Park Hyung-sik Returns to His Rom-Com Roots in ‘A Proper Romance’

Park Hyung-sik is back in his romantic element thanks to A Proper Romance. After playing dark characters back-to-back in projects like the revenge-heavy Buried Hearts (2025) and the superhero fantasy action Twelve (2025), the Hallyu star is returning to his romantic hero avatar with this new Netflix K-drama.

Essentially an office romance, A Proper Romance brings back that perfect blend of arrogance and vulnerability we haven’t seen since Park Hyung-sik’s legendary role in the classic rom-com Korean drama Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (2017). Park Gyu-young will co-star in this enemies-to-lovers story directed by Nam Sung-woo.

This new plot packs a hilarious punch, with Park Hyung-sik starring as Na Jeong-seok, an elite, haughty CEO of a startup. The interesting twist here is that during Jeong-seok’s military service, he was under the command of his superior Woo A-mi, played by Park Gyu-young. In a complete turn of events, A-mi joins his firm as a new employee, only to find herself — much to her chagrin — at the mercy of a grumpy CEO who was once her junior.

Park Hyung-sik’s shift back to a love story makes A Proper Romance the refreshing palate cleanser we needed after his recent streak of darker offerings: in Buried Hearts, he played Seo Dong-ju, a cold, calculating corporate hacker driven by a ruthless thirst for revenge, and in Twelve, he went supernatural as O-gwi, a powerful evil spirit. Seeing him trade those shadows for a sharp suit and a moody-but-soft role feels like the return to what could be called his “Sik-kye” persona, a metaphor that compares his sweet presence to Sikhye, a refreshing traditional Korean rice drink. It’s also a reminder that while he can definitely hold his own in a dark alley or a political revenge scheme, nobody portrays a flustered, head-over-heels CEO quite like Park Hyung-sik. If anything, it promises moments of power struggles and unresolved tension, gradually leading to a slow-burning realization that the protagonists’ past or present ranks don’t stand a chance against their evolving chemistry.

According to reports, the show goes into production as early as April 2026 and is expected to release next year.