The Apartment Job

I love the concept of "found family"

I'm not a big fan of corruption dramas, but with Ji Sung in it, I had to give it a try.

The story slowed down in the last couple of episodes, but I still liked it. The acting/characters were what made me keep coming back for more. I loved the "found family" aspect of it, people coming together that you'd never imagine being in the same room.

Ji Sung - him standing at the funeral with tears streaming down his face really got me. He can be over-the-top, but, for the most part, he reined himself in admirably.

Moon Sori - the irritating tenant that eventually becomes the president of the building. She started out SOOOO irritating, but once she decided to help, she was all in. I loved the change in her.

Kim Won Hae - always good for comedy relief but also plays serious as well. I look forward to his performances when I see that he's in the cast.

But, ultimately, it's Park Byung Eun as the villain that really impressed me. First, his makeup. His skin tone was pasty, making you feel like he never saw the light of day. There were a couple of humorous things from him, but for the most part his performance was chillingly understated. When he showed up at the funeral and spoke to the ML, I totally got the creeps!

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A gang leader has found someone worse than himself : the property manager. Real estate is truly one of the worst industries, where all prices are completely false and made up. Most housing units are unsanitary, substandard, or vacant, and yet people are left to die on the streets while exorbitant rents are maintained so that landlords can continue to bleed tenants dry.

A series with simple, deadpan humor. The theme of the chosen family works really well. But the ending was a bit disappointing, with these last two episodes being frankly average.

The sister who cancels her vacation to come to work at her boss's request ? even though she wanted to quit ? I don't buy it.
Fatphobia is still not funny.

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APT, Apateu... Uh, uh-huh, uh-huh

Well no, Rosé from Blackpink did not make a cameo in the drama, but I think the title of her song with Bruno Mars is quite fitting here, since the story takes place in a huge apartment complex with nearly 9,850 households (yes, that's a lot of people). And the premise is rather original, since dramas set in these large residential complexes, popular with the middle and upper classes, are relatively rare. Because while in Europe our goal is to avoid ending up in these giant "rabbit hutches", in South Korea it is quite the opposite. Indeed, most residents are homeowners, with only around 10% being tenants, along with a similar proportion of social housing integrated into the complex. In addition to the main story, I thought we were going to explore the everyday problems faced by this population. This world is vast, but it represents a microcosm in which several themes unfortunately weren't explored in enough depth. The Apartment Job is a mix of comedy-drama, crime and thriller. This balance works reasonably well, except at times when it starts to wobble.

Park Hae-Kang**(Ji Sung)** is a former gang boss who has gone into managing an illegal gambling den and debt collection. But one day he gets caught up in a scheme and has to find 10 billion won to get his seriously ill spiritual father out of prison. Thanks to Hwang In-Sik, aka "The Lizard" (*Kim Won-Hae), a con man who owes him money, he learns that a huge reserve fund intended for repairs to a massive residential complex, amounting to around 18 billion won, could be recovered. Using In-Sik's apartment as their HQ, he hopes to first get elected as the representative of his district, and then as chairman of the residents' council. This is the perfect opportunity to empty the complex's bank accounts. To carry out his plan, in addition to his four accomplices, he calls on a broke legal assistant he had already crossed paths with, Kang Ha-Ri(Ha Yoon-Kyung). But Lee Chung-Won**(Park Byung-Eun)**, the CEO who built the complex, stands in their way, as he is also part of a gangsters' club. The local "concierge", Jang Suk-Jin(Moon So-Ri), who knows everything as the neighborhood gossip, could prove to be a valuable ally.

What I liked about the series is the concept of infiltrating this complex: the residential setting allows for a fairly original blend of comedy, social drama, thriller, crime and a sprinkling of action. Overall, it works quite well, even if it becomes a little shaky in the second half. We get a basic but also entertaining look at how a Korean apartment complex is organized and managed. So, contrary to what the French title suggests, there is no property manager in the usual sense, and the complex is represented by a chairman who represents all the residents and sets the budget to be administered. The little gang gives it their all and sometimes manages to make up for the script's shortcomings. The little boy is genuinely convincing and adorable. This "family" is the most likeable part of the series. There are also some funny twists, even if they are often predictable, good character dynamics, small action scenes, and memorable moments thanks to the inimitable Kim Won-Hae. Especially at the beginning, the atmosphere and pacing are quite good. The potential is definitely there, with concrete examples of recurring problems affecting neighborly relations.

