2PM’s Lee Junho on why “a risky workplace romance [is] always the best”

K-Romance has a knack for pairing up characters who are polar opposites. Social status, personalities, you name it – they bring together the unlikeliest couples and make their love stories utterly irresistible. Destined with You puts a hotshot lawyer with a lowly civil servant who might hold the key to break his family curse. Will fate be able to bridge the gulf in their social status?

Revealing the kind of romance shows she enjoys, Cho Bo-ah, who plays civil servant Lee Hong-jo, says: “I love the traditional kind of romance with an unbreakable bond between two completely different people.”

Another K-Romance classic is when enemies turn into lovers, just like in King the Land when an unlikely romance brews between a wealthy heir of a hotel who detests fake smiles and his hardworking employee who’s known for her irresistible smile. Former global K-pop idols Jun-ho and Yoona light up the screen with their sizzling chemistry. “Isn’t a risky workplace romance always the best?” says Jun-ho cheekily. “The emotions are so relatable and real because of the office setting. It can happen to you!”

Ever wondered if love could endure beyond life and death? K-Romance titles explore this with the “time leap” or “rebirth” theme, posing the question: “Would you still love me if we could do it all over again?”

For Shin Hye-sun, who stars in See You in My 19th Life, the answer is a resounding yes. She describes true love as a “powerful affection that’s strong enough to bulldoze through your afterlife and still have your heart set on the same person.” Sure enough, Shin portrays a young girl who can endlessly reincarnate but when her 18th life gets cut short, she dedicates the next one to finding her now grown-up childhood crush who does not remember anything.

Similarly, in A Time Called You, Jeon Yeo-been plays a grieving woman who magically travels through time to 1998, where she meets a man remarkably similar to her late love. To Jeon, K-Romance can offer much hope, as it shows that “no matter how far back in time, no matter how different the person seems to appear, if it’s destiny, then you will end up together.”

Ever fantasised about bumping into your celebrity crush in a love-at-first-sight moment? Whether it’s a chance encounter on the street or moving next door to your idol, K-Romance brings your wildest romantic dreams to life – just like in Doona! where college freshman Won-jun and former K-pop idol Doona end up sharing a house together.

Yang Se-jong plays the very ordinary Won-jun, who falls in love with Doona, portrayed by Suzy who was previously a K-pop star herself. Doona is definitely out of Won-jun’s league but as Yang puts it, K-Romance series are special because that’s when “a dream-like love can come to life.” Doona! premieres on Oct 20 only on Netflix.