Tensions begin to escalate as the beginning of the end to the internship program approaches. Just like the months prior, Yeol-chan faces an increasing amount of challenges within the workplace. He discovers that he has more enemies than he thought he did and more difficult decisions to make than ever before. However, in between of all of this, there’s also one more thing that Yeol-chan’s learned: he has more determination, loyalty, and confidence than ever before. Giving up is simply not an option for him.
Kkondae Intern: Episode 10 Recap
The episode starts off by giving us details and context on Tae-ri’s life prior to interning at Joonsoo Foods. She disliked her job at her former workplace and quit just a few months in. Of course, Dad Man-sik disproved of her decision to quit and nagged at her to find a job that would help her become financially stable. However, with Tae-ri’s bad history with her former boss, it was difficult for her to find a job. That’s when Tae-ri decided to start anew and apply for an internship with Joonsoo Foods. Of course, she had no idea that her dad would too be applying for the same internship program and they only found out once it was the first day of the internship. Upon seeing each other, they agreed to pretend as if they didn’t know each other. They might be family on paper, but they’re as good as strangers in real life. So throughout the many months of the internship, Tae-ri and Man-sik kept it a secret that they were father and daughter. However, the secret was bound to be revealed and it was Tae-ri’s mom who made the grand revelation in front of everyone at the office.
Tae-ri’s Mom is shocked and flustered to find both her husband and her daughter working together in the same team. As if that wasn’t enough for her, they’re both interns at the company. Man-sik attempts to explain everything to his wife as she’s exiting the building, but it isn’t easy. Mom isn’t so happy with Man-sik’s lies and she assumes he took her for a fool. Uh-oh. Back at the office, Yeol-chan confronts Tae-ri about the family reveal. Why didn’t she tell him? They hired the interns through blind recruitment so it’s not like it would have been a problem. However, Tae-ri was worried that it’d be weird if everyone knew that both she and her dad were interns so she simply just kept things under wrap. Yeol-chan grows even more worried. What if he and Tae-ri were to be dating? Yeol-chan would have to refer to Man-sik as ‘father-in-law.’ What would Man-sik think about that?
At that moment, Man-sik himself enters the room upon overhearing Yeol-chan say ‘father-in-law.’ Dating? His daughter and Yeol-chan? He explodes upon learning about Yeol-chan and Tae-ri’s relationship and begins to attack the General Manager furiously outside in the office. Jung-eun, Yoon-soo, Seung-jin, and Assistant Manager Oh watch as Man-sik yell at Yeol-chan for trying to date his daughter. Tae-ri holds her dad back from charging at Yeol-chan and even defends her boss. She’s already sorry enough for smooching him and then rejecting him afterwards, can her dad just stop? But the words ‘smooching’ only infuriates Man-sik even more and even the spicy chicken ramen mascot has to step in to protect our team leader. The rest of the four watch in fascination; it’s like watching a makjang drama come to life. Haha.
Yeol-chan takes a break in the restroom from all the fighting and chaos. He’s still surprised by the family reveal, but after thinking about it, it also does sort of make sense to him. While exiting the restroom, he comes across Tae-ri who also exits the women’s restroom at the same time. They bicker and blame each other for the commotion that happened back at the office. If Tae-ri was going to bring up the kiss, she might as well just tell everyone else about it too! Yeol-chan might have mentioned their kiss just a little too loudly and everyone near them overhears his comment. LOL. The two walk back to the office together and try to pretend as if nothing happened. However, Jung-eun, Yoon-soo, Seung-jin, and Assistant Manager Oh aren’t just going to let everything go. Didn’t Yeol-chan forbid dating in the workplace? Will this too affect Tae-ri’s evaluation assessment? If Tae-ri rejected Yeol-chan, doesn’t that mean that Yeol-chan still has feelings for her? The four attack Yeol-chan with a bunch of questions so Yeol-chan makes himself clear. He wanted to apologize about the comments he made regarding dating and evaluation. He didn’t mean it. As for feelings for Tae-ri, he strongly denies that he has any.
Later on that night, Tae-ri reflects on the incident that happened earlier that day in the office. Aside from all the defending she had to do against her dad, she also recalls what Yeol-chan said about him not having any more feelings for her. But wait, does she have feelings for him? Tae-ri snaps out of it and reminds herself that it’s not the time to be thinking about dating. With Mom not answering either Man-sik or Tae-ri’s phone calls, the senior intern heads over Tae-ri’s studio to sleep over for the night. They eat some dinner together first and then eventually get ready for bed. Tae-ri has a few questions she wants to ask Man-sik, but Man-sik shoots them down before she can even ask. The next day at work, Yeol-chan attempts to start fresh by asking that everyone on the team not bring up the dating scandal between him and Tae-ri. They can all pretend as if it never existed or happened. Of course, this is a lot easier said than done and Assistant Manager Oh has no trouble teasing Yeol-chan a few seconds later about it, lol.
