There is nothing wrong with Secretary Kim: A trip down memorylane
Alright, buckle up, buttercups, because we're taking a joyride back to an era of K-drama that, in my humble opinion, truly slapped. We're talking 2011-2021, a golden age that birthed some absolute gems, and What's Wrong With Secretary Kim is definitely one of them. I watched this ages ago.It had slipped off my mental Top 30, but a recent rewatch for this very review? Pure magic. Seriously, it felt like seeing it for the first time. And let's be real, I've been actively avoiding anything that popped out of the K-drama oven after that glorious decade.Meet the Man, the Myth, the "Aura": Lee Young Joon
So, we have Lee Young Joon, a chaebol heir who's got more charm and confidence than Mount Everest has altitude. If you're one of those folks who loves to whip out words like "narcissist" or "misogynist," oh boy, you're gonna have a field day with him. But hold up, because this man is also the undisputed King of 2018 Rizz. His favorite quote? He simply oozes an "Aura" that makes everyone around him bow in reverence. You can love him or hate him, depending on which side of the highway you're parked on. But he's got a twisted past, It wouldn't be a K-drama if there wasn't one Right?
Secretary Kim: The Unsung Hero (Who's Had Enough)
Secretary Kim Mi So is the absolute lifeline of Lee Young Joon's existence. She's the engine circulating his oil, the glue holding his chaotic world together. But imagine his shock (and ours, let's be honest) when after nine years, she decides she's had enough. It's not that he treated her badly, but she'd been "Secretary Kim" for so long she'd forgotten who Mi So was outside of that title. Her announcement? That's the big bang that kicks off a marathon 16-episode drama. Could it have been 12? Probably. But hey, we got more Young Joon monologues, so no complaints here!
Why I Couldn't Stop Giggling (and What Could've Been Different)
What I absolutely adored about Lee Young Joon was his razor-sharp intelligence and confidence. If you're the sensitive type, you might mistake it for arrogance, but honestly, his monologues were pure gold. It's really not a bad thing to compliment yourself, and Secretary Kim had clearly gotten so used to his self-proclamations that she just let him do his thing. I kept cracking up at how he'd twist something as simple as, "I'm calling you because I miss you," into, "I'm calling because I don't want you to miss me." The sheer audacity!
Now, for a little constructive criticism. I felt there was a slight mismatch in the chemistry formula. Young Joon, bless his heart, knew from the tender age of eight that he was going to love Secretary Kim forever. When they finally became adults, he poured his entire heart into their relationship. But for her, after being his secretary for so long, it was incredibly tough to separate her career from her romantic feelings. She was so deeply immersed in her role that shifting gears emotionally, even in their intimate scenes, felt like a struggle. They even mentioned this often, how he'd want to serve her or do things for her, but she'd still have that "secretary posture" and mannerisms. Part of me secretly wished she had actually resigned, just to see her character truly grow and blossom outside of that professional mold.
The Verdict: Still a Delightful Ride
Overall, though, it was an incredibly enjoyable watch. This is probably my fourth drama with Park Min Young, and honestly, she's one of the best in the industry for a reason. What's Wrong With Secretary Kim might not be a brand-new release, but it's a testament to that golden era of K-drama, and it still holds a special place in my heart (and on my rewatch list!).
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Overhyped
I had high expextations for this drama based on the reviews but it really failed. Acting and casting was the best part, otherwise the story had big loopholes, and I did not like the ending either.How the hell did FL decide to stay in the company when the whole series was around her finding her way and resting? She did rest maybe one day, then she njust continued with her people pleaser ways. Even after ML let her go, it felt like she stayed out of guilt and did not love ML truly.
The last episodes were so boring I could almost not finish the whole series.
Do not watch this if you like consistent stories and real romance. It was just fluff and cringe.
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It started with great momentum ...
