[K Drama] To The Moon Plot Summary & Ending Spoiler & Cast

The Korean drama To the Moon depicts, with hyperrealism, the journey of three women from humble backgrounds investing in cryptocurrency amid the harsh reality where surviving on a paycheck alone is difficult. Set against the digital asset investment boom from 2017 to 2019, the drama humorously portrays the chaotic survival story of women who view cryptocurrency as a train of opportunity to chase a slightly better life.

The main characters are office workers at a company called Marron Confectionery. Starting from the everyday worries of Jung Da-hae and her colleagues who entered through non-public recruitment, the story sharply highlights the economic pressures of modern society through the interplay of risks and fortunes in the coin market. To the Moon is notable as the first coin-themed work officially adapted into a TV drama from the original novel’s rights.

Lee Sun-bin plays Jung Da-hae, a character with a tenacious spirit; Ra Mi-ran delivers a solid performance as veteran actress Kang Eun-sang; Jo Ah-ram appears as Kim Ji-song; and Kim Young-dae adds romantic charm as former singer Ham Ji-woo. Rather than a simple investment story, To the Moon portrays the persistent human will to rise again after falling and conveys a message of hope, even amid controversies surrounding the speculative nature of the cryptocurrency market. Director Oh Da-young, known for Oh My Ladylord, and screenwriter Na Yoon-chae collaborate to deliver meticulous direction and a script that is both realistic and emotionally stirring.

To the Moon KDrama

Korean : 달까지 가자 | Japanese : 月まで行こう
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Survival in Reality
Episodes: 12
Release Date: September 19, 2025
Broadcast Schedule: Every Friday and Saturday at 9:50 PM
Directors: Oh Da-young, Jung Hoon | Writer: Na Yoon-chae
Original Work: Novel To the Moon by Jang Ryujin
Cast: Lee Sun-bin, Ra Mi-ran, Jo Ah-ram, Kim Young-dae, Um Moon-suk, Kim Kwang-sik, and others
Filming Period: Began on January 20, 2025
Production Company: Bon Factory
First Broadcast: September 19, 2025
Viewer Rating: 15+ (Suitable for ages 15 and up)
OTT: TVING Korea, Coupang Play

[K Drama] To the Moon plot summary & ending spoiler & cast

K Drama To the Moon Cast

Lee Sun-bin as Jung Da-hae / Marketing Team / Non-Open Recruitment — “I want to make money!”

She is exhausted from a life of quiet but constant poverty. Though she has lived an ordinary, unremarkable life, she feels stifled by her precarious non-open recruitment status. Following Eun-sang’s suggestion, she dives into coin investment to seize a chance at turning her life around.

Ra Mi-ran as Kang Eun-sang / Sales Team / Non-Open Recruitment — “I want to grow money!”

Because of a past incident, she has set her life’s goal on making lots of money. She has tried various businesses but failed each time, making her a so-called “bare-handed rich woman.” She becomes the ringleader who pulls Da-hae and Ji-song onto the coin investment train.

Jo Ah-ram as Kim Ji-song / Accounting Team / Non-Open Recruitment — “I want to spend money!”

The epitome of YOLO (You Only Live Once). Even with credit card debt, she never stops shopping and traveling. Guided by her motto, “If you’re pretty, everything gets forgiven,” she lives recklessly. Seeing Da-hae get swept up in coin investment, she feels threatened and eventually joins the team.

Kim Young-dae as Ham Ji-woo / Big Data TF Team / Director — “I want to dream!”

On the surface, he looks like a perfect elite director, but in reality, he is a former idol who once dreamed of becoming a singer. Meeting Jung Da-hae, who still remembers his music, helps him rediscover his lost dreams and hopes.

To the Moon plot summary

Da-hae, Eun-sang, and Ji-song become close friends after joining Marron Confectionery through non-regular (non-public) recruitment around the same time. Because the few new employees hired through non-regular routes were subtly treated like “dirt spoons” with no solid background, the three grow even more tightly bonded. Although their personalities differ, they share common struggles: each has family debts still unpaid, lives in inexpensive and unpopular neighborhoods, rents rather than owns, and resides in one-room apartments.

Amid unstable job environments, meager wages, and implicit discrimination from public recruitment employees, the three find comfort by daily connecting in group chats and meeting at quiet cafes not far from the office to share real-time updates on their team’s happenings. At first, Da-hae thought of company colleagues only as people who give tasks or evaluate her, but after getting to know Eun-sang and Ji-song, she experiences friendship at work.

Because they work in different departments without direct conflicts or the need to evaluate one another, the three also discover another commonality: they each received a “fair” (normal – meets expectations) rating four consecutive times in their job evaluations that determine salary increases. The company’s five-tier rating system consists of “Outstanding,” “Excellent,” “Meets Requirements,” “Below Requirements,” and “Supplementary.” It was rumored that “Outstanding” and “Excellent” ratings were rarely given to non-public recruits. Da-hae, who did not believe this at first, felt disillusioned when she got “Meets Requirements” four times in a row.