Seung-jin reminds the interns that their evaluation is coming up so they should start preparing for their presentation assignment. Rumor has it that many other interns in the company are eager to work with senior interns. Senior interns Ok-kyung and Han-gil are widely popular amongst younger folks, but Man-sik isn’t as approachable. Just when two employees were interested in working with Man-sik on the presentation, they walk away after seeing how pushy and off-putting his behavior is. With no one prying for Man-sik, Tae-ri suggests that they can pair up and work together. For every presentation, only one person out of the pair will pass. Will Man-sik let his daughter win? However, it’s not so easy for Man-sik to give in and losing is not an option for him.
Yeol-chan meets privately with Chairman Namgoong. Chairman Namgoong wants to promote Yeol-chan as Junior Managing Director which Yeol-chan isn’t so thrilled about. It’s not a position he wants nor is it a position he feels he’s qualified for. However, Chairman Namgoong makes it clear to Yeol-chan what his role would be in all of this. There’s another person he has in mind as Managing Director and he wants Yeol-chan to serve as bait. Later on that day, Chairman Namgoong has a meeting with Joon-soo and Executive Goo. They bring up Yeol-chan’s possible promotion as Junior Managing Director which Joon-soo is still not so happy about. He hopes to still be appointed as CEO of the company for another term, but Executive Goo puts him in check. She serves as the Chair of the hiring committee who checks the qualifications of candidates for the company so she has the power and leverage to make such decisions.
Rumors about Yeol-chan’s promotion to Junior Managing Director begins to swirl in the office. But wait, there’s rumors that Yeol-chan might be promoted to Managing Director in general. Just then, Seung-jin comes running into the office to deliver another grand announcement: there will only be one permanent position available for their team. That means Jung-eun and our three interns will all have to compete against one another for the one job. Yeol-chan is upset and angry at the news and calls his colleague from the HR team for more news and updates. He learns that the decision was largely influenced by Executive Goo so Yeol-chan attempts to get in contact with her. However, she ignores his phone calls and purposely avoids any contact with Yeol-chan. Her plan is slowly coming together. Oh no.
Yoon-soo hangs out at the office late that night to get some work done. Man-sik is also there and they discuss about the presentation assignment that they have to find a partner for. Man-sik suggests that he and Yoon-soo can work together on the presentation, but Yoon-soo isn’t so accepting of the idea. Does he look easy to Man-sik? Furthermore, why does Man-sik still want a permanent job? He’s spent his entire life working and yet, here he is still trying to take their spots. The realization dawns upon Man-sik and it finally hits him. Yeol-chan watches as the two exchange the conversation from a few feet away. Once alone, Yoon-soo recalls a former internship presentation that he had to do with one of his partners. His partner ended up getting the permanent position simply for the fact that he was more outspoken about things even though it was Yoon-soo who did all the work. The experience has largely impacted Yoon-soo’s life and he doesn’t want to have to go through the same thing again.
That night, Man-sik calls Yeol-chan up for a ranting session. Why would the company pit younger folks against the senior interns? It’s not fair. Yeol-chan brings up whether someone confronted Man-sik about the presentations to which Man-sik lies that no one did. He just feels bad for competing for the job. Yeol-chan encourages Man-sik to just keep trying; he’s gotten himself this far he might as well just go through with things. Then later on, he can maybe give up his job to his younger colleagues. So with that, Man-sik does as he is recommended. He goes around the company to find himself a partner, but no one is willing to work with him on the presentation. Even his senior intern friends Ok-kyung and Han-gil decline his requests for they already have partners of their own. As Man-sik will soon come to find out, Yoon-soo is partners with Han-gil and Tae-ri is partners with Ok-kyung. Poor Man-sik!
That night, Man-sik pitches a new idea to Tae-ri. After slowly succumbing to the harsh reality that no one wants to be partners with him, Man-sik suggests that he and Tae-ri pair up. There’s only one job opening for their team anyways, they need to make sure that either him or Tae-ri will get it. With that, Tae-ri changes her mind and updates Ok-kyung on her decision to pair up with Man-sik for the presentation. The father-daughter duo are now presentation partners! Yeol-chan continues to get in touch with Executive Goo, but she’s still ignoring his calls. It’s only after she receives a call from one of her subordinates that their plans are done that she finally returns Yeol-chan’s calls. She has an update for him.
