"I think it's my story." 4050 Retirement, childcare, and old age, aiming "Director Kim", "Next Life", and ratings are up and down
Nov 18, 2025
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JTBC 'The Story of Manager Kim who works at a large company in Seoul's own company' and TV Chosun 'There is no next life' are drawing attention from the center.
'The Story of Director Kim' is as straightforward as the title. It contains the process of Kim Nak-soo (Ryu Seung-ryong), a manager who has a home in Seoul and has lived in a large company for 25 years, looking into his 'Bareface' at the threshold of retirement. It is on the rise with the support of middle-aged men thanks to the fact that the portrait of 'familiar patriarch' that is around one person is brought to reality itself. Above all, the vivid description of the workplace leads to favorable reviews that actual office workers nod their heads.
The anxiety of a high-year office worker who has to line up well for promotion, and who is struggling at the threshold of executive promotion in a conference room atmosphere where generational conflicts breathe. On top of that, the key keyword of Korean society, real estate, is melted, and 'It's like my story' bursts into a tangible empathy. Viewers in their 40s and 50s who walk around the same time say that they find heavy comfort in the process of anxiety and resignation from falling water and small but solid self-recovery.
Ryu Seung-ryong as Nak-soo also "It is an era in which everyone lives by enduring in their own place. This character doesn't look special, but that's why it's more realistic. "A lot of people think he's similar to me?I think you will see it with the mindset of '" he once said. In fact, the drama has continued to go viral with a stable viewership of 5% in the Seoul metropolitan area as of the 8th episode.
TV Chosun 'Because There Is No Next Life' sheds head-on light on the life of a woman in her 40s, drawing another sense of empathy. Na Jung (Kim Hee-sun), the central character of the play, is now living as a hard-working mother in her 40s who raises her two sons, leaving behind the past of being a `show host who was doing well.' The face without makeup, stretched T-shirts, and the sight of spending the day going back and forth between cultural centers and kids cafes captured the texture of real-life parenting without grand beautification.
In the play, Najung "Do you think I do it because I like to wash dishes? I want to go back to work." The scene, which burst into tears, left many female viewers in their 40s. It is evaluated that it has proved that reality can be warmer than fantasy by showing the longing and loss for 'myself', which has been pushed back to prioritizing family.
Kim Hee-sun also expressed deep sympathy for the character at the production presentation, saying, `I understood Na-jeong's heart so well because I got married and had a baby and took a break from work for a while.' In particular, this work is strongly resonant in that it calmly depicts the journey toward the complete life of a woman and gives comfort to 4050 women that 'I'm not the only one like this'.
In the drama market, where youth-centered narratives and stimulating settings were prevalent, there is an interpretation that the viewing trend is changing as works that look at the lives of the 40s and 50s appear one after another. The real story of the real sympathizer is bringing middle-aged viewers back to the TV.
mj.cho@sportschosun.com
