Can Chae Jong-hyeop save Park Sung-woong and Unlock the Boss?

by stroopwafel

Chae Jong-hyeop and Park Sung-woong in Unlock the Boss

Sometimes I wonder where I would be without my cellphone, and it seems like I’m on the same wavelength as ENA’s upcoming drama Unlock the Boss.

Based on a popular webtoon, Unlock the Boss is a blend of mystery, comedy, and fantasy with a premise that is alternately terrifying and hilarious. An attacker with shadowy motives attempts to kill a wealthy tech CEO by stabbing him, but the plot only half-succeeds. Instead of dying, the tech CEO finds his soul is trapped in his own smartphone. When an unemployed man down on his luck comes across the phone, the CEO offers him a deal he can’t refuse: 10 billion won to be acting CEO of the company and to find a way to free him from smartphone jail. As the drama’s teaser posters read: “Unlock the phone. The alliance begins.”

Park Sung-woong (Snowdrop) plays our tech CEO Kim Sun-joo, and Chae Jong-hyeop (Love All Play) plays Park In-sung, puppet CEO and all-around nice guy. Life’s never quite gone his way and though he’s a recent college grad he’s had no luck in the job market. What’s worse is that his major was a “useless” one: acting. But things may finally be turning around for In-sung — who could be better equipped to act as a CEO? Rounding out the cast is Seo Eun-soo (Missing: The Other Side) as Jung Se-yeon, secretary to the CEO. There aren’t many details on her character yet, so we’ll have to wait and see if she’s friend or foe.

The video teaser shows the first meeting between our two leads. Kim Sun-joo knocks on the screen and pleads, “Excuse me, please get me out of here.” The camera zooms out and we can see that this is all taking place in the confines of a smartphone. Park In-sung peers in and wonders, “What is this?” The phone’s battery is perilously low, and Sun-joo’s desperation is obvious. In-sung attempts to follow Sun-joo’s directions and draw the correct pattern to unlock the phone but he fails over and over. In a frenzy, Sun-joo uses his whole body to draw the pattern out but no matter how he explains it, nothing works. When even Sun-joo seems confused, asking himself, “Is it this?” In-sung snaps at him in annoyance.

Sun-joo presses up against the screen and begs, “Please try, just once more.” In-sung obliges but sighs, “This is the last time, for real, sir.” Sun-joo clasps his hands as though he’s praying for it to work. In-sung gives it one last attempt and smiles. “It worked.”

So are smartphones the new genie’s lamp? If so, I’m not complaining, as it seems like a unique premise and I’m excited about the casting for this show. Park Sung-woong is known for his darker, bad guy characters but he’s also such an underrated comedic actor. He’s always willing to throw his image to the wind in order to land a joke (I strongly recommend the film The Dude In Me to see a sample of his comedic chops.) I also really like Chae Jong-hyeop and Seo Eun-soo so I have high hopes for this.

PD Lee Chul-ha (Okay! Madam, Insane) has a number of film credits to his name but this will be his first foray into dramaland. It’s also a reunion with Park Sung-woong as they worked on Okay! Madam together. Rookie writer Kim Hyung-min was part of the writers’ room for Sweet Home and this will be the first project where he’s the head writer.

Airing Wednesdays and Thursdays with a twelve episode run, Unlock the Boss premieres December 7 on ENA.

Can Chae Jong-hyeop save Park Sung-woong and Unlock the Boss?