The Dream Life of Mr. Kim ending explained: The profoundness of Nak-su's mundane story

The Dream Life of Mr. Kim | Image Via: SLL
The Dream Life of Mr. Kim | Image Via: SLL

The Dream Life of Mr. Kim brings forth quite a unique ending. Nak-su’s life after losing his job has been going on a constant downhill. Besides losing his job, the pride that he held dear to his life began to crumble as well.

He lost his money to the scammers, making things even more difficult. It cannot be denied that The Dream Life of Mr. Kim perfectly captures the essence of a person’s struggle to make it big in life. The realistic depiction of the world resonates deeply at the end of the series.

Please be prepared for the spoilers ahead.


The profoundness of Nak-su’s mundane story in The Dream Life of Mr. Kim Episode 12

Episode 12 of The Dream Life of Mr. Kim begins where things are left off at the end of the previous episode. While Nak-su is working at his brother’s car shop, washing the cars, Jin-woo’s car pulls into the driveway. Nak-su understands that Jin-woo did it on purpose.

He knew that Nak-su was working at the car shop. Jin-woo then keeps on pointing out the awkwardness of the situation, indicating the position Nak-su is now in. Jin-woo then tells Nak-su that he needs good luck because the executive promotion announcement is in two weeks.

As episode 12 of The Dream Life of Mr. Kim continues, Ha-jin begins to discuss finding a new office with Nak-su. Nak-su also begins to encourage her. Nak-su’s business takes a hit because of the rain showers. The number of cars that usually come to get a wash has reduced considerably, which is causing difficulty for Nak-su.

The next day at work, Nak-su begins to look through his laptops and finds a recruitment notification for the ACT HQ Corporate Vehicles car wash service vendor. The remuneration is 6.2 million won, which is also quite great for him. Chang-su arrives right at that moment. Seeing Nak-su going through this notification, Chang-su says that he cannot do it, as the number of views is quite high already.

After returning to his home, Nak-su begins to discuss this recruitment at ACT with Ha-jin. He asks her about her opinion. However, Ha-jin begins to assure him that he should do it if it feels comfortable for him. Ha-jin’s reassurance comforts Nak-su. He then calls Tae-hwan to discuss the car wash.

Nak-su tells Tae-hwan that he should consider doing it, as it might be beneficial for his mind. Tae-hwan finally accepts Nak-su’s offer. The two of them go for the recruitment drive at ACT the next day. They are taken inside for the interview process. The interview, along with the test, goes well, and they get the job at ACT.

As the episode in The Dream Life of Mr. Kim progresses, Nak-su’s brother gives him a gift by decorating a car so that he can take it to his new job. Things definitely seem to take a positive turn for Nak-su. On the first day of his car washing job at ACT, Nak-su encounters Ik-kyeon. Ik-kyeon assures Nak-su that he will not be telling this to anyone else.

He also tells him that he has immense respect for Nak-su. On the other hand, Su-gyeom tells Nak-su to give him a ride for an interview. Seeing Su-gyeom tense about the situation, Nak-su tells him that he has enough experience even at such a young age, so he should not be tense. Nak-su’s words help Su-gyeom relax.

At the end of the episode in The Dream Life of Mr. Kim, Jin-woo tells Nak-su that he was not able to get the promotion. He then asks Nak-su about his thoughts on why he did not get the promotion. Nak-su understands that Jin-woo is now in the same situation he was in. Jin-woo begins to have a mental breakdown about the situation, thinking about the promotion.

Nak-su then drives Jin-woo back to his house. The similarity between their situation leaves an impact in this episode. At the very end of the episode, Nak-su returns to his brother’s auto shop. His relationship with Ha-jin also gets better, unlike how it was at the beginning of the series. Through the span of the series, Nak-su’s nature slowly evolved. He got rid of the pride and condescending attitude and became more accepting of his life.


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Edited by KOUSHIKI ROY