WITH LOVE, FROM KOREA TO INDIA

HYUNWOO THOMAS KIM IS THE MAN BEHIND YOUR FAVOURITE NEW K-DRAMA, BUSINESS PROPOSAL, AND HE'S TAKEN IT UPON HIMSELF TO BRING THE BEST OF SOUTH KOREAN ENTERTAINMENT TO INDIA, AND VICE-VERSA, FINDS KASHIKA SAXENA

- KASHIKA SAXENA

When the first two episodes of the K-drama Business Proposal dropped on Netflix, I scream-texted my friend, “PLEASE WATCH BUSINESS PROPOSAL EVERYONE IS HOT I’VE LAUGHED OUT LOUD FIVE TIMES IN 10 MINUTES.” What even my unhinged, unpunctuated message could not have predicted was how charming each following episode would be.

The story of a young woman who unknowingly goes on a blind date with her boss to save her friend from an arranged marriage, Business Proposal is currently ranked in the top 10 dramas in 27 countries, including India. It is also ranked number one in 13 countries, including Bangladesh, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the UAE and Vietnam.

On his recent trip to India, Hyunwoo Thomas Kim, co-founder and president of Kross Pictures that produced Business Proposal and who runs operations in Los Angeles, Seoul, and Mumbai, spoke to Femina at length about what made him bet on the show, which was adapted from a superhit webtoon. “The story of Business Proposal is not something you’ve never heard before,” he agrees. “It’s a guy-falling-in-love-with-a-girl in this typical office setting. However, because it had been executed really well, we were very sure that we could make a good show. Not to this extent, this we had never expected. But we knew that we could make a good romcom, and what really worked is the actors. The chemistry was amazing not just between the leads Ahn Hyo-seop and Kim Se-jeong, but also between Se-jeong and Seol In-ah, who plays her friend. They became best friends after the show. I hear that they are so close now.”