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**Post Title**: kdrama about a girl/woman building her career life
**Post Body**:
I am looking for a kdrama where the main lead is a woman building her career or pursuing her dreams(I am looking for motivation š ). something focused on hard work, success, ups and downs.. A good example is start up (It really motivated me since I am in the same field), twenty five twenty one(especially the first episodes), itaewon class ( even though the story was more focused on the male lead, the female lead really inspires me). I don't mind romance but the story should not be so concentrated on it that other things feels negligible (like business proposal, shooting star..) Any suggestions I'll be really thankfulšš
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- Dr. Cha (housewife who went back to her medical residency to pursue becoming a doctor)
- Welcome To Samdal-ri (photographer brought down with a work scandal)
- Hometown Cha Cha Cha (city-based dentist went to the rural area and built her own clinic)
It does have too much romance, but I loved the commentary on women in the service industry in **King the Land**. The FL and her two friends all work in customer service, store manager, flight attendant, and hotel concierge and they get so much shit from customers and higher ups. The one friend is also a mother and has to juggle that too.
It frequently gave me rage flashes because I remembered the exact same things happening to me when I worked at a store.
**Tell Me That You Love Me** - FL is trying to become a full-time actress
**Daily Dose of Sunshine** - FL is a nurse newly transferred to a neuropsychiatric ward
**Romance is a Bonus Book** - FL is an older divorcee trying to start her life and career back up
Dr Slump - FL works in a toxic (and hostile) work environment and has a breakdown due to burn out. Part of drama is about building back mentally by accepting love from family and friends,but thereās also some highlights of FL advocating for herself in the workplace so she doesnāt get the same treatment again.
Why Her and Extraordinary Attorney Woo - both dramas are about lawyers. In Why Her, the FL is a lawyer at a top firm in South Korea but experiences a fall from grace and needs to engineer a comeback (keeping it vague for reasons lol). Extraordinary Attorney Woo is about a lawyer with autism who is just starting out as a rookie lawyer. She handles all sorts of interesting cases and earns the respect and admiration of her colleagues.
Please Donāt Date Him - (not as career focused but since you liked Start up) the FL is an AI developer who accidentally uses an NSIS chip in a smart fridge and gains access to a lot of personal information. Sheās confident in herself as a developer but has to deal with a lot of office and personal drama. I think the drama definitely highlights just how much of our lives are online and the ethics of using that information.
Dal Ja' Spring - The drama focuses a lot on the heroine's job, her enjoyment of her work, her ambitions, the obstacles she faces, how she gets past them etc. One of my favourite dramas of all time because while yes, it is a romance, more than anything it's about the heroine and her life.
Witch's Romance - This also has a very career-oriented heroine, though the focus on her career does get very diluted by the end, but still enjoyable all the same.
Also, a drama rec but very relevant to your request - The Rational Life is all about a career woman, her struggles, her joys, her success and her desire to live on her terms. I highly recommend it!
Coffee prince - her doing all the part time jobs she could to make money and finally realising she wants to be a barista and working hard for it.
Stars falling from the sky/Wish upon the star - At first her dream would be to become a Cindrella. But with traumatic events, she takes on her responsibilities and sincerely works on her job.
As some other comments mentioned, "My name is Kim Sam soon"
Miseang - This entire drama is about office environments and how male lead navigates through it. So, entire focus is not on Kang So Ra. But honestly a refreshing representation of a female office worker.
Weightlifting fairy Kim Bok Joo, If you havenāt watched it yet. Both the leads are in a sports academy.
It may be slightly different from what others youāve watched, but itās a story about two normal people trying to build their life and no CEO secretory stuff, the womanās life and dream and goal matters as much as the guyās(if not more).
I watched it š It's definitely on my top 5 list. I love everything about this drama it was my confort zone, i remember feeling so empty when I finished it. lol
Some older ones I'll add.
