Title: 미생 Misaeng
English Title:
- Incomplete Life
- Not Yet Alive
Episode 01
Jang Geu Rae: A path is not simply for walking; its purpose lies in moving forward and improving oneself. A path that fails to do this is not a path.
Jang Geu Rae: The path is open to everyone, but not anyone can walk it.
Ahn Young Yi: Sorry about before.
Jang Geu Rae: Sure.
Ahn Young Yi: Huh? People usually say 'it's okay'...
Jang Geu Rae: You say 'sure' when no wrong was done.
Jang Geu Rae: It was not because I lacked skills or luck. It was not because I had a part-time job or because I came from a poor family. It was not because my mother became sick after my father passed away. That would be too painful to accept.
Jang Geu Rae: So I want to think it was because I didn't work hard enough. Even though it isn't true and I did work hard, I want to think that way. I ended up here because I didn't work hard.
Oh Sang Shik: We have to get accustomed to the unfamiliar. That way we can have a new experience.
Oh Sang Shik: Sell yourself. What have you got? Nothing? Nothing, right?
Jang Geu Rae: (My something, my one thing... Something I'm good at.) My effort. I've never worked hard, so my effort is unused and new.
Oh Sang Shik: Say what?
Jang Geu Rae: I'll work hard. I'll do my best.
...
Oh Sang Shik: Hardworking guys are everywhere at work, so you're no different.
Jang Geu Rae: My effort is different.
Oh Sang Shik: Yeah? How so?
Jang Geu Rae: The quality... and quantity.
Oh Sang Shik: How are things going? Do you even know what you're doing?
Jang Geu Rae: I'm doing my best.
Oh Sang Shik: That's for school. Here at work, you just bring the results.
Episode 02
Kim Dong Shik: You don't work alone. I don't know how long you'll work here but keep that in mind while you're here.
Jang Geu Rae: "You don't work alone"... Here, I don't work alone.
Jang Geu Rae: They say we don't work alone... but they're forcing me to be alone.
Jang Geu Rae: What do you mean, 'you don't work alone'?
Jang Geu Rae: In places I go to after my overnight part-time job, I encounter people whose faces, clothing, and directions were all different from mine. I'd never mixed with students and company employees. I wanted to be one of them so desperately that I couldn't see the ugly truth...
Jang Geu Rae: I was still going a different direction. I'm alone here, too... I'm the only one who didn't know that truth when everyone else did.
Episode 03
Han Suk Yool: What do you think life is? You think it's a big question? It's simple.
Han Suk Yool: Your life is a collection of your choices. The choices you make in each moment makes up the quality of your life.
Jang Geu Rae: At a basic level, go is a fight and a war. If one approaches, the other retreats. Coexistence is supported, but it’s a world where there is a clear winner and loser.
Jang Geu Rae: I lived in that world for over ten years. I might be a defeated soldier, but I was trained to win.
Episode 04
Go Teacher: In go, there's no such thing as 'just because'. You need a plan for each and every move, and that's called intention.
...
Go Teacher: There's no meaningless move... The reason that a stone gets in trouble is because you've failed to see intentions... When a stone is in trouble, you should just let it go but you have to use it to your benefit.
?: Becoming an adult is like that; you need to be able to do certain things...
Oh Sang Shik: You made it here anyway, so try to survive. You have to endure to survive here, and to survive means that you need to figure out how to live a complete life by whatever means possible.
...
Oh Sang Shik: In go, there’s such a thing as an incomplete life or state of being, and a complete life or state of being. Here, we’re all still incomplete.
Episode 05
Ahn Young Yi: I think if the person who heard it was offended, it is sexual harassment.
Oh Sang Shik: I'm a man too, but men think women should give in all the time. They don't know how hard women have to work to climb up the corporate ladder.
Jang Geu Rae: He’s blaming himself. Most mistakes end up as regrets and get forgotten, but that’s not always the case. Some mistakes just haunt you forever; you can’t forget it nor reverse it. He's tormenting himself.
Ahn Young Yi: There's something I should do, and I know it's right. I'm hesitant about it though.
Sun Ji Young: Why?
Ahn Young Yi: It might complicate the situation and make things difficult.
Sun Ji Young: ... Does ignoring something that's right make things more simple?
Ahn Young Yi: You can avoid criticism at least. It's because I'm a woman (at work)...
Sun Ji Young: I don't know what it is, but what does gender have to do with what's right? What's right has something to do with your conscience.
Sun Ji Young: Regarding conscience, everyone has one. It’s just a matter of whether you don't act even if you know, or you act because you know.
Episode 06
Kim Dong Shik: Do you know when it's toughest when doing sales?
Jang Geu Rae: When?
Kim Dong Shik: (It's toughest when) you have to entertain someone you know personally, and even worse, having to entertain a friend. Entertaining someone inevitably happens in a vertical dynamic, so it's embarrassing if you're dealing with a friend. Sometimes, the power imbalance in the situation is so humiliating that you wonder if it's all worth it.
