Riya Chaudhary, Delhi
Romance Is a Bonus Book is a 2019 tvN K-Drama that revolves around the lives of people who work in a book publishing company. The main leads of the drama are, Kang Dan-i (played by Lee Na-young), and Cha Eun-ho (played by Lee Jong-suk).
Picture Credit : Wikipedia
Kang Dan-i, a woman in her mid-thirties who wants to work again after a long career break, but life does not come easy for her. This drama is a breath of fresh air, as it explores the beautiful layers of friendship and love between a single mother and her childhood friend, Cha Eun-ho, who is younger in age than her.
Lee Jong-suk plays the role of Cha Eun-ho, who is not only a genius writer, a literature professor at a university but also the youngest chief editor at Gyeoroo Publishing. In this role, Lee Jong-suk has emerged as a total heartthrob with his warm appearance and unique charms on screen. His character is fiercely loyal to the people he cares about and his company, as he consistently strives to do right by them. Kang Dan-i and Cha Eun-ho are childhood friends. Kang Dan-i introduces him to the world of books and is also the reason behind him becoming a writer in many ways. Due to circumstances, Cha Eun-ho is not aware of the hardships Kang Dai-i has undergone over the years, so he gets surprised when she appears for giving an interview at his publishing company, for a position that does not match with her credentials and caliber. He is in love with Kang Dan-i but hesitates to show his feelings to prevent from ruining their friendship.
Lee Na-young plays the role of Kang Dan-i, a woman in her mid-thirties. She has a daughter and is a divorcee. She was once a successful publisher but she becomes penniless and lost her ability to work, leading to a long career gap. She reaches a point where she has no house, no job, and no money. However, even at her lowest point – she remains positive and determinant, and finds the silver linings, going as far as staying in her old home, which has been marked for demolition. She secretly works at Cha Eun-ho’s house as a housekeeper. Eun-ho entrusts her for helping him find a housekeeper for his house but she sneakily does all chores for remuneration as well as eats and bathes at his place. Eventually, she fails to keep her secrets from him as Cha Eun-ho finds out, but he let her stay in his house for as long as she wants. Later on, she gets a job as a temporary support task team member at Gyoreoo Publishing by lying about her qualifications. Although, Cha Eun-ho worries about how she will perform, she surprises him and other senior executives with her creativity and hard work.
Although the plot of this drama does not throw in any unnecessary drama or unrealistic twists but still it is able to successfully capture the beauty in people’s mundane and everyday life. It does not have any antagonist but it’s all about real people and real-life issues, depicted in a simple and delicate manner. For some people, this drama may be a soothing way to unwind from a hectic day, as they can resonate with the lives of characters. The portrayal of Lee Na-young as Kang Dan-i makes her character likable and relatable, because of the way she deals with each difficulty and the way her child-like excitement comes out for every little achievement in her life. It’s Lee Jong-suk’s first romantic comedy and as I had thoroughly enjoyed his previous works in W-Two Worlds and While You Were Sleeping, it was a must-watch for me. There are many cheesy and romantic scenes throughout the drama that will make you go ‘awww’. The rest of the cast is EXCEPTIONAL. There are many supporting characters given the setting of the story, but the important ones get their time to rightfully shine and have their own stories and character developments.
This K-Drama manages to make a meaningful statement about the women in the workforce. Not only that — the way this drama approached and tackled different sensitive topics like mental illness, marriage, and divorce, was stellar! I watched the lives of each character with a heavy heart because they felt so real. ALSO, huge appreciation for the entire team of this drama that showed a positive representation of the LGBT community. ‘Romance Is a Bonus Book’ is one of those rare shows which leaves you with a smile and warmth in your heart at the end of each episode. One of the good aspects of this drama, if you are a book lover, is that you will also get insights about how a book publishing house runs, and how the process of making books take place. Don’t miss the end credits, where at the end of each episode there is a bonus clip that is softly poetic and is an honest touch to the developments of the show. The drama is available on Netflix.
Fun fact: Lee Na-young made her comeback to K-Dramas with this show after 9 years. Also, Lee Jong-suk is a big fan of Lee Na-young, so watch out for their on-screen chemistry if you have not watched this drama already!
Watch this lovely short video of the cast dancing!
You’ve so beautifully described the drama ❤️
Waiting for your next 🌸😊
Thankyou!!
Your writing is very Nice. Keep going on… ❤️❤️ It’s very simple but attractive.
Thankyou
I recently finished watching this drama and I just can’t get over Lee Jong Suk😂 He was serving looks the whole series. The best part about the drama was that it was centered around books and related books with our real life so well. So it felt like a blessing to us booklovers
I feel this! Glad you enjoyed it
This drama will always remain one of my favourite for its beautiful storyline, amazing acting of the entire cast, and beautiful OSTs. You have expressed your thoughts so well! I loved how you described the character and journey of Kang Dan-i , and appreciated Lee Jong-suk as Cha Eun-ho. His acting was simply effortless and amazing in this drama. This pairing broke so many stereotypes, which you mentioned really well.
Thankyou so much!!
This drama caught my heart, not even kidding. This is one of the best dramas I’ve ever seen. Honestly, I started to watch this drama because of Lee Jong Suk, but soon fell in love with the storyline and the characters. I love the way you present your reviews 🙂
Thankyou so much
Lee jong suk ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ i just simply love him…. hope to see him again in another stunning drama.
Thankyou
I really loved Dani’s character in this drama
Also the ending , lines of episodes the poetry,
One of my favourite was, I am learning what makes me happy, people calling my name makes me happy.
And also , the one with analogy between people and trees
Yesss! It was beautiful right..
Like!! Great article post.Really thank you! Really Cool.
Thank you
Love this drama specially the character of Kang Dani …. Well written review
Thankyou
Good drama
Thankyou!
Well written..!
Thankyou
So beautifully described one of the Dramas which I will never get tired watching again and again. Lee Jon Suk❤️ was amazing. The drama which shows us the efforts behind every book that is printed. One which caught my attention was the Dialogue ” The Moon is beautiful”💖💖💖💖
We’ll written review …
Glad you liked it! Thankyou so much
Well Articulated!! 😍👏🏻❤❤ I loved it😍 also the drama is so good! ❤
Thankyou so much
This whole drama and cast was fab.. Thnku for writing about it nd reminding me of this drama again.☺️ should watch it again now 😛
Thankyou so much!
Wow , you desccribed the drama soo beautifully , that now I cant resist of watching it … I was just pushing this drama over and over cause I was not sure how it is but now the way u described it is incredible …. ♥️♥️
Thank youuuuu
Great cast, Great message👏. Both lead stars have great chemistry together and Jung Suk lee has very good comedic timing 😂
Yess.. he really has an amazing comedic timing.. Thankyou so much
Amazing!
Thankyou
Great blog!!!!! It’s really helpful if you haven’t watched the show…
Thankyou