Office drama meets romance in The Potato Lab, where two polar opposites stumble their way into falling in love.
What Is The Potato Lab About?
The Potato Lab is a charming rom-com centered around Kim Mi-kyung, a former employee at Wonhan Retail who leaves behind a toxic work environment and starts over as a potato researcher at Sunyeo Foods.
Her peaceful new life gets shaken up when her old company merges with her new one, putting her under the management of So Baek-ho, a new director who couldn’t be more different from her.
Their relationship soon turns awkward especially when Baek-ho becomes Mi-kyung’s next-door neighbor.
Alongside them, the show features a delightful supporting cast, including Mi-kyung’s bubbly best friend Lee Ong-ju, a hopeless romantic novelist, and her meddling ex, Park Ki-se, who stirs up plenty of drama post-merger.
Mi-kyung is a grounded employee known for her no-nonsense attitude; meanwhile, Kang Tae-oh’s Baek-ho is stiff and unreadable at first, but you start to catch the cracks in his armor as the episodes go on.
The show leans into the quiet discomfort of two people trying to figure each other out, set against the unlikely backdrop of a potato research lab in a sleepy mountain town.
Is The Potato Lab Worth Watching?
Honestly, the Potato Lab surprised me in the best way.
It’s a sweet, slow-burning romcom with so many funny moments. Plus, after watching Kang Tae-oh in Extraordinary Attorney Woo – and loving him – I was excited for his role in this. And it didn’t disappoint.
Watching Mi-kyung, who suffered through trauma, finally overcome her sense of self-sabotage, and watching Baek-ho slowly open up was really satisfying.
The show’s funny, which makes you smile. And with just 12 episodes, it doesn’t drag like some other dramas.
Yeah, the ending is kind of predictable, but that’s okay. If you want something light, cute, and easy to binge, The Potato Lab is totally worth it.
Rating
Where you’ve seen Kang Tae-oh… Kang Tae-oh is a South Korean actor and singer who gained major attention for his breakout role as Lee Jun-ho in the hit drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022), where he played a sweet and supportive colleague-turned-love interest.
He first debuted as part of the actor group 5urprise and built up his career through various roles in dramas like My First First Love (2019), Run On (2020), and Doom at Your Service (2021).
Where you’ve seen Lee Sun-bin….She is a South Korean actress and singer who began her entertainment career as a member of the girl group JQT before moving on to acting.
Back in 2016, she landed a role in the crime series Squad 38, portraying Jo Mi‑joo alongside Seo In‑guk and Ma Dong‑seok.
The following year, she earned the Best New Actress award at the MBC Drama Awards for her performance as Ha Ji-ah in Missing 9.
During the same time, she starred in the Korean remake of Criminal Minds as Yoo Min-young.
Lee stepped into her first leading role in the action-thriller Sketch (2018), playing detective Yoo Shi‑hyun with supernatural abilities.
She was also cast in The Great Show (2019), Team Bulldog: Off‑Duty Investigation (2020), and the action-comedy Mission: Possible (2021) as a rookie secret agent alongside Kim Young‑kwang. In 2023, she appeared in the nostalgic drama Boyhood and the fan-favorite series Work Later, Drink Now.