Misaeng: Incomplete Life was the first Korean drama to film on location in Jordan, where actors Im Si-wan and Lee Sung-min shot the series's prologue in Amman, Petra, and Wadi Rum.

[18] But when he fails at achieving his dream of becoming a professional baduk player, Geu-rae must leave his isolated existence and enter the real world armed with nothing but a GED high school equivalency diploma on his resume.

He also wrote vivid descriptions of the everyday life and struggles of Korean corporate culture as his flawed characters deal with the fierce competition for survival, interpersonal work relationships and office politics.

Misaeng: Incomplete Life gained immense popularity among Korean white-collar workers in their twenties and thirties largely because its realism resonated with their experiences.

It drew 1 billion hits when it was published on online portal Daum from September 2012 to October 2013, and the nine-volume paperback version sold 900,000 copies.