The hit TV show "Misaeng" (미생, 未生), itself based on a wildly successful comic strip, is being remade in Japan and will begin airing this July.

The TV show "Misaeng" was based on the online comic strip of the same name by cartoonist Yoon Taeho and was first broadcast in Korea in 2014. The show gained immense popularity for its realistic portrayal of the hardships experienced by office workers in the corporate world.

The new Japanese version, produced by Fuji TV, will air under the title "Hope -- Zero Expectations for New Employees" (HOPE〜期待ゼロの新入社員〜). The network began shooting the show this month.

In the adaptation, the main character Jang Geu-rae will be played by Nakajima Yuto, a member of the Japanese boy band Hey! Say! Jump. Since his debut as a singer in 2007, Yuto has taken on various acting roles in TV productions, such as in the drama "Hanzawa Naoki" (半沢直樹) and in the 2015 movie "Pink and Gray."

Director Kono Keita (河野圭太) will be overseeing the production. Keita is known for "The Great White Tower" (白い巨塔) and "Freeter, Ie wo Kau" (フリーター、家を買う), which literally means, "A Part-time Worker Buys a House." Both those works draw our attention to subtle yet meaningful moments in everyday life. In the writing room, he is joined by Tokunaga Yuichi (徳永友一) who wrote for the popular TV soap opera "The Specialist."

On the official website for its new production, Fuji TV describes "Misaeng" as a Korean TV show without the stereotypical romance. "Instead, we engage with a main character who swallows his pride and gives it his all in order to overcome the many obstacles thrown his way in a corporate setting. His perseverance, combined with meaningful dialogue, has audiences laughing and crying with the show's characters."

Oricon Style, a Japanese online media outlet that releases entertainment news and music charts, reported that, "The Japanese remake of 'Misaeng,' while still maintaining Jang Geu-rae's back story as a professional go player, will adapt the script to mirror Japanese working environments and social pressures. We're curious to see how Nakajima Yuto will take on the role of the inexperienced new employee in the new drama."

"Hope -- Zero Expectations for New Employees" will air every Sunday at 9 p.m. on Fuji TV starting in July.

By Lee Hana
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: CJ E&M
hlee10@korea.kr