"Jung Eun Ji and Lee Jung Eun playing one woman across two bodies is the casting decision of 2024. Miss Night and Day earns its charm."
Miss Night and Day is the K-drama that knew exactly where to put its energy – and put most of it into Lee Jung Eun.
The premise sounds like a setup for broad fantasy comedy: a 29-year-old job-seeker gets cursed to age into her 50s every day, goes to work at a prosecutor’s office under her older form without anyone realizing she is the same person, and slowly untangles a murder mystery while falling for her boss. That description does not quite capture what Miss Night and Day actually is, which is a drama with something genuine to say about age discrimination in the Korean job market, a veteran actress given the kind of role that earns a standing ovation, and a fantasy framework used with more intelligence than the genre usually manages. It aired on JTBC in the summer of 2024 and was consistently one of the better options on the schedule during its run.
The Synopsis
Lee Mi Jin has been job-hunting for years – part-time work, failed applications, the specific exhaustion of someone who has done everything right and keeps getting told no. After a strange encounter involving a cat, she wakes up to find that sunlight transforms her into a woman in her 50s. Operating under the name Im Sun, she gets hired as an intern at the prosecutor’s office where Gye Ji Ung, a sharp-edged prosecutor with a past she gradually unravels, is working a case connected to a serial killer. Mi Jin navigates between her two identities – young at night, older by day – trying to keep both versions of herself afloat while the mystery and the feelings deepen. The drama balances the comedy of the situation with a thread of genuine social commentary about which version of the same woman the world is willing to see.
The Cast
Jung Eun Ji (Lee Mi Jin): Jung Eun Ji plays the nighttime version of Mi Jin – younger, more vulnerable, navigating the exhaustion and humiliation of a job market that has been telling her she is not quite enough for years. She handles the comedic moments with lightness and the emotional ones with enough weight that Mi Jin never becomes a footnote to her own story. Her scenes alongside Lee Jung Eun require a particular kind of trust in the other performer, and the two are clearly reading from the same script in the best possible way.
Lee Jung Eun (Im Sun): This is the performance the drama is built around. Lee Jung Eun plays the older version of Mi Jin – the same woman, same feelings, same stakes, but in a body the world treats completely differently – and she is extraordinary. The physical comedy is precise and the emotional transitions are handled with a generosity that makes Im Sun the most compelling character in a drama full of interesting characters. She makes you forget entirely that Mi Jin and Im Sun are one person, which is an achievement, and then makes you feel the full weight of that when the drama reunites them.
Choi Jin Hyuk (Gye Ji Ung): Choi Jin Hyuk finally gets a romantic lead role that suits him – a prosecutor with enough backstory and internal conflict to keep him from being just a plot device, and chemistry with both versions of the female lead that the drama earns gradually rather than declaring upfront. He is better here than the drama perhaps gets credit for.
More Than Just the Curse
What separates Miss Night and Day from a straightforward fantasy romcom is that it takes seriously the question its premise raises: what does it mean to be the same capable, intelligent, warm person – and get treated entirely differently depending on how old you appear? The drama threads this through the office dynamics, the job search storyline, and the relationship between Ji Ung and both versions of Mi Jin without being heavy-handed about it. It earns its comedy through observation rather than setup, which is a harder thing to do than it looks.
The murder mystery subplot adds structure without overwhelming the character drama – it gives Ji Ung something to do that matters and gives Mi Jin’s dual situation stakes beyond the personal. Not every element of the mystery lands with equal weight, but it integrates well enough that it does not feel grafted on.
A Note on the Romance
The romance is slower and quieter than the comedy might suggest, and viewers expecting a romance-heavy drama may find it sparser than they want. The drama is more invested in Mi Jin’s professional and personal journey than in moving the relationship forward at a satisfying pace. That is a legitimate creative choice – and it is consistent with what the drama is about – but it is worth knowing going in.
Final Thoughts
Miss Night and Day is one of the more genuinely enjoyable JTBC dramas of 2024 – funny in specific, character-rooted ways, emotionally grounded when it needs to be, and elevated at every turn by Lee Jung Eun in a role that should be talked about whenever underrated K-drama performances come up. If you have been looking for a fantasy romcom that actually uses its fantasy premise to say something, this is it. Watch it for the premise. Stay for Lee Jung Eun doing a full dance routine in a prosecutor’s office.
More C-drama and K-drama reviews at xavyandmom.com/category/asian-tv-drama/.
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