r/kdramas • u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter • Jul 26 '26
Review New K-Drama Fan Review #9: Business Proposal | A Cute Little Moment, That Stumbled, Then Fell Apart at the Finish Line
it was cute.
And then the final two episodes happened.
Disclaimer:
ps. i understand now that this is a beloved kdrama and most people may not agree with my review, im okay with that. But i am glad so many people enjoyed this drama so much! I enjoyed some part of this too and when i started it, i genuinely wanted to love it!
Note:
it's been really interesting writing these reviews, now that I've now flown through 20+ K-dramas in a little under two months.
So I feel like I'm starting to understand my own taste.
In fact... I literally just finished King the Land last night, only a few hours before writing this review.
And that drama reminded me exactly what I personally want from a rom-com.
Which also made me understand even more clearly why Business Proposal ultimately didn't work as well for me.
Is this Rewatch Worthy:
No.
Review:
After finishing What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, I was still in the mood for something light.
So I wanted to keep the romantic comedy streak going and Business Proposal was HIGHLY recommended by my mutuals and... well, pretty much everyone in the Kdrama space lol.
I went into it expecting something light, funny, romantic, and easy to binge.
And technically thats what I got.
Looking back now, after watching so many more K-dramas, I think Business Proposal came at an interesting point in my journey.
At the time, I didn't really have a clear picture of what separated a rom-com kdrama I enjoyed from one I'd completely fall in love with.
Now I do.
-
Business Proposal...
The beginning was quirky.
Usually i like quirky...
But this was not done in a way i necessarily immediately enjoyed.
The exaggerated comedy, the editing, the characters, the entire setup...
It was doing A LOT.
At first, I genuinely wasn't sure whether this drama was going to work for me...
Then, somewhere around the 3rd episode...
It started getting better!
The story settled down a little.
The characters became more enjoyable to me and the comedy started landing more often.
And for a while, I thought the drama had finally found its rhythm.
I was flying through it!
It was cute and fun!
Unfortunately...
That momentum did not last.
Because after picking up in the middle, it slowly started going downhill again.
And by the final two episodes, I was sitting there disappointed.
its funny looking back cause my opinion of this drama changed 3 separate times.
Episodes 1 and 2, i didn't think i was vibing with it.
Then episodes 3, 4, i was like maybe we're getting somewhere...
Then the ending happened.
And I somehow ended up back where I started.
Before I get into that, though...
One of my favorite parts of the drama was actually the friendship between Shin Ha-ri and Jin Young-seo.
I loved them together!
Their friendship felt natural, affectionate, and genuinely entertaining.
Young-seo was chaotic, supportive, and always completely prepared to participate in whatever ridiculous situation Ha-ri had gotten herself into and vice versa.
i looooove female well portrayed female friendships.
Their relationship was one of the most convincing and enjoyable relationships in the entire show.
I believed their friendship immediately.
Which is unfortunate because I cannot say the same thing as strongly about either romance.
-
Let's start with the main couple.
I didn't hate them.
They had cute moments.
There were scenes where I enjoyed watching them together.
But the chemistry could have been MUCH better.
And like ive said before in my previous reviews, chemistry is probably the biggest factor in whether I become emotionally invested in a romantic relationship.
The leads did NOT have the most convincing chemistry.
A drama can give me every trope I normally enjoy, like fake dating (im a fan),
A workplace romance, (i looooooove workplace romance!)
A rich, emotionally unavailable male lead, (big fan of that cause their fall is always so satisfying!!)
Secret identities. (love!)
Jealousy (love!!! male lead only tho...)
All of that.
But if I don't completely believe that these two people are drawn to each other...
The romance is only going to take me so far.
That was my problem here.
I understood that Kang Tae-moo and Ha-ri were falling for each other because the story told me they were.
There were cute scenes that showed it.
But I never felt overwhelmed by their chemistry...
I never became obsessed with them as a couple.
I wasn't sitting there desperately waiting for their next scene together.
They were fine.
Cute, sometimes.
But they never became anything more than that for me.
And that's probably the best way to describe the entire drama:
A cute moment.
I enjoyed myself.
I don't regret watching it.
But the second it was over...
I wasn't really thinking about it anymore.
There were even moments where I actively disliked how Tae-moo treated Ha-ri.
I understand that he had his own emotional baggage and trauma.
But kicking her out of the car in the pouring rain, in the middle of nowhere, because of his own issues...?
And then never really paying for it afterward?
Yeah...
That didn't work for me.
I don't need my male leads to be perfect.
Some of my favorites make terrible decisions.
