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A drama doesn't have to have a well-written story and deep character development in order for it to be enjoyable and good. Mydramalist should really add a "enjoyment" rating alongside the story, acting, music, and rewatch value ratings because some shows such as Secretary Kim aren't the "brilliant masterpiece" drama that some people are looking for, but are still a neat cute amusement ride that casual kdrama watchers can enjoy. As soon as the drama finished, I saw a lot of reviews here that criticized how cringy, forced, and cliche the romance story was, and how shallow the characters were. I don't necessarily disagree with that, but that doesn't take away from how enjoyable and funny the cringy, forced, and cliche romance story was. The characters were shallow, but they were still funny and likable in many aspects. The point of the show isn't to come off as masterfully written story that leaves the audience in awe at every turn, but rather just to be an easy lighthearted drama for romance-comedy lovers to enjoy during their free time.
On the other hand, I've also seen people rate the story a 10/10, and calling Secretary Kim one of the best romance-comedy dramas of all time, which I'm going to have to disagree with. The reason being that there have been other romance-comedies such as Coffee Prince and Secret Garden that simply had a better story line, had more relatable characters as well as character development, and overall were a lot more memorable and enjoyable than Secretary Kim.
The overused story in Korean drama fantasy land of rich chaebol company owner male falling in love with the innocent female who is not-so-rich and is working hard to pay her [family's] debts and bills. Ha, the classic. Nothing much to analyze but it's yer old same old same old happily-ever-after romance-comedy story in Korean lala land. Although, if there is one thing to touch on, I personally did not like the dark childhood past of Lee Yeong Joon and Kim Mi So. It was even more forced than the romance in the show, and it didn't add anything to the show as a whole. In fact, I would go as far as to say that took away from the show because it tried to be something the show wasn't (a touching, dark show) and failed miserably at it. Somebody feel free to tell me exactly what the point of that past was besides to force down the audience's throats that our two protagonists were destined to be together because they had a bizarre past experience with one another as children. Moreover, because of this useless past childhood story, I feel like the drama killed the "supposed to be second lead" character in Yeong-Joon's brother, Lee Sung Yeon. That character was annoying for most of the story, and the show tried to make us pity him towards the end, but I just couldn't see the point of his character at all. What a complete waste of Lee Tae Hwan's character. I couldn't tell if he was supposed to be an antagonist character, but he ended up just being an annoying nobody .
I see people talking about how draggy the story was, but I actually felt the story was fast-paced in comparison to other korean romance comedies I've seen. I mean seriously sometimes kdramas take numerous episodes for the main character to realize he is in love with the girl, and then another few episodes to finally tell/show the girl he likes her, and then another few episodes until they're finally in a relationship. At the very least in Secretary Kim, that draggy "I think I like you" part is completely skipped and they jump right into the meat of the romance rather than the annoying "be a dick to the girl until she realizes somehow through a fateful incident I was always there for her." Now that I think of it, I guess Lee Yeong Joon did kind of do this... But no matter, the romance didn't feel as draggy to me as other romance-comedy dramas which I appreciated.
The acting was definitely the highlight of this show, and I'm not sure I would have enjoyed the drama without Park Seo Joon and Park Min Young, along with all the side character actors such as Kang Ki Young, Hwang Bo Ra, Pyo Ye Jin, Kang Hong Suk, and literally everyone. A big thank you to all the actors in this drama for making the show what it was. They weren't charismatic or anything crazy impressive, but they sure as heck did their job in livening the cringy and cliche as heck roles.
Also, I just want to mention how amazing Park Min Young pulled off the clothing she wore in this drama. I heard she started a fashion trend in South Korea with her secretary clothing.
Music wasn't anything really impressive, and there wasn't a real soundtrack that really caught my eye, but there were a lot of okay songs so I'll just give it a 7/10.
I usually don't re-watch dramas because I don't feel the same kind of enjoyment or excitement when I already know everything that's going to happen or be said. The only dramas I re-watch are the ones with scenes/lines that really help me move forward in life when I'm feeling sad or tired. I feel like the re-watch value for Secretary Kim would be rather low, considering it's all about the heart-fluttering scenes and the childish forced comedy that after watching the drama once, you would know exactly what would happen and it's no longer as heart-fluttering or funny as the first time through when you watched it without expecting it.
