Netflix has been releasing a wide range of Korean shows, which have been received well by audiences across the globe. In 2021, Squid Game took the world by storm. The show became the platform’s biggest launch ever, amassing over 142 million household views in just four weeks.
This year, the Korean rom-com drama Business Proposal, starring Ahn Hyo-seop and Kim Se-jeong, has been dominating viewership on Netflix for the last few weeks.
The Korean drama revolves around Ha-ri, who, in disguise as her friend, shows up to a blind date to scare the guy away. Her plans, however, go awry when he turns out to be her CEO and makes a proposal. The show has been featured in Netflix’s top 10 most watched TV shows in India for five weeks now.
Who does not love a good workplace romantic-comedy show though? While clichés and romance tropes, including fake-relationships-turn-real and rich-man-falls-in-love-with-poor-woman, have been portrayed countless times in TV shows and films, a little fluff, now and then, is always welcome.
If you enjoyed Business Proposal, Silverscreen India brings you a list of seven other workspace Korean rom-com dramas to binge on.
1. What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim (Netflix)
When it comes to the boss-and-employee romance trope, What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim does it best. Lee Young-joon (Park Seo Joon) might be the vice-president of his family’s massively successful company, but that doesn’t mean he has what it takes to do a good job. His talented secretary Kim Mi So (Park Min Young), who has been working for him for nine years, has been making him look like the shining star that Young-joon believes he is. However, after Mi So suddenly decides to quit, her arrogant boss comes to realise that he cannot get on without her.
2. Suspicious Partner (Netflix)
Suspicious Partner pits the relationship of the lead couple against their careers. Noh Ji-wook is a passionate public prosecutor, while Eun Bong-hee is a rookie justice department intern, who always seems to find herself in the most unfortunate situations. When Bong-hee is falsely accused of murdering her ex-boyfriend, Ji-wook has to risk his career and reputation to save her.
3. Coffee Prince (Netflix)
Dubbed as a classic, Coffee Prince is a great workplace romance show. Han-gyeol (Gong Yoo) is an irresponsible heir to a conglomerate, who pretends to be gay so as to escape the blind dates set up by his grandmother. Soon, he receives an ultimatum from his grandmother to turn their rundown family café into a profitable venture. Hoping to attract female customers, Han-gyeol decides to hire all-male waiters. He also ends up hiring Eun-chan, a licensed taekwondo instructor, who works part time as a delivery woman, after mistaking her for a boy. Han-gyeol soon finds himself falling for Eun-chan and begins questioning his sexuality and the confusion it puts him in.
4. Her Private Life (Netflix)
Similar to Business Proposal, Her Private Life is also based on a webtoon, one titled Noona Fan Dot Com. A dedicated professional, Sung Deok-mi (Park Min-young) is an art gallery curator. However, beneath that cool, professional facade, Deok-mi carries a secret she desperately wants to keep from the world – her enthusiasm for K-pop. As her relationship with the gallery’s new art director evolves, she has to keep her fanaticism a secret from him.
5. Crazy Love (Disney+ Hotstar)
This series revolves around No Go-jin, the most popular mathematics instructor in the private education sector and the CEO of GOTOP Education, who feigns having amnesia after receiving death threats. Lee Shin-ah, a diligent and introverted employee, works as Go-jin’s secretary. When she learns that she does not have much time left to live, she pretends to be Go-jin’s fiancée.
6. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (Netflix)
The show is about Do Bong-soon (Park Bo-young), a woman who possesses monumental strength, which can only be used for good. Her one true desire is to create a video game where she appears as the main character. While she struggles to find employment as a developer, Bong-soon’s abilities help her secure a position as a bodyguard for Ahn Min-hyuk (Park Hyung-sik), the heir and the CEO of the gaming company, Ainsoft. As Bong-soon begins to help her new boss track down someone making dangerous threats against him, she finds romance and humour along the way.
7. Touch Your Heart (Netflix)
This series follows Oh Yoon-seo (Yoo In-na), a famous actress who gets caught up in a scandal with a man from a rich family. With her career declining quickly, she looks for one last hope to get back on the screen and lands a role playing a secretary in a drama written by a famous screenwriter. In order to get into character, Yoon Seo starts working as a secretary for six months under Kwon Jung-rok (Lee Dong-wook), a lawyer who is notorious for being a perfectionist.
