Workplace relationships might be a bad idea in reality, but in dramas they’re a lot of fun. And the heartbreak. And then fun again.

Workplace Romance

MBN, Dramax

The cold, calculating Ahn Dan Te (Sung Hoon) is the director of a company that specializes in restructuring companies on the brink of bankruptcy. His latest assignment sends him to video game company Joybuster, but he dreads it due to unpleasant childhood gaming memories. Regardless, Dan Te agrees to assume control of the company. However, he immediately butts heads with the company’s new hot-tempered game development lead Shin Yeon Hwa (Han Bo Reum), who found herself heading the department after a slew of senior colleagues quit. Dan Te’s plan for saving Joybuster involves developing a new game title that will put the company back on the map. However, Yeon Hwa doesn’t see eye to eye with Dan Te, and the duo gets off to a shaky start. Can they find a way to get along and save the company – and maybe even find love?

Level Up

The Level Up Team

Sung Deok Mi (Park Min Young) is a dedicated art gallery curator who’s even more dedicated to her “job” as the fansite owner for boy group member Cha Shi An (Jung Je Won). While Deok Mi keeps her fangirl activities a secret at her day job, the new gallery director Ryan Gold (Kim Jae Wook) manages to discover her extracurricular activities. As Ryan learns more about Deok Mi's secret, he disrupts her carefully guarded life, sparking unexpected changes. With her personal and professional worlds colliding, Deok Mi must navigate the complexities of love, fandom, and her secret. Can she keep her passion concealed, or will it redefine her life forever? This 2019 Korean drama was based on the webtoon “Noona Fan Dot Com” by Kim Sung Yeon, and was directed by Hong Jong Chan.

Her Private Life

The Undercover Sasaeng Team

Park Dong Hoon (Lee Sun Gyun), a middle-aged engineer, struggles with a deeply unhappy life, working under his college junior Do Joon Yeon (Kim Young Min) while supporting his unemployed brothers and mother. His wife's secret affair with Joon Yeon further complicates his miserable existence. When Lee Ji An (IU), a desperate co-worker drowning in debt and caring for her invalid grandmother, discovers Dong Hoon accepting an unexpected bribe, she attempts to exploit his vulnerability to improve her own circumstances. Despite her initial manipulative intentions, an unexpected connection forms between them as they both seek to escape their respective hardships. Caught in a web of personal struggles and corporate tensions, Dong Hoon and Ji An gradually develop a profound understanding that might help them heal their deep emotional wounds. This is a 2018 South Korean drama directed by Kim Won Seok that explores the complexities of human resilience and connection.

My Mister

The Lonely Team

Hunan TV

Wen Nuan (Janine Chang) leaves her lucrative job in England to become an executive assistant to Zhan Nan Xian (Zhang Han), the founder of a successful high-tech company in China. Their professional reunion reveals a complicated past romantic relationship, sparking tension and unresolved feelings. As Wen Nuan strategically works to become essential to Nan Xian both professionally and personally, she navigates the delicate balance between their shared history and current workplace dynamics. This 2018 Chinese drama is based on the novel "Warm Chord" by An Ning and explores the complex interplay of love, ambition, and professional relationships.

Here to Heart

MGTV

Ning Cheng Ming (Ji Xiao Bing) pivoted his career from teaching to corporate leadership, but retained his ruthless personality and ability to detect lies. Li Qian (Jin Mei Chen), one of his former students, works at a company that seeks an investment opportunity with Cheng Ming’s firm, but she finds herself targeted by Cheng Ming’s harsh treatment, reminding her of her days in school. Everything changes when Li Qian happens to save Cheng Ming from a traffic accident that could have ended his life… because when he wakes up in the hospital, he’s lost his memory – creating the perfect circumstances for Li Qian to prank him and pretend to be his fiancée as payback for belittling her. As he grows suspicious of her story, their fake relationship begins to blur the lines between revenge and real feelings. Will Li Qian’s scheme turn into genuine love, or will her vendetta sabotage their budding romance? This 2021 Chinese drama series was directed by Li Yan Qian.