? Sung Shik: If you want to do something, just think of yourself. There's no choice that will satisfy everyone. Just take responsibility for your own choice.
Jang Geu Rae: A risky move you make to turn the tables when things don't look good... In go, this risky move can be a clever move if it is completed successfully, since it proves that you have the upper hand...
Jang Geu Rae: Clever moves are dealt with proper moves.
Jang Geu Rae: The secret is to scrap unnecessary things when in a crisis.
Episode 07
Oh Sang Shik: If you want to protect someone, you need to have the skill set first. There’s no greater nuisance than intervening without the skills to help.
Jang Geur Rae: He'll keep trying by looking at the issue from the perspective of the other person, and make things work.
Ahn Young Yi: I think from each department's point of view, the interpretation of the proposal could be different. When the Sales Department says there's potential, the Finance Department could interpret it as needing further review. Similarly, 'positive response' could be interpreted as 'nothing has been decided yet'.
...
Ahn Young Yi: Finding out about the specific way the Finance Department approaches business administration and budget allocation was the biggest learning for me. The abstract estimated profits in my head are reevaluated with solid calculations as required by the Finance Department. Consequently, there are projects you can still pursue, and other projects that you can't.
Ahn Young Yi: In addition, I learned that there are classifications for the evaluations or judgments. If my project proposals are put on hold or get rejected, I won't think about what went wrong, but what requirements I didn't satisfy.
Kim Dong Shik: What can a company employee look forward to, besides promotions?
Ahn Young Yi: It's always darkest right underneath the lamp base. (We overlook what we think is obvious.)
Episode 08
Go Teacher: If you want to accomplish something, health should be your priority.
Go Teacher: The reason you lag towards the end, the reason you recover slowly from damage, and the reason a mistake affects you for so long, are all because your health is not at its best. When you're unhealthy, you want to be comfortable and you lose patience. Then you become so tired, you don't care about victories or success anymore.
Go Teacher: If you want to win, your body should be able to withstand the challenges. Will power is nothing much without your physical health.
Oh Sang Shik: It's all in the data. Data research is always crucial. The key is in the data.
Episode 09
Jang Geu Rae: Courage is not only characterized by readily jumping into risky situations. Avoiding these situations and silently going on your own path requires courage too.
Jang Geu Rae: It's not smart to respond immediately when there's trouble. When you keep your cool while your opponent doesn't, it ultimately gives them trouble. So keeping my cool is the best way to defend myself and attack others.
Jang Geu Rae: In go, you usually play against one player. Sometimes a professional player will play against a bunch of amateur players. The pro usually wins all the games.
Jang Geu Rae: I learned one-to-multiple-player games exist in society. The difference is, the amateurs have to play against many people too...
Jang Geu Rae: In go, when amateur players play against professional players, they start off with four or eight extra points.
Jang Geu Rae: In reality, the pros start off with extra points instead of the amateurs. The pros begin with four, eight, or a countless number of points.
Jang Geu Rae: What's scarier is that the rules for the amateurs don't change... Amateurs need to put in extra...
Jang Geu Rae: New employees have to create results although they don't have the experience.
Kim Dong Shik: As a community college graduate, it was hard for me to get a job. After I passed the screening and came to work, it didn't feel like I succeeded and it felt like I had simply opened a door.
Kim Dong Shik: I think we keep opening doors our whole lives, instead of either succeeding or failing.
Jang Geu Rae: Then, what is success?
Kim Dong Shik: Wouldn't it depend on the meaning you give to that moment?
Kim Dong Shik: Sometimes, there are contracts you couldn't seal that make you feel fulfilled. Would you classify that as a failure?
Episode 10
Jang Geu Rae: What's this move that I want to make though I don't have conviction?
Jang Geu Rae: Whether we win or lose, the move we want to make is always made somehow....
Jang Geu Rae: A move is decided by the previous move... In order to understand why a particular move was made, you must look at the previous move.
Jang Geu Rae: In order to understand why the opponent is resisting or reacting a certain way, you must review the previous moves... What might have looked like a small problem might not be at all.
Episode 11
Jang Geu Rae: In go, when you lose in a move to prevent a tie, you wonder what all the moves were for. Even if you win in a small battle or war, if you end up losing n the end, everything seemed useless. If you win by a move to prevent a tie, you can see a different world. You are grateful to all the stones in the war that enabled you to make that important move and claim victory. Each and every move seems precious to you.
Jang Geu Rae: Doing your best in every moment makes that important move and consequent victory possible. If you forget the significance of each moment, you lose sight of the whole game. When did you start losing those moments?
Oh Sang Shik: You know why people get pulled into games?... It's because they play games.
