Lee Jae-wook’s summer drama Doctor on the Edge wrapped in July 2026, and fans have been asking what comes next. The answer is a Netflix horror series with a job ad that sounds too good to be true. If you are searching for the Lee Jae-wook new drama, you probably want three things: the title, the date, and where to press play.
Netflix has now answered all three, but the details are scattered. The show changed its English title, the character names appear in two spellings, and some sites list different directors. This guide puts the confirmed facts in one place and marks what Netflix has not said yet.
Lee Jae-wook’s new drama is Dead-End Job, a Netflix mystery-horror series that premieres on Friday, October 30, 2026, only on Netflix. Netflix announced the date on September 30, 2026. The show was first announced in April 2025 under the working title Perfect Job.
Dead-End Job release date and what Netflix confirmed
Netflix set the premiere on September 30, 2026. The Netflix newsroom announcement released a teaser poster and teaser trailer with the date. It ends with one line that matters most for fans: Dead-End Job premieres October 30, only on Netflix.
Many English articles about the show appeared in the first week of October. Those are follow-up stories, not the first report. The table below lists each official step in order, so you can see which facts are new and which date back to 2025.
| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| April 29, 2025 | Netflix announces production under the title Perfect Job, with the full main cast | Netflix newsroom |
| August 25, 2026 | Busan International Film Festival names the series for its On Screen section | Soompi report |
| September 30, 2026 | Netflix confirms the October 30 premiere, teaser poster and teaser trailer | Netflix newsroom |
| October 3, 2026 | Korean outlets report four special appearances | Korean press |
| October 30, 2026 | Global premiere on Netflix | Netflix newsroom |
Netflix has not posted an exact release hour. Its English announcement also does not give an episode count. Korean outlets, including Wikitree’s report on the main trailer, say the series has 8 episodes and that all of them arrive at once on October 30. Treat 8 episodes as reported, not as a number from Netflix itself.
The Netflix title page lists the show as a 2026 horror series with a 19+ rating in Korea. Its genre tags are TV Mysteries, TV Horror and K-Dramas. The October 30 date falls on a Friday, the day before Halloween.
What Dead-End Job is about, without spoilers
Lee Jae-wook plays Hyeok-jun, a young man drowning in debt. He answers a strange flyer and ends up at the Spider Staffing Agency. The pay starts at 50 times the minimum hourly wage, and there is one rule: never reveal what happens on the job.
His first posting looks like an ordinary convenience store. Netflix says he soon learns that every shift in this workplace could cost him his life. The teaser poster shows Hyeok-jun bloodied and exhausted in a wrecked store, and in the teaser trailer the agency boss talks him into taking the work.
The wage hook means more to Korean viewers. South Korea’s 2026 minimum wage is 10,320 won an hour, set by the Minimum Wage Commission. Fifty times that is 516,000 won for one hour of work, which is the kind of offer no sensible person would trust.
Korean press calls the show a livelihood horror series, a story about earning a living that turns into a nightmare. Korean reports on the main trailer describe each new job paying more and getting more dangerous. Netflix has not described the series as an adaptation of a webtoon or novel. Its 2025 announcement credits an original script by two writers.
Dead-End Job cast and characters
Netflix spells the cast names in a set way, and some sites use other spellings. The newsroom writes Ko Min-si and Lee Hee-jun, while many fan sites write Go Min-si and Lee Hee-joon. Search Netflix with the official spelling if a fan-site spelling returns nothing.
| Actor (Netflix spelling) | Character | Role in the story |
|---|---|---|
| Lee Jae-wook | Hyeok-jun | A debt-ridden young man who takes the agency’s jobs |
| Ko Min-si | Yeon-joo | An investigator digging into incidents tied to the agency |
| Kim Min-ha | Ji-yoon | Hyeok-jun’s younger sister, who believes poverty is scarier than ghosts |
| Lee Hee-jun | Mr. S | The boss of the staffing agency |
The 2025 announcement wrote the lead’s name as Hyuk-jun and called the agency Spyder Human Resource Center. The 2026 announcement uses Hyeok-jun and Spider Staffing Agency. Both refer to the same character and the same agency. Korean reports describe Ko Min-si’s Yeon-joo as an industrial accident investigator.