Yeol-chan and Executive Goo meet at the bar. She shows him an article that she plans on releasing the next morning about the corruption that Joonsoo Foods enacted during their internship interviews. Joon-soo purposely hired interns who were among the lowest ranks to make Yeol-chan’s life a trouble and torture. That’s why there can only be one permanent position for the team out of the 3 interns and Jung-eun. However, the interns never really had the chance of winning the permanent position anyways in the first place. It was really designed all along to be given to contract worker, Jung-eun. So wait.. then what about the 3 interns? Executive Goo reveals that they’ll have no choice but to leave the company. Of course, Yeol-chan isn’t happy or impressed with her malicious plan. Executive Goo notes that the only way for the three interns to come out of this somewhat alive is if Yeol-chan rejects the position as Junior Managing Director. Only then will she refrain from publishing the article online. Yeol-chan is to either come up with ways to save his team or he is to give in to Executive Goo’s demands.
Yeol-chan meets with Joon-soo later on that night to unleash his anger out on the CEO. Upon seeing Joon-soo, he punches him in the face and grows upset at the way he hired the interns. Does he think it’s all fun and games? Doesn’t he know how serious getting a job is? Yoon-soo and Jung-eun spend some time working on their respective presentations back at the office. While Yoon-soo takes a break to make them some ramen, Jung-eun takes a peek at his impressive and detailed presentation. She’s impressed by his work, but she’s also reminded that there’s only one job opening in their team. Meanwhile, Yeol-chan seeks legal advice and counseling from a lawyer regarding the situation with his interns. Thankfully, our three interns won’t be penalized or faced with charges since they weren’t aware of the corruption that took place. Since they also didn’t solicit anyone in order to get in, they won’t have to leave the company either. However, they will have to still participate in the investigation and be interrogated. Through the interrogation, they’ll realize they were the subjects of a corrupt recruitment process. That’s the scary part.
The next day at work, Yeol-chan watches as our three interns receive an update on their final assignments as interns. One of them includes doing a group presentation on ways that Joonsoo Foods could improve. The second is an individual project that involves completing an on-the-spot sales mission. Seung-jin clarifies that the sales mission is where you’ll be given a specific product to sell on the spot during the evaluation interview. It’s a way for the interviewers to determine how quick-witted and fast the interns are. Seeing his three interns stress about the new assignments stresses Yeol-chan himself out. It’s killing him to see how hard his interns are working while knowing that they aren’t even being considered for the permanent position in the team. Later on that day, Man-sik gives Yoon-soo some pointers on how to successfully achieve the sales mission during his interview. The trick is to get the interviewers to make it seem like they’ll need the product even if they claim that they don’t. Man-sik also reminds Yoon-soo not to look too desperate to the higher-ups. It doesn’t look good. Meanwhile, Jung-eun works on her presentation later on that day after work. She keeps replaying the moment she saw Yoon-soo’s presentation in her mind and it begins to bother her. However, she removes those bothersome moments out of her mind and she meets up with her boyfriend later on that night to spend some time together.
Yoon-soo eventually addresses the elephant in the room. They’re both fighting for a spot for a permanent position in their team, do they think having a relationship is still possible and realistic? Yoon-soo’s afraid that he might despise their relationship and even blame it as the reason for losing. Jung-eun is grateful for Yoon-soo bringing up the topic first and agrees with him. The thought has also been playing in her mind and she too wanted to talk about breaking up. They both agree that separating is the best decision for the both of them for now. Aww. This was the most calm and peaceful break-up ever. Can’t there be more break-ups like this in K-dramaland?
Tae-ri meets up with Joon-soo at a playground to talk. After gifting her with some candy, he questions her on how she would feel if she got the permanent job not because of her qualifications but because of, say, external factors? Tae-ri wouldn’t be so happy with the news. Yes, she would have a job, but she would want to earn it fair and square – not because of other factors. Joon-soo takes her response into consideration and grows even more conflicted. Back at his house, Yeol-chan communicates his decision to Executive Goo. He’ll withdraw from the Junior Managing Director position. Executive Ahn and Man-sik have another round of drinks together. Executive Ahn is still disappointed and bummed out over the fact that Man-sik betrayed them by not following their plans. If he just stuck through with things, then maybe things would have been different by now. Man-sik argues that Executive Ahn isn’t so innocent himself either. He sucks up to Chairman Namgoong and tries to act like his sidekick.
