Preye
If you’re a fan of Kdramas, then you’re in good company. I live and breathe Korean dramas, and there’s nothing I love more than curling up with my favorite device and losing myself in Kdrama-land for an indeterminate period.
One Kdrama that truly tugged at my heartstrings last year was Business Proposal, and I have a feeling that fellow viewers will understand precisely why.
Starring Ahn Hyo Seop as Kang Tae Moo and Kim Se Jeong as Shin Ha Ri, this show follows the story of a young woman who poses as her friend on a blind date to deter a suitor, only to discover that he’s actually her CEO.
Business Proposal boasts some of the most popular drama tropes, as well as a talented and swoon-worthy cast.
With that in mind, I’ve put together a list of twenty other Kdramas that are sure to scratch that same itch if you enjoyed this series. Keep reading to discover your next Kdrama obsession!
1. My Secret Romance (2017)
Starring: Sung Hoon as Cha Jin Wook, Song Ji Eun as Lee Yoo Mi, and Kim Jae Young as Jung Hyun Tae.
Plot: A secret romantic relationship between Cha Jin Wook, a rich heir, and his employee, Lee Yoo Mi. Does this sound like Business Proposal? Absolutely!
My Secret Romance has a very similar plotline to Business Proposal, but the twist is that in this drama, the couple already has history together.
In quite possibly the most risqué backstory I have been privileged to watch in my history of Kdramas, the couple in My Sweet Romance had a one-night-stand three years ago when they met at a resort.
When Yoo Mi, the female lead, learns that Cha Jin Wook is her new boss, she tries to avoid running into him at their shared workspace.
If you adored how Shin Ha Ri tried to hide her face from Kang Tae Moo in the Business Proposal numerous times, then you’re going to love this!
Nutritionist Lee Yoo Mi’s attempts to please her boss, who has long figured out their history and is intent on torturing her, will no doubt remind you of Shin Ha Ri’s struggles.
2. My Girl (2005)
Starring: Lee Da Hae as Joo Yoo Rin, Lee Dong Wook as Seol Gong Chan, and Lee Joon Gi as Seo Jung Woo.
Plot: Just like Business Proposal, My Girl also starts with a contract rooted in light-hearted deception.
To fulfil his grandfather’s last wish, Gong Chan hires Yoo Rin to pretend to be his cousin and the long-lost granddaughter of his grandfather.
A bad move? Yes, but you can’t quite fault him for how much he loves his grandfather.
Love starts blooming between the ‘cousins’ when they start living under the same roof. When Gong Chan’s grandfather unexpectedly recovers, he and Yoo Rin must keep up the pretence while keeping their budding relationship a secret.
If you enjoyed the comedic scenes in Business Proposal, then you’re not going to want to miss this drama.
3. My Shy Boss (2017)
Starring: Yeon Woo Jin as Eun Hwan Ki, Park Hye Su as Chae Ro Woon, and Yoon Park as Kang Woo-Il.
Plot: My Shy Boss is another office romance not dissimilar to Business Proposal.
Eun Hwan Ki is the extremely introverted CEO of a public relation firm, and his life starts to change when the loud and extroverted Chae Ro Woon – who he has had a little crush on for a long time – is hired by his firm.
To make things worse, Hwan Ki’s meddling father creates a special division in the company in a bid to make his son more outgoing, and he’s eventually bamboozled into spearheading the group.
Suddenly, he finds himself thrust into the middle of numerous social activities and having to interact with people in close quarters every day.
To know the reality of her boss, the ever-curious Ro Woon starts to cross the boundaries that Hwan Ki has created and maintained around him over the years, and what emerges is a drool-worthy office romance.
4. Because This Is My First Life (2017)
Starring: Lee Min Ki as Nam Se Hee, Jung So Min as Yoon Ji Ho, and Park Byung Eun as Ma Sang Goo.
Plot: After a case of mistaken identity, Se Hee and Ji Ho, the male and female protagonists respectively, agree to live together for financial reasons.
However, to get rid of many social and familial expectations borne by their peculiar living situation, they sign a two-year marriage contract. Behind closed doors, they agreeably maintain their landlord-tenant relationship.