The Trick of Life and Love

Trick or Treat 🍬

While Eun Seon Woo (Jung Il Woo), the head of the lucrative Eunkang business group empire, appears to be just another silver-spoon family heir, he secretly moonlights as the head of a private detective office. A master of disguise with unparalleled athletic prowess, he also has keen powers of deduction. Meanwhile, Don Se Ra (Kwon Yuri) is a young woman with incredible vision. Like Seon Woo, she wants to keep her talent a secret, so she wears thick glasses to hide her skill. A lifelong altruist, she has dedicated her life to helping others. When she meets Seon Woo, they decide to put their skills together to solve crimes. But when they start to fall for each other, will their budding partnership deepen, or careen off the rails? This 2022 South Korean drama series was directed by Ryu Seung Jin.

Good Job

🎭 Masters of Disguise 🕵🏻‍♀️

Na Young Won (Jung So Min), a successful senior editor at Monthly House magazine, lives alone in a rented house. When the magazine's CEO Yoo Ja Sung (Kim Ji Seok) buys her house and becomes her landlord, their relationship begins with tension. Ja Sung, who grew up in poverty and is focused on real estate investments, initially sees the property as just another financial transaction. However, as they get to know each other, their perspectives on housing and each other start to shift. Young Won begins to contemplate whether she should buy her own house or explore an unexpected romantic connection with her boss.

Monthly Magazine Home

Monthly Magazine Home 🏠

Time has not been kind to Kim Hye Jin (Hwang Jung Eum). Once a beautiful girl from a wealthy family, she has now lost both her looks and her wealth. Currently living rent-free with a friend and working part-time as a clerk, Hye Jin is shocked when her first love, Ji Sung Joon (Park Seo Joon), contacts her out of the blue. Sung Joon, who was once unattractive, is now a handsome and successful editor. To preserve his perfect image of her, Hye Jin asks her pretty best friend Min Ha Ri (Go Jun Hee) to meet him in her place. This plan backfires when Hye Jin lands a full-time job and discovers that Sung Joon is her boss. Adding to the chaos, her co-worker Kim Shin Hyeok (Choi Si Won) develops feelings for her. Can a lasting romance emerge from this tangled mess?

She Was Pretty

The Ugly Ducklings

As the CEO of a media production company, Ye Feimo (Lawrence Wong) appears to have it all. However, his recent breakup and the company's string of challenges have made life difficult. Things take an unexpected turn when the executive board insists he needs to pretend to have a girlfriend in public. The team hires Wen Xiaonuan (Xu Hao), an unknown actress, for the role. As the two navigate their fake relationship, the feelings they portray in public begin to feel surprisingly real. Ming Yan directed this 2020 Chinese romance series.

Girlfriend

The Love Act Team

KBS02

Hong Ji Ah (Jang Na Ra) is a powerful exorcist and the owner of Daebak Realty, a company specializing in selling haunted houses after clearing them of their resident ghosts. Her method involves physically driving out the spirits by touching a specific object connected to their death, but she needs a psychic medium to facilitate the process. Enter Oh In Bum (Jung Yong Hwa), a con artist who pretends to be an exorcist by using his sharp observational skills to trick people into believing he can see ghosts. However, after an exorcism unlocks In Bum’s previously-unknown psychic abilities, Ji Ah reluctantly enlists his help. As they work together to cleanse various haunted properties, they uncover deeper mysteries surrounding their own pasts, including the truth behind Ji Ah's mother's death and In Bum's family history, realizing their destinies are far more intertwined than they ever imagined.

Sell Your Haunted House

Tencent

Jiang Yi Cheng (Xing Zhao Lin), a brilliant programmer previously betrayed by a woman, refuses to hire women at his company. Lu Li (Zhu Xu Dan), an admirer of Yi Cheng’s work, disguises herself as a man to get hired. Maintaining her disguise proves challenging, and when Yi Cheng discovers her identity, Lu Li brokers a deal that opens the door for romance. Directed by Wu Qiang, this is a 2021 Chinese romantic comedy series.

Cute Programmer

⌨️ Ctrl + Love 😍

JTBC

Jang Seon Gyeol (Yun Kyun Sang), a wealthy cleaning company CEO with severe germophobia, meets Gil Oh Sol (Kim You Jung), a carefree and messy new employee who has struggled through multiple part-time jobs. Despite his obsessive cleanliness and her perpetual tracksuit-wearing lifestyle, they begin to challenge each other's perspectives. As Oh Sol helps Seon Gyeol confront his deep-seated fear of germs, an unexpected romance blossoms between the unlikely pair. Their relationship gradually transforms Seon Gyeol's rigid worldview and helps Oh Sol find stability in her chaotic life. This 2024 South Korean romantic comedy film is directed by Noh Jong Chan.

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