Misaeng — The fierce workplace survival story of a young man who failed to become a professional Go player

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About this webtoon

"The company is a battlefield." Jang Geu-rae, who spent half his life in front of a Go board dreaming of becoming a professional player, is thrown into the harsh realities of society after ultimately failing to join the ranks, with no significant career experience other than a high school equivalency diploma. Entering the large trading company Won International as an intern through an acquaintance, he faces yet another "board"—the world of the company—where rules and language are unfamiliar. His first day at work is intimidating from the moment he steps into the elevator; his hands are clumsy even at a single photocopy; and amidst stinging stares asking, "Why did someone like that join?", his professional life begins at the lowest rung of the corporate ladder. Instead of a dazzling success story, *Misaeng* calmly portrays the process of a young man with neither impressive credentials nor real-world experience enduring "today." Jang Geu-rae uses the strategic reading skills he learned in Go to decipher the meaning behind every single document, meeting, and word from his boss. From Oh Sang-sik, the boss who is skeptical yet gradually opens his side, to colleagues who appear perfect but stand before their own walls, and even a senior colleague struggling between the glass ceiling and childcare—this work features not just a "protagonist," but countless ordinary people living and breathing as they spend their days in the same office, each carrying their own personal burdens. The power of the story stems from its unexaggerated realism. The anxiety of being a contract worker, the distance between performance and recognition, moments when one must remain silent despite knowing injustice, and the tug-of-war between work and life—scenes that will make anyone who has experienced the workplace pause and think, "This feels like my story," are scattered throughout. The reason this work has been loved for so long is its attitude of making readers ponder the best move in their own positions rather than handing them the answers. Yoon Tae-ho's signature dense psychological portrayal and direction that overlays the reading of moves, proverbs, and the flow of a game in Go onto office life far transcend the boundaries of a simple workplace drama. In a narrative structure where every move becomes a choice in life, readers are deeply moved by the sight of imperfect individuals carving out their own places on the board, much like the "Misaeng" (未生), a term in Go meaning "a stone that has not yet fully survived." It is a story that touches the hearts of everyone living and working, from newcomers taking their first steps into society to long-time office workers.

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