All of our interns – both senior and young – practice for their presentation while Jung-eun is also focused on her own assignments. Yoon-soo and Han-gil practice together at the office while Man-sik and Tae-ri practice back at her studio. Tae-ri’s a bit curious as to why her dad is making her the main character of their presentation when he himself is an expert at presentations. Man-sik doesn’t say much back and remains quiet. Tae-ri vows to work hard and get a job at the company so that they both can eventually work at the company. And so our interns continue to practice for their upcoming final presentation and interview. Like they usually say, practice makes perfect.
And so it’s time for the final evaluation of our interns. The first part of the interview is the sales mission where each intern is given a specific product at random to sell to the interviewers. As a salesman himself with 30 years of experience, Man-sik easily succeeds with his mission. He manages to successfully “sell” his product, a cellphone, to Executive Ahn on the interview committee. Man-sik passes. Yoon-soo also takes his turn by having to sell an umbrella to Executive Goo. Yoon-soo recalls Man-sik’s words of advice about the sales mission and remembers how he needs to make it seem like the interviewer needs the product that he’s selling even if they think they don’t. So with that, Yoon-soo brings out a hose and aims it at Executive Goo. LOL. Of course, this gives Executive Goo no choice but to grab the umbrella in front of her and use it to protect her from getting soaked. Man-sik’s advice works and Yoon-soo succeeds. Too funny! Ok-kyung is up next and she too succeeds when she manages to sell her product of rice to Joon-soo. Our interns were prepared for their evaluation!
Back at the office, Jung-eun submits her performance record online and waits anxiously for both her results as well as results to the evaluation that our interns are undergoing. She makes sure to show her support to Yoon-soo by sending him an encouraging text. It’s finally Yoon-soo and Han-gil’s turn to present. Han-gil starts off by properly crediting Yoon-soo for putting the presentation together and doing most of the work. The senior intern is just simply there to assist Yoon-soo with the presentation. And so senior intern Han-gil presents some findings and research that Yoon-soo put together. The interviewers are so impressed with the presentation they ask Yoon-soo for additional information about the company that was introduced in the presentation. Yoon-soo reveals that he contacted the company himself and had Yeol-chan schedule a meeting with the distribution company just a few days ago. Good work, Yoon-soo!
Tae-ri and Man-sik’s presentation about renewing their packages and coming up with a new marketing strategy is also met with great responses. Joon-soo is the most impressed and supportive of the team out of everyone there in the room, lol. Just when things are looking great for our interns, the situation quickly turns grave and goes downhill. A detective from the Intellectual Crime Team enters the interview room in search of Tae-ri, Man-sik, and Yoon-soo. They are to be interrogated for being involved with the recruitment corruption that Joonsoo Foods elicited with their internship. While everyone else remains alarmed and confused at the news, Executive Goo hides a smile under her face. Yeol-chan is infuriated at Executive Goo’s betrayal and decision to still publish the article despite him turning down the Junior Managing Director position. All hell is about to break loose.
My Thoughts:
Oh nooooo! Not our interns! Not our innocent, silly, and hard-working interns who are just trying to get a job at the company! It’s unfortunate that they’re simply being set up as the scapegoats in between all of the office politics and commotion. It sucks that they don’t even know what kind of antics and strategies the higher-ups are pulling on them, but it hurts even more to see them work so hard in hopes of earning that permanent position at the company that they have no chance of getting. Just like Yeol-chan said, it’s not a joke for our interns who are pouring in their blood, sweat, and tears into the internship program. To them, this is the one shot that they’ve been waiting for. To them, this is their only shot at a job and who knows what’s in store for them after this internship. They’re doing everything they can to win while also trying to help one another out in the process. Don’t do this to our interns T___T
Although the drama hasn’t been the easiest to watch because of its random decisions and new confusing sub-plots being thrown and inserted into the show, I appreciate how the drama adjusts to its new situations. Sure, the whole Man-sik and Tae-ri family line was super random and unnecessary, but I liked the way that the drama moved on with it in this episode. Tae-ri and Man-sik kept things a secret and then had to explain things once they were exposed and even came around to working together on the presentation. Again, I’m not a big fan of how Tae-ri and Man-sik’s reveal as father and daughter came so late into the show (it felt like the drama didn’t know what else to do so it went with this option), but it was fun watching everyone’s reaction to the reveal. ‘Kkondae Intern’ has proven that if there’s anything the drama does well, it’s the way that it works well with whatever it’s got. The drama doesn’t always make sense, but it remains entertaining to watch nonetheless and this episode was no exception.