Of course, their plans to keep their relationship strictly professional and minimize interaction doesn’t go as planned, and the stoic Se Hee finds himself growing incredibly fond of Ji Ho, while the latter learns to trust Se Hee.
Like Business Proposal, the story of Nam Se Hee and Yoon Ji in Because This is My First Life grows from a fake relationship based on a contract, and I believe viewers would enjoy how their love story slowly unfolds.
5. What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim (2018)
Starring: Park Seo Joon as Lee Young Joon, Park Min-young as Kim Mi So, and Lee Tae Hwan as Lee Sung Yeon.
Plot: Being self-obsessed and perfectionist, intimidating his employees, and persistently chasing his love interest despite getting rejected multiple times – seems like Kang Tae Moo of Business Proposal learned it all from Lee Young Joon.
The self-obsessed wealthy heir, Lee Young Joon, thinks that any girl would be happy to date or marry him.
Much to his surprise, his secretary Kim Mi So rejects him – time and time again. But, he’s nothing if not persistent, and he doesn’t relent in his pursuit of Mi So, which leads to a secret office romance that is still considered one of the most popular dramas in the genre of Kdrama office rom-com.
6. Youth Of May (2021)
Starring: Lee Do Hyun as Hwang Hee Tae, Go Min Si as Kim Myung Hee, and Lee Sang Yi as Lee Soo Chan.
Plot: Youth of May is a drama set in the 1980’s that tells the story of medical student Hwang Hee Tae and nurse Kim Myung Hee. The beginning of this drama is sure to remind you of Business Proposal.
Myung Hee appears for a blind date with Hee Tae in place of her friend and tries to ruin the date by pulling out every extreme trick in her book. Later, Hee Tae learns the truth about his fake date but ends up falling in love with her.
However, the wheel of fate takes an unexpected turn, and they find themselves in the middle of the Gwangju Uprising.
7. Jugglers (2017)
Starring: Baek Jin Hee as Jwa Yoon Yi, Choi Daniel as Nam Chi Won, and Kang Hye Jung as Wang Jeong Ae.
Plot: Like Kang Tae Moo of Business Proposal, the male lead of this drama, Nam Chi Won, is a wealthy boss with severe childhood trauma.
After an office dinner, Nam Chi Won drops his secretary at her home and, while doing so, discovers that his secretary’s house is connected to the root of his trauma.
To overcome his trauma and uncover the secrets hidden in the past, he becomes his secretary’s neighbour. Similar to Business Proposal, this stoic and detached boss falls in love with his secretary, who helps him recover from his trauma.
8. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (2017)
Starring: Park Bo Young as Do Bong Soon, Park Hyung Sik as Ahn Min Hyuk, and Ji Soo as In Guk Doo.
Plot: After a series of unfortunate events, the ultra-strong Do Bong Soon starts working as a bodyguard and hired muscle for Ahn Min Hyuk, the CEO and heir of a big gaming company.
Their boss-employee relationship blossoms into a workplace romance, as they find themselves in close quarters during the day and are thrown into different dangerous situations.
Like Shin Ha Ri in Business Proposal, Do Bong Soon has been dealing with a one-sided love for many years, and she has a secret that she must hide from not just the people in the office but everyone.
Also See: Best Of The Best Korean Dramas Like Strong Woman Do Bong Soon
9. Rich Man (2018)
Starring: Kim Jun Myeon as Lee Yoo Chan, Ha Yeon Soo as Kim Bo Ra, and Oh Chang Seok as Min Tae Joo.
Plot: Rich Man is an office romance drama just like Business Proposal. It tells a story of – you guessed it – a wealthy man who suffers from a facial recognition disability and his employee with remarkable memory.
The story begins when Kim Bo Ra attends a recruitment meeting and gets insulted by Lee Yoo Chan, the male lead.
Unlike other attendees, she stands up to Lee Yoo Chan and ends up getting a job offer to work in his company. Soon, they’re working through his trauma and navigating an office romance that would make anyone envious.