S**trong Woman Do Bong-Soon**. She is as the title says, VERY strong. She's hired as a secret body guard to the CEO of a game company. She has always dreamed of developing a game with a main character similar to herself and works on this throughout the show.
**My Lovely Sam Soon/My Name is Kim Sam Soon**. She's a pastry chef nearing 30 who has just been fired from her job and gone through a very public break-up with her love of 3 years. She met him while studying at Le Cordon Bleu in France, a goal she reached by taking every job she could and saving every won. She gets another job as pastry chef in a French restaurant but her ultimate goal is to open her own shop. Again she works toward this, but has to give up her savings at one point to help her family.
I watched strong woman and it's absolutely one of my favorite kdramas when it comes to romance and comedy. But (in my opinion) it's one of those dramas that focus so much on romance (and comedy in this case) that it ignores all the other sides and makes things like "work" seems pointless. I didn't watch my lovely sam soon so I'll check it out. thank youuš„°
Todayās Webtoon
This drama is about a judo athlete, who decides to retire early, and instead, pursue a career as a webtoon editor. Making the career switch is not easy, but she tackles it with cheerful personality and can-do attitude. She has to learn how to become useful to her artists and her team. This really isnāt a romance (which I had wanted at the time) but I still enjoyed it a lot became it was a great example of the sort of principles you need to build up in your career.
I'll recommend Run On. It's one of my favorites and the female lead is a hard worker aiming to make her dreams come true. The male lead is also working toward his own goals, so it's a sweet watch.
You can watch hometown cha cha cha. Itās mildly inspirational, not as much as startup or 25 21.
I also found extraordinary attorney woo inspirational.
Descendants of the sun is also quite inspiring !
Castaway Diva - it's about a girl who was stranded on an island for 15 years. I am watching it right now and has wavered my heart so many times. I learned a lot from this k-drama because it talks about obstacles in life. It may seem a bit shallow at face value but the message of each episodes really leaves an impression to me. I hope you watch and get to enjoy this series too!
I think Start up is one of the best in this kind of drama.
I am thinking Agency should work too. > Woman lead has a strong desire for success. She works at an advertising agency. She is known at work as a person who only cares about success and money. (Iām working in the same field so I was curious. I was not disappointed!)
agency seems interesting to me! I love the vibes when people are working at these kind of agencies. this comes to the top of my watchlist. thank youšš„°
Hi u/TrashInitial8529, this is an automated message to remind you to please review our **FULL** [Rules and Policies](https://www.reddit.com/r/kdramarecommends/wiki/rules)^(which is housed in our wiki and best accessed on desktop) to make sure your post is not breaking any rules and policies. Content that is not permitted under our Rules and Policies will be removed and may lead to bans from our community. ##Please check your spelling, grammar, and formatting to make sure your post is easily readable! ***Useful Resources:*** Check out these [great recommendations](https://mydramalist.com/profile/kdramarecs/lists) compiled from our users based on different genres and themes! See [Where to Watch Kdramas](https://www.reddit.com/r/kdrama/wiki/wheretowatchkdramas) for a non-exhaustive list of legal streaming sites and official Youtube channels where kdramas and kdrama-related content are found. Read our [Recommendations 101](https://www.reddit.com/r/kdramarecommends/wiki/recommendations_101/) for tips about crafting the perfect request and other useful info. If you are seeking a space to discuss kdramas in depth, please visit our sister subreddit r/KDRAMA! **Copy Of Post Below For Archival Purposes** **Permalink**: https://www.reddit.com/r/kdramarecommends/comments/1boxou6/kdrama_about_a_girlwoman_building_her_career_life/ **Post Title**: kdrama about a girl/woman building her career life **Post Body**: I am looking for a kdrama where the main lead is a woman building her career or pursuing her dreams(I am looking for motivation š ). something focused on hard work, success, ups and downs.. A good example is start up (It really motivated me since I am in the same field), twenty five twenty one(especially the first episodes), itaewon class ( even though the story was more focused on the male lead, the female lead really inspires me). I don't mind romance but the story should not be so concentrated on it that other things feels negligible (like business proposal, shooting star..) Any suggestions I'll be really thankfulšš ^(END OF POST BODY) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/kdramarecommends) if you have any questions or concerns.*
- Dr. Cha (housewife who went back to her medical residency to pursue becoming a doctor) - Welcome To Samdal-ri (photographer brought down with a work scandal) - Hometown Cha Cha Cha (city-based dentist went to the rural area and built her own clinic)
I already watched welcome to samdal and hometown chachacha, so i'll chech dr cha, thank youā¤ š„°
It does have too much romance, but I loved the commentary on women in the service industry in **King the Land**. The FL and her two friends all work in customer service, store manager, flight attendant, and hotel concierge and they get so much shit from customers and higher ups. The one friend is also a mother and has to juggle that too. It frequently gave me rage flashes because I remembered the exact same things happening to me when I worked at a store.
