If you thought a powerful conglomerate chairman adjusting to intern life was already delicious drama — wait until he has to sit through his first Korean corporate hoesik (team dinner) while watching his own daughter run around filling glasses. JTBC’s Reborn Rookie just dropped fresh stills, and things are about to get very entertaining.
Reborn Rookie: Overview
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Network | JTBC |
| Genre | Fantasy / Corporate / Soul Swap |
| Lead Actor | Lee Jun Young |
| Character | Hwang Jun Hyun / Kang Yong Ho |
| New Episode Airs | June 7, 2026 at 10:30 PM KST |
| Watch On | Viki (with subtitles) |
The Setup: A Chairman Trapped in a Rookie’s Body
Reborn Rookie centres on Kang Yong Ho, the iron-fisted chairman of Choiseong Group, one of Korea’s most powerful conglomerates. After a freak accident, his soul is swapped into the body of Hwang Jun Hyun — a young soccer player whose career was cut short by a hit-and-run. Now stuck in a 20-something athlete’s body, the chairman is forced to start over as a lowly intern at his own company.
The concept brilliantly blends Korean corporate culture with a classic soul-swap fantasy — and the comedic tension of a CEO pretending to be clueless while secretly pulling strings from the bottom rung is absolutely irresistible.
What Happens at the Team Dinner?
The newly released preview stills for the upcoming episode show Kang Yong Ho attending a company hoesik for the very first time — but from the employee’s side of the table, not the head of it.
Here’s where it gets emotionally charged: he spots his youngest daughter Kang Bang Geul (Lee Ju Myoung) busily running around filling the glasses of senior employees. For a man who once commanded boardrooms, seeing his daughter reduced to this — not out of joy but out of workplace obligation — visibly unsettles him. The stills capture Lee Jun Young’s expression perfectly: it’s the cold, disapproving glare of a father, not the wide-eyed awe of a rookie intern.
But what makes this scene even more compelling is his sudden self-awareness. Having now experienced office life from the ground up, Kang Yong Ho is genuinely disturbed by how Korean drinking culture at these gatherings functions less like a celebration and more like an extension of the work hierarchy — where juniors feel pressured to keep pouring and seniors feel entitled to keep drinking.
His response? Completely unpredictable. Rather than staying quiet, he challenges the division head to a full-blown drinking showdown, with bottles lined across the table and colleague Park Bong Gi (Lee Sung Wook) watching in wide-eyed disbelief.
Previously on Reborn Rookie
To recap the drama so far — after the accident, Hwang Jun Hyun (Kang Yong Ho’s soul) boldly demanded an internship at Choiseong Group as compensation for his ruined career. From day one, he has been secretly working to hand the company over to the real Hwang Jun Hyun while simultaneously exposing the corruption of his own children — treacherous daughter Kang Jae Gyeong (Jeon Hye Jin) and scheming son Kang Jae Seong (Jin Goo).
It’s part revenge fantasy, part father-daughter drama, part workplace comedy — and it’s working beautifully.
Why You Should Be Watching This
Reborn Rookie is shaping up to be one of JTBC’s most layered dramas of 2026. Lee Jun Young is doing impressive work toggling between the physicality of a young footballer and the authority of a seasoned chairman. The team dinner episode looks set to be a highlight, balancing genuine emotion with sharp comedic timing.
For more K-drama episode previews and Korean entertainment updates, check out TechnoSports’ Korean entertainment coverage and our latest K-drama news.
