History of the Salaryman Synopsis

Profile

• TV Show: History of the Salaryman (International English title) / Salaryman Chohanji (literal title)
• Revised romanization: Selreorimaen Chohanji
• Hangul: 샐러리맨 초한지
• Director: Yu In-Sik
• Writer: Jang Young-Cheol, Jung Kyung-Soon
• Network: SBS
• Episodes: 22
• Release Date: January 2 - March 13, 2012
• Runtime: Monday & Tuesday 21:55
• Language: Korean
• Country: South Korea

Plot

During the cover of night, Yoo-Bang (Lee Beom-Soo) enters a dark villa with a flashlight. Yoo-Bang finds a man Ho-Hae (Park Sang-Myeon) dead, slouched over on a chair, and a woman Yeo-Chi (Jung Ryeo-Won) hiding behind a curtain. At Ho-Hae's funeral, detectives enter and arrests Yoo-Bang and Yeo-Chi for the murder of Ho-Hae.

3 months earlier. The president of Chunha Group, Jin Shi-Hwang (Lee Deok-Hwa), orders his granddaughter Yeo-Chi to take business administration training. The grandfather doesn't believe his son Ho-Hae is good enough to run the company. But, Yeo-Chi isn't interested in taking business administration or running a compnay. Yeo-Chi is arrogant and doesn't care about other people.

Chunha Group has been developing a new medicine and it is now in the trial testing stage. Meanwhile, the president of Jangcho Company, Oh Ji-Rak (Kim Eung-Soo) hears that rival Chunha Group is developing the new medicine. In order to steal information on the new drug, a director from Jangcho Group, Hang-Woo (Jung Gyu-Woon), goes undercover and applies as a candidate for the trial drug test.

Yoo-Bang graduated from college, but he can't find a decent job. While working part-time jobs, Yoo-Bang continues to send his resume to big companies every year. When high level executive Ho-Hae from the Chunha Group enters a room salon that Yoo-Bang works as a waiter, Yoo-Bang begs the man for a letter of recommendation. To get this letter of recommendation, Yoo-Bang is told he has to take part in a medical drug trial test and then steal information on the new drug. Yoo-Bang is to look for a piece of gum that will be placed discreetly on a toilet at the drug trial tests and chew the gum immediately after taking the drug.

30 applicants are on a bus ready to be taken to a secret location where the medical drug test will take place. Chief Researcher from Chunhha Group Woo-Hee (Hong Soo-Hyun) boards the bus and takes the applicants cellphones for security reasons. Once the 30 applicants arrive at the secret laboratory, they will be shut off from the outside world for 10 days (the amount of days the experiment is to take place). During the drug trials, Yoo-Bang notices a suspicious act done by Hang-Woo. Yoo-Bang and Hang-Woo stay in the same room during the tests. Hang-Woo attempts to steal the medicine from the drug trials, but it's extremely difficult due to the heavy level of security used. Suddenly, Yoo-Bang begins laughing and can't stop. The other applicants also begin to show abnormal behaviors. Researchers conclude that unusual behaviors are a side effect from the new drug. The director of Chunha Group Jang Ryang gives an order not to let the company president Jin Shi-Hwang know about the strange side effects. Meanwhile, Hang-Woo records the strange behaviors with a video recorder attached inside of his eye glasses.

One day, one of the guys taking part in the drug test discovers the special gum on the toilet before Yoo-Bang can get there. The applicant chews the gum and leaves the bathroom. Yoo-Bang can't find the gum, but when he leaves the bathroom he sees Chief Researcher Woo-Hee chewing a piece of gum. Yoo-Bang thinks maybe she is the one leaving the gum on the toilet for him and takes the gum from her mouth and chews it. An employee spots transparent tape covering a cctv camera. The employee stops all the applicants from taking the medicine, but the employee finds an applicant chewing a piece of gum and takes the applicant in for questioning.

The medical test is stopped which prevents Yoo-Bang from stealing information on the new drug. Yoo-Bang keeps calling Ho-Hae, but Ho-Hae doesn't answer. Yoo-Bang leaves a text message that he will wait for Ho-Hae at a hotel coffee shop. Meanwhile, Yeo-Chi also meets her boyfriend at the same hotel coffee shop. Her boyfriend tells her he wants to breakup with her. Meanwhile, Yoo-Bang talks on his cellphone, while twirling a red thread around his finger. Yoo-Bang doesn't realize the red thread is from Yeo-Chi's red dress. When Yeo-Chi is about to leave the coffee shop she notices all the stares she is getting and then looks down to see her skirt becoming shorter and shorter. She follows the thread from her skirt and sees Yoo-Bang talking on his cellphone while wrapping the thread around his hand. A Christmas tree is about to fall on Yeo-Chi, but Yoo-Bang saves her by pushing her into a water fountain. In the hotel Hang-Woo is also there and watching them ...