Overall, I gave the show an 8 because it was highly enjoyable and I found myself smiling and having a good time which really is the point of spending hours of our lives watching dramas right? If a show is enjoyable, it has done its job. I would recommend this drama only for those who enjoy lighthearted romance-comedies and aren't picky with how "well-written" the story and characters have to be. Anyone looking for anything serious, tragic, or thought-provoking, this is not the drama to watch. Even if you want a romance drama that has a dark-side and will have you crying and dying to know what happens next, this drama is not the one to watch. This drama was purely for cute comedy relief and complete nonsense romance.
This is just my opinion on this popular show. Everyone will have differing opinions on dramas, nobody's ratings are right or wrong; all ratings are subjective. Just enjoy yourself and try not to hate too hard on other people's favorite shows~
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Story [8/10] The story isn't exactly anything new or mind-blowing. Why does it deserve a 8 for the story then? The thing this drama does well is it does its comedy and romance very well. The story is your typical rom-com in the sense that you know how it's going to end. You start out with two people who meet. They fall in love. We see some angst in their relationship and bam they end up happily every after at the end. This drama is not too bad in the fact that the middle of the story is not to predictable even though the ending is easy to predict.
My main complaint from this drama isn't really the plot. As you can still have great k-dramas without complex plots. The thing that bothers me is the fact the characters are one dimensional (in addition to the simple plot). You can literally describe a lot of the characters in the drama in one word. I.e. You have a character who is the narcissist, one who who is loyal, one who is the klutz, another character who is frugal, and one who is lustful. If you've watched the drama, you probably know who I'm talking about. I find that stories that deserves a 10/10 has stories/characters that the viewer/readers can relate to and make connections with. I had a hard time making connections in this drama since the characters all seemed very unreal. I do realized that it's a drama and things are dramatized. However, at the same time, I don't believe the drama deserved a 10 in the story department (although I wanted it to be a 10). Hence I'm just giving some reasons as to why I docked points from the story category. This drama does great in the rom-com department, but not so great in the character development department.
Acting [10/10] The acting/cast in this drama was fabulous! I am especially a big fan of the two MC's acting. I especially loved their facials expressions. There are some pretty good kisses in this drama too if you know what I mean ;). My favorite one is probably the "chair push kiss". Someone should make a meme out of that. I also really loved Park Min Young's facial expression during the many comedic scenes. It's like she knows how to make the perfect face for the right moment. I was already a fan of Park Min Young and Park Seo Joon. However this drama has made me an even bigger fan now!
Music [9/10] I generally don't give music scores higher than an 8. However, I must say this drama did a very good job with the music. The music often made funny moments even more funnier. Other times it made awkward moments even more awkward. I think you essentially get the gist of what I'm trying to say here. The music in this drama helps put you in a certain mood when you hear it. Not many dramas do a very good at this. Often times the music is barely noticeable and does nothing to make a certain scene in a drama better. That's not the case here.
Rewatch Value [8/10] I also don't generally give out a high rewatch score. As most dramas are often a one and done kind of thing. However every so often you find a gem where you feel like a part of you is missing after you finish watching it. What's Wrong With Secretary Kim is one of those dramas. It makes me sad that this drama is coming to an end. There were so many moments where my emotions were bursting through because of a certain episode. Some times I was angry at the MCs for being annoying. Other times I'm anxious for the MCs because I want their relationship to go well. MOST IMPORTANTLY I spent a lot of time laughing while watching this drama. I would give this drama a 10/10 if we had emotional involvement as a new category.
Overall the story is probably the weakest link in this drama. Although a 8/10 for story is still great (in my subjective opinion). However, I often like to bring up both the good and bad thing about the drama. The drama does not get a perfect score for the story from because it's sort of your typical rom-com plotline with some one-dimensional characters. On the flip side it gets a 9 from me because it does its rom-com moments very well. You can feel the romance and the drama makes you laugh every single episode. It's probably one of the best rom-com I've seen in a while, if not to date!