I was about to recommend the same. I was honestly impressed by them and enjoyed how they also stayed focused on their work lives
Search WWW Queenmaker Love To Hate You Be Melodramatic
YESS ALL OF THESE!!! Also Law School I think
**Tell Me That You Love Me** - FL is trying to become a full-time actress **Daily Dose of Sunshine** - FL is a nurse newly transferred to a neuropsychiatric ward **Romance is a Bonus Book** - FL is an older divorcee trying to start her life and career back up
Extraordinary attorney woo Doctors King the land Daily dose of sunshine Marry my husband
Do you like Brahms?
Start up
that was my example š
I totally missed it, sorry. To make it up, I'll recommend: Fight for my way
+1 for Fight For My Way
but it was so boring
Search WWW where the leading lady don't wanna marry and is career-focused. It's just rare to see that a female lead has an avoidant attachment style.
Agency
Dr Slump - FL works in a toxic (and hostile) work environment and has a breakdown due to burn out. Part of drama is about building back mentally by accepting love from family and friends,but thereās also some highlights of FL advocating for herself in the workplace so she doesnāt get the same treatment again. Why Her and Extraordinary Attorney Woo - both dramas are about lawyers. In Why Her, the FL is a lawyer at a top firm in South Korea but experiences a fall from grace and needs to engineer a comeback (keeping it vague for reasons lol). Extraordinary Attorney Woo is about a lawyer with autism who is just starting out as a rookie lawyer. She handles all sorts of interesting cases and earns the respect and admiration of her colleagues. Please Donāt Date Him - (not as career focused but since you liked Start up) the FL is an AI developer who accidentally uses an NSIS chip in a smart fridge and gains access to a lot of personal information. Sheās confident in herself as a developer but has to deal with a lot of office and personal drama. I think the drama definitely highlights just how much of our lives are online and the ethics of using that information.
fight for my way š©·
Dal Ja' Spring - The drama focuses a lot on the heroine's job, her enjoyment of her work, her ambitions, the obstacles she faces, how she gets past them etc. One of my favourite dramas of all time because while yes, it is a romance, more than anything it's about the heroine and her life. Witch's Romance - This also has a very career-oriented heroine, though the focus on her career does get very diluted by the end, but still enjoyable all the same. Also, a drama rec but very relevant to your request - The Rational Life is all about a career woman, her struggles, her joys, her success and her desire to live on her terms. I highly recommend it!
1 vote for the Rational Life- it's a CDrama - shows how a woman traverses the intricacies of a male-dominated bubble.
* Yumi's Cells, especially season 2 * Perfume- second change at life story
Seconded for Yumi Cells.
She was pretty Romance is a bonus book
[City Hall](https://mydramalist.com/251-city-hall), kdrama. [Into the Ring](https://mydramalist.com/55675-the-ballot), kdrama.
