Pretendente Surpresa (2022)

My first KDrama and it's still one of the best

Business Proposal was the first Kdrama I watched and I'm really glad it was my first. It set the tone and my expectations for all dramas moving forward.

Things I loved:
The chemistry between the ML and FL
The script / dialogue
The humor (I laughed out loud often)
The direction
The second romance story

Things I didn't love:
The mother character was over the top and got on my nerves; I ended up fast-forwarding many of the scenes she was in
The kisses between ML and FL didn't feel realistic EXCEPT for in one scene (you'll know it when you see it). Otherwise, they lacked passion / felt very, very neutered. But ultimately (now, all these months and Kdramas later) I'm glad I saw Business Proposal first and my (low) expectations were set for kisses / physical affection in Kdramas. It's been a nice surprise whenever a Kdrama has a realistic / passionate kiss scene because I always expect them to be neutered and lackluster.

On that note, if you're looking for Kdramas with realistic romance (i.e. passionate kisses) here's my list so far:
The Red Sleeve (or any romance with Lee Se Young, she's incredible; also, this romance is SOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOD)
Healer (or any romance with Ji Chang Wook)
Goblin (or any romance with Gong Yoo, esp Coffee Prince)
What's Wrong with Secretary Kim (or almost any romance with either Park Min Young OR Park Seo Joon)
Doona
Do You Like Brahams?
Strong Woman Do Bong Soon
Alchemy of Souls Part 2

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Netflix did it gooooood!

The series was anticipated by many, including myself. I only saw Hyo-seop Ahn once in Abyss and I really liked it, so Business Proposal had to be on my screen the moment it came on Netflix! Rarely do you get dramas where both the primary and secondary couple have such interesting stories and you wish the episodes were stretched to the max to see more sweet moments between them. I don't know which couple I adore more! 😍😍

The story of Abyss was way more unique and imprinted itself stronger in my memory. Despite that, Business Proposal is a very enjoyable romantic drama. They use every possible clichés and stereotypical elements of the genre but it sells. Oooh it sells! Drama has ended sometime ago and people are still raving about it 😅

Moving on to female lead. Shin Ha Ri is not a boring scientist who devotes herself to her work. She becomes recognizable thanks to her achievements, which makes it easier to believe that in a large corporation she has a chance to stand face to face with the president 💖

Secondary love story .... Cha Sung Hoon and Jin Young Seo were so so so so soooo great together! I was dying for their love and I wished they had more screentime. It's been a long time (if ever) since I was so drawn to the love story of secondary characters in the series. They were so sweet and crazy that I was getting pure pleasure from watching them approach each other 😍

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The second couple made me watch this drama.

The story is similar to What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, a romance between the CEO & an Employee. I like this drama more because of the 4 leads. They've great chemistry with each other.

The Things I liked/loved

One of my favorite scenes is where Kang Tae Moo grandpa says to Kang Tae Moo & Cha Sung Hoon that they are dating & instantly Cha Sung Hoon replies "he isn’t my type."

Samantha & Rachel are two prestigious things of Shin Ha Ri.

Love at first sight for Second Couple. Their clips made me watch it.

Shin Ha Ri gets into Kang Tae Moo’s car right after rejecting him & then calling him archaeopteryx.

I laughed so much when Shin Ha Ri & Jin Young Seo came home drunk & the things they did.

Laughed hard when Shin Ha Ri ran away from Kang Tae Moo & her shoe thrown at his face.

Poor Kang Tae Moo has to go on 11 dates in one day & one in Japan.

Jin Young Seo ran into Cha Sung Hoon’s arms, seeing a cockroach. How sweetly he helped her to get rid of it despite him being afraid of it.

Loved the phase where Kang Tae Moo tortured Shin Ha Ri at work.

The famous meme where Shin Ha Ri doing a happy dance & Kang Tae Moo keeps looking at her.

Love Cha Sung Hoon’s in-line sarcasm to Kang Tae Moo

Cha Sung Hoon & Jin Young Seo argue about not crossing each other's line.

It’s sweet how Kang Tae Moo came running to a drunk Shin Ha Ri at midnight.

The OMG & matching dress of Jin Young Seo & Jo Yoo Jung.

“I’ll make sure that you never forget” uff my favorite line, which is why I decided to watch it in the first place.

“Spend just your time on me. I’ll spend the money”. I wish someone would say this to me.

Jin Young Seo flirting with Cha Sung Hoon & his blushing face is so cute.

Laughed at Cha Sung Hoon expression when he saw Jo Yu Jung in his workplace.

Laugh every time Kang Tae Moo grandpa beats him up.

Laughed so hard at the scene where Cha Sung Hoon & Jin Young Seo help distract Shin Ha Ri’s parents so that Kang Tae Moo could sneak out & the way Shin Ha Ri pushed & pulled Kang Tae Moo from one place to another.

I think my brother would’ve said the same thing as Shin Ha Ri brother said about her dating Kang Tae Moo that, "did she blackmailed him?"