I added this drama to my queue because of Park Min Young. I absolutely adore her. The first episode did not draw me in. Despite the comedic tones of character introductions, it really didn't catch my attention. It was not until the end of the second episode that I held out hope for this drama.The story and character development flowed beautifully. You learned a lot and fell in leave with all of the characters, main and support. It all comes to a head at the end of episode ten and you're left with this sense of closure. Unfortunately, you don't get that in the last six episodes. While the last six episodes are adorable, they're fluff. You forget about everything that happened in the first ten episodes because it is just sort of written off. I was left with a few questions and this want to find out how things were mended.
The acting is great! You do have to keep in mind that this drama has a comedic aspect to it. Parts are expected to be delivered animated and overdramatic. I personally feel the execution was amazing and left me drawn to the characters.
The music wasn't all that memorable. The songs fit the scene where a song became more prominent, but I didn't feel the need to run to Spotify or look up every song in the OST.
I could see myself watching this drama again, but only until episode ten. Again, nothing against the last six episodes, but I felt there could have been so much more than what was presented.
Overall, this drama is cute.The love story, characters, and comedy mesh really well and make for a bingeworthy drama.
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I hate this with a burning passion and I need to rant about why.
The titular question refers to Lee Yeong Joon's (Park Seo Joon) confusion regarding his secretary giving notice after years. What is wrong with Secretary Kim Mi So (Park Min Young) that she can't see what an honor and privilege it is to be his 24-7 slave?It isn't much of a question, actually. Kim Mi straight up tells LYJ that he's a narcissist and she's had no time to have her own life while working for him. So, since she is finally in a secure financial position, she's quitting. This is just the Sandra Bullock 2002 movie Two Weeks Notice, Korean style, right?
It ain't.
Don't be fooled by reviews calling this sweet and fluffy with 'a great plot'. This is a nonsensical, over dramatic, badly written garbage fire of abuse and misogyny. I was three episodes in when I started feeling physically ill that this barrage of red flags and crime are perceived as romantic.
The problems?
1. The SeKrit Backstory runs the premise off the road so they don't have to deal with the systemic misogyny.
2. Kim Mi So doesn't exist as a character, so neither can a romance exist. Also misogyny.
1. The SeKrit Backstory.
I don't think I've ever seen a plot reveal so totally invalidate the first half of the show the way this one did. Re-read that plot synopsis. That's how the series plays it initially; that LYJ doesn't know why KMS wants to leave, or why her leaving/dating other men upsets him. He spends the first few episodes confused and trying to win her heart in a plethora of cringe ways. LYJ treats KMS like shit and she's tired of it. Simple. LYJ has to fix his ways, right?
No. All that gets abandoned when they introduce TeH SeKrit Backstory. You see, Yeong Joon and Mi So have history; as children they were kidnapped and imprisoned by some Rando Lady! LYJ has scars from the cable ties she restrained him with, and he calls the kidnapper 'mom' in the flashbacks which seems to indicate there was some weird shit going on, which spawned his phobia around physical intimacy with women. The specter of molestation rears it head, but it's never really addressed. Nor is why Rando Lady kidnapped them, or why she later hangs herself in front of them.
Once she's dead, the kids escape and LYJ takes KMS home where she vows never to forget him, blah blah blah, she's five years old. Of course she forgets. It's all very stupid and artificial, designed to give them traumas to be plot obstacles.
Oh, you thought that was the end of the trauma? Nope. See, LYJ got kidnapped because his elder brother Lee Sung Yeong (Lee Tae Hwan) has been bullying him for years, and abandoned him alone to be hurt. In the aftermath of the kidnapping, LSY has a mental collapse in which he absorbs LYJ's experience as his own. So, LSY believes HE was the one kidnapped because of LYJ's actions and starts terrorizing LYJ.
And rather than, say, get their children any help, the parents just accept the delusion as truth and go on with their lives.
Yeah, you read that right. These revolting parents allow the child to invert his guilt. LSY takes over LYJ's room, he screams and physically attacks LYJ, and constantly brings it up to guilt him into things. The parents, rather than help the child with the complete identity crisis, allow him to continuously re-traumatize the actual kidnapped child. In fact, they make it LYJ's responsibility to uphold the narrative to stop LSY from acting out. At a certain point they just assume LYJ lost his memory of having been kidnapped so they gaslight him, perpetuating phenomenal levels of emotional and mental abuse.
