[magazine kave=Choi Jae-hyuk Reporter]
If a successful middle-aged CEO were to become a new employee again, where could he possibly start to fix his life? The web novel 'The Manly Man' begins with this imagination, incorporating the chilling reality of Korean office workers and thrilling revenge fantasies within the framework of a time-travel story. The protagonist, Han Yoo-hyun, was once an ordinary salaryman who merely endured while being cautious, but eventually rose to the position of CEO at the large corporation Hanseong Electronics. However, at the moment he reached the pinnacle, all that remained in his hands was the company, while the people he wanted to protect had either already left or suffered irreparable wounds. On the night he lost everything as the price of success, Han Yoo-hyun endlessly rewinds in his mind what he should have changed and what he should have protected if he could live from the beginning.
At the end of that despair, an unbelievable opportunity arises. When he opens his eyes, he finds himself back in his younger days at the beginning of his employment at Hanseong Electronics. The lonely one-room apartment, the smell of oil from the snack shop in front of the company, and the morning rush of commuters pouring in all feel familiar yet different from before. Most importantly, the colleagues he had once met in passing and later realized their value are all alive and back in front of him. The coworkers who were just drinking buddies after work, the boss who seemed sensitive due to work stress, and the senior who listened to his complaints now appear as individuals each carrying different seeds of tragedy.
Han Yoo-hyun knows. Some collapse from overwork, some become scapegoats for the company, and others leave due to unfair personnel decisions and political struggles. Starting again with memories of the past, he initially tries to use that knowledge to get promoted faster, align more accurately with his boss's preferences, and accumulate results more cleverly. When sharp questions are exchanged in the conference room, he presents a nearly perfect presentation based on answers he brought from the future, and in competitive presentations, he secures victory by preemptively blocking variables that the opposing team had not prepared for. Even in the cafeteria, he acts as if he knows what happened behind the scenes by observing a single word or expression from his peers.
However, as time passes, his choices become less about simple personal advancement. Knowing the futures of his peers, Kwon Se-jung, who met a miserable end in his previous life, a senior who was always used and then discarded within the organization, and a boss whose family collapsed due to dedication to the company, Han Yoo-hyun begins to test whether he can intervene and change their fates. At a company dinner that flows just like before, he subtly blocks certain remarks or presents alternative options to a colleague who is about to make a risky choice. When someone is unfairly targeted in the conference room, he supports them with data he has prepared in advance.
Not Living Alone, But a Life of Solidarity
In this process, the story transforms from a simple success time-travel tale into a record of a man's guilt and atonement. In his past life, Han Yoo-hyun prioritized his own safety and promotion at every moment of choice, turning a blind eye when someone was cut off. In this life, he struggles to confront each scene he had previously ignored and make different decisions than before. However, the massive system of the company cannot be easily changed by individual goodwill alone. To save someone, he may have to push another into danger, and the more he tries to prevent restructuring in a specific department, the stronger the storm blows in other business sectors.
The power struggle within Hanseong Electronics and the battle for group succession are also significant aspects of the story. As conflicts within the owner family and political struggles among executives intensify, Han Yoo-hyun is drawn in not just as a competent salaryman but as a player who moves the entire board. Thanks to his memories of the past, he knows who will betray at what timing and which projects will determine the fate of the entire group in the future, but knowing everything does not mean he can change everything as he wishes. Sometimes, he must put himself in danger to save someone he wanted to protect, and at other times, he finds himself in situations where he must make cold decisions for the future of the company.
As the story deepens, readers follow Han Yoo-hyun's gradual search for a balance between success and happiness. He comes to realize at some point that what he truly regretted in his previous life was not failing to reach the CEO position, but not being able to properly protect the last moments of his loved ones. Therefore, in his second life, he strives to hold onto relationships with family and colleagues as much as, if not more than, promotions and salary. Of course, reality is not so romantic. If he skips a company dinner to spend more time with family, he becomes disadvantaged in the promotion race, and if he defies his boss's orders to protect a colleague, his performance evaluation gets marked with red lines. The work does not shy away from this dilemma but continues to push forward, prompting readers to repeatedly ask themselves what choices they would have made in such situations.
As the story approaches its conclusion, the rise and fall of the company intertwines with the personal life stories, expanding the scale. Not only domestic markets but also overseas business, new business investments, technology leaks, and tug-of-war with the financial sector emerge as realistic crises the company faces, and Han Yoo-hyun reaches a moment where he must decide how to conclude his second life amidst it all. At this point, the work shifts its focus from a simple growth story of an extraordinary protagonist to a drama that directly confronts the realities of the Korean-style capitalist system and labor. Readers will watch until the end to see what he chooses to protect, what he chooses to give up, and what form of success he opts for. However, as important as the specific choices at the conclusion are the countless layers of emotions and questions that have built up along the way.
