Another tour de force performance by one of my top favorite Korean actresses, Lee Bo Young (I Hear Your Voice, Mother, God's Gift: 14 Days, Whisper, When My Love Blooms, Pinocchio), kept me glued to my screen for two days watching Agency (2023) a highly rated cable channel jtbc Korean drama that reached 16-17% by its conclusion (very high these days for any K-drama, especially on a smaller cable station like jtbc). The supporting cast were all wonderful to watch as well, some newer faces but also quite a few veteran actors and actresses whom I've enjoyed over two decades of loving Korean dramas. This drama had very little to no romance involved with most of the characters, but lots of endearing professional relationships / growing friendships were depicted with flair and depth and humor. The drama was slightly feminist in tone overall, but not irritatingly so. We root for our main female protagonist to overcome many prejudices in her advertising agency workplace, especially by the rather domineering male managers controlling the firm.

The Story:

Abandoned by her mother (Kim Mi Kyung, Master's Sun) at an early age due to domestic violence in the home, by some miracle little Go Ah In (Lee Ye Joo, child; Lee Ga Yeon, teen; Lee Bo Young, adult - funny how all their real names end in Lee!) grows up to be a brilliant student in economics, beating all odds to succeed in the workplace at even greater levels than her much wealthier peers at school. She graduates with top honors and works her way up in various start up agencies until she lands a prestigious job with VC Communications, the nation's top ad agency.

Along the way Ah In makes some encouraging male friends and admirers (two played very well by lovely prolific supporting actors Lee Ki Woo and Jang Hyun Sung) but amazingly nothing turns romantic. She doesn't seem to care; she likes living the single life (can't say I blame her!). It seems she is married to her work and professional ambitions, but those sometimes come at an emotional cost, since she becomes addicted to anti-depressants given to her by her female psychiatrist named Oh Soo Jin (Shin Soo Jung) to help her deal with her childhood mental scars. Her doctor warns her never to combine them with alcohol because that could lead to her sleep-walking at night, which could risk her life if she became self-destructive while under their influence. However, she doesn't always follow her doctor's advice.

With dreams of becoming VC Communications' first female CEO, Ah In has to face the intense jealousy of her primary male superior at work, named Choi Chang Soo, played dynamically well by expert veteran actor Cho Seong Ha, who often plays villains that scare an audience to bits! (such as his evil character in 100 Days My Prince). At first he seems to be in her corner and even helps to promote her at work but it's all fake: he wants to lift her up only to ultimately drag her down and destroy her ambitions at work. (My reaction was funny when he first showed up in the drama, seemingly playing a good guy: "This isn't fooling me!" I said to myself, "He almost always plays bad guys! He's going to change for the worse!" Haha! And I was spot on right).

However, Ah In's support team at work are very supportive and encouraging to her; they are all quite talented at creating various ads for different companies that hire VC Communications, whether the ads are for foods, beauty items, even public service announcements and charities. Actress Jeon Hye Jin (Ruler Of Your Own World, Oh My Lady, Mother) playing lead planner Jo Eun Jung was perhaps the most interesting to watch: she has a young family plus works full time so we get to see her personal struggles trying to be a good mother and a good wife and a good employee all at the same time. Wonderful actor Lee Chang Hoon (Something In The Rain) plays Lee Bo Young's right hand man in the planning department; his character Han Byung Soo was courageous, wise, and dependable. Cutie pie actor Lee Gyeong Min plays the newest employee in planning, Seo Jung Woo, and he's shy and sweet. Plain looking, be-speckled planning employee Bae Woon Hee is played very well by Jung Woon Sung, who obviously dressed down for the role because publicity photos of her show her to be remarkably pretty. (By the end of the drama all these characters felt like extended family to me, they were that likeable!).