Super Rookie (DVD) (End) (English Subtitled) (MBC TV Drama) (US Version) DVD Region 1

Eric stars as Kang Ho, a sloppy, thick-headed, and unemployed P.E. grad with a seriously bad mop of hair. Thanks to a serendipitous computer error, he lands a coveted job at a top corporation, becoming colleagues with mousy-cute administrative assistant Mi Ok (Han Ga In), spoiled rich girl Hyun Ah (Lee So Yeon), and his old classmate, the sharp and ambitious Bong Sam (Oh Ji Ho) who can't stand Kang Ho's incompetence. With his superiors plotting to get rid of him and a romantic triangle brewing away, Kang Ho conquers all with his gung ho spirit and some good old dumb luck!

Lampooning real issues with silly energy, Super Rookie situates much of its drama and comedy in the workplace, with office romance, whispers and rumors, business rivalries, and flying elbows galore. Rather than the exaggerated, high-level chaebol competition of the typical Korean melodrama, what we see here are the petty fights that are all too familiar. Throwing the silly and unskilled, but pure-hearted Kang Ho into the mix becomes a foil to show how silly and immature everyone is under their carefully ironed suits. The office encounters and conflicts play out in sitcom manner, but there are keen observations about today's working generation, corporate culture, and social values in there.

Characters, even supporting ones, resist caricature which is a great achievement for a comedy. This is one of the few dramas where I could really sense not only how the viewers see the characters, but how the characters see each other. Eric's Kang Ho may be the hero of the story, but Oh Ji Ho's Bong Sam is probably the more identifiable and understandable figure, the one who wants to play the game right and come out on top. In that search for success, certain things and people may be compromised. It doesn't make you a bad person, just human, but try explaining that to the person left behind, or even to yourself in the middle of the night. There's also Han Ga In's Mi Ok, the quiet, meek girl with a stubborn temper that periodically empowers her to do unpredictable things, and Hyun Ah, the rich girl who has everything but can't seem to win. Because the people and situations are recognizable the punchlines are all the funnier, the story all the more entertaining.

What makes Super Rookie enjoyable is the laughter, and that laughter comes from empathy.