Look no further than Gaus Electronics for a truly entertaining workplace comedy, romance. Kwak Dong-yeon (Vincenzo, My ID is Gangnam Beauty) stars as Lee Sang-sik, an employee on Marketing Team 3 at the company Gaus Electronics. Ko Sung-he (My Holo Love) plays Cha Na-rae, his senior on the team who spends much of her time brow beating him for his mistakes. Things start to get interesting when Na-rae moves into a new apartment and learns to her dismay that Sang-sik is her next-door neighbor. This gives each of them plenty of opportunities to see the other in a different light.
- Series Title: Gaus Electronics (Korean: 가우스전자)
- Starring: Kwak Dong-wook, Ko Sung-he, Bae Hyun-sung, Kang Min-ah
- Written by: Kang Go-en, Seo Han-na
- Directed by: Park Joon-soo
- Network: ENA
- Where to watch in the US: Viki
- Year Released: 2022
- # of episodes: 12
- KafeNook Rating: 4.3 sips
Gaus Electronics — !! Spoilers Ahead!!
This Kdrama review brought to you by the Gaus Electronics Review Bot App. v2.0.
The Gaus Electronics Review Bot App. v1.0 has some glitches. When I input the Kdrama, Gaus Electronics, into the app, it tried to spit out a review comparing this show to other office Kdramas. You know, shows like What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, Business Proposal and Kiss Sixth Sense. But Gaus Electronics doesn’t feature a lead who is a chaebol heir (okay it does have a character who is chaebol heir but he has a long way to go to become lead material). It doesn’t involve the male and female lead experiencing a trama together as children and then reconnecting as adults. It also doesn’t have any characters with special abilities that allow them to do things like see the future. There is one blind date in Gaus Electronic, but unlike Business Proposal, no sparks fly between the characters – only food!
I rebooted my app and tried again with v1.0 hoping for better results. This time, the app churned up several American office comedies, classics like Murphy Brown and WKRP in Cincinnati, plus the more recent The Office and Parks and Recs. Even the movie Office Space with everyone’s favorite swingline stapler fanatic, made the list. All these comedies feature great ensemble casts thrust into entertaining situations, so there is that in common with Gaus Electronics. But the comparisons still miss the mark. Gaus Electronics is not set at a broadcasting studio, paper company or city Parks and Recreation office. While there are desks in the Marketing Team 3 office, they don’t have cubes with dividers to push over. (Copier machines are present but no one seems interested in taking them outside to destroy them 😊).
I modified the app input to add “comedy at a tech company” and v1.0 offered up Zoe’s Extraordinary Playlist which at least involves a software company and some office romance. But – alas, no characters in Gaus Electronics break into song – except maybe that final post credit scene where the cast raps/sings the Gaus Electronics song.
Realizing that the Gaus Electronics Review Bot App v1.0 failed to capture the essence of the Kdrama, Gaus Electronics, I waited anxiously for v2.0. My patience was rewarded and a review worthy of this little gem of a show finally appeared.
The Leads
Gaus Electronics has an eclectic set of characters starting with the main leads, Lee Sang-sik (Kwak Dong-yeon) and Cha Na-rae (Ko Sun-hee). Kwak Dong-yeon is an amazingly versatile actor. This is the fourth Kdrama I have seen him in, and he brings something different and unique to each role. As Sang-sik, he displays his gift for physical comedy and timing. Even subtle things like the coded eye blinks had me laughing out loud. At the same time, Sang-sik can be so endearing and sincere. It’s no wonder Na-rae eventually falls for him.
Speaking of which, actress Ko Sun-hee matches Kwak Dong-yeon laugh for laugh as co-worker Na-rae. Her facial expressions alone crack me up. Na-rae is intelligent, driven and adorably clumsy. Not to mention a terrible housekeeper. Who would have imagined that the path of sexily strewn clothes leading to a two-person shaped bundle on the bed is just a result of Na-rae’s clutter.
The chemistry between Sang-sik and Na-rae is visible from the start, even when Na-rae is criticizing or nagging the hapless Sang-sik. Sang-sik calls her Senior or Sunbae throughout the series and I loved how his tone of the word changes as they become closer. There are so many great moments between these two characters as their relationship develops:
- The spider scene in Na-rae’s apartment
- When they are annoyed with each other at work and refer to the other by honorifics
- The time when Sang-sik carries Na-rae on his back and then drops her when he sees his crush Hae-young
- Their first kiss where Na-rae slaps Sang-sik for using tongue, then slaps him again for stopping the kiss
- When Na-rae is hurt that Sang-sik doesn’t have much of a response about their first kiss, then learns in a heart melting moment that he is embarrassed because it’s the first time he ever kissed anyone
- The secret code Sang-sik comes up with for work involving eye-blinks and head nods
I could not get enough of these two lovable characters. Fortunately, when they are not around, there is another, just as entertaining couple to watch.
The Second Couple?
The second couple/not a couple in Gaus Electronics is Power Corporation heir, Baek Man-tan (Bae Hyun-sung) and the strong, athletic, hygienically challenged Geon Kang-mi (Kang Min-ah). Man-tan’s character sports one little curl on his head in a subtle nod to his similarity with Richie Rich. He wants to work at Gaus rather than his father’s company to prove himself but is clueless about normal people things. Everything he does is funny: trying to use a large denomination bill to buy something in the vending machine, tasting “peasant” food for the first time, watching Kdramas and spouting famous lines to Kang-mi, excessively cleaning….
