appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Pierce Conran

Lead cast: Shin Hye-sun, Gong Myung
Latest Nielsen rating: 6.32 per cent
Shin Hye-sun (Mr. Queen) and Gong Myung (Way Back Love) team up in Filing for Love, a new workplace K-drama that examines the rivalries and misadventures of an internal audit department.
In South Korea’s pressure-cooker society, it takes a lot to get ahead. While there is no one way to make it, there are a couple of unassailable societal markers that people usually strive for – chief among them owning a flat and landing a stable job at a large corporation.


Many K-dramas feature young protagonists toiling away through school, part-time jobs and gruelling interviews to land roles at said companies, yet just as many start with characters already wearing the coveted company lanyards around their necks.
These shows acknowledge that while getting the job is part of the battle, for some, hanging on to it can be just as difficult, while for others, the desire to get ahead never ends.
Filing for Love focuses on the members of the internal audit team of the Haemu Group, which is so big that it requires three separate teams to investigate all manner of impropriety within the company’s walls.
The star of the department is Noh Ki-jun (Gong), who has a terrific track record of clearing some of its most high-profile cases, which usually involve instances of corruption or corporate espionage.

One day, the whole Haemu Group enters red alert when the feared executive Joo In-a (Shin) returns to HQ after a lengthy spell overseas. Group chats nervously chart her movement through the building, with everyone worrying that her new desk will be in their department.
That dubious honour falls to the audit department, and In-a’s first task is to grill all her terrified new subordinates. Ki-jun alone keeps his head high when called for his one-on-one, confident that his track record will speak for itself.
Yet Ki-jun leaves the most distraught of all when he is suddenly reassigned to Team 3, which handles the most undesirable cases on the floor – affairs and personal grievances. Case in point, his first call is from a disgruntled worker complaining about an excessively flatulent colleague.
Proud and angry, Ki-jun is initially frustrated with these new cases, which he looks down on. He misses key evidence, but the formidable In-a never does, and she carefully gives him a nudge to make sure he stays on course.

For now, Ki-jun’s new cases are fairly minor, but the show is not only focused on Haemu’s auditors; it also drops in on the various members of the powerful family that runs the company.
These include the supercilious heir Jeon Jae-yeol (Kim Jae-wook, Melo Movie) and his secretary Park A-jeong (Hong Hwa-yeon, Buried Hearts). The fates of these characters are bound to converge before long.
Internal audits may come off as quite a specific corporate world to base a TV show on, but this is not the first time we have seen this in a K-drama. Two years ago, Shin Ha-kyun led the enjoyable workplace thriller The Auditors.
This unique backdrop combines elements of the popular workplace drama and legal drama subgenres, but it also serves another vital purpose. Jobs at these large corporations are highly prized, and people can feel as though positions they were qualified for went to applicants for a variety of unfair reasons.

There is a cathartic aspect to seeing corporate workers being held accountable for their workplace actions. Shows like this one, which present a litany of unscrupulous office workers receiving their comeuppance, foreground the notion that not all hires are good workers – far from it.
Another show that tackles similar ideas of merit in the workplace is 2025’s well-regarded The Dream Life of Mr Kim, about a middle-aged man who has seemingly achieved his dreams by rising to a managerial position and owning a flat. Yet his reality is far bleaker than that suggests, particularly when he is unfairly passed over for promotion.
With its romantic comedy structure, chaebol (family-run corporation) dynamics and exaggerated tone, Filing for Love does not have the same social bite as The Dream Life of Mr Kim, but it springs from similar social concerns.
Performance anxiety in the workplace can trigger overthinking, which can lead to rash decision-making. Even Ki-jun, a prized worker with an exceptional track record, can quickly see his fortune change thanks to a few arbitrary shake-ups in his work environment.

As with any character-driven story, it is the decisions Ki-jun makes that will define it, but his relatable predicament is a solid foundation to build on.
Filing for Love is streaming on HBO Max.


Netflix K-drama Teach You a Lesson: corporal punishment for bullies in alarming school show

Disney+ K-drama Doctor on the Edge: Lee Jae-wook, Shin Ye-eun lead island medical romcom

K-drama Reborn Rookie: Lee Jun-young’s corporate body-swap fantasy hums with melodrama

HBO Max K-drama Fifties Professionals: Shin Ha-kyun action comedy revisits hits of old

Korean drama reviews

HBO Max K-drama Filing for Love: Shin Hye-sun, Gong Myung lead cathartic workplace comedy

Shin Hye-sun as feared corporate executive Joo In-a in a still from Filing for Love, a new Korean drama streaming on HBO Max.

Gong Myung as star auditor Noh Ki-jun in a still from Filing for Love.

Shin Hye-sun and Gong Myung in a still from Filing for Love.

Shin Hye-sun in a still from Filing for Love.

Gong Myung in a still from Filing for Love.

6 of the best new K-dramas to watch in May 2026, including The Wonderfools on Netflix

Park Eun-bin in a still from The Wonderfools, one of the best new K-dramas coming to screens in May 2026. Photo: Netflix

Lee Jun-young as football player Hwang Jun-hyun in a still from Reborn Rookie.

Netflix K-drama Sold Out on You: Ahn Hyo-seop and Chae Won-bin lead familiar rural romcom

Ahn Hyo-seop (left) as Gojeuneok Bio CEO Matthew Lee and Chae Won-bin as home shopping network host Dam Ye-jin in a still from Sold Out on You, a new Korean drama now streaming on Netflix.

Chae Won-bin as home shopping network host Dam Ye-jin in a still from Sold Out on You.

Kim Bum as L’Etoile executive director Eric Seo in a still from Sold Out on You.

Go Doo-shim as village matriarch Yang Sang-geum in a still from Sold Out on You.

Ahn Hyo-seop as Gojeuneok Bio CEO Matthew Lee in a still from Sold Out on You.

K-drama The Scarecrow: serial killer thriller echoes classic film Memories of Murder

Park Hae-soo as big-city police officer Kang Tae-ju in a still from The Scarecrow, a new Korean drama streaming now on Viu.

Lee Hee-joon as ambitious prosecutor Cha Si-young in a still from The Scarecrow.

Kwak Sun-young as intrepid journalist Seo Ji-won in a still from The Scarecrow.

Park Hae-soo in a still from The Scarecrow.

Lee Hee-joon in a still from The Scarecrow.

The 15 best K-dramas of 2025 ranked, from Melo Movie to When Life Gives You Tangerines

Park Bo-gum (left) and IU in a still from When Life Gives You Tangerines, one of the best K-dramas of 2025. Photo: Yoo Eun-mi/Netflix

Lifestyle

K-drama

K-Pop

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

Gong Myung plays a star auditor humbled by Shin Hye-sun’s feared executive in this show exploring corporate dynamics in South Korean society


Gong Myung plays a star auditor humbled by Shin Hye-sun’s feared executive in this show exploring corporate dynamics in South Korean society.


HBO Max K-drama Filing for Love: Shin Hye-sun, Gong Myung lead cathartic workplace comedy

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Gong Myung plays a star auditor humbled by Shin Hye-sun’s feared executive in this show exploring corporate dynamics in South Korean society

Gong Myung plays a star auditor humbled by Shin Hye-sun’s feared executive in this show exploring corporate dynamics in South Korean society