an image of the tv show suits but with korean characters

Is the Numbers KDrama worth watching?

What is Numbers about?

On the run from a dark past, a brilliant college dropout finds himself working with a superstar at one of the best companies in town; It the American show 'Suits' but as a k drama featuring Kim Myung-soo aka L and Choi Jin-Hyuk.

The young man in question played by L, is hired by the top company, Taeil Accounting Firm, he is the only one ever to be hired without a college degree.

As he earns the respect of his peers, the reality of how corrupt accounting companies can be sets in. How is it an accounting company can have soo much control over a billion dollar business so easily. The show does a fantastic job at exploring it while mixing in some office drama.

Numbers Cast

Korean Mike

Actor: Kim Myung-Soon

The witty intern working his way up the Taeil Accounting Firm so he can uncover the truth about his past.

Korean Harvey

Actor: Choi Jin-Hyuk

His dad is the vice president of Taeil Accounting and thus he is an important person in the company

Not Rachel Zane

Actor: Yeon Woo / Lee Da-bin

The hot girl in the office that is Korean Mike's senior. They are totally not into each other but are into each other. (nod not, wink wink)

The Villain

Actor: Choi Min-soon

You wouldnt want him to be your enemy.

Is Numbers worth watching?

Short answer: Maybe, the long answer, maybe?. You have two hot male leads in suits. Do you need more reasons? The later portions of the show wont be for everyone as it goes quite deep into the world of accounting.

Choi Min-soo does an excellent villainous portrayal of a seedy business man which is an absolute great highlight of the show. Numbers starts off fantastic with an underdog story but falls off rapidly. The early episodes really carry the kdrama to the mid point of the series. That's your spoiler free review.

Where can I watch it

Legally speaking, its available on at present on these streaming services. I do not get paid to recommend any of these services but I fully support everyone watching the South Korean TV series.

The Nomad In Korea cant officially direct you to the unofficial places to watch it but im sure you can find a way; I heard Kiss, Asia, are two nice words. Nod nod wink wink

Think About It - Rollsafe

Numbers Review & Nomad Thoughts (Some Spoilers)

It really is mostly a carbon copy of the show Suits. We have Korean Mike played by Kim Myung-soo, whom after having his life obliterated by the Taeil Accounting Firm as a child; Korean Mike makes it his mission to one day become an accountant to find out what truly happens.

Korean Mike ends up working as an intern for the very company that ruined his childhood. Everyone including the janitor takes a dump on Korean Mike as he tries to gain respect as he has is a drop out.

Remember folks, Koreans love and respect credentials.

Though his struggles, Korean Mike meets Korean Harvey played by Choi Jin-Hyuk; He's a hot shot accountant at the top of the firm.

The Good Parts

The first 4-5 episodes are a fantastic display of a blossoming romance between the two characters. A sight we dont get to see too often. I must admit, I loved watching it and was cheering on K-Mike the whole time.

The numbers korean drama was an absolute breath of fresh air for the topics covered by TV shows. In a world of endless romance, we follow the life of an accountant. Sure they dramatise it but the topic itself is not seen too often.

Normand The Nomad is no stranger to throwing his money at companies he has done research in. The show does a devastatingly good job at explaining economic words in simplistic terms and visuals aids.

If a peanut gallery enjoyer like me can follow along in Korean and English the complicated economic phrases then, the average person can too.

It is not easy to explain to a person with no business background or interest in investing the difference between assets, liabilities, equity or hell even revenue.

The average person should be taught these in school, but we are not. This is a topic for a separate article where i get to whine about the modern education system. The show picks up the slack for our society and blows the education out of the park. Those writers deserve praise and a raise!

As the kdrama progresses, the audience sees a first-hand glimpse of the kind of power an accounting firm can have over a billion dollar company which is absolutely true. Is it over dramatised? Yes, but the point stands. This unfortunately leads to where the Numbers as a kdrama falls short.

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The Bad Parts

The ending of the show is just garbage; A cheap setup for a second season which you, me and my cat milky already knows is never going to be put into production.

The show rapidly succumbs to the typical korean dramas production hell, they fail at executing what should have been a fantastic concept then get killed off after a single season with endless paid articles about a second season coming soon. "Trust me bro"

If the American Entertainment industry is suffering from endless sequels then the Korean TV Industry suffers from One Season kill off and failing to execute after a few episodes.

After the initial plot of comes to a close and Korean Mike learns the truth of his childhood, the show focuses heavily on the interactions between large businesses and an accounting firm.

Publicly traded companies in the real world similarly to the show; face a tenuous relationship with accounting firms as the publicly traded companies must publish an independent report of their finances.

The show starts off well explaining this but quickly becomes convoluted. By the time we are introduced to the Ice Cream company, everything is a scrambled mess.

To the point where the show decides to have a guy get his head shoved into a toilet for 5mins worth of valuable screen time.

Numbers attempt at showing how an accounting company functions as a bank was simply confusing. While extremely important in the real world it was not handled well. Perhaps if they used less screen time on the useless romance plots and toilet shoving scenes they could have focuses more on the interactions between the antagonists.

I personally enjoyed the performances of the cast.