Dooboo and Namsoo, No Office Romance!, Webtoon.
No Office Romance – Information
Author of Story: Dooboo and Namsoo
Chapter Count: 57+ Chapters
Status: Ongoing
Content Warnings
These content warnings do not reflect the contents of the review below; only the literary work itself.
- Mild depictions of illness, blood, injury
Spoiler Disclaimer
This recommendation post may contain small plot spoilers for review purposes. Any major spoilers are hidden by default and are able to be revealed via click or tap.
I am so excited to review this adorable series! No Office Romance is a lovely webtoon series created by two webtoon authors: Namsoo, the creator of Romance 101 (one of my favorite webtoons), and Dooboo, who wrote One of a Kind Romance.
Although I haven’t read One of a Kind Romance just yet, I really enjoyed Romance 101. It really touched my heart, so I had been eagerly awaiting the English translation of the No Office Romance webtoon—and here it is! So, let’s jump in.
No Office Romance – Plot Summary
The story focuses on the main character Yunji Oh, age 27. Yunji is a hard worker who really loves making others happy through her job (which involves managing festivals).
When the webtoon begins, we see in a short backstory showing how she moved overseas with her parents when she was in high school, leaving behind her first love in Korea…and for some reason, completely ghosting him. However, once she became a working adult, she moved back to Korea to help a friend with a job in festival management!
Once back in Korea, Yunji works very hard alongside her coworkers to make a perfect festival. Unfortunately, things don’t go exactly as planned, and she finds herself looking for new job opportunities.
This is when she unexpectedly runs into her first love, Saebom Shin, for the first time in 10 years—and, he happens to work at the very company she was looking to apply to! From this point on, things get very interesting for Yunji…
Dooboo and Namsoo, No Office Romance!, Webtoon.
Why You Should Read No Office Romance
Plot:
The setting of this webtoon is a refreshing adult-aged romance with characters who are at the beginning of their careers. Only a few chapters in, readers are quickly brought into an incredibly interesting string of events and introduced to multiple lead characters.
The No Office Romance webtoon brings the drama very quickly, and grabs your attention easily! Who wouldn’t love an office romance story about two separated high school sweethearts who suddenly meet again later?
Similarly to Romance 101, this story doesn’t seem to have one main conflict or “villain,” and instead pushes drama or problems with aspects like workplace gossip, miscommunication, and circumstances.
It takes place in a realistic setting, showcasing Yunji’s struggles to both solidify her career and fulfill her needs for company (in terms of romance and friendship).
While it seems like a simple plot, the authors do a great job at keeping things engaging and fun. It may be an office romance (despite the title, haha) but it has a really engaging storyline with some unexpected twists!
You’ll likely find yourself laughing at these characters and the wild situations they’re in—while also being very excited for the romance that’s sure to come. Speaking of, this is a very slow burn romance as these characters have a lot of person things to deal with.
Much of the story involves a slow-burning romantic tension that builds and builds as the characters struggle to accept how they truly feel or reveal their true emotions to each other. Ten years is a long time, but have these two really changed that much during that time?
That’s one theme of the story that I’ve been enjoying so far. Although this is an adult romance, it still has a good mix of sweetness, innocence, and maturity. Some readers seem to think “older” characters should have things “figured out” by their age, but as someone who is very close in age to these characters, I really relate to them.
Life doesn’t always go the way you think, and you also don’t just magically become mature, able to admit difficult feelings, or an expert at dealing with hard emotions just because of your age.
There is no magic number for maturity, and I really like how this series sort of gently pushes the notion that you’re still who you are regardless of your age. Ten years is a long time, but I think it is totally possible for Yunji and Saebom’s previous feelings to resurface now that they are around each other again.
Anyway, before I move on to talk about the characters, I wanted to quickly mention that this story does a great job at showcasing different types of romances and relationships. Us readers sort of get a double-dose of the long-term friends to lovers trope, as well as a bit of a bromance, haha.
I really loved how relationships were explored in Namsoo’s previous work, and No Office Romance seems to be leaning in a similar direction. I think it adds to the overall vibe of the story, creating a more sincere and heartfelt feeling to the plot.
All in all, if you love slow burn romances with lots of romantic tension and a plot that will touch your heart, you’ll probably really love this series!
Characters:
I really like the way this story introduces us to the characters. We get a little bit of background for each of the main characters, but not everything is fully explained at the start, so you’re left wanting to know more (like why Yunji went no-contact for so long, or how the romance between Yunji and Saebom originally started).
You get to slowly learn more and more about these characters’ history and personalities as the plot progresses!
I did want to talk a little about these lovable characters though, without spoiling any main plot points, of course. Starting with the main character and female lead, Yunji is an outgoing protagonist that somehow gets herself into some wild situations. She’s very earnest, considerate, empathetic, and hard-working—making her a very likable main character!
She does remind me a bit of Bareum from Romance 101, because they are both very determined, hardworking women. It’s nice to see this type of representation in female leads more often!
Then we have the first ML, Saebom Shin. He’s the OG first love, but is not considered a romantic interest by Yunji after their ten years of separation. However, this doesn’t mean that the he and Yunji are like strangers. After all, they have a long history of friendship even outside of their previous teenage romantic feelings.
Saebom has got a very funny personality. From the very beginning, he shows a boyish attitude or playfulness that only seems to come out around Yunji. Despite this childish side of him, he is also caring, reliable, and more expressive than I expected his character to be!
Dooboo and Namsoo, No Office Romance!, Webtoon.
Lastly we have the second ML, Ujin Pyo. He’s Yunji’s coworker/friend, and comes off as a nice and handsome character with a great personality. I know many people hate love triangles, but Ujin is really not your typical annoying second male lead.
He definitely gives readers a hard time choosing who to ship Yunji with, but I feel like with how the story has progressed so far, you won’t come to hate him in the end! I think he’s such a lovable character who also plays an important role in this story.
There are also some side characters throughout the story who you’ll come to love, and some secondary romances amongst them that are just as exciting as the main one. I won’t go too in-depth here about the side characters, but if you like to have a large cast of characters to fall in love with, don’t miss out on this lovely series.
Art:
According to the webtoon, the story for No Office Romance is written by Dooboo and illustrated by Namsoo; which is very obvious at first glance! I love Namsoo’s art style and I’m so happy to see it once again.
It has a lovely balance between a clean yet beautiful portrayal of attractive characters with the occasional cute chibi versions of them as well. The characters are always very expressive, making this story even more fun to read!
Any Cons?
I personally don’t have any cons for the No Office Romance webtoon; although I’ve seen a few readers in the webtoon comments say they were confusing the two male leads often due to their slightly similar appearances. I personally didn’t have this issue, but I’ll mention it here for other readers just in case!
Final Thoughts
Overall, I am so incredibly excited about the No Office Romance webtoon. I’ve enjoyed the first season of chapters a lot, and can’t wait for future updates. The story is so unpredictable and it is super fun to read! I think there will be even more romance to enjoy in the next season, too!
If you are like me and will binge all the available chapters of No Office Romance quickly, you should also check out the authors’ other previously completed webtoons in the meantime! (๑˃ᴗ˂)
Disclaimer: Any images used for this blog are for illustrative purposes only, are not owned by me, and are under ownership of the artist or publisher.
Images Credit: Dooboo and Namsoo, No Office Romance!, Webtoon, 2023.
