If you’ve ever watched everyone around you succeed while you stood still, JTBC’s upcoming drama We Are All Trying Here might feel uncomfortably personal. The show just dropped its first title poster, and the imagery alone is enough to stop you mid-scroll.
What the Poster Shows — and What It Means
The poster centres on Hwang Dong Man (played by Koo Kyo Hwan) — a man who has spent 20 years preparing to debut as a film director, only to watch every single one of his friends in the industry circle known as “The Eight” succeed without him.
He sits hunched over and alone, looking utterly defeated. But look behind him — a massive shadow rises up and throws a punch at an invisible force. The visual says it all: on the outside he appears to have given up, but inside, a ferocious battle is still raging every minute of every day.
The production team described it as portraying the inner darkness that makes one feel worthless — and they want Dong Man’s story to serve as a message of support for anyone fighting that same battle.
We Are All Trying Here — Key Drama Details
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Korean Title | 모두가 자신의 무가치함과 싸우고 있다 |
| Network | JTBC |
| Streaming | Netflix (selected regions) |
| Premiere | April 2026 |
| Episodes | 12 (2 per week) |
| Writer | Park Hae Young (My Mister, My Liberation Notes) |
| Director | Cha Young Hoon (When the Camellia Blooms, Welcome to Samdal-ri) |
| Lead Cast | Koo Kyo Hwan, Go Youn Jung, Oh Jung Se, Kang Mal Geum, Park Hae Joon |
Why This Drama Already Has Fans Excited
This is the first leading TV drama role for Koo Kyo Hwan, who previously made a major impression in DP, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, and Netflix’s Parasyte: The Grey. Opposite him, Go Youn Jung — fresh off her acclaimed run in Can This Love Be Translated? — plays Byeon Eun Ah, a sharp-tongued film producer nicknamed “The Axe” who hides her own storms beneath a tough exterior.
But perhaps the biggest draw is the creative team. Writer Park Hae Young is the pen behind two of the most emotionally resonant Korean dramas ever made — My Mister and My Liberation Notes. Her writing has a rare ability to sit with messy, ordinary human pain and make it feel like art. Director Cha Young Hoon brings warmth and grounded storytelling after When the Camellia Blooms.
Go Youn Jung described the drama as feeling like a “black comedy sitcom set in a gray, concrete reality, filled with people who still manage to shine.” That contrast — bleak but luminous — is exactly the signature of this creative team.
As a South Korean television drama rooted in universal anxieties about failure, comparison, and belonging, We Are All Trying Here has every ingredient to become the breakout K-drama of mid-2026.
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