I thought we'd see a Golden Child/Scapegoat dynamic to explain it, but no. The best I can come up with is Asian filial piety; that the appearance of normalcy is worth any sacrifice, including the mental well-being of your children. Both LYJ and LSY were abused in the name of pretending there weren't problems. The parents get weepy about it later, but don't ever fully own their culpability, nor does the narrative think they should. In my culture, this is unacceptable levels of cruelty. Your mileage may vary, I suppose.
Somehow these layered traumas morph LYJ into an arrogant, self-absorbed man who constantly boasts about his physical perfection, intellectual prowess, generosity, and wealth. It doesn't track. None of it is framed as compensation for a damaged ego. He truly believes it.
Anyway, they grow up separate and one day KMS gets a job at LYJ's company. So, of course, LYJ masterminds KMS into becoming his secretary, despite the fact that she is severely under qualified for it. Not only that, he immediately takes her to a foreign country where she doesn't speak the language- and then berates her for not knowing the language, the full scope of her job or the customs and culture. So, entrapment.
With a combination of isolation, constant criticism, and back-handed assistance, LYJ provokes KMS into becoming a perfect employee. Not just a secretary; she handles much of his personal life, including dressing and dining help, visits with his parents and assists him in romancing (and ditching) women. KMS has learned all his foibles to cater to his every whim. She's rightfully tired of it.
That entire premise is never resolved. LYJ never comes to terms with the fact that he's been horrifically selfish and manipulative. The SeKrit Backstory becomes a giant, grotesque trauma float meant to excuse all of LYJ's behavior, and distract from the very real problems that exist between them that the show would have to take a good long look at their gender politics to resolve.
2. Kim Mi Who?
Kim Mi So is truly a farce of a character. I was astounded by how little she existed in a story ostensibly about her. She's the titular character, for fucks sake, but she's such a nonentity. Not one single thing in this whole damn plot was actually about her, her wants and needs.
For example; How was Mi So kidnapped? Did anyone notice? Her mother was dying somewhere and a five year old goes missing for a day or two and no one notices? Her experience of this massive plot point which takes up half the show is never revealed. The kidnapping is life-changing for LYJ. For KMS, it just seems to be a thing that happened to put her in LYJ's orbit. The only consequence is her fear of spiders. It is ornamental at best. You'd think she might share the fear of cable ties, but no.
KMS's entire character is written to loop back to LYJ in a really sick way that denies her a basic person-hood. We know nothing that happened to her in the intervening years which does not relate to Yeong Joon. Even the fact that she somehow has to be the one to pay off the debt accrued by her father's shitty life choices and her two older sister's educations, relates back to LYJ, because it's him she has to appease to keep her job.
This might be another culture barrier I can't see, but why is it KMS's responsibility to shore up the family finances instead the older sisters? Why don't the older sisters go 'hey, you supported us at a job that made you miserable, but now you can quit, and we'll support you while you find a career/path that will make you happy'? Well, because then something would NOT be about LYJ, and we can't have that. The sisters never have one conversation about their family situation. All of their exchanges are about LYJ and how awful he is. They, of course, later become obstacles to the relationship for extremely valid reasons the show refuses to acknowledge.
Mi So's only distinct thing you can point to her liking is the Morpheus books. And even that isn't about her. It's about her interacting with LSY to expose The SeKrit Backstory with LYJ.
So not only can she not have her own experiences and history, they didn't bother to give her an actual personality beyond competitive, determined and perky. But even those traits serve LYJ's story; she's not competitive or ambitious enough to say, take what she learned with LYJ and get a job elsewhere, only to become the perfect employee for him. She's determined—to get to the bottom of the kidnapping story, but not to quit, date other men and find her own life. She's perky because it seems like most Asian Drama heroines are for no other reason that it's a feminine virtue. She starts out being So Done with LYJ, but the first time he starts throwing money at her, she caves. Like, bitch?! Sure, you can't be bought with cold hard cash, but if you put a thin solicitous romantic skin on it and you're all in?