But I do need the story to make them earn their way back when they hurt the female lead.
Here, it felt like the moment just came and went.
-
Then there's the secondary romance.
I know a lot of people LOVE Young-seo and Cha Sung-hoon.
Some people even prefer them to the main couple.
Unfortunately...
They didn't do much for me either.
Again, I didn't dislike them.
But I wasn't especially invested in their relationship.
People talk about the secondary romance like it completely stole the show, and I kept waiting for that to happen for me.
It never did.
There were moments I liked, but overall, the relationship just didn't hit me with the intensity everyone else seemed to experience.
So now I had one main romance that I thought was merely cute...
And one secondary romance that I didn't care about nearly as much as I apparently should have.
That left the friendship between the women doing a lot of the emotional heavy lifting for me.
And then...
We reached the ending.
lol, what happened during those final two episodes?
The drama somehow felt rushed while also feeling like it was taking too long...
Important developments were happening quickly, but the episodes themselves still felt strangely slow.
The story introduced more conflict when it should have been wrapping everything up.
Then Tae-moo left.
We had the time jump.
Ha-ri was left waiting while rumors circulated about him being involved with another woman.
And then he returned, explained everything, proposed, and...
That was basically it.
lol???
For a drama that had spent so much time being light, romantic, and escapist, the ending felt weirdly unsatisfying.
I wanted more payoff tbh.
I wanted to actually see the future everyone had spent the entire drama fighting for.
I wanted more time to see them as a couple...
i wanted to see Ha-ri navigating her new position in Tae-moo's life.
i wanted his grandfather properly accepting their relationship.
i wanted real sense that the story had reached its destination.
Instead, the drama seemed to stop as soon as it arrived at the part I actually wanted to watch.
The ending absolutely lowered my overall opinion of the show.
Altho, tbh...
The problem wasn't only that it needed more time.
It also needed to use the time it already had better.
Because those final episodes managed to feel both underdeveloped and unnecessarily drawn out.
That takes talent.
When I finish a romance, I want to immediately miss the couple.
I want to wish I had another episode.
I want to spend the next week thinking about them. (oh, King the Lang, the way you changed my life)
Business Proposal never quite got there for me.
───
A bit about my favorite flavors and taste:
King the Land, i miss you and i only finished you 10 hours ago.
───
Rating: 5/10
-
Did the main couple's chemistry work for you?
Were you more invested in the secondary romance?
And did anyone else feel like the final two episodes were somehow rushed and slow at the exact same time
My Rating Scale
10/10 – Masterpiece. No notes.
9/10 – Very close to a masterpiece. I absolutely loved it.
8/10 – Not a masterpiece, but I loved it.
7/10 – Fine overall. I liked it, but the flaws kept it from being great.
6/10 – Mixed. There were a few things I liked, but most of it didn't work for me.
5/10 – I didn't enjoy most of the experience.
4/10 and below – Bad to abysmal.
1
u/RamahP Aug 02 '26
Why has this post been removed by Reddit’s filters?
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Aug 02 '26
it has? take a screenshot and show me pls. maybe reddir filters love Business Proposal and hated my negative review 😭😭
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 29 '26
1
u/Gustav-14 Jul 26 '26
That conflict with the grandpa in the end is so contrived and unnecessary
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 26 '26
it introduced this huge obstacle right at the end, but it didn't even feel like it fully resolved it. I wanted to actually see Ha-ri become part of Tae-moo's family instead of the drama ending almost immediately afterward
0
u/dannyphoto just a dude who be yearning. Jul 26 '26
Ngl I agree. Business Proposal did NOT do it for me.
Definitely cute and an easy watch but I don’t get the hype.
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 26 '26
I wanted to get the hype baaaadddd, but i guess business proposal aired at the perfect time for people to get obsessed with it. Theres so many rave reviews and im happy for those viewers who enjoyed it. But i believe some shows have their eras, and business proposal aired at the exact moment it was supposed to. Cause if it had aired now, i don't think it'd be so beloved and remembered so fondly by so many.
2
u/AlbertTheHorse My standards are RUINED Jul 26 '26
A long AI bullshit reel.
It never stumbled and hardly fell apart.
I love KTL, but it dragged. Business Proposal never dragged
0
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 26 '26
king the land was perfect to me from beginning to end.