The acting/cast is probably the strongest link in this drama. One of the things I noticed a lot in this drama is the facial expressions from the MCs. I really loved Park Min Young and Park Seo Joon's facial expressions in this drama. As I felt like their faces really added flavor to certain situations and made everything seem more realistic and hilarious. The music was also a very great asset in the sense that it played up certain moments. It made certain cute/funny/awkward scenes go from a 9/10 on the cuto/funnio/awkwardo meter to an 11/10!
All in all, this drama excels in many areas. It's definitely one of the best(rom-coms) dramas of 2018 that I've watched so far(what a great year for good dramas!). I recommend you go and watch it if you haven't already.
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it started well, the episodes were good up until the childhood story plot was completed. The next few episodes, 4 episodes or so, were so boring that I just wanted them to end fast and to get the show over with. As for the characters, at first I liked the leads but then the show got draggy and over the top cheesy scenes between the leads started happening more often, most of them making me cringe to the point that I felt like skipping their scenes (which would be impossible it's almost the whole show). Also at times the lead couple acted like teenagers when they are like 30 or something on the show (I'm talking about the characters nothing against the actors).
I felt like I was more interested on the side characters than the lead couple, I'm happy the side ships got together at least.
The main couple had been working together for nine years, him overworking her like crazy and treating her like shit, and then one day she snaps, decides to quit and tells him and what? only then he realizes her worth? that he likes her? starts treating her better in fear of losing her? doesn't seem right to me.
Also the main male lead is narcissistic from the beginning to the end, and I was rolling my eyes every time he said anything narcissistic.
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If you favor fluff over a serious plot and don't mind filler episodes this Drama may be entertaining for you. Personally I think WWWSK started okayish. Not the most exciting Drama ever but there were some funny scenes and the side couples were cute. I can't say the same about the main couple though. They seemed distant and I honestly couldn't stand Mi So's character. To me her ever lasting smile just seemed fake and therefore her relationship with Yeong Joon was not convincing. The last thing I want to mention is that this drama should have ended after ep 12 because after this point this drama was almost plot free and left me with the thought that the whole drama was boring. Was this review helpful to you?
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This drama really did well at the beginning; there were romantic sparks between the main leads and there was a tantalizing mystery to be solved. I loved the back-and-forth between the CEO and his secretary, it was adorable from beginning to end. But my main problem with this drama is that, in my opinion, the conflict was resolved way too early. The mystery behind the kidnapping, and which brother was actually the victim, was wrapped up a little over half way through the drama; around episode 11 or 12. I thought that there was going to be a larger plot point involved, but once the truth was revealed, the trauma seemed to just disappear. They never dealt with it properly, it was just like "oh, everything is perfectly fine now that everybody knows what really happened".So I got bored with the last 4-5 episodes because next to nothing happened besides the main couple being cute with each other. It was somewhat enjoyable, but when there is no driving force to the story (aka "conflict") it just deflates. Sure, there were mini-issues, like getting acceptance/permission to marry from the secretary's family. But honestly, everyone knew how it was going to end by episode 12. The happy couple was going to get married, it just took them 4 episodes of not much happening besides a few couple quarrels to actually reach the wedding. I dunno, I just felt like the mystery could've had larger repercussions after the truth was out, instead of being swept under the rug.
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May contain little spoilers, and it's just my opinion..I just finished the last episode, and I think it's a first time when I skipped almost all MAIN LEADS scenes in it..! Well, usually it doesn't get to this point, because I simply drop the drama if I feel this way.. But this one was such a hit, plus I was watching it for a long time, and it was kinda nice.. Maybe till 14th episode.. Or maybe till 10th..
Ok, when I started it, it was very fun - the humor was great, the leads looked great together ( there was never doubt about this), and everything seemed new and fresh.. I don't even like romcoms - too much cheeseness is not for me , but I started it because I like PMY and PSJ, and well, needed something to watch :) So for a first episodes I really enjoyed it- it was a good office comedy with very attractive leads. Then, after the story from the past started to unfold, it was fine by me too - I know,many complained about this, but for me it was ok - as long it added something to the story, and we had actual plot.. Then - in pretty early stage I'd say, the mistery was resolved, and for the rest of the episodes it was nothing but romance.. First, how they got together, then how they managed to be together etc... There was never any serious fight between them, never any obstacle - it was all ''cute'' romance with small talks and yes - great looking kisses and glances, but nothing more! I know, most people are actually looking for this stuff - many sweet moments between the leads - but is it really enough, when there's nothing more beside this?..