Her laundry list of very valid complaints about LYJ come to naught, and are then exacerbated with the 'romance' of harassment, bribery, stalking, love-bombing, intimidation and wealth flexing. It's not romantic. Romance is not guilting women into compliance with your trauma. At no point does LYJ recognize his power or his abuse of KMS. His romantic efforts are in service of keeping her in his employ and under his power, not for sincere affection.
KMS molded herself into the perfect secretary for LYJ, fully acknowledging that she'd sacrificed her identity to do so, and the plot isn't troubled by that in the slightest. If anything, there's an insidious, tacit kind of approval; She should be molding her whole life around a man who doesn't care about her or others. She should be happy with the crumbs he gives her all while espousing his own glory. She should continue to work for him, a complete subordinate in every single avenue of her life. That's what women should aspire to. She has no protection from him in the future, and that is an incredibly dangerous thing to encourage women to do in the name of romance.
The gender politics of this show are everything that South Korean women are protesting with the b4 movement, but you'll find nothing but the same sexist agenda aiming to promise women that love is service and access to our bodies.
What's Wrong With Secretary Kim? She woke the fuck up, and you put her back into a gilded female prison under the guise of True Love and It's Not His Fault, It's His Trauma.
Fuck. Off.
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A Classic Romantic Comedy
A cute romantic comedy about a narcissistic boss and his secretary: when I say narcissistic, I mean he doesn’t have an ounce of humility from start to finish. But that’s the charm of this unique character. You will eventually warm up to his unwavering habit of loving himself. The character Lee Young Joon played by Park Seo Joon is one you will either love or hate. The drama was structured around this character, so I learned to like him.Kim Mi So, better known as Secretary Kim, was played by the gorgeous Park Min Young. She, as usual, was incredible. The concept in this drama is that she understands her boss completely. When Vice Director Lee talks about his good looks, intellect, or abilities, she usually agrees with him. Their relationship eventually becomes a romantic connection prompted by her decision to quit her job as his secretary.
Love will slowly blossom between the two, and you will witness a beautiful romance grow between two adults, both of which are relatively new at dating. Don’t forget this is a romantic comedy, emphasizing romance, and you will enjoy this drama as I did. There was an interesting subplot that’s settled early in the drama bringing the romance to the forefront. You don’t often see that happen. Usually, writers drag the main subplot to the bitter end. I enjoyed this refreshing change in writing style.
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Could a rom-com be any more perfect!?
I ate this show right up! I don't normally binge-watch anything, but this show had me hooked right from the get-go! To me this drama was pretty much perfect. I really don't have anything to criticise. If you want to immerse yourself in a swoon-sworthy drama then this is the one to watch!Having finished it just now, I'm still weeping a bit. The ending was perfect! I couldn't ask for more; it's left me feeling wholesome and happy.
There is so much I loved about it! To begin, the characters were just great. Secretary Kim was perfect at her job and Vice Chairman a typical arrogant ass. A great character you say? Yes, although a narcissist is usually a red flag, his character fitted so well for the story. I loved how Vice Chairman's character progressed as his feelings grew for Mi So and he become soft around her. The whole series there were so many cute moments captured between the two. If I listed them all we'd be here for hours!
After working together for nine years, Secretary Kim decides she will resign and Vice Chairman practically goes into shock at the thought of not being able to cope without her by his side. He slowly (and I mean the right amount of slowly) falls in love with her. I mean really he surely must have had this underlying love for her his whole life considering their backstory. So the plot of the show progresses throughout the month that Secretary Kim is preparing before resigning and so Vice Chairman thinks of ways to keep her at his side.
There is a dark past that haunts the pair, and also involves a confusion of memories between Vice Chairman and his older brother. Every time it flashed back to when they were little I got confused because as the viewer, I was like, yes that's Vice Chairman; but then all the characters were saying it was his older brother. Once this confusion was cleared I was glad because it left me bazzled!