A “Meets Requirements” rating corresponds to a 2% salary raise, but at the time inflation was 2.6%, effectively resulting in a pay cut. Their group chat was named “Three ‘Fair’ Non-Public Recruits.” In May 2017, when the calm and rational Eun-sang kept smiling mysteriously, Da-hae and Ji-song asked why. Eun-sang admitted she was making a big profit through cryptocurrency investment.

Eun-sang had invested in Ethereum, which cost 13,950 won per coin then, and she suggested buying it now during a market dip to make significant gains later. Ji-song worried, warning “It could be a disaster, sister,” but Eun-sang encouraged her, calling herself a “soon-to-be big shot.”

Da-hae’s one-room apartment, where she had lived for four years, had no thresholds between the entrance and the main room or between the room and bathroom, so dirt from her shoes easily rolled inside, and wastewater from the bathroom sometimes seeped into the living space. While one-room implies a single room, Da-hae felt this integrated layout was excessive.

Longing to live in a separated one- or two-room apartment, she searched for a new home before her lease expired and found a “1.2-room” place—still one room but with just enough space to place a bed separately. Moving there required a deposit of 20 million won and about 350,000 won more monthly including rent and interest. To afford this, Da-hae started investing in crypto…

She initially invested 3 million won in Ethereum and, as prices began to rise, went all in by using all her savings, bank accounts, subscription savings, and retirement funds. Her total assets grew to 49.7 million won, and Eun-sang’s grew to 390 million won. Da-hae even took out loans to invest and soon found her daily life revolving around monitoring the Ethereum price chart. Despite anxiety, Eun-sang encouraged her, “Let’s go to the moon,” and they endured together as prices continued rising. Da-hae finally started feeling relieved after repaying her student loans.

Meanwhile, Ji-song adamantly refused to talk about crypto, fearing the money the others invested could become worthless overnight. Later, the three planned a summer vacation trip to Jeju Island. Since Ji-song had no money, Da-hae bought her plane ticket and Eun-sang paid for the lodging and other expenses.

Upon arrival, Ji-song’s hot pink fabric suitcase soon lost all its wheels and became tattered, while Eun-sang’s expensive suitcase proudly stood out. Ji-song was upset that Da-hae and Eun-sang constantly checked prices on their phones during the trip, but accepted it when reminded it was a free vacation.

Ji-song majored in accounting in high school and worked as an accountant for five years in a small company before being hired as an office operator to assist with settlement work at Marron Confectionery. Her pay was significantly lower than others’, excluded from bonuses or performance pay, and she received no holiday gifts—leading to a bleak life situation. Though she wanted to surf and visit her Taiwanese boyfriend from a university trip every two months, she sacrificed those dreams under harsh realities.

Realizing she lived the toughest life among the three, with many wants and few resources, Ji-song eventually joined the crypto team after some inner conflict during the Jeju trip. Along with the Ethereum gifted by Eun-sang, she invested her savings, deposit, and overdraft account fully.

The three later commemorated Ethereum breaking the 1 million won mark by getting matching rocket-shaped friendship tattoos and cheering, “To the moon!”

When Da-hae first bought Ethereum, only Eun-sang among their circle knew what it was; even internet searches yielded no information. In recent months, Ethereum gained media attention, and even Marron Confectionery employees became curious. Eun-sang now believes it is time to sell…

To the Moon ending spoiler

In January 2018, Eun-sang and Da-hae sold their Ethereum when the price reached 2 million won, while Ji-song held out longer and sold at 2.37 million won. Ultimately, Ji-song earned 240 million won, Da-hae 320 million won, and Eun-sang an astounding 3.3 billion won. After this huge success within just eight months, Eun-sang quit her job, bought a building in Seongsu-dong, becoming a landlord, and firmly rejected her ex-husband’s proposal for reconciliation.

Ji-song, dreaming of entrepreneurship, prepared to open a brown sugar milk tea shop. Da-hae moved out of her 1.2-room apartment to a leased apartment with a separate living room, kitchen, and veranda, and purchased a compact SUV on a five-year installment plan, a price well beyond her previous annual salary. What felt like pouring water into a bottomless pit before was completely transformed by the 320 million won jackpot. Finally free from paying rent and interest, after six years she started to save money steadily from her salary alone.

In the summer of 2018, while working on remaining tasks over the weekend, Da-hae struggled to get her ice tray out from a freezer filled like a Tetris game with ice trays bought by employees due to the ongoing heatwave, which even caused disputes over ice. Meanwhile, on the 8th floor where the executives work, Da-hae saw a coffee machine using premium beans and an ice maker filled with solid cube ice. She scooped silver ladles full of ice and packed her tumbler so tightly she couldn’t close the lid, ending the scene.

Elsewhere, Eun-sang, irritated when a car salesperson recommended a C-Class, ended up buying a Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

Interpretation of the ending of “To the Moon” novel

Da-hae, Ji-song, and Eun-sang each arrive at their own “moon”—initially satisfied with their lives but gradually realizing there is a bigger world out there. The protagonist Da-hae escapes the “dirt spoon” status of non-public recruitment but, upon seeing the executives’ ice machines, realizes a whole different world exists and is struck once again by her desires, concluding the story.

(For those hoping to hit the jackpot from cryptocurrency after watching the drama, please remember it’s just a drama!)