Go Teacher: You want me to tell you why your game isn't improving? You're too hung up on rules and previous examples. Obviously you should learn and study moves, but how can go survive purely based on repeating existing strategies?
Jang Geu Rae: Then what should I do?
Go Teacher: Break the norms and formalities. Be radical and go the unconventional route.
Jang Geu Rae: Be radical?
Go Teacher: If you don't break the norms, you can't become a professional (pro).
Episode 12
Episode 13
Jang Geu Rae: In go, when your opponent bites off more than they can chew or tries to spare themselves from the important effort, they try to keep it that way until the very end.
Kang Hae Joon: What you show to others is not important. Even if it’s not flashy work, it’s necessary work.
Kang Hae Joon: We might not see it, but we cannot think that our work is nonexistent. The work that we do, the figures that we decide on, is a big deal to others.
Kang Hae Joon: You should motivate yourself. If you can’t find self-fulfillment in your work, it’ll be hard to endure.
Episode 14
Oh Sang Shik: Times are tougher... False hopes and irresponsible consolation are useless.
Sun Ji Young: It's scarier to know we live in a world where false hopes and irresponsible consolation cannot be given, since there are so many people who are desperate for that false hope at least.
Episode 15
Jang Geu Rae: There's a distance you can't do anything about no matter what you do.
Jang Geu Rae: You can't climb stairs successfully without a foundation. Ultimately, you can't climb stairs without a foundation.
Oh Sang Shik: Business? It's just a fancy word for sales. It is making a profit after buying items cheap. It is buying good items and selling it to people who need it. Go find out the basics of selling stuff.
Jang Geu Rae: Having a memory is wonderful. But they say forgetting is truly wonderful.
Jang Geu Rae: As in all games, once the play has started, you realize how unprepared you actually are. If you want to run away, it’s already too late.
Episode 16
Jang Geu Rae: You have to withstand hardships by yourself.
...
Jang Geu Rae: Hardships must be endured alone.
Chun Kwang Woong: Life, itself, is politics, not just work. You got to get used to it. That way, you can survive.
Ha Sung Joon: Just do what Department Manager Ma says. That will give you the least trouble.
Ha Sung Joon: There is no competition no matter how hard you try, as there's no chance of winning. I'm not saying you should just always back down. You should know when to fight, and when to back down.
Episode 17
Oh Sang Shik: You know, the people you meet can change your life.
Oh Sang Shik: If you follow a fly, you end up near the toilet. If you follow a honeybee, you'll end up in a flower garden.
Jang Geu Rae: Ah, so that's why I'm in a flower garden.
Oh Sang Shik: Do as much as you can. That way, you won't have any regrets.
Oh Sang Shik's Wife: Do it. Just do it. Do whatever you want.
Oh Sang Shik's Wife: You haven't done anything wrong, that's what I think. You would do the same thing if you could do it all over again, and I think that's right.
Oh Sang Shik: Come on, I'm not that important...
Oh Sang Shik's Wife: Exactly. You only think about what you think is right. Everything else doesn't go however you want it to.
Episode 18
Episode 19
Jang Geu Rae: Don't say whatever you want when you don't know what you're talking about! Don't!
Choi Young Hoo: Ah, you've heard of this, Geu Rae, right? "A good move for me could be good for the opponent too."
...
Choi Young Hoo: Some people only think of winning and having the opponent lose. They are bound to lose in the long run...
Cho Young Hoo: I don't like either winning or losing. Let's have a win-win situation; you win and I win.
Ha Sung Joon: I always thought your taste in girls was unique.
Kang Hae Joon: What do you mean?
Ha Sung Joon: You like stick-skinny girls like her. Stiff girls that are cold-blooded.
Kang Hae Joon: Watch what you say. I like girls who are proper.
Kang Hae Joon: You like giggly pushovers, don't you?
Ha Sung Joon: Come on, get your words straight. I like warm girls who can make others smile.
Jang Geu Rae: It's like that. Sometimes, life throws tough tests at you to make you helpless, and it leaves you hints in funny places. But, of course, there's no guarantee that you'll come up with the correct answers.
Oh Sang Shik: Even if you think you won't make it, fight to the end. In life, there are many things you start even if you know the predetermined end.
Episode 20
Oh Sang Shik: (The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost)
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads
diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
Oh Sang Shik: Just because you forget a dream, doesn't mean that it stopped existing. In the same way, just because you don't see the road, doesn't mean the road doesn't exist.
Oh Sang Shik: (Chinese writer) Lu Xun said, "Hope cannot be said to exist, nor can it be said not to exist. It is just like roads across the earth. For actually the earth had no roads to begin with, but when many men pass one way, a road is made."
Jang Geu Rae: A path is not simply for walking: its purpose lies in moving forward and improving oneself. A path that fails to do this is not a path.
Jang Geu Rae: The path is open to everyone, but not anyone can walk it.