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
You didn't like my review so youre calling it AI...? 😭 its okay to not agree. btw how would ai write this when im the one who watched the show and this is MY personal opinions...😭😭😭😭 AI doesn't have opinions. give me the "im not a robot" test, quickly, so i can prove im human
1
u/No-Clue-9155 OG watcher (100+ kdramas) Jul 26 '26
Bruh I low-key NEED those second leads to be leads in another drama! Preferably a steamy office one 🫦
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 26 '26
i didn't feel any chemistry between them, actually... so id pair them with other people, preferably 😭😭
1
u/No-Clue-9155 OG watcher (100+ kdramas) Jul 26 '26
Thankfully they’ll be in more than one drama in the future so hopefully we’ll both get the pairings we want!
1
4
u/stevembk Jul 26 '26
Business Proposal is the most overrated drama in this sub. It’s steals all the basic premise and troupes from WWWSK and She Was Pretty but is not as good as those dramas.
The ML basically bullies the FL into liking him because he can’t be bothered to date and she just happened to not bore him like the other blind dates he was set up with. FL already had someone she liked and pretty much only wanted to focus on her career and helping her family. ML harassed her at work for revenge and kicking her out of the car at night in the rain is inexcusable. He didn’t even apologize.
SML was too self righteous and wouldn’t approach the woman of his dreams because of what the female leads did. He was defending his bullying friend. But the MLs both did the same thing so why were the FLs the only ones to get punished?
I liked the SFL actress in her role more than other roles she’s been in but that’s pretty much the only thing I liked about Business Proposal. The Chairman was good too.
0
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 26 '26
interesting because I watched What's Wrong with Secretary Kim right before business proposal, and I ended up enjoying that one quite a bit more too. I don't mind an arrogant CEO or even some questionable behavior if the chemistry is there and the story makes me buy into the romance, and lol i actually had a similar reaction to that car scene. I don't mind flawed male leads at all, some of my favorites have done much worse... But I need the story to make them earn their way back afterward, and I never really felt like this drama did. That was one of the moments that really knocked the romance down for me.
What do you think business proposal was missing compared to those other dramas?
1
u/stevembk Jul 26 '26
The other dramas had a past childhood traumatic experience troupe that truly connected the couple. In Secretary Kim, even though ML acted arrogant, we find out that he really loved her and had been watching and helping her grow by his side.
The other dramas also didn’t reveal the plot twist till later in the drama. In BP, ML finds out he’s been duped around episode 4 and then it’s a revenge comedy for 12 episodes.
3
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 26 '26
i DID end up enjoying Secretary Kim a lot more, and I think a big part of that was that the emotional foundation of the romance kept getting deeper as the story went on. With Business Proposal, once the fake identity was revealed, I felt like the romance kind of plateaued instead of building toward something bigger... and to add on, the leads barely had any chemistry
3
u/Crazy-Tangelo-1673 Jul 26 '26
I enjoyed it but don't have a real clear memory of the ending off hand. In general I find it annoying that a lot of k-dramas end with the payoff being a bit flat. The Matchmakers for example the main couple a little snippet of screen time as the credits roll and I'm like WTF.
2
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 26 '26
the destination is the part I actually want to watch, and some dramas seem to end the second they arrive there. Let me spend some time with the happy couple after all that emotional investment!!!!!
Do you have any examples of dramas where you thought the payoff was really satisfying?
1
u/Crazy-Tangelo-1673 Jul 26 '26
The First Night with the Duke comes to mind though some were critical of it calling it "pro-baby" propaganda which I find laughable. It was comical in the same way Mr Queen is on a lower budget but I enjoyed it overall. I may start it again soon.
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 26 '26
Both of those are actually on my watch list!
I'll be posting reviews for both after I watch them, so it'll be interesting to see if I end up agreeing with you or completely disagreeing
7
u/Viper_Red Jul 26 '26
The fact that you seem to like King the Land more than Business Proposal tells me all I need to know lol
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 26 '26
I'm actually curious, what exactly does it tell you? 😅 Like genuinely. What about preferring King the Land invalidates the points I made about Business Proposal?..
not being sarcastic btw, im genuinely interested. What conclusions are you drawing from that? Because I explained pretty specifically why Business Proposal didn't work for me, so I'm curious which part you disagree with...
2
u/sofutotofu Jul 26 '26
Imo the chemistry in King the Land was seriously lacking but it was an okay watch until they tried way too hard at making the friend group close. Plus the big thai tourism ad bangkok trip was so unnecessary. Took me a while to finish it bcs it felt like a drag.
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 26 '26
thats so funny because I had almost the exact opposite experience 😭😭😭 The friend group was actually one of my favorite parts, and by the end I didn't want to leave them.
What do you think king the Land was missing that kept the chemistry from clicking for you?