I wished Executive Goo wasn’t set up as another enemy in this drama. I wished she remained on Yeol-chan’s side this entire time and that she was working behind the scenes to actually help him and his team. I get that her decisions and actions proves how loyal and caring Yeol-chan is to his team and she kind of serves as the catalyst to that. However, Yeol-chan already has enough enemies in the company that setting Executive Goo up to also be one was disappointing and discouraging. It makes sense from a company standpoint because everyone is vying for that Chairman position, but it’s also so sad to see Yeol-chan only have his team to rely on. No one from upper management is on his side to support him. They’re all working against him and, in return, this affects his team who are all innocent and clueless in all of this. I do admit that it was interesting to see the impact that Executive Goo now has in Yeol-chan’s life. In the beginning, she made it seem like she was working with Yeol-chan, but then we saw her working more discreetly and quietly behind the scenes against him. Now, her plans are put into action and she’s the most threatening one against Yeol-chan. Joon-soo and Executive Ahn were more explicit in their plans to overthrow Yeol-chan, but it is ultimately Executive Goo who Yeol-chan has to also worry the most about.
Another good point that was brought up in this episode was the way the senior interns were viewed in regards to the final evaluations. The reason as to why they were so popular were because the younger folks in the company knew they would be at more of an advantage in passing their evaluation if they were paired up with a senior intern than say someone else of the same age as them. That’s not to say that the senior interns aren’t talented or competent or qualified. As we saw during the sales mission round, Ok-kyung was clearly capable of succeeding and she knew her stuff! She knew what she had to do to pass. However, there’s also a lower chance that companies will go through with hiring someone much older. They’re more willing to invest in someone younger who might possess more knowledge and who might stay at the company for a much longer time than say a senior intern.
With that being said, Yoon-soo’s comment about Man-sik competing for the permanent job was so interesting. Man-sik doesn’t see himself as a senior intern although everyone else perceives him as one. Yoon-soo’s comment and observation was a wake-up call for Man-sik who realized that maybe he is doing too much. Man-sik is simply in this for the same reasons that Yoon-soo and his daughter are, but he never cared to think about his age and how his experiences might aid him. Like Yoon-soo mentioned, Man-sik has been doing this for the past 30 years. He’s had everything he’s wanted back when he was with Ongol Foods while Yoon-soo and Tae-ri are struggling to even start their first year. They’re struggling to get their foot in the door and then to have to compete against someone who’s had 30 years of experience only makes things more difficult. Of course, that doesn’t mean that Man-sik himself isn’t struggling either. Yes, he’s worked for three decades, but he’s also much older so he’s also at a disadvantage. He had to work hard in order to prove himself worthy and helpful to the team and he’s had plenty of hurdles he had to jump over to get to where he is at the moment. Man-sik thinks he’s as deserving as the others are in the fight for this job and that he too deserves a chance to earn the permanent position. I get where both sides are coming from and there’s not necessarily one side I’m rooting for more than the other. I think both Yoon-soo and Man-sik have valid thoughts and feelings about the internship process and they both have advantages in all of this.
I’m unsure as to what’s going to come out of this investigation and who’s going to earn the permanent position in the end (and yet, I don’t even want to try to predict because of how unpredictable this drama is). I’ve read comments about how Yeol-chan should leave Joonsoo Foods and create another ramen company with his team which I don’t think would be too bad of an idea. He and his team has worked way too hard and has fought against one another as well as outsiders way too many times to just settle and lose in the end. They deserve better than this. They deserve to all have permanent jobs and to not be the scapegoats for higher-ups who are incompetent and spiteful with their attempts to gain power. Yeol-chan shouldn’t be putting up with Executive Ahn, Executive Goo, and Joon-soo’s childish antics to gain the position as Chairman. I want our team to be treated better in a company that actually cares for them and wants them in the company. As we saw in the past episodes and in this episode, our three interns are clearly capable of holding things down and have proven their capabilities in several ways. To lose one of them would be a loss for everybody. I’m hoping there’s a way where all three interns as well as Jung-eun will stay in the end so that our team remains intact and the same. Yeol-chan is going to fight until the end to keep his team the way they are and it’s clear he’s not going to back down. It won’t be easy, but Yeol-chan isn’t going down without a fight. The current situation that he and his team has been thrown in only further proves just how loyal and committed he is to making sure that both he and his team succeeds. Just like in the past, they’re going to overcome this challenge together. Yeol-chan and the Sales and Marketing Team is here to stay.
Extra screenshots from the episode~
MaryMeKpop 