Lee Jun-hyuk Returns to TVING With Office Drama 'The Ordinary Jackpot'

TVING, the Korean streaming service still working to rebuild user trust after a recent personal data leak incident, is banking on a new original drama to bring viewers back. The show, The Ordinary Jackpot, flips a familiar fantasy on its head. Instead of a lottery winner walking away from the daily grind, its lead keeps showing up to the office.

A press conference for the series was held on Sept.8 at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Yongsan district, Seoul. Actors Lee Jun-hyuk, Seo Hyun-woo, Oh Dae-hwan, Hong Jin-ki, Ha Yul-ri and Baek Ye-in attended alongside director Yoon Young-bin. The office drama follows team leader Gong Eun-tae, who is grinding through brutal workdays when he wins the top lottery prize. Instead of quitting, he keeps commuting to the office, only with a very different mindset.

Lee plays Gong, a Sales Team 5 leader who pockets 1.3 billion won and still refuses to hand in his resignation. It is his second TVING lead role after Dongjae, the Good or the Bastard in 2024. Asked about the pressure of another title role, Lee said he approached the project the same way he does every job. "I give my all to every project, so I went into this one the same as any other," he said. He added that this show leaned heavily on chemistry. "Teamwork really mattered here. Getting close to the other actors helped me a lot."

Lee said he sees himself in a character who wins big and still shows up. "Eun-tae and I are both people who love our work," he said. "I sometimes wonder if my life will change if a project takes off, but in the end it stays the same, and the fact that I love this job does not change either. Even if I won the lottery or had a huge hit, I think it would be similar."

When a reporter joked that he looks too polished to play a regular office worker, Lee laughed it off. "First of all, thank you so much," he said. "I focused on Eun-tae's inner life and mindset rather than the outside." Director Yoon admitted the topic came up during casting but defended the choice. "Lee Jun-hyuk is a truly dedicated actor. He never once flubbed a line on set. His work ethic goes beyond his looks."

Seo plays Yang Jun-ho, a Sales Team 5 member who joined the company before Gong but has been stuck as an assistant manager for years. He spirals when a younger colleague is promoted to team leader over him. "He gets along fine with the rest of the team," Seo said. "The key is how he works out his relationship with Gong Eun-tae."

Their dynamic starts as a classic love-to-hate pairing before shifting toward partnership. Seo, who shares more scenes with Lee than anyone else, drew laughs when he described their rapport. "It felt like we were married. That is how in sync we were."

The offbeat lineup of Sales Team 5 was pitched as a kind of family. Seo compared the set to "a family gathering on Chuseok." He added, "Everyone wants different things and is chasing different goals, but watching how they cooperate to keep the team running should be part of the fun."

Oh takes on Jung Sun-hyuk, the company's punching bag and the leader of Sales Team 4. Sun-hyuk has lived by the book to a fault, only to be passed over for promotion again and again. Eventually he makes a decision to protect his family. "You will have to watch the show to see where that choice leads," Oh said.

As the only actor at the event from Sales Team 4, Oh admitted to a little envy. "Being on my own on set, I kept envying the team next door," he said. "Every member of Sales Team 5 had a fully alive character, and you could feel how much fun they were having with it from the side."

On working with Lee, Oh got the room laughing again. "First of all, he is really handsome," he said. He then turned serious. "Lee Jun-hyuk is genuinely hardworking. On set and in his personal life, he is honest in every way." Praise, in other words, for more than the face.

Director Yoon said the appeal of the show lies in its structure. "The way we place reality and fantasy against each other is different from other projects," he said. "Most stories take a realistic subject and unfold it as fantasy. Ours does the opposite. That is what sets it apart."

He also shared a note from the set. "There were several times when actors said, 'I think this line would sound better coming from someone else,' and gave up their own dialogue," Yoon said. "And there were times someone said, 'I think this line would sound better if I did it,' and took it. That only happens when a cast is really close and the chemistry is good. I was grateful that everyone gave themselves to the project."

"The Ordinary Jackpot" premieres early on TVING on Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. KST. It airs on tvN on Sept. 14 at 9 p.m. KST.