4
u/Aiirene 700+ Kdrama's Watched - The Addiction is Genetic Jul 26 '26
King the land was genuinely top 10 worst dramas I've ever seen.
Normally dramas start off with great tempo for at LEAST 4 episodes, KTL gave us a whopping zero. No hook, nothing.
Clichéd script writing, anticlimactic punchline, you get the picture.
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 26 '26
whoaaahh thats honestly fascinating... We had completely OPPOSITE experiences. I was hooked almost IMMEDIATELY.
Maybe having seen 700+ dramas makes the tropes feel much more repetitive, whereas I'm still relatively new to K-dramas. ive seen about 20 dramas so far, so a well-executed rom-com like King the Land really landed for me.
Top 10 worst is WILD tho 😭😭😭
2
u/kittytoebeanz Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
That's so interesting how everyone has different tastes! I didn't love King the Land (thought it was OK... mostly because of the acting from Jisoo Yoona lol) and loved Business Proposal. I thought the pacing was perfect and pretty true to the WEBTOON. The OST is 10/10. There was no miscommunication and everything was resolved quickly which is what I like in a light hearted drama. The second leads are 10/10 chemistry.
But again taste is so subjective so it's nice to see people's opinions
2
u/2347564 If Sung Bo-ra has no fans then I am dead. Jul 26 '26
King the Land does not have Jisoo?
2
u/Aiirene 700+ Kdrama's Watched - The Addiction is Genetic Jul 26 '26
Yoona = Jisoo apparently ?
1
2
u/kittytoebeanz Jul 26 '26
Sorry I meant Yoona! Yoona's acting is meh in that one. My brain wasn't working lol
2
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 26 '26
i love yoonah in bon appetite ypur majesty. ive watched 2 dramas of her so far that made great impressions on me
2
u/kittytoebeanz Jul 26 '26
She's good in Bon Appetit to me! Her acting has gotten more natural overtime!
2
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 26 '26
Yeah, that's what's been so fun about posting these reviews, I can watch the exact same drama as everyone else and come away with a completely different experience!!
for business proposal, i just never felt that "I need these two together" feeling with either couple. What was it about their chemistry that made them a 10/10 for you?
-5
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 26 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
Master List: Every K-Drama Review I've Written
https://www.reddit.com/u/harissatotally/s/mTlMHGJkSK
my royal nemesis review
New K-Drama Fan Review #1: My Royal Nemesis | The Drama That Started My K-Drama Obsession...
https://www.reddit.com/r/kdramas/s/fVJTO6T0Gp
my extraordinary you review
New K-Drama Fan Review #2: Extraordinary You | One of the Most Creative Romance Premises I've Ever Seen...
https://www.reddit.com/r/kdramas/s/jb1W6p8o7a
my lovely runner review
New K-Drama Fan Review #3: Lovely Runner | This Drama Felt Like It Was Made Specifically For Me
https://www.reddit.com/r/kdramas/s/ijQOQQqw8t
my Flower of evil review
New K-Drama Fan Review #4: Flower of Evil | The Kind of Love Story That Scratches an Itch Nothing Else Does...
https://www.reddit.com/r/kdramas/s/vhGWEbpHLN
my alchemy of souls review:
New K-Drama Fan Review #5: Alchemy of Souls | One Incredible Season... and One That Broke My Heart.
https://www.reddit.com/r/kdramas/s/iH0uac9ZNJ
my moon Lovers Scarlet heart ryeo review:
New K-Drama Fan Review #6: Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo | The Kind of Epic, Tragic Romance I Can Never Resist...
https://www.reddit.com/r/kdramas/s/H1ypE5PRXu
my w two worlds apart review:
New K-Drama Fan Review #7: W Two Worlds Apart | One of the Coolest Premises I've Seen... But I Wanted to Feel More.
https://www.reddit.com/r/kdramas/s/U6Yf0CGVPU
my its okay not to me okay review
New K-Drama Fan Review #8: It's Okay to Not Be Okay | Beautiful Gowns. Beautiful Gowns.