Unfortunately, this enormous social potential is underused, quite simply because the drama doesn't have the budget to match its ambitions, nor the well-developed script to go with them. Everything is only skimmed over: homeowners versus tenants, social housing, construction defects, dilapidation, neighborhood disputes, real-estate interests, etc. The Apartment Job could have been an extremely original social comedy. But most of these elements remain in the background. We are shown the problem, and then the story quickly moves on to something else. It's a real shame. The complex is enormous (several thousand apartments), but visually it feels small: whenever there are protests or meetings, it feels like we're in a small neighborhood. This is a major problem because the complex is supposed to be at the heart of the drama. In short, it desperately lacks life; the streets are almost deserted, so the impact of this supposed anthill completely falls flat. The discussions always revolve around the same people, who represent the archetypes and stereotypes we see in K-dramas: everyone has their neatly defined role and sticks to it. The only character who actually evolves and brings some life to this stagnant environment is Jang Suk-Jin; that's not enough.

The writing is too simplistic: the story moves forward through little nudges and elements that always happen to arrive at exactly the right moment. Don't expect any major surprises; everything is predictable and formulaic once the thriller aspect takes over. The residents' reactions are also problematic and stupid: when Hae-Gang and his team are involved, everything is either completely black or completely white. It's like the "Sheep Club Association." It's funny at first, but by the end, it becomes tiresome. But the real false good idea (FBI) was introducing an overly caricatured main antagonist: Lee Chung-Won starts out as a potentially interesting character, a powerful construction chaebol with interests of his own. But as time goes on, he just seems like a spoiled child suffering from paranoia: "I'm evil because I'm evil." The further the series progresses, the more inconsistent his behavior becomes. Park Byung-Eun is a great actor, but they really make him look like a clown because he constantly overacts. In short, everything often lacks credibility because the story gets lost in pointless convoluted schemes. The direction keeps trying to tease us with a future relationship between Hae-Gang and Ha-Ri, but another romance eventually develops at the end.

Like an old gimmick, we get the usual PPL for Subway and pain-relief patches, followed by the inevitable "X years later" 15 minutes before the end. This could have suggested that we were going to get something more authentic and unconventional... And nope. This series leaves me with a strange and paradoxical feeling: the actors give a lot and know how to entertain us when necessary, and we grow fond of them; the atmosphere is good, the few secondary characters are likeable, and the basic idea is nice, because we are sold the concept of a thug who gradually gets caught up in the game and starts investing himself in the well-being of the residential complex. Some scenes are genuinely funny and others touching, but... the script doesn't always keep up, and inconsistencies and writing shortcuts rain down, especially after the halfway point. The drop in pace is obvious toward the end, with far too many scenes that feel completely disconnected from the story, as if they were only there to fill time. And that's usually not a good sign. In conclusion, I am left with an unfinished feeling, because with an idea like this, a quality cast, and a setting that could have been teeming with life and sincerity, we could have had a great drama instead of a very average one.

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Ji Sung has no bad shows!

Ji Sung is, without a doubt, one of my favorite actors so this might be biased, but I had so much fun watching while this. From the trailer, I didn’t know what to expect but the kdrama definitely pulled through.

Every episode was funny, thrilling, and enticing. It made me look forward to the weekend and I'll be sad now that it's over. This was definitely better than I had expected. The female lead, kang ha-ri, was hilarious and had great chemistry with park hae-kang!

I also really enjoyed the found family plot. It was amazing to see. The relationships everyone formed made me so happy. This found family arc ─ a bond stronger than blood ─ was well done and such good development for hae-kang.

I also really like how they kinda just helped everyone. Like literally everyone was living in hae-kang's apartment. Just wish that hae-kang and ha-ri had stayed together because the chemistry was there! Also, I love how lee chungwon was absolutely insane in a funny way. His bad guy character had me cracking up!

Such a good show. Definitely one of my favorites now.

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I’m literally crying laughing ? dynamic duo of the year already!

Okay, so I randomly picked up this drama because I love Ji Sung, and Oh My God, I’ve only watched the first two episodes and I am already obsessed! My stomach genuinely hurts from laughing so much. If you need something light, super funny, and chaotic for the weekend, this is IT.The whole plot is just so wild and unhinged. You have this ex-gangster boss who decides the best way to steal 10 billion won is by becoming the president of an apartment complex. Like, who even thinks of that?! But the real gold is the "fake family" setup.The fake wedding scene in episode 1 had me rolling on the floor. Ji Sung and Ha Yoon-kyung have this weird, bickering chemistry that just works so well. One minute they are faking a romantic moment with a thumb-kiss, and the next minute they are arguing like they’ve been trapped in a toxic marriage for 50 years. Ha Yoon-kyung is such a breath of fresh air here—she’s so chaotic and money-minded, I love her character already.And Ji Sung? The man never misses. He looks so intimidating but then does the goofiest things while dealing with the nosy apartment aunties and grandpas. The entire neighborhood is full of weird, shady, and hilarious people, which makes the whole vibe feel like a complete madhouse.It honestly reminds me a bit of The Fiery Priest or Vincenzo vibes where it's a crime/heist story but the comedy is just turned up to 100.Only two episodes in, but I'm 100% hooked. If they keep up this exact energy and comedy timing, this is easily going to be one of my favorite watches this year. Go watch it right now, you won't regret it!