Four more actors join as special appearances, according to Korean reports from October 3, 2026. They are Choi Hyun-wook, Yoon Kyung-ho, Yoon Byung-hee and Cho Hyun-chul. Korean press says they play strange figures Hyeok-jun meets on different jobs. Netflix has not named their characters.
Who made Dead-End Job
Netflix credits Kim Da-min as director. She wrote the Netflix series A Killer Paradox, and Netflix’s 2025 release also mentions her festival-acclaimed film FAQ. Han Jun-hee is the series creator who led the overall creative development, and his past work includes Weak Hero Class 2 and D.P.
Some English sites list Kim Da-min and Han Jun-hee as co-directors. Netflix’s own announcement does not say that. It names Kim Da-min as director and Han Jun-hee as creator, so this guide follows Netflix. The 2025 release credits the script to Kyeong Min-sun, who wrote Urban Myths and Tarot, and Lee Shin-ji, who wrote Concrete Utopia.
Lee Jae-wook’s recent dramas before Dead-End Job
Netflix’s 2025 release introduced him through Alchemy of Souls and Search: WWW. His recent run has moved between fantasy, thriller and romance. The list below runs from newest to oldest, using the English titles under which each show was released.
- Doctor on the Edge (2026) — ENA medical drama that premiered on June 1, 2026. He plays Do Ji-eui, a public health doctor sent to a remote island.
- Last Summer (2025) — KBS2 romance that began on November 1, 2025, with Choi Sung-eun.
- Dear Hongrang (2025) — Netflix Joseon-era mystery released in May 2025, where he plays the title character.
- The Impossible Heir (2024) — Disney+ series in which he plays Han Tae-oh.
- Alchemy of Souls (2022) — tvN fantasy series, available on Netflix in many regions.
Dear Hongrang and Dead-End Job are both Netflix series. Netflix fans can watch both shows on one account, while Doctor on the Edge and The Impossible Heir aired on other services.
A Busan preview before the Netflix release
The series has a festival stop first. Soompi reported on August 25, 2026 that the Busan International Film Festival picked Dead-End Job for its On Screen section. The festival runs from October 6 to 15, 2026, so Busan audiences see it before the global release.
The other two On Screen dramas are The Remarried Empress on Disney+ and Blue Road on Netflix. BIFF has not said in this report how many episodes it will screen. Most international viewers should wait for October 30 and watch the full run on Netflix.
How to watch Dead-End Job on October 30
You need a Netflix subscription in a region where the title is listed. Netflix tagged its announcement as Global, and the show already has a public title page. Open that page now and tap Remind Me, and Netflix will tell you when it goes live in your region.
If horror is not your genre, October still has plenty of choices. Our upcoming Korean dramas guide covers what else is left in 2026. Our streaming service comparison shows which platforms carry which shows.
Lee Jae-wook new drama FAQ
What is Lee Jae-wook’s new drama?
It is Dead-End Job, a Netflix mystery-horror series. It premieres on October 30, 2026, only on Netflix.
Is Dead-End Job the same show as Perfect Job?
Yes. Netflix announced it in April 2025 as Perfect Job. Dead-End Job is the final English title on Netflix.
How many episodes does Dead-End Job have?
Korean outlets report 8 episodes, all released at once. Netflix’s English announcement does not state a count, so check the title page on launch day.
Who does Lee Jae-wook play in Dead-End Job?
He plays Hyeok-jun, a young man drowning in debt. He takes jobs paying 50 times the minimum wage from a mysterious staffing agency.
Who directed Dead-End Job?
Netflix credits Kim Da-min as director. Han Jun-hee of D.P. is the series creator who led the creative development.
Is Dead-End Job based on a webtoon?
Netflix has not described it as an adaptation. The 2025 announcement credits an original script by Kyeong Min-sun and Lee Shin-ji.