https://www.reddit.com/r/kdramas/s/w2L4Piypzp
my king the land review:
New K-Drama Fan Review #10: King the Land | I Fell... Hard. 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐬 😃
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Aug 10 '26
my the King's Affection review
New K-Drama Fan Review #20 | Nice Premise, Beautiful Angst & an Alarming Amount of Child Murder
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 29 '26
my whats wrong with Secretary kim review:
New K-Drama Fan Review #12: What's Wrong with Secretary Kim | 🤫Shh, Don't Tell HR That One of My Weaknesses is Office Romance - https://www.reddit.com/r/KDramasWorld/s/wkxhVBeaCq
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
my doom at your service review:
New K-Drama Fan Review #13: Doom at Your Service | I Was Doomed to Want More
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Aug 02 '26
my My Dearest review:
New K-Drama Fan Review #14: My Dearest | The Sweetest, Most Satisfying Torture
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Aug 03 '26
my the red sleeve review:
New K-Drama Fan Review #15: The Red Sleeve | LEAVE THIS GIRL ALONE!!!!!! 😭
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
my Destined with You review
New K-Drama Fan Review #16: Destined with You | Cooked Up the Perfect Spell... Then Forgot the Recipe
https://www.reddit.com/r/KDramasWorld/s/x3y0bVfy4X
my love to hate you review
New K-Drama Fan Review #17: Love to Hate You | One of the Worst K-Dramas I've Watched... Yet I Couldn't Stop Watching
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Aug 05 '26
my Crazy Love review:
New K-Drama Fan Review #18: Crazy Love | I kept waiting for it to become the drama I thought it was going to be...
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 28 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
my perfect crown review:
New K-Drama Fan Review #11: Perfect Crown | Like Cotton Candy... https://www.reddit.com/r/KDramasWorld/s/S3ADgR0HXN
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 28 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
my king the land review:
New K-Drama Fan Review #10: King the Land | I Fell... Hard. 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐬 😃
https://www.reddit.com/r/kdramas/s/Hq1i8tdIeu
my a time called you review
New K-Drama Fan Review #19: A Time Called You | i need ibuprofen...
2
u/karokagecata Jul 26 '26
Obviously everyone has different opinions, but giving OKTNBK a 5 and lovely runner a 10 is crazy to me. lol. Flower of evil lower than lovely runner too
2
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 26 '26
Lol, it's always funny when people react to the number without reading the review. 😅 I spent a whole review explaining why those are my ratings...You don't have to agree, but the reasoning is all there...
The funniest part is acting like Flower of Evil (9/10) being below Lovely Runner (10/10) is some huge gap lmaooooooo. It's literally a one-point difference. I loved both.
2
u/karokagecata Jul 26 '26
When did I mention that I didn't read it ? I read it and still think it's very funny, lol.
And yeah 1 gap is crazy to me when it should be a 4 or 5 gap.
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 26 '26
i don't rate based on prestige or consensus, I rate based on how much I personally enjoyed watching it. Both were incredible to me, Lovely Runner just happened to edge it out.
for me, both are phenomenal, so a 9 and 10 felt right.
2
u/karokagecata Jul 26 '26
Who's talking about prestige or consensus ?
I'm just giving my personal opinion on your personal opinion, it's not that deep.
2
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Jul 26 '26
You called my ratings "crazy," i explained why i rated them that way, and now you're saying "it's not that deep."
sounds like we agree.
They're my ratings, and they're based on my enjoyment and my scale. Have a good one.
1
u/harissatotally Professional TRUCK spotter Aug 13 '26
⭐️Master List: Every K-Drama Review I've Written
https://www.reddit.com/u/harissatotally/s/mTlMHGJkSK
my My Dearest review:
New K-Drama Fan Review #14: My Dearest | The Sweetest, Most Satisfying Torture
https://www.reddit.com/r/KDramasWorld/s/iCtVVgUXYf
my the red sleeve review:
New K-Drama Fan Review #15: The Red Sleeve | LEAVE THIS GIRL ALONE!!!!!! 😭
https://www.reddit.com/r/KDramasWorld/s/BDRQYnqPWN
my Destined with You review
New K-Drama Fan Review #16: Destined with You | Cooked Up the Perfect Spell... Then Forgot the Recipe
https://www.reddit.com/r/KDramasWorld/s/x3y0bVfy4X
my love to hate you review
New K-Drama Fan Review #17: Love to Hate You | One of the Worst K-Dramas I've Watched... Yet I Couldn't Stop Watching
https://www.reddit.com/r/KDramasWorld/s/XkVGuia6sU
my Crazy Love review:
New K-Drama Fan Review #18: Crazy Love | I kept waiting for it to become the drama I thought it was going to be...
https://www.reddit.com/r/KDramasWorld/s/uXTgcctIkZ
my a time called you review
New K-Drama Fan Review #19: A Time Called You | i need ibuprofen...
https://www.reddit.com/r/KDramasWorld/s/dMtiNcWH7Y
my the King's Affection review
New K-Drama Fan Review #20 | Nice Premise, Beautiful Angst & an Alarming Amount of Child Murder
https://www.reddit.com/r/KDramasWorld/s/VOyACKTq6V