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The idea seemed pretty interesting from the start: two bad guys competing over something and in the end someone "accidentally" became the good guy. The issue is also very realistic: apartment resident's maintenance funds corruption, hiding their scheme behind everyone's fear of the apartment price dropping (revealing a corruption could lead to a bad image of the apartment). The way how they embezzled it, the cartel they built, all seems too real. A lot of people even complained about this show because it seems their schemes got revealed. Comedy part added more flavour into this show.

Ji Sung as the main character, the "big-hearted" ex-mafia Park Hae Kang, did a great job here. But I think the supporting ensemble casts were the one who bring the soul into this show. Park Byung Eun played the two-faced villain, Lee Chung Won, impressively. Moon So Ri brought so much main character spirit into a supporting character of the annoying Jang Suk Jin out of nowhere. Kim Won Hae landed another "impactful" supporting character after Undercover Miss Hong and he never fails. Most of the comedy came from his moment.

Unfortunately, those strong characters took toll a lot on Ha Yoon Kyung. For a female lead, Kang Ha Ri wasn't very impactful. I feel like her screentime was just about the same with Suk Jin or Gyeong Nam. This limited Yoon Kyung's freedom and chance to show what she gets. I wondered why nobody ever noticed the disappearance of President Seo and his family. Nobody even tried to look for him, even when they were normally nosy about everything else. The three building representative who were close with President Seo seemed confusing. They once said they should side with the one who has the upper hand, but they kept switching sides without any valid reason. They casually sided with both Hae Kang (during the reveal of the 17.8B box) and Chung Won (during Taegang apology) sides.

It's still a good watch. The idea of the story was excellent, even though the execution was just decent. Worth a one-time watch.

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The Apartment Job Review: Great Chemistry, Wrong Genre for Me

This is a good drama, but I ended up dropping it because it just wasn't my kind of show.

I already knew it wasn't a romance or rom-com. The genres are Thriller, Mystery, Comedy, and Crime, but lately I've been in the mood for lighthearted romance, so I was hoping this drama would surprise me. After watching so many edits on Instagram, I thought the leads had amazing chemistry and decided to give it a chance.

And honestly, the chemistry is there. The leads work really well together, but the drama never turns that chemistry into an actual romance. It's always the non-romance dramas that give us the best chemistry.

The cast fits their roles perfectly, and the performances are really good. The story is engaging if you enjoy mystery, crime, and thriller dramas. It just wasn't what I was looking for at the moment.

If you're a fan of thrillers, mysteries, and crime dramas with great character dynamics, The Apartment Job is definitely worth checking out. Just don't go in expecting a romance.

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Uma história cativante

O dorama mistura comédia, crime, golpes e uma boa dose de confusão dentro de um condomínio, acompanhando Park Hae-gang e Ha-ri em uma história que começa com interesses bem duvidosos, mas acaba tomando rumos inesperados.
O que mais gostei foi justamente essa transformação dos personagens. A família que começou sendo de mentira acabou se tornando uma família de verdade. E o golpista, que no início só pensava em dinheiro e nos próprios interesses, aos poucos mostrou que ainda tinha um bom coração. Foi muito bom acompanhar essa mudança.
E eu confesso: eu queria MUITO um romance entre Park Hae-gang e Ha-ri! 😂 Os dois tinham uma química que dava para explorar muito mais. Falando um pouquinho do vilão louco, foi uma satisfação ele receber o que merecia!
Por fim achei uma história diferente, divertida e muito gostosa de acompanhar. A mistura de golpes, corrupção, personagens malucos e situações engraçadas funcionou muito bem, e o mais importante: o dorama terminou fechadinho.
Uma história legal, divertida e coerente ✨

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10/10 Pure entertainment - clever, funny and full of heart

I'm genuinely surprised The Apartment Job isn't getting more love because, for me, it has just about everything ! want from an entertaining drama.
It has crime, comedy, corruption, clever schemes, strategic problem-solving and a wonderful group of characters who gradually develop that warm, slightly dysfunctional family feeling that K-dramas do so well. There's also just enough hint of romance to add another layer without taking over the story.
It actually reminds me quite a lot of the movie Tower Heist with Ben Stiller - not because the stories are identical, but because it has that same enjoyable feeling of watching a group of unlikely people come together, use their individual strengths and try to outsmart people who have abused their money and power.
Ji Sung is fantastic in the lead, but what really makes the show work for me is the ensemble. The characters bounce off one another beautifully, the comedy genuinely makes me laugh, and underneath all the fun there is a satisfying story about exposing corruption and finding clever ways around seemingly impossible situations.
Most importantly, it's FUN. I look forward to each new episode, which is probably the best compliment I can give any series.
If you enjoy clever caper stories, great characters, found-family dynamics, humour, a little romance and watching corrupt people get outsmarted, give The Apartment Job a chance. I absolutely love it.

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