Office drama 'Misaeng' to be remade in Japan

South Korean office drama "Misaeng" will be remade in Japan for a premiere date in July, its original production company said Thursday.

A social commentary on elitism and sexism in South Korean companies, the tvN series captured some 8 percent of TV viewers in South Korea, a remarkable feat for a cable channel.

CJ E&M, which owns the channel, said it officially signed a deal with Japan's Fuji TV on Wednesday to allow a local remake of the series.

Keita Kono, who directed popular Fuji TV series "Shiroi Kyoto,"

"Freeter, Ie wo Kau" and "Marumo no Okite," will lead the remake of the show based on a South Korean web cartoon of the same name.

Yuichi Tokunaga of the TV Asahi series "Specialist" will write the script and Japanese actor Yuto Nakajima will play the lead role, the entertainment company said.

In "Misaeng," a frustrated Go player enters a trading company as an intern with no experience or elite pedigree to show for. The series documents the initial struggles he experiences as he adjusts to a world different from the Go bubble he grew up in.

This is the first time Fuji TV is making a re-adaptation of a foreign TV show, CJ E&M said.

The Japanese remake, titled "Hope ~ New Employee with Zero Expectations," will be start filming this month and premiere in July in the 9 p.m. Sunday night time slot. (Yonhap)