The New Employee (2022)

Simplicity Still Wins

In a time of explicit scenes, and uncut episodes ( which isn't a bad thing ) This series showed us that simple sweet moments can still make a story feels real and so enjoyable to watch. Moments that we rarely see in bls anymore. Communication, Cheek kisses, Holding hands, The excitement of saying each other's name, Sharing hopes and dreams, and talking about your flaws. This is what falling in love is all about. It's realistic, mature and relatable. It's impossible to watch it without feeling their love and having a big smile on your face. This series is easily became one of my top favorite that I'll enjoy watching again for years to come. The acting and chemistry were great. They chose the perfect actors for their roles. I'm very excited about the director I think he'll give us amazing bls in the future.

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The best kind of normalcy.

Adults playing adults, no over the top childish miscommunications, realistic (though underdeveloped) problems one can face in the workplace, great natural chemistry and likable female characters - all that made me happy.

Not gonna lie, Kim Jong Chan was the star of the story. I’m so done with cold and emotionless bosses, as if you cannot be professional and dedicated to your work and have personality. Luckily, Jong Chan does not follow the stereotype we usually get. He might be direct and focused, strict with people who work in his team, but he also has a really warm and fun persona outside of the workplace.

Woo Seung Hyun was a great character to watch, but I wished they set up the fact he was a “late bloomer” more, and explain what it means. For me, it was obvious, but I can also understand if people started to complain he was too childish and naive for his age.

Personally, I enjoyed his story. Not quite knowing yourself, your goals, what you are good at and what kind of job would be best fit for you in your late 20’ is not exactly uncommon, and I think many could relate to Seung Hyun in that aspect.

Storytelling wise, I do think they did a decent job with presenting all the different plotlines. Sure, some kind of died without much exploration or closure, some got a rushed conclusion - but for 7 episodes, the show had a good flow and pacing.

Cast did great. Kwon Hyuk fits both the strict boss at work, and sweet boyfriend after, and Moon Ji Yong made Seung Hyun seem like a believable character as this innocent and hardworking intern. I also cannot stop myself from hyping Ye Ji Won being part of the cast, because we have not seen such a big name in K-BLs yet - maybe this is the first step to make the genre more mainstream.

Production was great. It did have this web series on the lower budget vibe for just a few shots, but overall - no complaints.

Overall, I’m just happy we got to see a normal relationship in BL. Yes, I do enjoy the exaggerated plots too, they are entertaining, but this wholesome mundane take is something I truly crave in the romance genre, and The New Employee delivered.

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Aseptic

It's cute and sweet and the story is a bit more involved than the usual endless silly BLs that are being produced. What I did like was the fact that the relationship developed quickly and without a lot of nonsensical roadblocks to tell them that they should not. But the way it is presented is so dull and flat that I did not care. Perhaps others are ok with showing little to no signs of connection as a couple (love), but I do. Otherwise, all it looks like is an exercise for an acting class. What is your point? If I cannot understand your point, then you have failed. There is not enough here to even care about a relationship. let alone see one. It has nothing to do with the acting. The acting is good. It is the story or lack there of. Give me something beyond a yawn after I finish watching this.

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Underwhelming at best

Although I respect those who gave this drama a high rating, I did not find it interesting at all. I never saw any chemistry between the ML's. I thought that the actors did a good job with their roles, and I enjoyed some of the characters immensely, especially the 2 female friends of Seung Hyun. I know that this was a short story adapted from a webtoon, so maybe that's where I felt the disconnect. Maybe if it had been longer and fleshed out the story/characters more, I'd have liked it better.

I failed to see the "maturity" and "communication" that other commenters and reviewers mention. As a matter of fact, the main character, Seung Hyun, while responsible, was fairly child-like in my opinion. That was ok though, I didn't mind that...I kind of thought it was sweet. But I didn't find the character of Jong Chan mature at all. Age/experience doesn't equal maturity, and I found him flat, immature, boring, and unable to emote effectively. And I'd say that communication got better with character growth, but to me it was more a series of recovery missions than actual communication.

I'm not saying other people won't enjoy this show. Many have liked it. It just wasn't for me.

