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You can only pick one: Office romance

Welcome to our new feature! You can only pick one, and boy the pressure is on. The DB team will answer a new prompt in each post, and you’re invited to do the same in the comments. Ready to play?
 

You can only pick one: Office romance

 
missvictrix: This is hard, because I love office romances… but I think I’m picking Sunbae, Don’t Put on That Lipstick. Something about this romance just got to me — and it’s not only because it also had the noona romance vibes — there was just a special something in Ro-woon’s adoring gaze. There wasn’t a shred of a fraction of a chance that he would never not love our leading lady. Also, the drama used its cosmetics company backdrop to the fullest. And by that I mean they did everything they should have to bring out the squee: product testing in the office, late night prep for showcase events, last-minute fill in models (*ahem* Ro-woon), and the like. But most interesting to me, they also used the physical space of the office quite well, which is something I love to see in dramas — from the awkward conference room doorway, to the secret glances over their desk pod, to the stairwell where sunbae puts on her eponymous lipstick.

mistyisles: I’d have to pick Reach of Sincerity (a.k.a. Touch Your Heart). Not only is it (apparently) one of the only office romance K-dramas I’ve watched to completion, but it’s also just a K-drama that I really enjoyed in general. It’s sweet, cute, and heartfelt, with a fun ensemble cast and tons of chemistry to go around — plus the Sunny/Reaper reunion I’m still a bit amazed we actually got!

DaebakGrits: Office romance is one of my favorite K-drama sub-genres, so it’s really hard to only pick one! This is cruel! But, if I must, I’m going to say The Secret Life of My Secretary is my favorite. The leading couple is fun and cute, and as far as office romances go, there’s a heavy emphasis on the “office.” I like how the story plays on the boss-secretary dynamic by giving Min-ik a personal reason to rely on Gal-hee in much the same way he’s always relied on her professionally. Plus, this drama has the always delightful Veronica Parrrk-i-e-yo.

solstices: Considering I rarely watch romance dramas, much less office romances, my pool of options isn’t very big. So I guess I’ll go with the first one that comes to mind — Business Proposal, because I couldn’t stop laughing at the over-the-top office hijinks. I loved how unique the office setting was, since it’s not every day you get a peek into the life of a food researcher. Hari’s genuine enthusiasm for food was so endearing to watch, and it was sweet how Tae-moo gained respect for her by witnessing first-hand the sheer amount of passion and effort she pours into her work. Plus, Hari’s coworkers were absolutely hilarious! There was never a dull moment in the office scenes, and it elevated my enjoyment of the romance even more.

Unit: What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim! This is a typical boss/secretary love story that does a great job of balancing both the “rom” and the “com” aspects of the genre. There were no high stakes, or outright villains — it was just a simple office romance with electrifying chemistry between the leads. And while the drama revolved around them, for obvious reasons, I liked that the other team members at work – each of them colorful in their own way – also got their time in the spotlight. We were able to enjoy team bonding moments, relatable office drama, office gossip, office fashion inspiration, and of course, more romance. Because in the end, what’s better than one office couple? Three office couples!

Dramaddictally: Only one!? Now I understand why this game is so hard. After days of internal dilemma, I’ve settled on Sunbae, Don’t Put on that Lipstick. Ro-woon is a beautiful creature but in this role he’s so impossibly good-looking it doesn’t make sense. This drama might not qualify as a noona romance, but with the female sunbae/male hoobae dynamic it’s close enough for my happiness. There’s also something about the slow pace and wintery setting — I could sit around all day watching these two cuddle up in their fall coats and cozy sweaters. Add to all that the fun secrecy of office romances and it’s just too good.

alathe: Romance is a Bonus Book! If there’s one thing I love about office dramas, it’s the part where I get to revel in the fantasy of working in an entirely different world. As a dyed-in-the-wool literature nerd, Romance is a Bonus Book gets me where I live. This drama gives a stunning portrayal of a slow-growing intimacy between two people learning to see one another in a different light. We see Dan-yi and Eun-ho striving to fit together as housemates and colleagues, whilst dealing with the fact that Eun-ho is both Dan-yi’s junior — and boss. It’s a beautiful, believable slow-burn that unfolds with so much care. Plus? It all revolves around books! Dan-yi is hard-working and satisfyingly good at her job: she’s a marketing wizard who loves stories more than anything. I got just as much joy from watching her prove herself in publishing as I did from watching our protagonists work through their history together. That said? The main relationship is gold. There’s so much respect between our heroes, and so much delight in watching them figure out how to redefine their relationship. Love, in this drama, develops organically rather than all at once — it’s something you learn, together — and it’s all the more exciting for it.

 
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Would Sh**ting Star count as office romance? The main characters technically didn’t work from the same office, but they were in the same close-knit team. I enjoyed this show because it gave us a glimpse into the Korean entertainment industry, from the lives of celebrities to their support teams, detractors, and the media. I would say the invisible plot driver get was celebrity suicide, which is also a real issue is Korea.

