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| My Mister | |
|---|---|
| Show name | My Mister |
| Native name | 나의 아저씨 |
| Genre | Drama |
| Creator | Kim Eun-sook (note: creator credit often listed in promotions) |
| Writer | Park Hae-young |
| Director | Kim Won-seok |
| Starring | Lee Sun-kyun, IU, Lee Ji-ah, Song Sae-byeok |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean language |
| Num episodes | 16 |
| Producer | Kim Kyu-tae, Studio Dragon |
| Company | AStory, Studio Dragon |
| Network | tvN |
| Original release | 2018 |
My Mister
My Mister is a 2018 South Korean television drama that follows interconnected lives in contemporary Seoul, exploring resilience, redemption, and human connection through intergenerational relationships. The series stars Lee Sun-kyun and IU and was written by Park Hae-young and directed by Kim Won-seok. Praised by critics and scholars, the show has been discussed in relation to modern Korean drama aesthetics, social realism, and portrayals of trauma.
The narrative centers on three middle-aged brothers working at a struggling construction company and a young woman trapped in debt and exploitation; their lives intersect amid office politics, familial obligations, and clandestine schemes involving loan sharks and corporate corruption. Episodes trace the gradual emotional rapprochement between a weary engineer and the embattled young woman as they confront workplace harassment, predatory lending, and intergenerational poverty exacerbated by neoliberal changes in South Korea. Subplots involve marital infidelity, sibling rivalry, labor disputes, and legal entanglements that evoke comparisons with other contemporary Korean television series addressing social malaise.
Primary cast includes veteran actor Lee Sun-kyun as the stoic older man and singer-actress IU as the troubled young woman, supported by Lee Ji-ah in a pivotal corporate role and Song Sae-byeok among the brothers. Recurring performers feature Han Joon-woo, Kim Young-min, Jung Young-sook, Yoon Se-in, Park Ho-san, Kim Hae-sook, Jeon Bae-soo, Kim Yong-ji, and Go Doo-shim in familial and institutional roles. Guest appearances include actors from JTBC and SBS contemporaneous dramas, reflecting the interconnected South Korean entertainment industry casting practices.
Development was undertaken by AStory and Studio Dragon with direction by Kim Won-seok and writing by Park Hae-young, produced during a period of increasing international interest in Korean wave content distributed via platforms such as Netflix. Filming took place on location in Seoul neighborhoods, using realist cinematography influenced by Hong Sang-soo-era intimacy and the formal restraint of Bong Joon-ho’s early work. Production design highlighted domestic interiors, small businesses, and corporate offices to ground themes in recognizable South Korean urban milieus, while music supervision incorporated pieces associated with IU and contemporary K-pop balladry.
The series spans 16 hour-long episodes broadcast on tvN in 2018, with episodic arcs focusing alternately on individual character backstories, workplace intrigue, and gradual relationship development. Each episode balances quiet, dialog-driven scenes with moments of heightened confrontation, employing recurring motifs such as stairwells, elevators, and office corridors to signify social hierarchy and emotional transition. Several episodes attracted particular attention for long takes and sparse scoring, prompting academic commentary in journals addressing television studies and Korean studies.
Key themes include redemption, solidarity, and the psychological effects of sustained precarity in late-capitalist South Korea. The series interrogates masculinity, caregiving, and institutional failure through portrayals of blue-collar labor, corporate malfeasance, and exploitative financial services associated with loan sharks and shadow lending networks. Critics have read the drama through lenses of trauma theory, feminist critique, and labor sociology, comparing it to works by Na Hong-jin, Kim Ki-duk, and televisual contemporaries like Signal and Misaeng. The show’s restrained aesthetics and moral ambiguity invite discussion alongside academic work on the Korean Wave and transnational reception.
Upon broadcast the series received widespread critical acclaim for performances, writing, and direction, with particular praise for Lee Sun-kyun and IU’s chemistry and nuanced portrayals. Domestic ratings were modest relative to mainstream primetime hits, but the series achieved strong acclaim among critics and international viewers via streaming platforms such as Netflix and generated discourse in outlets like The Korea Herald, Yonhap News Agency, and international media covering Korean popular culture. The drama has been the subject of think pieces linking it to societal debates in South Korea about labor rights, gendered violence, and social welfare reform.
The series and its cast received nominations and awards at major Korean ceremonies including Baeksang Arts Awards, KBS Drama Awards, APAN Star Awards, and network award shows, with accolades honoring acting, writing, and direction. IU and Lee Sun-kyun garnered multiple acting nominations, while Park Hae-young received recognition from critics’ circles and industry guilds for screenwriting.
Category:2018 South Korean television series Category:South Korean drama television series