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The story was simple. It's about office romance between the new intern, Seunghyun, and his workaholic boss, Jongchan.
I like how they maintain the balance between their work and personal relationship. Their relationship is also a healthy one, there's some misunderstanding, but it doesn't dragged out for too long because they talk it out with each other. There is enough sweetness and the chemistry is on point.

There are some office politics, but they didn't go in depth with it. Except of some the higher ups in the company, the side characters/co-workers are really nice. I especially liked the 2 best friends Seunghyun have. They're so funny and helpful.

Acting was on point. No awkward moments. The music was okay, but nothing memorable. Cinematography was good to see. I really liked the pool scene from episode 6.

However as every other KBLs, the storyline felt a bit too rushed. There are some plot that could've been fleshed out.
But overall it's a good drama. I'd recommend if you like lighthearted fluffy office romance.

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Suenghyun and Jongchan serve as one of 2022's most poorly executed couples of 2022. They had so much potential to work with, so many different routes and twists and turns to take, and yet, none were taken. New Employee is a mess if not a tad bit boring, but I will say that Kwon Hyuk (Jongchan) makes up for that because he's gorgeous, but it's not enough for this to be entertaining though.

Let's Dive In.

So for one, this is too damn short. So short that it's shorter than the usual KBL lengths. So of course we come to the problem of things not being sorted out like they should be, and it's a jumble of mess, miscommunication, and conflict that's not real conflict. Seunghyun upset because Jongchan dated his ex-crush years ago? Okay, And why not throw in a tornado and shark attacks while you're at it. Such a dumb conflict that at this point I was skipping.

The romance, in the beginning, was super cute, Seunghyun's admiration, and the little things that would happen between them were cute. I feel like their getting together was really quickly done (since I'm more of a slow-burner) but it was fine how it was (ig). After they get together their romance is a bit off. Some uncomfortable staring, some awkward laughs. They had potential but it's just all rushed and a little tacky.

Ratings:

Story: 5/10 - Outside of the problems I have with it, it's also just really boring. I'm not a huge fan of office romances because they come with office jargon which is tedious to sit through.

Acting: 8.5/10 - It was okay. Nothing jaw-dropping and nothing terrible, but it was okay. Both leads did a really good job.

Music: 6/10 - I wasn't paying attention.

Recommendation Value: 6/10 - Some parts good, some parts bad. Both leads are handsome so that's a bonus. Watch if you want or don't watch. It wouldn't be my first recommendation of KBLs, but it wasn't the worst thing either.

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office romance, boss/employee, grumpy/sunshine, age gap

Sweet & innocent (and out) Seung Hyun scores the office internship of his dreams. On his first day at work he gets into it with his cool reserved (and also gay) boss. As you do.

Directed by openly gay and queer activist Kim Jho Gwang Soo (Just Friends?) partly set in the same neighborhood as the To My Star house! This show reminded me a little bit of that one, same kind of energy.

Frankly this is what I wanted from this new crop of office set KBLs ALL ALONG. Fantastic. A darn near perfect nugget of an office romance, sweet and much gayer than we have any right to expect from Korea. Rainbow rice cakes forever! Gotta love WATCHA (also Semantic Error, Light on Me).

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No intimate scenes? So what? (No detailed spoiler)

It is very remarkable how the storyline gives importance to the reality of internship in work. No matter how great your performance is, if you have no strong connection to the higher positions, you will never be their priority. Sad truth, but hopefully someday, this will change. I am emotionally attached to episode 7 (final episode??). This series, not like 99% of BL dramas, doesn't need an intimate scene to prove a romantic relationship. The relationship is very light but the sweetest of all.

Series with 10-30 minutes long episodes must have a wise use of plots, detailed dialogue and a proper development of characters. In this series, most of the plots are well-executed effortlessly. Some plots are quite good but not essential to the storyline. Character developments are exemplary. I love the Kang Hae-Seung Hyun duo.

At first, I expected a bed scene (even for like a quick 10 seconds) in this but it didn't happen. I noticed how they mentioned Seung Hyun's virginity once or twice, what are we supposed to expect? Seung Hyun being not virgin anymore, right? They should have not included that personal information when it is not necessary. But in the end, I'm still perfectly satisfied to their healthy relationship.

