Few Korean dramas get the mix of charming right like Business Proposal. This office romance comedy is based on a webtoon. It made Ahn Hyo-seop a star and helped Netflix score a big hit with Korean dramas after Squid Game. Business Proposal is silly and, over-the-top. It knows it’s clichéd. It does not care. That’s why it was a success. Business Proposal has charm and people love it.
Overview
Shin Ha-ri, a food researcher decides to go on a date. She will pretend to be her friend Jin Young-seo. Shin Ha-ri plans to be really annoying on the date so the guy will not want to see her.. Things do not go as planned. The guy on the date is Kang Tae-moo. He is the boss of the company where Shin Ha-ri works.
Kang Tae-moo has been trying to avoid getting married, to someone his grandfather wants him to marry. When Kang Tae-moo figures out what Shin Ha-ri did he makes an offer. Shin Ha-ri will pretend to be Kang Tae-moos girlfriend. This way Shin Ha-ri and Kang Tae-moo can both get out of things they do not want to do.
Key Details
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Runtime | 12 Episodes, ~60 min each |
| Genre | Romantic Comedy / Workplace Drama |
| Rating | 9.7/10 |
| Release Date | February 28, 2022 |
| Where to watch | Amazon prime, Netflix |
| Cast | Ahn Hyo-seop as Kang Tae-moo Kim Se-jeong as Shin Ha-ri Kim Min-kyu as Cha Sung-hoon Seol In-ah as Jin Young-seo |
Plot (Spoiler-Light)
So Ha-ri and Tae-moo meet because of a blind date mistake. Then they make a relationship contract.. Over time Ha-ri and Tae-moo start to have real feelings for each other. What is interesting is that Tae-moo falls in love first.
Ha-ri has a family that does not have a lot of money. Young-seo is from a family but she wants to be free from them. There is also another love story between Young-seo and Kim Min-kyus friend Sejin.
The show is about people who work together and fall in love. It is also about a person who falls for a normal person. The show is funny and nice to watch. It makes you happy, in the end even if it feels a little rushed when Ha-ri and Tae-moo and the other characters find love.
Why You Should Watch It
- If you want a romantic comedy that is not serious this show is really good at that. People who watch it and critics say it is silly and fun in a way.
- Ahn Hyo-seop is very good in this show. It made him famous. This is the show that made people outside of Korea know who Ahn Hyo-seop is.
- This show is an one to start with if you have never seen a K-drama before. Many people say this show is what got them to like K-dramas.
- The show has comedy and romance. It is easy to watch. You do not have to think much when you watch it.
- A lot of people watch this show. It is still very popular. This means you can talk to other people who, like Business Proposal or the K-drama genre and they will know what you are talking about.
Recommendations — If You Liked Business Proposal, Watch These Next
- What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim — a similar boss-employee rom-com with the same lighthearted energy.
- True Beauty — another popular webtoon-to-drama adaptation with a similar comedic romance tone.
- Crash Landing on You — for fans wanting a bigger emotional and narrative scope in the rom-com genre.
- Extraordinary Attorney Woo — for more of the workplace-drama structure, with a different genre blend.
Conclusion
Business Proposal isn’t trying to reinvent the rom-com — it knows exactly what it is and leans fully into its charm, silliness, and chemistry between its leads. Backed by breakout performances from Ahn Hyo-seop and Kim Se-jeong, it remains one of the most purely enjoyable, comfort-watch K-dramas out there, even if its plot doesn’t hold up to close scrutiny.