Kang-mi is the perfect contrast to the meticulous Man-tan – with a bull in a china shop demeanor. (Is she really the same petite, girly highschooler from True Beauty?) She is the complete opposite of Man-tan, so of course, he falls for her. I really wanted Min-ah to see and appreciate how Man-tan took her words to heart and tried to improve himself. Unfortunately, nothing he does wins her over.
Or does it? In the last episode when Man-tan goofs around with Min-ah, there is a glimmer of hope as she looks at him in a new light. Does the heat she is feeling mean that she is developing feelings for him or is it a result of someone turning on the heater in the building? Please let it be the former. They are so adorable together.
Marketing Team 3
Marketing Team 3 is considered the worst team at Gaus Electronics, in part due to the video by Sang-sik that is accidently made public. Throughout the show, the team tests new products and strives to come up with promotions to improve their team standings. Take for example, episode 5. Manager Wie Jang-byung (Heo Jeong-do) is selected to test out Power Corporations new AI. Finally, he has found someone interested in his life and his love of video games! The AI sets up a get-together for Jang-byung with his video game buddies to meet face to face for the first time. Over the course of the day, Jang-byung goes from a skeptic of the AI to friendship, love, jealously and hate. His rollercoaster day is complete when he walks into the video game meeting and discovers his game buddies are all adolescents who wonder why their friend’s creepy father showed up!
The team’s marketing promotion where a Kpop idol shoots an arrow at a tethered balloon goes hilariously awry when they realize the chairman’s face is accidently on the balloon. I have to admit this reminded me of an old WKRP in Cincinnati episode featuring the turkey drop. In that episode, Les Nessman (Richard Sanders) is reporting about a turkey give-away about to happen at a shopping center. During the scene he describes a helicopter arriving and then a dark object coming out of the helicopter followed by several others. To his horror, he realizes they are live turkeys that begin “hitting the ground like wet cement”. As people begin to flee the scene, Les says the famous line “Oh, the humanity!”. 😊 😊
Then there is the fact that most of the team is unaware that Man-tan is the Power heir. This leads to many funny situations like when the Power AI recognizes his voice and almost gives his secret away. Or the times Man-tan’s boss thinks he is a poor young kid without parents. When Man-tan runs into a colleague from Germany, the two hold a long conversation in German – only for the colleague to say he never met Man-tan before. Even Aziz, Sang-sik’s straight-forward, advice giving roommate treats Man-tan like a junior when he stays with them.
Best Tear-jerker Moments
Gaus Electronics is mostly a comedy but there is at least one scene that tugs at the heart strings. Dressed in a teddy bear costume, Sang-sik plans to announce his feelings to his long-time crush Hae-young (Lee So-hee). Before he can, he sees her with a boyfriend. Dejected, he heads home, looking cute and heartbreakingly sad at the same time, especially while sitting on the bus in his teddy bear outfit. By the time he gets off the bus, it’s raining. In the downpour, he walks to a dumpster where someone has thrown away a big, stuffed bear. Like the toy, he feels he has been thrown away too soon.
Sang-sik puts a broken umbrella over the bear and says, “There is no one to hold up an umbrella for you. Both you and I are alone.” Then, Na-rae appears with an umbrella that she holds over his head and asks, “Why are you sitting in the rain so pitifully?” “Sunbae,” he responds, looking up at her in amazement. This is the turning point in Hae-young and Sang-sik’s relationship.
Gaus Electronics Ending
As I began watching episode 12, I realized it was the last episode in the series and nearly cried in disappointment. I don’t usually advocate for more episodes of Kdramas but I wasn’t ready to leave these characters so soon. For one thing, at the end of episode 11, Na-rae’s parents show up at her apartment just as Sang-sik wants to end their relationship. He doesn’t want to be an embarrassment to her. Episode 12 starts with the parents grilling Na-rae and Sang-sik about their relationship. Then Na-rae goes to the bathroom and can be heard gagging as she brushes her teeth. In a priceless moment, the parents and Sang-sik mistakenly think this is because she is pregnant. From that point on, things seem fine with Sang-sik and Na-rae which felt a little abrupt. A few more episodes could have worked that out a bit.
At a team dinner, Na-rae finally reveals her and Sang-sik’s relationship to everyone at which point Man-tan joyously declares he won the bet. It turns out everyone already knew and were betting on when the two would tell the team. Man-tan, who is stuck working at Gaus when his father is embroiled in a scandal, is happy to see Aziz become the new Marketing Team 3 employee. Now Aziz will be Man-tan’s junior. How fun it would be to see future episodes with Aziz at Gaus pointing out everyone’s prejudice!
Random Things I Liked
The videos at the end of each episode are a must watch! Each video covers a topic from that episode but is also tied to a Gaus Electronics product like the Gaus Blender or the Gaus Massage Gun.
Gaus Electronics Soundtrack
I will always think fondly of this fun and quirky show when I hear the main theme song, Diamond, sung by Lucy, but my favorite song from the Gaus Electronics OST, and the one I have added to my Kdrama song playlist, is the beautiful guitar ballad, We are Young by Zeenan.
