Da-jeong, her youngest writer, who has a chic body on KBS2's 'The Producers'.

Kim Seon-ah said, "She is so hot on the set that it is rumored to be a restaurant for acting. She is so happy to be able to be on the set, and she is truly honored to have the opportunity to act with her great seniors.”She continued, “I am learning while admiring the performances of my seniors on set every time. She tries to act as best she can so as not to weigh on the drama. She added, “Kim Seul-ah, please watch her appointment.”

 

Kim Seon-ah, who has been loved for drawing unique characters in each of her works, regardless of the size of her role, is paying attention to her new look that will be shown in 'No One But a Madman'.

 

(Google translate)

https://www.mk.co.kr/news/entertain/view/2021/07/658412/

[larus]

K-drama preview: On the Verge of Insanity – Jung Jae-young, Moon So-ri lead middle-aged workplace drama

 

The Korean dream is pretty clear and has been set in stone for years: go to a good school, land a job at a big company, get married, move to a new flat in a good school district, and have kids. But if you get that far, what’s next? MBC’s new workplace drama On the Verge of Insanity, starring Moon So-ri and Jung Jae-young, gives us a peek at what lies beyond the end of the rainbow.

For the most part, Korean dramas are a young person’s game. Characters are young and attractive and navigate the highs and lows of their lives in bright and colourful worlds suffused with K-pop soundtracks. As such, modern Korean workplace dramas tend to look like Start-up and She Would Never Know.

More grounded than its peers, On the Verge of Insanity focuses on middle-aged employees who try to navigate the complex and treacherous world of mid-level management in a gigantic fictional home appliance corporation called Hanmyung Electronics, a stand-in for local corporate giants such as Samsung or LG.

The show introduces its characters in a rather tense and bleak scenario – a mass corporate lay-off. Human resources manager Dang Ja-young (Moon So-ri) has the unenviable task of welcoming a nervous line-up of employees into a makeshift office one by one, as they wait to hear if they’re being kept on or asked to voluntarily resign.

Among the employees waiting to hear about his fate is a 22-year company veteran, engineer Choi Ban-seok (Jung Jae-young). He already has another job lined up if he gets the chop, but he doesn’t seem too thrilled about it either way.

His friend, family man Kim Young-soo (Choi Deok-moon in a guest role), is far more worked up about a potential dismissal, and when he does get the bad news, Ban-seok gives up his job offer, recommending Young-soo instead.

When Ban-seok is called in to Ja-young’s office, he learns that he’s being kept on, but he’ll have to switch departments. He winds up in a robot vacuum cleaner development team, working under the younger team leader Han Se-kwon (Lee Sang-yeob), a relative of the chairman of Hanmyung who rides to work on a bike worth more than most small cars, and who happens to be recently divorced from Ja-young.

Ban-seok immediately recognises the issue with the prototype they’re working on, which Se-kwon acknowledges but privately resents him for. On the day of the big presentation, the prototype fails and Ban-seok takes the heat – transferred once more, but this time to Ja-young’s HR department where his technical know-how will go to waste.

Suspecting foul play, Ban-seok looks into the prototype and discovers it was tampered with by Se-kwon, which sets their feud into overdrive. But Ban-seok is stuck in HR filling out personnel evaluation reports for Ja-young, while she tries to make sure that no one leaves the company, on orders from higher-ups, owing to a potential corporate merger.

 

Ban-seok and Se-kwon’s feud continues when Kang Min-goo (Lee Sam-woo), the team leader of the motors department, gets into hot water for sexual harassment. The problem is, he’s already preparing to leave for a rival company. Ban-seok is pushing for him to apologise, while Ja-young is desperately trying to keep him from leaving.

Se-kwon makes things worse when he blackmails Min-goo into sabotaging a rival team’s prototype.

Best known for their film work, Moon and Jung have been among the most celebrated actors in Korea for the past two decades, and it’s surprising that it’s taken this long for them to share the screen. Moon skilfully strikes a balance between cold company stooge and individualistic career woman who has sacrificed her personal life for her work.

Jung has long excelled at playing taciturn and saturnine characters, often to terrific effect in films such as Castaway on the Moon, and he does so again as Ban-seok, although he makes him even more lethargic and tired than he did his characters in past films. I guess that’s what 22 years of corporate grind will do to you.

 

In a country obsessed with chaebol – South Korea’s large family-run corporations – On the Verge of Insanity offers a sobering look behind the walls of a corporation with a suffocating work environment. The series is set and shot in South Gyeongsang Province and casts many local actors, including Lee Sam-woo.

The show is quick to highlight shady corporate manoeuvring, as well as how sexual harassment occurs and is really handled in the workplace – as a negotiation. The sexual harassment storyline provides an interesting insight into the troubling corporate logic that drives the settlement of such cases, but the show also presents a disheartening paradox: Ban-seok is the one pushing for real action against the predatory Min-goo, while Ja-young seeks to brush it under the rug in the best interests of the company.

Outside the office, Ban-seok and Ja-young discover that they live in the same block of flats. Though old by today’s standards, their units were probably top of the line as they chased the Korean dream 20 years ago. As they slowly warm to each other, will this pair take on adversaries together, or will a workplace drama also morph into an office romance?

https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3139602/k-drama-preview-verge-insanity-jung-jae-young-moon-so-ri

 

 

[backstreetboysfan]

Yeah I knew that girl was his side girl as well, wow.

[Latte_Anyday]

Ban Seok gets the best lines on this drama & it cracks me up! 

His scenes with Ms. Dang are pure gold too LoL. Se Gwon ah why would you use the company tablet to store photos of your gf?! Like ew?!