Don't get me wrong - I love romance too, but for me to love the couple I need to wait for them, to miss their moments, wondering what will happen to them - then ,when I finally get what I want, my heart flutters when I see their scenes! I even may skip other scenes to finally see my otp! But here, in the end I skipped the leads... No matter how explosive their chemistry was and how stunning they looked together, but I still got bored..
Now, what I really liked and enjoyed, was the office team - they were adorable and cute, every each of them! I liked how united they were, and both office couple were great! At least it was fun to watch them after same repetitive scenes of the main couple!
It wasn't the worst thing that I watched , but I think it's very overrated! I'm not hating - as I said, I like both lead actors, but it was my opinion about the plot of this drama..
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The acting was fine with most of the actors but secretary Kim's actress really didn't do it for me. Reminiscent of Kristen Stewart, she seemed to have no facial expressions (or personality for that matter), and when she did manage a smile, it looked faker than a 16 year-old's ID. I felt no chemistry with her and the male interest and that was mostly because of her.
I have no clue how I managed to finish it, maybe because I was waiting for something better to happen, like a plot-twist that she's actually a secret agent coming to reveal the company's murky operations, or a closeted spiritual person seeking information about the human energy field (did he or did he not keep saying AURA! with a flourish?), ANYTHING that would justify that high a rating. I'll pretend I was smart enough to add this to my Dropped list.
I would not recommend this show to anyone, unless you have a bunch of free time and are bored enough to not mind burning some brain cells.
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Again, PSJ can pretty much do no wrong in my eyes right now. He's pretty to look at, has good comedic timing, and his romance scenes were believable and tingle-inducing. Who else could make such an arrogant guy lovable and sweet? Park Min Young - started out really well. She looked sharp, had pretty smiles, and great bantering. And my goodness- THAT PONYTAIL!! Props to the ponytail! :) But I wasn't always fully convinced of Mi So's affections towards Young Joon because of how PMY acted. I've not read the webcomic that this is based on, so I don't know how true the adaptation is to the source material. In the last two episodes, her passiveness toward Young Joon was awkward and lacked any of the passion that had been building from the rest of the story. Pyo Ye Jin as Ji Ah, was super cute, but she seems to have been typecast into similar roles now. I did enjoy her in this and hope to see her in more roles soon. Hwang Bo Ra as Bong Se Ra was a bit over the top in her comedy like she was trying way too hard. But both Ji Ah and Se Ra's office romances were very cute and fun to watch. Kang Ki Young did a great job in his role, playing Young Joon's employee and friend....but mostly his advice coach. Lee Tae Hwan, playing Young Joon's brother, was such a mild character that he was virtuously unnoticeable and fairly useless except as a plot device.
The story was thin and didn't fill out the available time for the story, but because I was enjoying the romance it didn't become super obvious until the last couple of episodes. I enjoyed the banter and the comedy between the co-workers and the romance between Young Joon and Mi So. I found the sound effects hilarious and Mi So's side eye made me laugh every time. Although the secondary romances were fairly cute, there is little substance to this show, if I'm being perfectly honest. I am all up for fluffy and light when it comes to romantic comedies- so this fits that perfectly for that. If you expect a rom-com to be anything other than this, you will be disappointed and I wouldn't recommend it. I was happily entertained for the majority of the show, though, regardless of the plot. (I'm not difficult to please when it comes to rom-coms.)
I could see myself re-watching parts of this show one day when I want something light and cute.
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I wanted this to feel electric and full of chemistry and sweetness, but it just felt hollow. Most of the scenes of the main couple were... sweet, but they were missing something. I don't know if it was the script, direction or actors themselves, but I kept looking for some kind of real rawness and never got it. Felt overwritten and overdramatic without the heart or realism to ground it in a meaningful way. If I had encountered this when I was new to dramas I think I would like it a lot more, but I've seen too many at this point to be impressed by this. Greatest Weakness: the romance that just never clicked
Greatest Strength: the female lead
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I have never wanted a Kdrama to end so bad.