I thought it was soooo sweet when Vice Chairman was beside Mi So in hospital and telling her all that he remembered whilst she was asleep. The fact that he remembered her and knew who she was when she applied for the job was so beautiful. When it flashed back to the work drinks where he sat beside her and asked if she knew who he was Ahhh!! He was asking her because HE remembered HER! This was just too cute!
The children who played the characters' younger selves were so adorable and did a really good job for their parts. The fact that Mi So wanted him to promise that he would marry her was just too much for my heart!
In this drama I actually really enjoyed the shared amount of screen time for the other couples in the show. Chief Secretary Bong was always hilarious. Ji-Ah was so innocent and sweet, and even though I didn't like the guy she fell for, I was still happy how the show ended with them together.
Towards the end of the final episode where Mi So is there with her sisters and they are talking about their Mum made me sad.
I don't know if I normally talk about music in TV shows, but the backing track to this was so soothing and sweet. The simple piano melody fitted so well at each romantic moment between the pair. My heart literally swooned each time.
I will definitely watch again at some stage as it was just so light and happy! Exactly something you need to escape from reality. I think it is a really great rom-com to immerse yourself in if you're feeling a bit down and need some light in your life.
I can only hope to find more dramas like this one!
-E
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This is one of that kind of dramas where every character is a piece of a puzzle. They're all important. You're gonna love them because of their unique characteristics and wittiness. Everyone was so natural in their acting,it was insane. I think a lot of people thought that the story was cliché. And i agree with that. But for some reason,i didn't really mind it.
And the thing i liked the most about this,is that the main female lead was not the typical "dumb and weak" character. She was powerful,strong and confident,and i wanted to enter the drama just to give her a hug. Also, Park Seo Joo never disappoints,i love this man in every drama.
Overall,it was a really laid back and fun romcom. I laughed and squealed and that's what i needed because i was in a slump from all the bad dramas that i forced myself to watch. And i didn't cry until the last episode,damn,that one got me. I'M GONNA MISS THE LEADS AND THE SUPPORTIVE CHARACTERS A WHOLE BUNCH
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"There is beauty in Simplicity", this is what I thought about this drama.It's not perfect "Yes", there are scenes where you'll think that Is that really necessary?, but at the end you just tend to let it go because it works perfectly. I love that the happy ending did not only happen to the main lead but to the other characters as well.
For those who are looking for a drama that will leave you an exhilarating feeling ,I recommend you to watch this.
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storyline is not good
even though this drama had a lot of romantic scenes but the storyline made me skip a lot of parts .even though i skipped everything i still know what the story was.it was the acting and the scenes which made me stay till the end,otherwise i would never watch it till the end.the narcissist character of male lead made it more worse.i just hated the part where he always used to boast about himself and the the female lead without any second thought just agreed to him.the rich character made me awkward.Was this review helpful to you?
Quirky romantic comedy
I love the fashion values - and he has two Maseratis in different colors. As at ep. 2 more like "What's becoming of Mr Lee" ? As it develops, the reason the leads come together is highly far-fetched . Apart from that, which is contradictory to the light tone of the drama, this is a good mix of romance, comedy and mystery. It is not just the leads but all the characters in this show contribute to a great mix, really cheers me up. The romance towards the end still has original moments but for me gets boring. Could have been 2 or 3 episodes less imo, but the final episode was beautiful. Music very good. I could re-watch this in future, at least the first half.Was this review helpful to you?
To be able to follow the story and really have an understanding, I highly recommend for viewers to really get into the story and see the brilliant outline of typical themes that we find in modern dramas today.
The acting is second to none, with the entire cast - in my opinion - having a wonderful chemistry about them and none of the cast involved let you down with the pure fantastic quality that they bring to the screen.
If you have a desire for Korean dramas that not only get you interested in the story, but you're looking for a very good plot, brilliant choices in music to accomodate the scenes and no sudden drop in the quality of acting, then I definitely think you should give this one a chance.
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