Business Proposal tells the story of an office worker (Kim Se Jeong) who pretends to be her friend to go on a blind date which turns out to be the CEO (Ahn Hyo Seop) of her company.

Kim Se Jeong plays Shin Ha Ri.  Her close friend asks her to go on a blind date for her, which she agrees to, but the date turns out to be the CEO of the company she works at which causes a host of problems for her.

Ahn Hyo Seop is Kang Tae Moo. He is the CEO of Ha Ri’s company who is constantly working. He reluctantly goes on a blind date to please his grandfather and finds himself drawn to Ha Ri.


We then have Yeong Seo (Seol In Ah) who is the wealthy friend of Ha Ri and Sung Hoon (Kim Min Kyu) who is Tae Moo’s friend and secretary. Finally, there is Kang Da Goo (Lee Deok Hwa) who is Tae Moo’s grandfather. Lee Deok Hwa was hilarious here, and I really got a kick out of this character.

Business Proposal is an all-around fun romantic comedy. We get romance, humor, heart, and just a side of drama. It contains a fair amount of rom-com tropes, but it delivers them in a refreshing way and nails the overall execution.

If you like your dramas lower on the angst, this drama is a great fit. We get those moments of misunderstandings, character difficulties, and relationship issues, but for the most part, things get worked through in a decent amount of time without over-the-top dramatics.

Our main romance between Ha Ri and Tae Moo was very enjoyable. It may look like a typical rich guy/poor girl situation, but in many ways the relationship felt very normal. Yes, we get some cliche moments, but many times the story would present some of these classic set-ups in unique ways that actually felt natural. Like if were to happen in real life.

So we get to see the wealthy and very kind Tae Moo fall for the hard-working and spirited Ha Ri. It’s a fun progression as they start off with Tae Moo not knowing Ha Ri’s real identity. We go through several stages as he learns more, and it was very nice watching him fall for her.

There are also quite a few swoony moments to enjoy throughout this romance. I have to say, I always thoroughly enjoyed this couple. They were interesting individually, but I loved them together. Their romance was very satisfying.

Our secondary romance between Da Goo and Yeong Seo was also nice. They have a very different dynamic than the main couple, and had quite a few challenges to go through, but I quite enjoyed seeing this relationship progress.

Business Proposal also features both a great bromance as well as a fantastic girlmance. Tae Moo and Da Goo had been friends since they were young, and I liked their interactions. Ha Ri and Yeong Seo were also long-time friends. Their relationship was a lot of fun, I thoroughly enjoyed their fun and supportive friendship.

There are some things you kind of have to just roll with in this drama with the main one being people’s inability to recognize Ha Ri when she wasn’t dressed up as her fake persona.

Of course, it’s completely obvious who she is, but people just don’t see it. You kind of have to think of it like no one being able to recognize Clark Kent as Superman just because he took off his glasses. Just go with it, hehe.

The drama is only 12 episodes which for the most part was a good thing. But I do think it could have even been longer which would have allowed the drama to flesh out a few of the storylines a bit more. Several story points are kind of glossed over, and the ending felt a bit rushed. But overall, the shorter episode count kept things tight which is always a plus.

Business Proposal is entertaining from start to finish. The drama flew by with the 12 episodes delivering excellent pacing.  The characters were engaging, the story entertaining, and the romance very satisfying. A fun drama all around.

My Rating: 8/10

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12 responses to “Business Proposal Korean Drama Review”

  1. sovietredstar Avatar

    Okay, it’s now on my “to watch” list.

    1. Kay Avatar

      Yay! I hope you enjoy it when you get to it. It’s pretty standard by most metrics, but it’s a wonderful example of how to execute a romantic comedy 🙂

  2. kfangurl Avatar

    Glad you enjoyed this one, Kay.. It really was so slurpy and fun, at its best! 😍

    1. Kay Avatar

      Yes, it was such a fun drama! While I don’t mind tropes and cliches in general, I still love seeing a drama execute them in a way that feels fresh and different. Very slurpy indeed 😅

  3. Kate Avatar

    I agree with your take that “this is how to execute a romantic comedy”! Sometimes it feels like kdramas want to do too much with something so basic/simple. This is on my re-watch list whenever I feel like something fun and enjoyable to pass the time. Loved the chemistry among all leads – the couples, the friends, even with the nemesis cousin who was an amazing comedic talent with her ko-nglish LOL!

    1. Kay Avatar

      Exactly! Sometimes you just need to stick to the basics and concentrate on making that good. And that can make simple and cliche actually feel refreshing sometimes 🙂 And yes, all of the leads were great here (and the cousin! lol), and I really enjoyed everyone. A very fun drama 🙂

  4. D Avatar
    D

    Great review Kay. I agree about the thing about not recognizing Ha Ri when it was so obvious but you are right it is like ‘Clark Kent’ situation – lol. It would have been better if it was 16 episodes too. 12 is too short when the drama is good like this but it was great fun. 🙂

    1. Kay Avatar

      Haha, yeah, definitely one of those things you just have to role with in a drama 😅 You know a drama is good when you actually feel like it should have been longer. That’s honestly a feat! 🙂

  5. sovietredstar Avatar
    sovietredstar

    A very good show, well worth watching. While the love story (rich guy, poor girl and disapproving family) has been told many times in different Kdrama scenarios it is the two back story romances that allow this show to stand out from the not so good Kdaramas. The secondary romance between Da Goo and Yeong Seo was given enough screen time to fully develop that romance. Even the third romance, with just short screen time, was interesting. That was the romance between the manager of Food Development Team 1 and the deputy manager. Kim Hyun-sook and Lim Ki-hong. I was okay with 12 episodes which helped the show from lagging. I just read on the internet that there will be a Business Proposal 2. If they say that on the internet we know it’s got to be true. A shout out to veteran Korean actor Lee Deok-hwa as Chairman Kang Da-goo.

    Rating 8/10

    1. Kay Avatar

      Yes, this is such a fun series. Plenty of cliches, but it executes the genre beautifully which makes it appealing. And I agree, the multiple romances really added a lot to the show.

      I also loved Lee Deok Hwa here! He’s always great. We see him play villains more, which he excels at, but I love him being more fun and comedic.

      And though I wouldn’t have minded it being longer, I agree, the 12 eps really helps keep the pacing and good and avoid in lagging in the story 🙂

  6. […] Our main romance between Ha Ri and Tae Moo was very enjoyable with nice growth and a helping of swoony moments. There’s a nice secondary romance as well as a fun bromance and girlmance. Business Proposal is entertaining from start to finish. The drama flew by with the 12 episodes delivering excellent pacing. A fun drama all around. My Rating: 8/10 (Business Proposal Review) […]

  7. […] Business Proposal is an all-around fun romantic comedy. We get romance, humor, heart, and just a side of drama. It contains a fair amount of rom-com tropes, but it delivers them in a refreshing way and nails the overall execution. The drama flew by with the 12 episodes delivering excellent pacing. A fun drama all around. […]

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