運K-Fate

Home › K-dramas › Business Proposal

Business Proposal (사내맞선): Plot, Characters and Cast

Business Proposal (사내맞선, Sanae Matseon) is an office romantic comedy that SBS aired in 2022. It's just 12 episodes, written by Han Seol-hee and Hong Bo-hee and directed by Park Seon-ho. It's based on a web novel (and webtoon) by HaeHwa and reached number one on Netflix's global ranking of non-English series. Here you have the plot, characters, cast and Saju.

Cast
Ahn Hyo-seop, Kim Se-jeong, Kim Min-kyu, Seol In-ah
SBS
2022 · 12 episodes

Official video

Business Proposal | Official Trailer | Netflix [ENG SUB]

Official video by Netflix K-Content on YouTube. It only loads if you press play.

Plot (no spoilers)

Shin Ha-ri works as a food researcher and has a rich best friend, Jin Young-seo, who is fed up with the blind dates arranged for her. To help her out, Ha-ri agrees to pose as her on one of those dates. The plan looks foolproof: behave so badly that the suitor runs off and never wants to see her again.

The problem is who's sitting across from her. The man on the date is Kang Tae-moo, the young CEO of the food company where Ha-ri works. Tae-moo is a workaholic, pressured by his grandfather to get married, and tired of meeting one candidate after another. So, against all logic, he decides he wants to marry the baffling woman he has just met.

From that moment on, Ha-ri has to keep up a double identity: at the office she's just another employee; outside it, her boss thinks she's someone else. Every lie forces her to invent another, and the situations get more and more absurd. Around them are Cha Sung-hoon, Tae-moo's chief secretary and childhood friend, and Young-seo herself, the owner of the name Ha-ri borrowed.

Characters and their Saju

庚

Kang Tae-moo 강태무

Ahn Hyo-seop · Yang Metal · The Sword

Tae-moo is the young CEO of a food company and practically lives for work. His grandfather is pushing him to marry, and he wants to settle the matter like any other piece of paperwork. Efficient and direct, he isn't used to things going off plan.

If Tae-moo had a Saju card, it would be Yang Metal · The Sword: decisive, efficient and short on patience for anything unnecessary. He cuts fast, decides fast. His big lesson will be that love can't be managed like a board meeting.

乙

Shin Ha-ri 신하리

Kim Se-jeong · Yin Wood · The Climbing Vine

Ha-ri is a food researcher and a loyal friend, capable of getting into a huge mess to help Young-seo. She has a knack for improvising, although her plans don't always turn out as expected. At first, all she wants is for the date to end quickly and without consequences.

If Ha-ri had a Saju card, it would be Yin Wood · The Climbing Vine: flexible, resourceful and able to adapt to any wall, even a borrowed identity. She bends a thousand times without breaking and always finds a way to keep growing.

戊

Cha Sung-hoon 차성훈

Kim Min-kyu · Yang Earth · The Mountain

Sung-hoon is Tae-moo's chief secretary and his closest friend since childhood. He is loyal and knows his boss like few people do. While Tae-moo gets tangled up in his own love story, he is the support that keeps the office and his friend's life in order.

If Sung-hoon had a Saju card, it would be Yang Earth · The Mountain: reliable, patient and always in the same place when his friend needs him. Mountains make no noise, but without them the landscape falls apart.

丙

Jin Young-seo 진영서

Seol In-ah · Yang Fire · The Sun

Young-seo is Ha-ri's best friend, the daughter of a wealthy family and tired of the arranged blind dates set up for her. She wants to run her life her own way, which is why she asks Ha-ri for the favor that sets everything off. She's the spark that lights the whole tangle.

If Young-seo had a Saju card, it would be Yang Fire · The Sun: bright, independent and with no wish to orbit anyone. She wants to choose her own sky, and when she decides something, she does it with all her light.

And what would your Saju be? Find out free with your birth date.

Why so many people fell for it

Business Proposal is pure fun: a fake identity, a boss who falls for the wrong person and a second couple with plenty of charm. At just 12 episodes, you can watch it in a few days and it leaves you smiling. In Latin America it premiered on Netflix under its Spanish title, and Peruvian and Latin American media highlighted it as one of the platform's most-watched K-dramas of 2022. Plus, its song "Love, Maybe" by MeloMance won a MAMA award.

Facts

Ending (spoilers)

Show the ending

Spoiler: the truth eventually comes out, and Tae-moo and Ha-ri become a real couple. The second couple gets its happy ending too: Sung-hoon and Young-seo fall in love. A romantic comedy that delivers everything it promises, with no unnecessary drama at the end.

If you liked it, watch next

Frequently asked questions

How many episodes does Business Proposal have?

Business Proposal has 12 episodes, fewer than most of the K-dramas on this list. SBS aired it in 2022. It's a good pick if you're looking for a short, fun story.

What is Business Proposal about?

Shin Ha-ri goes on a blind date posing as her rich friend, planning to scare the suitor away. But he turns out to be Kang Tae-moo, the CEO of her company.

Is Business Proposal based on a webtoon?

Yes. The series is based on a web novel by HaeHwa that also had a webtoon version. Ahn Hyo-seop and Kim Se-jeong star in the adaptation.

Enter your birth date and get your Four Pillars chart in 10 seconds — free.