ltspada
This review may contain spoilers
Loved this show
10/10 is my rating. This is a 2017 South Korean romantic comedy drama television series with 16, 60 minute episodes.
Eun Hwan Ki (Yeon Woo Jin) is about as shy and introverted as they come. He is the CEO of a top public relations firm founded by his father. Unable to speak publicly, Hwan Ki hides in dark clothes and under a hoodie while his long time best friend, Kang Woo-Il (Yoon Park) does all the public appearances and company presentations. People, including his father mistake Hwan Ki’s extreme shyness and social anxiety for incompetence when, in reality, the brilliant ideas Woo-il presents are actually from Hwan Ki. Chae Ro Woon (Park Hye Soo) is a lively and outgoing stage performer and Hwan Ki is one of her top fans. Things get complicated when Ro Woon steps off the stage and takes a job with Hwan Ki’s company to discover the reason behind her sister’s sudden suicide. Her sister committed suicide by jumping from a high level at the company, and Ro Woon is determined to find out why. She is convinced it has something to do with the shy, socially distant CEO who earned the Knick name “silent monster”.
Spoiler Alert!! I really liked the boss character and could identify as there are several people that I know that have extreme social anxiety. He was misunderstood by many people both inside of his family as well as his employees and others. I like the way the story unfolded and you understood a little how he got the way he was and also how his sister and his best friend both became the way they were. The male lead’s sister’s suicide attempts and desperate need to be lived traced back to her father’s failure to properly show love. He was both physically and emotionally abusive and she used self harm to cope. The female lead sister’s suicide was a bit harder to understand but seems to fit with what I understand of being “ruined” in the sense of being a relationship or marriage partner in terms of purity being tarnished in what I understand of South Korean culture from dramas (and it may not be an accurate reflection of the true culture). There was a time, perhaps 60 years ago in American culture when casual sexual encounters would have been viewed the same. I thought the female lead character was perfect as she was exactly the sort of person I could see being able to draw somebody with severe social anxiety out of their shell. I love that she told him at one point that he was OK and not to change. Some do not understand that social anxiety, shyness and being introverted by nature are often slow and/or hard to alter because it is a personality trait and thus is not something you can radically change. I also liked the friendship between the boss and his best friend and how his best friend supported him by being his voice and carried the company forward With his extrovert nature that fit so well in the public relations arena. One being brilliant but withdrawn and the other extroverted but not above level brilliant was actually a benefit for them both and made for two halves of a very effective whole. I thought it ended absolutely perfectly. Unlike so many dramas that leave things open to interpret or end with things unresolved, I was really happy it all wrapped up well and ended happy.
Eun Hwan Ki (Yeon Woo Jin) is about as shy and introverted as they come. He is the CEO of a top public relations firm founded by his father. Unable to speak publicly, Hwan Ki hides in dark clothes and under a hoodie while his long time best friend, Kang Woo-Il (Yoon Park) does all the public appearances and company presentations. People, including his father mistake Hwan Ki’s extreme shyness and social anxiety for incompetence when, in reality, the brilliant ideas Woo-il presents are actually from Hwan Ki. Chae Ro Woon (Park Hye Soo) is a lively and outgoing stage performer and Hwan Ki is one of her top fans. Things get complicated when Ro Woon steps off the stage and takes a job with Hwan Ki’s company to discover the reason behind her sister’s sudden suicide. Her sister committed suicide by jumping from a high level at the company, and Ro Woon is determined to find out why. She is convinced it has something to do with the shy, socially distant CEO who earned the Knick name “silent monster”.
Spoiler Alert!! I really liked the boss character and could identify as there are several people that I know that have extreme social anxiety. He was misunderstood by many people both inside of his family as well as his employees and others. I like the way the story unfolded and you understood a little how he got the way he was and also how his sister and his best friend both became the way they were. The male lead’s sister’s suicide attempts and desperate need to be lived traced back to her father’s failure to properly show love. He was both physically and emotionally abusive and she used self harm to cope. The female lead sister’s suicide was a bit harder to understand but seems to fit with what I understand of being “ruined” in the sense of being a relationship or marriage partner in terms of purity being tarnished in what I understand of South Korean culture from dramas (and it may not be an accurate reflection of the true culture). There was a time, perhaps 60 years ago in American culture when casual sexual encounters would have been viewed the same. I thought the female lead character was perfect as she was exactly the sort of person I could see being able to draw somebody with severe social anxiety out of their shell. I love that she told him at one point that he was OK and not to change. Some do not understand that social anxiety, shyness and being introverted by nature are often slow and/or hard to alter because it is a personality trait and thus is not something you can radically change. I also liked the friendship between the boss and his best friend and how his best friend supported him by being his voice and carried the company forward With his extrovert nature that fit so well in the public relations arena. One being brilliant but withdrawn and the other extroverted but not above level brilliant was actually a benefit for them both and made for two halves of a very effective whole. I thought it ended absolutely perfectly. Unlike so many dramas that leave things open to interpret or end with things unresolved, I was really happy it all wrapped up well and ended happy.
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