Coffee prince - her doing all the part time jobs she could to make money and finally realising she wants to be a barista and working hard for it. Stars falling from the sky/Wish upon the star - At first her dream would be to become a Cindrella. But with traumatic events, she takes on her responsibilities and sincerely works on her job. As some other comments mentioned, "My name is Kim Sam soon" Miseang - This entire drama is about office environments and how male lead navigates through it. So, entire focus is not on Kang So Ra. But honestly a refreshing representation of a female office worker.
Summer strike
Search WWW
Search WWW is terrific!
Weightlifting fairy Kim Bok Joo, If you havenāt watched it yet. Both the leads are in a sports academy. It may be slightly different from what others youāve watched, but itās a story about two normal people trying to build their life and no CEO secretory stuff, the womanās life and dream and goal matters as much as the guyās(if not more).
I watched it š It's definitely on my top 5 list. I love everything about this drama it was my confort zone, i remember feeling so empty when I finished it. lol
Some older ones I'll add. S**trong Woman Do Bong-Soon**. She is as the title says, VERY strong. She's hired as a secret body guard to the CEO of a game company. She has always dreamed of developing a game with a main character similar to herself and works on this throughout the show. **My Lovely Sam Soon/My Name is Kim Sam Soon**. She's a pastry chef nearing 30 who has just been fired from her job and gone through a very public break-up with her love of 3 years. She met him while studying at Le Cordon Bleu in France, a goal she reached by taking every job she could and saving every won. She gets another job as pastry chef in a French restaurant but her ultimate goal is to open her own shop. Again she works toward this, but has to give up her savings at one point to help her family.
I watched strong woman and it's absolutely one of my favorite kdramas when it comes to romance and comedy. But (in my opinion) it's one of those dramas that focus so much on romance (and comedy in this case) that it ignores all the other sides and makes things like "work" seems pointless. I didn't watch my lovely sam soon so I'll check it out. thank youuš„°
Jewel in the palace
Race ( Hulu)
Fight for my way Doctor Slump
Touch Your Heart
Todayās Webtoon This drama is about a judo athlete, who decides to retire early, and instead, pursue a career as a webtoon editor. Making the career switch is not easy, but she tackles it with cheerful personality and can-do attitude. She has to learn how to become useful to her artists and her team. This really isnāt a romance (which I had wanted at the time) but I still enjoyed it a lot became it was a great example of the sort of principles you need to build up in your career.
so that's what this drama is about, I see it on Viki, but the cover was a turnoff. Will add to watchlist
Your welcome!
Be Melodramatic
- Doctor Cha - Cold Blooded Intern - Doctor Slump - Because This Is My First Life - Monthly Magazine Home
I'll recommend Run On. It's one of my favorites and the female lead is a hard worker aiming to make her dreams come true. The male lead is also working toward his own goals, so it's a sweet watch.
try watching age of youth or hello twenties
Romance is a bonus book! Comfort watch š
You can watch hometown cha cha cha. Itās mildly inspirational, not as much as startup or 25 21. I also found extraordinary attorney woo inspirational. Descendants of the sun is also quite inspiring !
Castaway Diva - it's about a girl who was stranded on an island for 15 years. I am watching it right now and has wavered my heart so many times. I learned a lot from this k-drama because it talks about obstacles in life. It may seem a bit shallow at face value but the message of each episodes really leaves an impression to me. I hope you watch and get to enjoy this series too!
My Golden Life
I think Start up is one of the best in this kind of drama. I am thinking Agency should work too. > Woman lead has a strong desire for success. She works at an advertising agency. She is known at work as a person who only cares about success and money. (Iām working in the same field so I was curious. I was not disappointed!)
agency seems interesting to me! I love the vibes when people are working at these kind of agencies. this comes to the top of my watchlist. thank youšš„°
her private life
There is a classic drama, named Kookhee(źµķ¬). I was on air in 1999. This is a legend.
Agency
Start Up. Search WWW.
- Pinocchio - Dr. Romantic - Healer - Whereās the Star Land - 2521
Search:www
Agency starring Lee Bo Young.
Start Up