10. Her Private Life (2019)
Starring: Park Min Young as Sung Deok Mi, Kim Jae Wook as Ryan Gold, and Jung Jae Won as Cha Shi An.
Plot: Sung Deok Mi, a chief curator in a museum, is a big fan of Cha Shi An and runs a famous fan site for her idol. Unexpected events lead to the rumours of Sung Deok Mi dating Shi An.
Now, not only is Sung Deok Mi’s career at risk, but Shi An’s crazy fans also have it out for her. To handle the situation, her boss, Ryan Gold, suggests they date to dispel all the rumours.
Like Business Proposal, this fake relationship between boss and employee eventually becomes real.
11. Coffee Prince (2007)
Starring: Yoon Eun Hye as Go Eun Chan, Gong Yoo as Choi Han Gyeol, and Lee Sun Kyun as Choi Han Sung.
Plot: The plot of this Kdrama is simple: There’s a classic case of mistaken identity, which results in a wealthy heir hiring the female lead to pretend to be his lover to escape the regular blind dates arranged by his grandmother. Does this remind you of Business Proposal? I’m sure it does.
Coffee Prince does take a different turn here, though, because the male lead assumes the female lead, a verifiable tomboy, is an actual boy when he makes this proposition.
Soon enough, they’re spending lots of time together, and a romantic relationship blooms between them.
12. Master’s Sun (2013)
Starring: So Ji Sub as Joo Joong Won, Gong Hyo Jin as Tae Gong Shil, and Seo In Guk as Kang Woo.
Plot: Pretty much like Business Proposal, Master’s Sun revolves around a deal between a boss and his employee which eventually turns into a romantic relationship. In this drama, though, there’s a twist of horror.
Tae Gong Shil, the female lead, can see ghosts, and she realizes that they disappear whenever she touches Joo Joong Won, the male lead.
This leads to a deal between them – Joo Joong Won hires Tae Gong Shil and allows her to stay around him so that he can find something from his past, and Tae Gong Shil gets the much-needed respite from the ghosts that follow her around.
If you liked Business Proposal and you’re keen on watching a Kdrama with the same vibe, then you’ll want to check Master’s Sun out. It’s an office romance – even though they work in a shopping mall – through and through, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy seeing the antics they get up to in their shared workplace.
13. Secret Garden (2010)
Starring: Ha Ji Won as Gil Ra Im, Hyun Bin as Kim Joo Won, and Yoon Sang Hyun as Choi Woo Young.
Plot: Stuntwoman Gil Ra Im and a wealthy heir, Kim Joo Woon, suddenly start waking up in each other’s body.
Having this shared secret and both being affected by this strange phenomenon, they must cooperate to live each other’s life after the body-switching.
Other than featuring the ubiquitous rich CEO, Secret Garden is also quite similar to Business Proposal in terms of the mistaken identity during their first meeting and the couple’s continuous efforts to hide the body-switching and later their relationship.
14. Love In Contract (2022)
Starring: Park Min Young as Choi Sang Eun, Go Kyung Pyo as Jung Ji Ho, and Kim Jae Young as Kang Hae Jin.
Plot: If you liked the plot of a contract-based relationship that was the central theme in Business Proposal, then you’re absolutely going to love this.
In Love In Contract, we meet Choi Sang Eun, a contract marriage master, whose full-time job is to help her clients pretend they’re in relationships (of any kind) at family events and reunions.
Due to the peculiar nature of her job, she doesn’t mind being officially divorced multiple times, as this is a natural result of her professional obligations. However, she finds herself in a pickle when she starts getting attracted to not one, but two of her clients.
If you’re like me and you live for the moment the lines start blurring in a fake relationship and the parties involved realise that they’ve become much more emotionally invested in their ‘situationship,’ then you’re going to love this drama.
15. Oh My Ghost (2015)
Starring: Park Bo Young as Na Bong Sun, Jo Jung Suk as Kang Sun Woo, and Kim Seul Gi as Shin Soon Ae.
Plot: Oh My Ghost tells the story of Na Bong Sun and her boss Kang Sun Woo, a star chef. After getting possessed by a virgin ghost Shin Soon Ae, the timid and clumsy Bong Sun turns into a confident woman with excellent culinary skills, and her chef boss starts noticing her.