I laughed when Cha Sung Hoon was helping Kang Tae Moo to put on his jacket, a nurse came & misinterpreted that they’re a couple & they said firmly "No"

Laughed so much when Shin Ha Ri’s mother beat Kang Tae Moo & her.

Loved it.

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Top notch comedy

The best thing from among many delightful aspects of this series is the dynamic comedic duo Kim Se Jeong and Seol In Ah. Whenever the scene focus is on these two they generate laughter and this was much more apparent my second time watching. This praise shouldn't be taken as criticising the performances of the other leads. This is a feel good romantic comedy that comes across as fresh and original despite treading some old cliche pathways. The two leading couples have chemistry that works together.

PS One personal irritation for situation comedies is when the situations are so badly contrived i.e. people making absurd choices and then scramble to escape. 'Business Proposal' has few like that. What makes much of the humor work is that the choices and resulting situations are usually 'reasonable' enough to be believable. That sets the stage for the comedy talents of the dynamic comedic duo, both together and when working off of their leads, to shine at their best.

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Old School Rom-Com Cliches

I really hate when they have last minute NEW drama they have to resolve halfway through the final episode. Even worse I hate the time slips and travel that make no sense.

This was 100% standard Kdrama rom-com cliche.

It was fun enough for a quick watch.

My honest opinion is that Kim Min Gue was the better actor in this drama and I really liked him as Cha Sung Hoon. I enjoyed the secondary couple much better, although they wrote Young Seo as having episodes of psycho chick in her. I didn't get it, because most 80% of the time she was a sweet, down-to-earth, rational person who is a loyal friend, but every once in a while she acted like she didn't know what was going on and got angry for BS reasons. Past that, I did love them as a couple.

The rest of it was pure cliche... that's all I can say... lol.

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A romcom k-drama worth watching!

OMG what a ride! This is one of the most enjoyable kdramas I‘ve watched so far.

There are only 12 episodes which I think is a big plus, stretching the story more would have made it less entertaining I guess. But like this the pace was perfect and it is ideal to binge-watch (like I did ;) ).

The main couple and also the second leads have a beautiful story and their chemistry is really sparkling. I especially liked the interaction and the focus on the friendship between the two male protagonists as well as the female protagonists.

Ahn Hyo Seop‘s acting is on point and Kim Se Jeong has become one of my favourite actresses.

So, if you‘re looking for something light-hearted, funny and romantic, you should definitely watch this drama! I highly recommend it.

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Tropey without cringe

Is it a trope overdone? Yes. But is it still done beautifully? Yes. It's the perfect rom-com watch. This one's for the light silly rom-com watchers.
Good things:
1. If you want to watch attractive people being attractive this is a perfect watch. It's a treat to the eyes.
2. Easy going plot with a fun storyline. It's been done too many times yet this was so worth the watch.
3. The outfits, the fashion, makeup everything on point. It's not over flashy but very beautiful.
4. The bromance and sisterhood in this was splendid and fun to watch. So chaotic.
5. The grandfather was so caring and the grandson granddad relationship was good too.
6. I personally loved the soundtrack, but to each their own.
7. Both the couples chemistry was FIRE. The second couple was next level
8. No toxicity. Even that one character that competes with the second lead was just more funny than annoying.
Bad Things:
1. 12 episodes, felt short and the ending is a little rushed.
2. If anyone's looking for something different or deep this is definitely not it. It's just cliches after cliche.
Interesting things
There's a drama going parallelly with the original drama in the story, it was pretty interesting . Almost as if it was making fun of itself.

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Fall and accidentally lips meet lips?

Omaygat, I think there are only Chinese dramas that highlight good looks and beauty. It turns out that I also encountered this scene in the drama "Business Proposal"

Overall, the Korean drama "Business Proposal" is indeed similar to Chinese dramas such as the dramas "Love in Time" and "Be with You" which are studded with accidental, coincidental and 'magic' scenes.

What is meant by magic is an unreasonable scene like, suddenly Shin Ha Ri opens an umbrella for Kang Tae Moo, even though his hands were empty before, he didn't bring an umbrella. ️

There is also a coincidental scene that ends in a cliché like when Shin Ha Ri is afraid that her grandfather, Kang Tae Moo, who is desperate to defecate, pulls each other on the door handle and ends up falling for the grandfather.

The grandfather is the owner of an international company, you know, why isn't he escorted until he gets the right facilities? ️

But.., because the drama "Business Proposal" is studded with beautiful and handsome stars, I really recommend watching it for entertainment and not to be annoyed.😃😃

Very happy to see the acting and beauty of Seol In-A who once played the role of Jo Hwa-Jin in Mr. Queen, who formed a friendship with the beautiful Kim Se-Jeong

And the bromance between the handsome Kim Min-Kyu and Ahn Hyo-Seop.

That is, the drama could present a story that does not make sense. However, it is obligatory to provide maximum entertainment for the audience.
I wrote the full review here
https://www.maria-g-soemitro.com/2022/05/business-proposal-review-drama-korea.html

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