From the same production company that gave us Semantic Error, comes The New Employee. This time the setting is in the office of an ad firm and you guessed it – a romance between an intern and his boss.

Background

The New Employee is based on the 2016 web novel-turned-webtoon “The New Employee” or “The New Recruit” (신입사원) written by Moscareto and illustrated by Zec.

The New Employee webtoon gets high grades from readers. It’s realistic and engaging because of its realistic depiction of the characters. In 2020, the webtoon wins the Best Webtoon award at the Ridi BL Comic Awards. [You can read more at this site.]

Where to watch The New Employee?

The New Employee premieres on the 21st of December 2022.

Viki is streaming the series. However, access depends on the region you are located in, but you may use a VPN service. It’s highly recommended to use a VPN especially when watching BL series. There are streaming sites like NetFlix, Viki, GagaOOLala, iQIYI, Hulu, Viu, and many others that may limit broadcast reach due to copyright and other legal stuff. A VPN is safe, reliable, and legal.

Trailer | Teaser

Synopsis

Woo Seung Hyun (Moon Ji Yong) is already in his late twenties but remains a virgin. To get a headstart on his chosen career, he applied for an internship with one of the prestigious ad firms in the country. On his first day at work, he met a handsome gentleman named Kim Jong Chan (Kwon Hyuk). Jong Chan appears to be his boss! What happens next is a tale of romance, intimacy, and office politics!

Review

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The New Employee, in my opinion, is one of 2023’s best BL series. What makes it special is the visual presentation and the actors’ on-screen chemistry.

  • There was never a dull moment. There are a lot of engaging scenes that were filmed tightly – making the story clear and entertaining. From episode 1, you know it’s done by a pro;
  • Kim Jho Gwang Soo, (also known as Peter Kim) serves as the series director. He’s one of the few openly gay filmmakers in South Korea, alongside the great Lee Song Hee Il. It’s precisely his filmmaking experience with Lee Song that made an indelible mark on his filmmaking style;
  • Moon Ji-Young, the new intern, shows why he’s one of the best Korean actors in the BL scene today. His other role is in the time slip-romance Once Again. He made an impressive portrayal of a rookie employee who lacks self-confidence, but has the talent to make it;
  • Kwon Hyuk, the manager, “looks the part and plays the part” with passion and gusto. His excellent transition from the stern superior into the romantic and affectionate lover of Ji-Young is delightful;
  • The series depicts office politics and how power and entitlement get priority over company well-being. It’s brutally realistic – I’d use the word bombastic – to describe it. It makes for a reasonable source of conflict and misunderstanding between various players and our lovers;
  • Did I say the female supporting characters were charming?
  • The New Employee is a superior BL series compared to other shows released this year from South Korea. It certainly deserved a place on our hitlist.
Kwon Hyuk (left) and Moon Ji-Young play the boss and the intern in The New Employee | Viki

Cast of Characters

Kwon Hyuk, plays Kim Jong-Chan, the company’s handsome department head. Jong-Chan is known to be a workaholic. Manager Kim is good-looking and popular in the company, but people avoid talking to him because he is solely concerned with his work.

Moon Ji-Young, plays the other main character, Woo Seung-Hyun.

A 29-year-old man, Woo Seung-Hyun, begins work as an intern at AR Company, an advertising agency. He needs to sort out his self-confidence due to being obsessed with someone who did not reciprocate. Ji-Young is also one of the main cast in another BL series, Once Again.

Choi SiHun plays Na Yoo-Seong. YooSeong is SeungHyun’s, first love.

Moon Ji-Young and Kwon Hyuk play supervisor-intern in The New Employee | Watcha

Recommendations

We highly recommend PsychoWeird’s essential Korean BL hitlist.

We’re also looking forward to such new series as Eccentric Romance, Star Struck, and A Shoulder to Cry On.