If you spend even a morsel on social media, you may have noticed a certain K-Drama series, Business Proposal, getting a lot of traction.
It seems a certain kiss has gone, for want of a better word, viral, and in the melee to know more, the series is currently the biggest non-English series on Netflix’s Global chart.
According to Netflix, in the last week of March the drama series managed to clock approximately 30.5million hours viewed (and topped the list the week prior with 23.4m hours).
The Korean series is based on a webtoon, which also goes by the title The Office Blind Date, and, lucky for you, you’ve caught on just at the right time, with the finale landing on screens tonight, and previous episodes available to binge on (which you will, trust us) if you’re not quite at the ending yet.
But what is it even all about? Great question, strap yourselves in…
What is Business Proposal about?
The series, which airs on SBS in Korea and Netflix in the UK, centres on an office employee, Shin Ha Ri (played by Kim Sejeong), who goes on a blind date with her company’s CEO, Kang Tae Moo (Ahn Hyo Seop) in place of her friend, another company’s heiress, Jin Young Seo, played by Seol In Ah, who isn’t keen on being set up by her rich dad.
During the date, Ha Ri is shocked to learn that Tae Moo is actually her boss and does all she can to make sure she ruins the date on behalf of her friend.
However, it wouldn’t be a series if those plans worked, would it? And soon we’re thrust into a back and forth between Ha Ri – who’s trying to pull off a double life – and Tae Moo.
To add another layer to the drama, Young Seo falls for Tae Moo’s loyal chief secretary and right hand man, Cha Sung Hoon (played by Kim Min Gue), who also happens to be Young Seo’s next-door neighbour.
What a gloriously tangled web!
Business Proposal cast:
The cast is peppered with a host of famous Korean stars of screen and music, with the four main characters portrayed by Kim Sejeong, Ahn Hyo Seop, Seol In Ah and Kim Min Gue (also known as Kim Min Kyu).
Kim Sejeong
Kim Sejeong, 25, known mononymously as Sejeong (like other greats, Cher, Madonna, Prince, et al), leads the cast as Ha Ri, a senior food researcher at GoFood, run by our dashing CEO, Tae Moo.
Both an actress and singer, she’s best known for her lead roles in the television series School 2017 and The Uncanny Counter, while also being a former member of the project girl group I.O.I and Jellyfish Entertainment’s girl group Gugudan.
A popular one, she also boasts a pretty tidy 6.1m followers on Instagram.
Ahn Hyo Seop
Then we have our male lead Ahn Hyo Seop, 26, a Korean-Canadian actor and singer who gained recognition for his roles in Still 17, Abyss, and Dr. Romantic 2.
The star was previously scouted by JYP Entertainment and became a trainee, eventually turning down the opportunity to debut as a member in K-pop band Got7 (he would go on to perform with One O One, though).
Oh, and he’s got 6.6m Instagram followers.
Seol In Ah
Seol In Ah, 26, plays chaebol (conglomerate) heiress Jin Young Seo, but before landing the sparky role in Business Proposal, starred in Sunny Again Tomorrow and Beautiful Love, Wonderful Life.
Her chemistry with on-screen love interest Kim Min Gue has been a hot topic with fans of the show, with some becoming more invested in their characters’ burgeoning relationship over the main storyline.
And just to keep us holding on more so, she’s kept us up to date with behind-the-scenes snaps from the set to her 3m Instagram followers, including sweet selfies with her on-screen paramour.
Kim Min Gue
Then we have Kim Min Gue, 27, who plays Cha Sung Hoon and is best known for his appearance in the variety program Crime Scene Season 3, before gaining recognition for his roles in series Queen: Love and War, Backstreet Rookie, and star-studded Snowdrop alongside Blackpink’s Jisoo.
And yes, he too, has a frankly offensive number of Instagram followers, with 3.1m.
Ok, but tell us about that kiss…
Right, you may have discovered Business Proposal after your Twitter timeline went a little gaga over a kiss shared by Young Seo and Sung Hoon.
The steamy moment, which went down in episode seven after way too much ‘will they, won’t they’ (technically, they already had, but this scene was an extension on the tension), and it was a long time coming for the two characters, which, while not considered to be the main romantic pairing of the series, have audiences fanning themselves down.
Hot and bothered doesn’t even cover it, dear reader.
Speaking to SBS’s Cultwo Show, Kim Min Gue revealed that he ad-libbed the now-famous removal of his glasses, which is what seemed to get everyone’s collars steaming.
He said, via : ‘Originally, it wasn’t intentional to take off the glasses. While shooting the scene, it was uncomfortable with glasses, so I took them off.’
As we mentioned above, the finale airs tonight – having spent the past month and a bit dropping two instalments on us a week – with all episodes available to watch on Netflix in the UK.
