This Series contains examples of:
- Airplane Arms: Go Eun likes to pretend she is flying above places to which she has been. Anthony's Character Development shows when he does it too.
- Anti-Hero: Anthony, natch. Though where he is on the sliding scale can vary.
- Archnemesis Dad: The Chairman of Empire to CEO Nam. Until Nam pleads with his father to stop his machinations/plotting against Anthony which are hindering all Nam is trying to do at Empire productions.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Anthony and Go Eun have several moments, notably the lengths to which Go Eun goes in order to help Anthony pay back the Watanabe Group's loan and when he defends the originality of her script, stating that she is the only thing in which he believes. Kang Hyun Min picks up on several of these, draws conclusions, and tries to get them to admit it.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: Anthony again. Even with that weird fluffy collar of his.
- The Big Damn Kiss: In Go-Euns dreams, literally. She dreams Anthony gives her her First Kiss and a very Forceful Kiss at that
- Biting-the-Hand Humor
- Career-Ending Injury: Anthony's optical neuropathy, or so he believes.
- Cool Old Guy: Director Goo. He sees right though all the BS that diva actors and producers dish out and tells it like it is.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: This drama is riddled with them, with CEO Nam being a notable exception.
- Anthony leans heavily toward this in the beginning, though he is surprisingly generous to people (and their families) who die or are injured while working on his dramas. He also never took more money than the Chairman told him to use for bribes. but changes little by little.
- Cute, but Cacophonic: Bit Na's cute as a button, but her voice is pretty much nails on a chalkboard.
- Deceptive Disciple: What Go Eun's mentor believed her to be after Anthony had Go Eun revise the "Elegant Revenge" script. It didn't help that he blamed Go Eun and accused her of being overly ambitious.
- Determinator:
- Anthony will stop at nothing short of possibly murder to get his new comeback drama produced.
- Go Eun may be hopelessly out of her depth and comfort zone but she gamely plugs on.
- Disappeared Dad: Go-Euns dad died in a boating accident when she was a child and Anthony's abandoned him and his mother when Anthony was born
- Eiffel Tower Effect: Our favorite Namsam Tower shows up when Anthony surveys the city from his new office space in Episode 15.
- Engineered Public Confession: Happens twice with President Oh. First Anthony plays a recording of Oh badmouthing Kang Hyun Min to him and a handful of his other actor buddies, which leads to Kang Hyun Min dropping his contract with Empire and signing on to work with Anthony's company instead. A few episodes later, Oh confesses over the phone to his mole at World Productions that he orchestrated Kang Hyun Min's drunk driving scandal and had Go Eun hit by a car. This nearly gets broadcast over a press conference on national television when his mole has a sudden Heel–Face Turn.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Anthony is absolutely devoted to his blind mother.
- Expository Hair Style Change: For Kang Min he cut his hair to show his new dedication to being a serious actor and Go Eun to show the passage of time into a more mature wifely type
- Good Parents: Both Go Eun's and Anthony's mothers
- Heroic Fire Rescue: Anthony runs into a burning building and piggyback rescues a background actor. It becomes an Establishing Character Moment for him, as the film crew watches in awe.
- Honest Corporate Executive: CEO Nam. He resigns when his Archnemesis Dad reveals to him the reason for his promotion. Interestingly, the situation is revealed as a "Leave Your Quest" Test by Anthony, who tells him that the broadcasting station will be corrupt without him.
- Hospital Gurney Scene: When an extra got injured on set.
- Hot Springs Episode: The events at the yakuza's estate start the ball rolling.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Anthony actually isn't that horrible a guy. He just goes really far out of his way to make sure no one ever knows it.
- Lampshade Hanging
- Longing Look: Anthony to Go-Eun more and more often.
- Love Will Lead You Back: Sung Min Ah is absolutely convinced Anthony will remember his past love for her and they can start over again...despite his almost complete indifference to her outside of work related matters and seeing his growing love for Go-eun.
- Manchild: Kang Hyun Min
- Pair the Spares: Kang Hyun Min/Sung Min Ah
- Product Placement: Lampshaded in the first episode. The final scenes of the final episode of a drama are written, filmed, and edited mere minutes before airing just to put a carton of orange juice on the screen. Also played straight as indeed there are many PPL scenes throughout the series.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: World Production CEO Anthony Kim, the producer whose work is repeatedly blocked by the power players in the drama world; Lee Go Eun, the rookie writer whose reputation was ruined by Anthony; Kang Hyun Min, the Manchild top star actor; Director Goo, a recovering alchoholic who had previously left directing and started drinking after an actor died on his set; Sung Min Ah, who can't stand Kang Hyun Min's behavior and was dumped by Anthony; and Hee Jee, The Mole.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: A lot of tension arises from personality conflicts among the major characters working on "Morning in Kyeongseong."
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Anthony gives one to Kang Hyun Min after he bugs Go Eun to change the script to suit him yet again.
- Trauma-Induced Amnesia: Played with in Episode 7. The episode trailers really lead you to believe that Go Eun has amnesia after getting hit by a car in the previous episode. Turns out she was faking to get Anthony riled up.
- Anthony tries to recover Go Eun's memory by reminding her how mean he's been to her.
- Will They or Won't They?: Anthony and Go Eun get married, so yes they do, but his stuff in her bathroom points to them being intimate before that.
- Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: Anthony's real name is Kim Bong Dal. Apparently this a very rustic, old fashioned name that does not fit his suave image at all; Go-Eun is the only one who knows.
- Unkempt Beauty: Go Eun. Everyone seems to think she is pretty, except Anthony Kim.