This has to be the worst Korean drama I have seen so far. The story started off okay but then it majorly flopped. The plot and the romance was at all not convincing, it was just too weak and felt like a child had written it. I just could not sympathize with none of the leads. The worst part they overemphasized the kidnapping case and I did nothing but skip the scene or roll my eyes since I couldn't feel bad for the leads considering the premise of the whole story was so poor. You couldn't really point out an antagonist, I just viewed the brother to be confused. As to the lady who kidnapped them, It would have been better if she was properly introduced and a little story as to who she was and why she did what she did. I hated the leads, it felt like the FL was a robot programmed to be flawless as for the ML he was narcissistic through out the whole drama.The conflict was resolved in episode 12 which the show should have ended there, all Kdramas should not have to have 16 episodes. I was happy the conflict ended fast because I just could not buy the plot and I wanted the whole drama to end SO BAD. After episode 12, the drama got EXTREMELY boring, boring is an understatement. The only reason I kept watching was because of the supporting characters, I found them quite entertaining and funny, they really carried the show. You would enjoy this drama if you are a sucker for romcoms and do not care about plots. Overall this was a huge disappointment.
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‘What’s wrong with Secretary Kim’ Is a drama full of clichés, full of things we’ve already seen and we often find annoying. But the way those clichés are shown is what makes this drama different from all rom-com dramas we’ve seen.Even the plot seems familiar – a rich arrogant man and his secretary fall in love with each other without realizing their feelings at the beginning.
Park Seo Joon plays Lee Yeong Joon – a narcissistic vice president who is full of self-confidence. When i first read the summary before started watching the drama, I thought that he will be like those arrogant male leads people usually find annoying. But he wasn’t like that, he wasn’t that arrogant type like Joo Joong Won from ‘The Master’s Sun’ for example. I think the writers exaggerated a little bit, saying that he doesn’t pay attention to the people around him since I didn’t see much of this side of him.
Park Min Young plays Kim Mi So – a smart secretary who was by his side for more than nine years. She is one of the strongest female leads I’ve seen in rom-com dramas. It’s really rare to see a mature female lead who is honest with herself, who always says what she thinks and who will always show your mistakes while being understanding at the same time.
Their romance was well-developed, one thing I liked the most about this drama is how honest their conversations were. They proved that when two people are honest with each other without having any secrets, the things between them will work out for sure. I liked how their relationship was getting stronger with every episode, the writers didn’t dragged the things between them much which was a big relief. Their chemistry was perfect, but what else can we expect from such actors like Seo Joon and Min Young. Their romance reminded me of Bo Yeong and Dr. Ye in 'A Poem a Day', no wonder the screenwriters are the same.
The other two couples – Yang Cheol & Se Ra and Ji Ah & Gwi Nam were also funny to watch. I especially liked Yang Cheol and Se Sa’s story, they were hilarious. I will never forget the moment with the Cola, it was my first time seeing that kind of confession, it was such a precious moment.
Most of the other characters had funny roles (except Yeong Joon’s brother maybe). Yoo Shik was hilarious most of the time, he’s the type of character we often see, but he was somehow different.
And now, the thing I didn’t like – all the shits with Secretary Kim and Yeong Joon’s past story. Another drama cliché – the two main leads know each other from their childhood and something bad happened to them then. With or without, it would have been the same. I think the writers tried to put some pressure to ‘shake’ the watchers a little bit, but it was boring most of the times. Yeah, the relationship between the main leads got stronger because of that, but still, they brought a character such as Yeong Joon’s brother, which dragged the drama a bit. Still, I didn't hate him.
The cameo appearance of Lee Minki and Jung So Min as Mi So’s parents made me so happy, it made me realize how much I miss ‘Because this is my first life’.
Also, I think it was 13 or 14 ep… They showed Eric and Hyun Jin’s kiss in ‘Another Miss Oh’, why did they do that? I almost got a heart attack. I mean, it was that kiss, that powerful kiss. If you’ve watched the drama there’s no way you can forget about that kiss, it was that powerful. Why did they have to torture me like that, I got too distracted of the romantic moment between the main leads when I saw that kiss.
Overall, it’s a good drama. Simple plot, but yet entertaining, cheesy and funny moments, a lot of kisses and brilliant acting. You can watch it if you want a light romance that won’t pressure you too much.
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