Other than the boss-employee romance, the female lead living two very different lives is also similar to Shin Ha Ri’s predicament in Business Proposal.
If you want a Kdrama that’s just like Business Proposal, where you’re sure to get all the feels, Oh My Ghost should definitely be on your list.
16. Clean With Passion For Now (2018)
Starring: Kim Yoo Jung as Gil Oh Sol, Yoon Kyun Sang as Jang Seon Kyul, and Song Jae Rim as Choi Ha In.
Plot: This drama is another office rom-com like Business Proposal that you can watch on Netflix, and it revolves around a wealthy boss and his employee. Jang Seon Kyul is a clean-freak who, true to form, owns a cleaning company.
Gil Oh Sol, on the other hand, is a carefree employee who does not cringe because of a bit of dirt here and there.
After some initial resistance and repulsion (there were trying, trying times), the polar opposites end up becoming attracted to each other.
17. Protect The Boss (2011)
Starring: Ji Sung as Cha Ji Heon, Choi Kang Hee as Noh Eun Seol, and Kim Jae Joong as Cha Mu Won.
Plot: Eun Seol, the female lead, is determined to do her best in her first professional job as a secretary. But, her boss, Cha Ji Heon, seems bent on making things more complicated for her.
Trust and understanding build between over time, and they fall in love. Like Business Proposal, Ji Heon’s relationship with Eun Seol helps him recover from his phobias to become a better and more mature version of himself.
18. Crazy Love (2022)
Starring: Kim Jae Wook as Noh Go Jin, Krystal Jung as Lee Shin Ah, and Ha Joon as Oh Se Gi.
Plot: In Crazy Love, Noh Go Jin, a wealthy star tutor, pretends to suffer from amnesia after receiving a death threat in order to ferret out his enemies.
Taking advantage of this situation to wreak revenge on him for all the mental stress he caused her in the past, Lee Shin Ah, his former secretary, announces that she and Noh Go Jin had been carrying on a romantic relationship.
These incidents develop into a hilarious office rom-com that begins with a fake relationship not entirely dissimilar to the one in Business Proposal.
19. Something about 1% (2016)
Starring: Ha Seok Jin as Lee Jae In, Jeon So Min as Kim Da Hyun, and Joo Jin Mo as Lee Gyu Chul.
Plot: In order to inherit the family fortune, Jae In, a rich and self-centered heir, must get married to Kim Da Hyun, an elementary school teacher.
He then convinces Kim Da Hyun to sign a six-month fake relationship contract with him, but soon the lines start to blur.
Like Business Proposal, this drama features a fake relationship that turns real and a meddling grandfather who wants to see his grandson getting married. I’ll tell you guys this for free: this drama had me in my feels!
I mean, there were so many sweet, sweet moments, and the couple was so well-suited. If you enjoyed how fiercely independent and funny Shin Ha Ri was in Business Proposal, then you’re going to love Da Hyun.
20. She Was Pretty (2015)
Starring: Hwang Jung Eum as Kim Hye Jin, Park Seo Joon as Ji Sung Joon, and Go Joon Hee as Min Ha Ri.
Plot: Kim Hye Jin and Ji Sung Joon were childhood sweethearts before Sung Hoon had to leave. They reunite in their shared workplace, and while Sung Hoon turns into an incredibly handsome man, Hye Jin ends up inheriting frizzy hair and red cheeks from her father.
When Sung Joon returns as her boss, she gets too nervous about facing him and backs out from the opportunity to reconnect with him.
Things get more complicated when her friend Min Ha Ri is mistaken for her by Sung Hoon, leading to a fake relationship that lasts for a short time. But truth and true love have a way of coming out, regardless of a person’s intentions.
From fake relationships and mistaken identities to a love between boss and employee that thrives against all odds, She Was Pretty and Business Proposal have much in common.
And that brings us to the end of this post on Kdramas like Business Proposal. I hope that you have enjoyed my recommendations and that you’ve found your next Kdrama obsession.
Don’t forget to check the related posts below – There’s loads of other recommendations!