K-Time Travel and the True Face of K-Office Workers
'The Manly Man' skillfully uses the clichés of the time-travel genre while intricately weaving in the realistic emotions of Korean office workers. Readers of time-travel stories are already familiar with the structure where the protagonist returns to the past with memories of the future to start their second life. However, this work portrays the ability to time travel not as overwhelming omnipotence but as human choices that inevitably go awry no matter how they are used. In crucial moments of decision-making, Han Yoo-hyun always resolves to "do it differently this time," but that choice can also become the starting point of another tragedy. Thanks to this structure, the story does not flow simply as a refreshing fantasy but expands into a drama that balances between success and ethics.
Another notable point is the utilization of the corporate space. While many modern workplace stories focus on characters' romantic or personal conflicts against the backdrop of conference rooms and offices, 'The Manly Man' delves persistently into the decision-making structures and interests of corporations. It convincingly depicts why investments in specific business units are necessary and what chain reactions those decisions create in accounting, personnel, and even relationships with partner companies. In this process, readers may feel a sense of reality, wondering if such events are happening above them in their own companies, and at the same time, they experience the thrill of watching the protagonist navigate the board like a strategic game.
The character composition is also not simple. It is filled with gray-toned characters who have their own circumstances and desires rather than a narrative that sharply divides good and evil. The ambitious boss is entangled in loyalty to the company and personal desires, while a colleague who appears cowardly may be enduring for the sake of their family. Even a character who seems like an outright villain may be in a position where they must make harsh decisions for the survival of the company. Because of this, Han Yoo-hyun's choices are always just and yet betray someone else. The question the work poses is ultimately whether there is such a thing as a perfectly right choice.
Of course, there are also shortcomings. By combining elements of time-travel, chaebol dramas, and corporate politics, certain segments may feel repetitive, resembling developments seen in other works. Especially for readers who found the early parts' refreshing developments intense, the increasing focus on serious political struggles, restructuring, and management disputes in the latter half may lead to some fatigue. Additionally, due to the protagonist's overwhelming abilities, there are episodes where the tension drops as readers predict that Yoo-hyun will ultimately resolve any crisis.
Nevertheless, the reason this work continues to be loved is that it does not give up on both the thrill of fantasy and the bitterness of reality. On one hand, readers may feel vicarious satisfaction, wishing they could win decisively in a conference room like that, while on the other hand, they ponder whether reaching such a position would truly lead to happiness. The lingering question until the end is ultimately closer to the latter. Even if one gains success, money, and fame, can a life that leaves one alone truly be called a victory? Rather than providing a clear answer to this question, the work allows each reader to find their own answer through the trajectory of trial and error and regret created by one person's second life.
‘The Manly Man’ is Not Just Above
Moreover, the ironic nuance conveyed by the title 'The Manly Man' is intriguing. A traditionally defined manly man is often depicted as someone who does not express emotions well, is curt with family, and quietly excels at work. However, in the story, Han Yoo-hyun, in his second life, tries to express his emotions more actively rather than hiding them. He directly apologizes to those he feels sorry for and makes an effort to thank those he is grateful to. At this point, the work poses the question of what a true manly man is. It delivers a heavy message that the truly strong person is not the one who appears strong but the one who strives to endure and take responsibility until the end.
This work resonates particularly with Korean readers because its depiction of Korean organizational culture is quite detailed and realistic. The atmosphere where overtime is taken for granted, the subtle power struggles during company dinners, ambiguous criteria in promotion evaluations, and irrational directives from above are all scenes that many office workers have already experienced, presented in variations. Readers find themselves naturally overlapping their own life memories as they watch Han Yoo-hyun gradually change the game, sometimes confronting directly and sometimes maneuvering to survive.
Finally, one of the strengths of the work is that while it employs the grand theme of a second life, it ultimately emphasizes the importance of very small choices. Decisions about whom to eat lunch with, whose side to take at a company dinner, whether to remain silent in a meeting or add a comment—these seemingly trivial decisions accumulate and can push a person's life in a completely different direction at some point. Because of this, readers are prompted to think not only about how they envy the protagonist for getting a second chance but also about the small choices laid out before them.
A Bold Imagination for Office Workers
Who would I recommend 'The Manly Man' to? For office workers who have jokingly thought on their way home on the subway, "I wish someone else would time travel instead of me," this work is likely to provide deep comfort and a strange catharsis. Following Han Yoo-hyun's choices, regrets, and ups and downs may give them a peculiar courage that at least on the way to work tomorrow morning, they are still in their first life and can choose differently even now.
For readers who enjoy time-travel stories and success narratives, this work offers a deeper experience as it attempts to embrace the weight of reality and ethics beyond just being a simple growth cheat code. With refreshing developments alternating with heavy reflections, there will be moments where readers, while racing through the pages, suddenly close an episode and fall into thought.
For those who enjoy narratives that discuss Korean-style capitalism, corporate systems, and the lives of individuals consumed or enduring within them, 'The Manly Man' is certainly worth reading. Readers who like settings involving management, investment, personnel, and organization will find enjoyment in the intricately woven developments of board meetings, family conflicts, and owner family disputes. And in such narratives, witnessing a man's determination to not let go of people will likely lead them to reconsider what we mean by the word success. In this way, 'The Manly Man' can be said to deliver a story that is valid for Korean readers living today, transcending a simple office fantasy.