While “Brewing Love” didn’t have an intense plot or a big bad villain to defeat, it excelled in portraying sweet green-flag love, found family, and a cozy vibe from start to finish. It might be challenging to find a K-drama that combines all the great elements about “Brewing Love,” but here are four shows you should try if you’re struggling to move on from the masterpiece that was “Brewing Love.”
“A Business Proposal”
If you’re already noticing Kim Se Jeong’s absence in your life, then “A Business Proposal” will be the perfect K-drama for you. Considered one of Kim Se Jeong’s most popular performances, “A Business Proposal” is a fun romantic comedy revolving around Shin Ha Ri, played by Kim Se Jeong.
One day, while meeting her rich chaebol friend Jin Young Seo (Seol In Ah), she agrees to go on a blind date in her stead. The terms and conditions are simple: go on the date pretending to be Jin Young Seo, act as obnoxious as possible, get rejected by the blind date, and get paid in cash.
While she’s 100 percent ready to make her blind date hate her and reject her on the spot, something unexpected happens — the blind date turns out to be none other than her boss, Kang Tae Moo (Ahn Hyo Seop). As if that weren’t enough, the day after the disastrous date, Kang Tae Moo calls Shin Ha Ri and proposes marriage just to stop his grandfather from sending him on more annoying blind dates. However, after Shin Ha Ri’s fake identity is exposed when Young Seo confesses about hiring an actress for the date, Kang Tae Moo scraps the marriage idea and instead offers Shin Ha Ri 800,000 won (approximately $550) per date to act as his girlfriend. Despite their rocky start, the couple soon finds themselves falling in love with each other.
“Knight Flower”
For those who miss Min Ju’s sweet smile, “Knight Flower” is the perfect K-drama to add to your watchlist. “Knight Flower” is one of Lee Jong Won’s fairly recent projects, in which he plays the love interest of the talented veteran actress, Lee Ha Nee.
“Knight Flower” is a historical cross-dressing double identity rom-com about Cho Yeo Hwa (Lee Ha Nee), a woman from the most prestigious and noble family in the entire kingdom, who has been a widow for over 15 years. During the day, she lives her life as a devoted widow, honoring her dead husband’s memory and rarely stepping a foot outside of her house. But as soon as the sun goes down, she puts on her black mask and saves lives as a vigilante. During one of her nightly hero outings, she crosses paths with Park Soo Ho, a senior Capital Guard officer, played by Lee Jong Won. Although she successfully maintains her disguise the first time, the two keep running into each other, sparking Park Soo Ho’s curiosity about Cho Yeo Hwa.
Will she be able to keep her identity a secret or fall in love with the younger officer?
Start watching “Knight Flower”:
“Summer Strike”
While there’s nothing wrong with setting a story in the city, one thing that made “Brewing Love” so heartwarming and cozy is its small, secluded village setting. Similarly, one K-drama that utilizes a small-town location just as effectively is “Summer Strike.” Adapted from the webtoon “I Don’t Feel Like Doing Anything,” “Summer Strike” is a slice-of-life K-drama with a soft and fuzzy romance, much like “Brewing Love.”
“Summer Strike” tells the story of Lee Yeo Reum, played by Seolhyun, a 20-something woman living in Seoul. Even though her life isn’t perfect, she’s doing okay: she got a permanent contract at her publishing house job, her relationship with her boyfriend seems stable, and while her life is boring, it has a routine. However, one day, bad luck strikes. She defends herself at work for the first time and ends up losing her job. Her boyfriend also breaks up with her, and while she’s trying to cope, her mother passes away.
As life keeps hitting her with one misfortune after another, she decides to go on strike and spend a year away from the city in a small beach town, doing absolutely nothing. There, she meets An Dae Beom (Im Siwan), an extremely introverted librarian. One thing leads to another, and she not only finds love but also friends, family, and a renewed sense of purpose in life.
Start watching “Summer Strike”:
“Strong Woman Do Bong Soon”
One of the many charms of “Brewing Love” is its gender-stereotype-defying main leads. While in most K-dramas (and media in general), women are often portrayed as fragile damsels in distress that need saving and men as their knights in shining armor, “Brewing Love” takes a different approach. Although Min Ju isn’t portrayed as physically weak, Yong Ju’s strength as an ex-military member is emphasized in every episode. Another K-drama that explores similar themes is “Strong Woman Do Bong Soon,” a legendary series featuring an extraordinarily strong female lead.
As the title suggests, “Strong Woman Do Bong Soon” tells the story of Do Bong Soon (Park Bo Young), a beautiful, kind, and honest young woman, who, despite being petite, possesses immense strength. Unlike Yong Ju from “Brewing Love,” Do Bong Soon’s strength isn’t the result of military training but rather a magical gift passed down through generations of women in her family.
One day, while defending herself from bullies on the street, Do Bong Soon catches the attention of Ahn Min Hyuk (Park Hyung Sik), the somewhat childish yet extremely handsome CEO of a gaming company. He insists on hiring her as his bodyguard after receiving threats from an unknown enemy. And while Min Hyuk is smitten with Do Bong Soon at first sight, she’s madly in love with her childhood friend-turned-police officer, In Guk Doo (Ji Soo).
Between saving Ahn Min Hyuk’s life and deciding which of the two attractive men she truly likes, “Strong Woman Do Bong Soon” is a K-drama that will leave you laughing uncontrollably in every episode.
Start watching “Strong Woman Do Bong Soon”:
Hello ers! Are there any K-dramas you would like to add to this list? Let us know in the comments section below!
Javeria is a binge-watching specialist who loves devouring entire K-dramas in one sitting. Good screenwriting, beautiful cinematography, and a lack of cliches are the way to her heart. As a music fanatic, she listens to multiple artists across different genres and stans the self-producing idol group SEVENTEEN. You can talk to her on Instagram @javeriayousufs
Looking forward to: “Squid Game Season 2,” “Namib,” and “Reborn.”