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I chose Sh**ting Star too. To me ML and FL both worked for same company. ML was primary actor represented by the company and FL worked in PR.

In addition, there was a secondary couple (I think they were managers for the actors) that had an office romance too.

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Does anyone remember the 2017 series 'Revolutionary Love'? The male lead was Choi Se-won (Love Is For Suckers). Few people watched it to the end, which means they missed a truly disturbing finish.

The plot involved a chaebol heir working a job as a janitor (I forget why) falling for a Marxist union organizer working at his father's company. The most cringeworthy scene was when the milquetoast second male lead finally confessed to the heroine and she has this priceless look of panic, like she's trapped in a room with a crazy person. The runner-up cringe scene was the end Chaebol and Marxist break up (if they were ever together in the first place) and she emigrates to Norway. Then, on the plane, the chaebol pops up, tells her he's moving to Norway too with the intention of stalking her! Then the show ends.

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Business Proposal. I laughed SO much and the two leads plus the two second leads were absolutely adorable!

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I haven’t seen She Would Never Know yet, must put that closer to the top of my WTW list.
My vote is for A Business Proposal – for it to be the perfect office romcom the last episode should have been better, but the setting in the food industry, the chemistry of both couples and especially the comedy were great. But a really close runner-up is Gaus Electronics for using tropes so obviously, and also Crazy Love for chemistry, really great kisses, comedy (onion allergy!) and the secretary dressed for running around all day in slacks and boots instead of high heels.
There is no category for BL office romcom so I can vote separately: the current Roommates of Poongduck reminded me of Gaus Electronics so much in the first episodes, I felt as if I watched the same show with different actors! (and gender, obviously)
Also some recent negative mentions: Forecasting Love And Weather and Love In Contract ☹

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Gaus Electronics as a newer addition has been excellent and hilarious. Minsaeng: Incomplete Life is a twisted office romance. The romances you think will happen doesn't. Not So Ra and Si Wan. The fact they don't get together makes it special. The closest it gets is IU and Sung Min and that is felt but not completed. For more tradition Romance is a Bonus Book is tops.

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Misaeng (I finished it last week) is a great drama. One of the best I have seen so far, one which will be forever in my heart/mind. But I did not think it counted in this discussion because romantic love is maybe 1% of the plot. It is a series about normal people who struggles everyday in the office, and I can imagine that two characters may end having a romantic relationship (and I shipped them, in fact) :)

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I'm surprised to see so many mentions of Jealousy Incarnate because office romance is not the terms that comes in my mind for it. That's mainly because I stereotyped office romance. I thought that's a sub genre where the setting is a conglomerate and there is huge divide between the FL and ML's work authority where the ML is usually the CEO. Needless to say I'm not a huge fan of such romances.

But JI indeed is a workplace romcom (consodering thry work together and met there) along with several other genres as well. And I think it actually is the best in the sub genre because of there isn't a huge divide between the leads. She does not work under him, in fact she belongs to a completely different department. When they do work together, she doesn't work directly with him or under him. The workplace stuff is all fun. While there's her dream and the workplace stuff in the background, the show's main aim is still the couple and the theme of jealousy. Which is why this show is just a very digestible, fun workplace drama, a genre which is not as much my preferred genre to watch. Since the show was character driven rather than plot driven, it got over what irks me in dramaland where the professions of people become their identity and the whole drama revolves around that. I like seeing people more than people in their professions. JI did a mix of the two and very well.

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This is kind of difficult for me to decide, because I'm just now realizing that I'm not sure how many office romance dramas I've actually even seen, lol. I've watched mostly romance dramas in my drama-viewing career, so you'd think I would have seen plenty of office romances, but I'm having trouble remembering very many.

I think for a Kdrama office romance, I'll have to go with The Secret Life of My Secretary. I re-watched it recently, and I just adore it to pieces. It gives me the squeals, lol. I also really love High School King of Savvy, so I'll give it second place. And then I did really love Radiant Office (I'm in the minority on that one, apparently), but I also need to do a re-watch and see if still holds up. I'm really hoping so, because I have happy memories re-watching that drama.

For a bonus, the Taiwanese drama Just You is a great office romance. It's the perfect combination of effortlessly fun, a little bit dramatic, a little bit cheesy, and every side character is paired up by the end and you love it, lol.

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Happy memories of Watching that drama, not re-watching, lol.

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Honorable mention: Law Cafe

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Easy: What's Wrong With Secretary Kim? "Simple!"

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Oh my days I love office dramas, I don't know where to start but I'll do this:

Romance is a Bonus Book made me cry, laugh, fall in love, feel shy, think deeply and start taking my writing talent seriously. It was a real gateway drama for me all over again.

Honourable Mentions:

Pinocchio (beautiful love story and storyline)
Oh My Ghostess (I think it qualifies)
Healer (chef's kiss at dealing with baddies)
Jugglers (noice)
What's Wrong with Secretary Kim (a real chef's kiss!)

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Secret Life of my secretary.......

VERONICA PARK!!!!!!!!

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Sh**ting Stars

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