Making rock music with office supplies in new Chief Kim teaser

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Amongst the new round of dramas coming out this January, Chief Kim sure looks like it’ll be at the top when it comes to wackiness! In the latest clips released to promote the upcoming KBS drama, Namgoong Min (Beautiful Gong Shim) is shown at his comedic best. His romantic interest, played by Nam Sang-mi (Joseon Gunman), also displays her funny side as they struggle with boredom in the office and find creative ways to have some fun.

The workplace comedy is about a gangster accountant with incredible street smarts and a special knack for making money. He turns legit when he joins the TQ Group as a middle manager, only to learn that the company is on the verge of bankruptcy. According to the plot synopsis, Chief Kim is supposed to lead the company out of dire financial instability and back into solvency. But from the teasers, I get the impression that he’s more likely to lead his work-weary band of employees out the office door and into the nearest pub!

In the first teaser, some employees sigh, and some slump over, all fatigued with the boredom from daily office tasks. But then Chief Kim riles them up into doing a musical number, and the atmosphere perks up with people jamming out on their computer keyboards, shaking their pencil cans, and throwing paper about, all to a great beat. Their conductor Chief Kim throws up his hands in a big crescendo, but then someone claps, announcing dinner time and bringing him back down to reality.

For the second teaser, the office is in a dead lull, with everyone eager to leave but being required to stay late. The captions say, “To all of you out there, still working overtime… you’re tired right?” Then we see people in their most frustrating work moments, as the captions read, “After sacrificing your body and even your pride, this is one to stick it to the man!”

A scene of Namgoong Min barreling toward a protester against the company shows him throwing his body at a moving car to save her from harm’s way. And we hear Junho (Memory), who plays a higher-level department head, stating his reasons for hiring Chief Kim: “We need someone with guts and complete loyalty, whom we can use and throw away without worrying about the consequences.”

A series of stills showing scenes from the drama were also released recently. In one, Nam Sang-mi wears a softball uniform because her character was a star player when she was younger. Namgoong Min is also seen in a couple other stills in various ridiculous poses, including kneeling on top of a boardroom table in front of a row of stern-looking men, and flailing in the air in a chokehold from one of his gangster acquaintances.

I wonder how ratings will turn out for the prime-time shows — I’m curious to see the three-way battle between office comedy Chief Kim, mystery thriller Missing 9, and much-anticipated sageuk Saimdang, Light’s Diary. Wednesday-Thursday drama Chief Kim begins airing on January 25, after Naked Fireman ends its run.