Overall, this is very recommendable to watch, 100% guaranteed!

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Sweet & fluffy

What this drama lacks in depth, it makes up in its tender moments.

This drama is just one of those sweet stories of two people falling in love and wanting to become better for the other. Kim JongChan is a bit of a standoff-ish, work-a-holic team manager who everybody acknowledges is great at what he does but isn't great at the interpersonal stuff. Woo SeungHyun is an enthusiastic intern ready to learn and grow on the job. I enjoyed watching their romance and their characters shine.

Most times I say that these types of shows needed more episodes to flesh out their characters, and while the characters were a bit two-dimensional, I didn't feel the need to know more about them. I liked that we didn't have multiple couples and that the show focused on the main couple - it allowed them to breathe and grow in a way that would have felt rushed otherwise.

While there was a bit of drama, it wasn't really super high-stakes. There was a bit of jealousy and insecurity on Woo SeungHyun's part - especially this being his first relationship - but I think it was written well and that Kim JongChan handled it pretty well.

This wasn't a super in-depth story with incredibly emotional plot lines - it was just a simple, happy, getting-to-know-each-other romance. And that's what I liked about it. A lot of stories now try to over-complicate things when they don't need to be and luckily this story didn't do that. It had realistic stressors in the relationship (adjusting to the other's needs, dealing with jealousy and insecurity, etc) and the couple's tender moments just had me smiling from ear to ear.

Don't expect this drama to be intense, dramatic and/or passionate. Just focus on the sweet stuff and I think you'll end up enjoying it just like I did.

P.S. I do wish we'd had a jump forward in time showing the company's success, but it's okay without it :)

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an enjoyable KBL with excellent acting/chemistry

Overall: a well done office romance. 7 episodes 20 minutes each. Aired on Viki.

Content Warnings: bullying, dub con kisses*, semi outing

What I Liked
- the opening sequence with its manga like animation/editing and the animation other points
- cute, sweet and funny moments
- acting/chemistry
- ongoing affection (could have used a little bit more in the final episode though)
- how the characters don't have identity crises about their sexual orientation
- how the boss Jong Chan is very supportive
- friendship between Seung Hyun and Ji Yeon

Room For Improvement
- in the first episode, it was odd that there was no one in the office when a whole big thing was made about how on time was late, it would have made more sense if everyone else was already there and working when he started
- *I do think Jong Chan knew that Seung Hyun liked him but would have preferred that Seung Hyun initiate at least the first kiss
- needed more runtime, things jumped a bit, also wanted more of a resolution with Yoo Seong
- some night scenes were too dim and needed more lighting
- another stupid "plan" by a villain
- kind of wanted the interns to have more of a plan when they made that video
- Seung Hyun promised not to do something and then he did it in the last episode though he apologized
- an hr nightmare with Seung Hyun talking to his coworkers about his personal relationship and even had some of it recorded

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Because this is my first life....

Why did they choose to adapt this webtoon is beyond my comprehension!
The story of the webtoon is average, the art is average and in my humble opinion, adapting it into a live webdrama is a waste of time and money!
That said, I did binge it, it was short and there is nothing unwatchable here.

But as I watched it, I kept thinking of Because This Is My First Life: a stiff male lead, a quirky virgin female lead, an adult relationship, minor crises, happy ending! Nothing particularly original in this office romance with the usual coworkers teaming up to trip up the leads and of course getting their comeuppance eventually while the leads come on top!
The main actors are average: I am still trying to figure out if the boss was supposed to be a monotone single expression robot or if the actor is just bad! The new employee is just a happy go lucky guy with an eternal idiotic happy smile slapped over his face. Everything felt somehow off about this pair: the chemistry was average. Luckily they did not drag the misunderstandings for too long.
The side characters were more interesting: the ex boyfriend (pretty & ruthless), a fellow intern (sweet &optimistic) and the best friend (who wanted to punch the bad guys, if only she could find them!).
The music and cinematography were....guess what? Average and unremarkable !

What was this about? An office romance, pretty straightforward: I like you let's sleep together. Our coworkers hate us? Let's have our own ad agency and all problems are solved!

In conclusion, this is a drama to watch when you have little time and no wish to get into a regular length fare! Nothing to write home about!

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