While an office romance can lead to a lifetime commitment, some cases can result in uncomfortable situations for themselves as well as their coworkers.
In the fantasy world of Korean dramas, an office romance is a recurring theme for the main fictional couple. Additionally, the romance usually occurs between a male boss and his employee.
Here are 10 Korean office romance dramas you need to watch:
1.Strong Woman Bong Soon (2017)
Do Bong-soon (Park Bo-young) was born with superhuman strength which was hereditary and passed along only to the women in her family.
Her dream is to create a video game with herself as the main character.
Thanks to her strength, she lands a job as a bodyguard to Ahn Min-hyuk (Park Hyung-sik), the CEO of a gaming company.
As Bong Soon protects her boss from anonymous threats and stalking, they slowly develop romantic relationship between them.
Overall, Strong Woman Bong Soon is entertaining to watch. It has nice balance of romance, thriller scenes and a handful of comedic reliefs in between.
2.What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim? (2018)
When a highly skilled secretary quits her job after almost 10 years, what would the boss think?
Lee Young-joon (Park Seo-jun)’s first assumption is that his secretary Kim Mi-so (Park Min-young) was in love with him.
However, reality is that Young-joon’s narcissism made life difficult around him, especially his secretary.
While waiting for her resignation notice to end, will Mi-so change her decision and decide to stay with Young-joon as they slowly fall in love with each other?
Due to Seo-joon being in this drama, he was dubbed the master of romantic comedy by the Korean press.
3.Jugglers (2014)
Here is another office romance drama between a secretary and her boss.
It circles around Jwa Yoon-yi (Baek Jin-hee), a skilled secretary who is adaptable and knows how to get by in any situation.
As every secretary in a Korean drama needs cold-hearted boss, Choi Daniel plays Nam Chi-won who is the director of a media company.
While the storyline might be cliched, it is still interesting to watch Jin-hee works in comedic series. Her character in this drama is a far departure from her villainous role in period drama Empress Ki.
4.She Was Pretty (2015)
If you are interested in what goes behind a magazine company, this Korean drama is the one to watch.
Park Seo-joon plays Ji Sung-joon, Korea’s youngest deputy chief editor. He falls in love with Kim Hye-jin (Hwang Jung-eum) who works as the junior editor in the company.
As it turns out, Hye-jin is Sung-joon’s childhood best friend.
The office romance turns out to be a love triangle when Kim Shin-hyuk (Choi Si-won) who works as the senior office romance also falls for Hye-jin.
We warn you; She Was Pretty suffers from Second Lead Syndrome. Korean drama enthusiasts coined the phrase ‘Second Lead Syndrome’ for dramas in which the second lead character is way better than the main male lead.
5.Gogh, The Starry Night (2016)
Her hot -tempered boss is tough on her but he is actually secretly in love with her.
This Korean office romance drama surrounds Kwon Yuri (Go Ho) who works in an advertising company. Her boss Kang Tae-ho (Kim Young-kwang) hardly praise Go Ho for her hard works.
Things start to change when her ex-boyfriend Hwang Ji-hoon (Lee Ji-hoon) joins in the company and Go Ho is placed under him.
The story goes on with these two men trying to win Go Ho’s heart.
6.Introverted Boss (2017)
Despite his introverted character, Eun Hwan-ki (Yeon Woo-jin) is the CEO of a public relations company. He hides behind his image of a cold and prickly boss.
Little that his employees know is that Hwan-ki is extremely shy and very sensitive.
Meanwhile, Chae Ro-woon (Park Hye-soo) looks extroverted and has excellent communication skills at work. At home, she is very quiet and introverted.
Like many storyline in any Korean dramas, both lead characters usually have secrets which connect them in the past.
7.Cunning Single Lady (2014)
Would you hire your ex-wife as an intern in your company? After being the sole-breadwinner in the family while her husband struggles to start a business, Na Ae-ra (Lee Min-jung) had enough.
She hits rock bottom when she secretly suffers from a miscarriage. Ae-ra then divorces Cha Jung-woo (Joo Sang-wook) after four years of marriage.
Three years pass, Jung-woo becomes a wealthy successful businessman. Meanwhile, Ae-ra is still paying debts that she collected during their marriage.
Upono learning that her ex-husband as become a success, Ae-ra becomes an intern at his company to win him back. Jung-woo believes his ex-wife only wanted his money, but Ae-ra only wants an apology from Jung-woo.
There is a lot of emotions going through this drama and life could have been easier in a K-drama if people just talk about their feelings.
8.Touch Your Heart (2019)
Looking at the chemistry between Yoo In-na and Lee Dong-wook in the drama Goblin, viewers must be dying to watch them acting together.
Touch Your Heart (2019) manages to bring out their on-screen chemistry again, this time both as the main leads.
In-na plays Oh Jin-shim, a top actress who has a scandal that damages her career leaving her jobless for two years.
In order to get a role in an upcoming movie, she agrees to work as a secretary to a lawyer named Kwon Jung-rok (Lee Dong-wook).
Jung-rok’s uptight character and Jin-shim’s carefree attribute makes the office romance between them entertaining to watch.
9.My Secret Romance (2017)
What if your new boss turns out to be the man you had a one night stand with? Can you imagine how awkward could it be?
Lee Yoo-mi (Song Ji-eun) is a nutritionist who works at the company cafeteria where Cha Jin-wook (Sung Hoon) is the director.
Three years prior, they met in a resort where they unexpectedly spent the night together. However, Yoo-mi disappeared in the morning, leaving Jin-wook perplexed and disappointed.
The drama between them unfold as Jin-wook thought Yoo-mi’s younger brother was a result of their one night stand.
My Secret Romance (2017) is interesting to watch since it features some uncommon themes such as the stigma surrounds one night stands and the career of nutritionists.
10.Encounter (2018)
If you are tired of office romance Korean dramas where the male lead is the boss falling in love with his female employee, this is the series for you.
Cha Soo-Hyun (Song Hye-Kyo) is the daughter of a politician and the CEO of a hotel. After she graduates from college, she marries the son from a family who runs a large company.
Her marriage is a marriage of convenience for her ambitious politician father. Her husband though had an affair, after which they divorced.
Meanwhile, Kim Jin-Hyeok (Park Bo-Gum) is an ordinary young man who tries to find a regular job. Jin-Hyeok decides to take a trip to Cuba where he meets Cha Soo-Hyun by accident.
When he goes back to Korea, he receives a phone call from a hotel. Prior to leaving for Cuba, he had an interview at the hotel for a job.
He learns that he is now hired and his vacation romance is the CEO.
Whilst it is okay for a male boss to have a relationship with his younger female employee, this drama shows how society reacts when a female boss dates a younger male staff.
