Secret Love

비밀 ‧ Drama ‧ 2013
Completed
helloflower
1 people found this review helpful
Oct 13, 2015
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 9.0
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 8.5
Can love come from revenge?
I do not usually watch melodramas but I thought I may give Secret a go (because i just finished kill me heal me and I loved the chemistry between the 2 of them) AND I LOVED IT!!! This drama is a culmination of tears, amazing chemistry and unforgettable moments which heavily provokes a substantial amount of sympathy from audiences!

OK LET US BEGIN!

STORY- 10
WOW!!! what a freken story! twists and turns at every corner! Its a confronting awakening to the fact that love as pure may not be existent HOWEVER the 2 mains don't let us down there! This was acting at its best! Clearly because i think i finished about 2 tissue boxes watching this!! It took me on a wild ride that's for sure!!

ACTING- 10
AGAIN WOW! GOD I LOVE JI SUNG X JUNG EUM! PUTS THEM AT THE TOP FOR ME!!! God they are too good as a couple! their chemistry comes so natural! Its like they're a couple in reality (but that is not going to happen because JI SUNG is taken :( )! Even the bad guys did a good job at being bad, obviously because i punch my screen whenever I i saw se yeon and do noon! So the acting was a definite 10

MUSIC-8.5
It was GREAT.....always had the ability to make me cry like a baby! But i docked 1.5 off because it just lost that happy feel...i know it's a sad drama but i just needed a bit of happiness

REWATCH-8.5
I watched this series in a day and a half! It got me hooked and I am certain i will watch it again just because they did such a good job with the chemistry! I love a arrogant, rich man falling for a not so rich, bright girl....its the romance we all hope for :D

Overall-9 :D
Its not quite a 10 because i think what let it down was the fact that it was a bit overly tragic (the ending saved it tho!! )! BUT i loved it :D
SO DO YOU WANT AN ENGAGING STORY WITH FABULOUS ACTING!
THEN WATCH SECRETS!
YOU WILL NOT FORGET IT!!!

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Completed
Ahsen
11 people found this review helpful
Oct 3, 2013
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
Attention please: before starting to read my review I want you to know that I may not be so honest about this drama but tell me how I could be honest if this drama got me hooked on the first episode?.

I really like this drama, for me it is one of the bests of all time.
I think my points for story/acting/music/rewatch value/overall is enough to understand it's gorgeousness there is not much to say. If you want to watch this drama, but still has hesitation, forget all of it and watch it.

Okey at the begining, the story was so worrywart(not sure whether is is the rigt word or not I meant so sad and dark)and for some of you it is similar to Nice Guy but it is not. I watched Nice Guy and like it but let's be fair beside the revenge and prison parts they are not even close. When the story goes on, you just forget all of your bitternes and you go with the flow.

I can't even remember when I started to watch it, it was like yesterday for me.

There is nothing to say cast, Bae Su Bin is the bad guy again, but let's give the devil it's due, he made the best of the role. But still don't like him hehe :)

And Ji Sung&Hwang; Jung Eum, I love them so much, they did an amazing work with this drama.

Even musics were slow(I dont like that kind of musics so much), I relly like them too.

Overall it was FANTABULOUS!
Thanks for everyone contributed to this drama.
P.S: I wish there was a special episode, still heartbroken about it :(

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Completed
AROHACindy
1 people found this review helpful
Oct 11, 2015
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0
I'm kinda late on watching this but I watched it for Ji Sung after Kill Me Heal Me! I think the drama is extremely addicting and really everything is good except that the 2 leads had aloooot of scenes... I wish the drama focused even moree on the mains... BECAUSE THEIR STORY IS SO CUTEE!! And of course I wish it was longer because it took a long time for Min Hyuk to fall in love with Yoo Jung... if it was longer we could get more of them! The ost was really really great too! :)
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Completed
Ciepao
0 people found this review helpful
Dec 31, 2022
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 4.0
First time seeing Hwang Jung Eum (Kang Yoo Jung) in a serious, thriller drama. In my opinion her face doesn't suit this kind of genre because her looks and emotions are too soft, stiff, and delicate (?). I've already seen Ji Sung and Jung Eum in another drama (Kill Me, Heal Me) so their partnership isn't new to me.

Back to the story, the thriller is good, I really looked forward to what will happen on the characters especially to Do-Hoon and Yoo-jung, how will Min-Hyuk get his revenge, how will the family of Do-Hoon treat Yoo jung, etc. Though the acting is a little bit meh. The romance between Yoo Jung and Min Hyuk was so out of the place. Why would you like someone who is connected to the death of your past lover and why would you fall for someone who makes you suffer? That is so weird. Their 'relationship' was so forced in this drama. And why do Min Hyuk keep thinking that he owns the women here? For example his lines like "don't die without my permission", "Smile for me' keeps dragging Yoo Jung etc. That is so cringy. No wonder the reviews in this drama before was 10/10 because that kind of things were so normalized before.

I like Choi Gwang-soo and Seo Ji-Hee in this drama, they're cute.

I'll just give this drama a 5/10.

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Completed
_1Ruqayyah
0 people found this review helpful
Jun 22, 2025
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 3.0
This review may contain spoilers

I Tried to Like Secret Twice… But Yeah, It’s Still a No for Me.

📌 THE OFFICIAL “I Tried, But Nah” Review of Secret (2013 K-Drama):

Let me just start off by saying this: I watched Secret not once, not twice, but THREE times. That alone deserves an award for patience because each time, I was like, “Okay maybe this time it’ll hit different…” but nah, every single time I ended up sitting there like: “Yeah, now I remember why I dropped this mess.”



🧍‍♀️THE FEMALE LEAD: BACKBONE? NEVER HEARD OF HER.

I didn’t hate her… but she frustrated my soul. Like girl, all you had to do was say you didn’t do it. I get that she was in love with the second male lead and took the fall for him — okay, tragic love, sacrificial queen, etc. But once you’re getting bullied and hated on by someone who thinks you murdered his girlfriend, can you maybe say something besides “…”?! Like baby, speak up. Try once to defend yourself, please.

I understood why she eventually just took it — she loved that man, and love makes people stupid, apparently. But at some point I needed her to stop being a punching bag and start acting like she had a spine. Her silence wasn’t strength. It was just… sad. And yes, she eventually moved on, but she felt like a blank slate most of the time. I literally had more feelings about the side characters than her.



🧍‍♂️THE MALE LEAD: MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.

Here’s my biggest issue with this whole drama: he thought she killed his girlfriend… and still fell in love with her. What in the brain rot is that? Like sir, be serious. You hate her, you think she’s a murderer, but you also wanna kiss her?? That ain’t forgiveness — that’s mental instability.

And no, he didn’t even forgive her and then fall for her. He fell first, then circled back to “oh wait maybe she didn’t do it.” Excuse me?? If someone took someone I loved out of this world, the last thing I’m doing is blushing over them. I needed him to have more self-respect, or at least some moral consistency. The way this man was emotionally torturing her, and then suddenly catching feelings… yeah, I was side-eyeing him the whole time.



🧍‍♀️SECOND FEMALE LEAD: DOWN BAD, BUT I GET IT.

Okay listen… I understood her. Yes, she was a bit delusional. Yes, she stayed too long. But she was also loyal and emotionally attached to this man since childhood. She watched him cry over another woman and STILL stayed by his side, knowing he didn’t give a damn about her. That kind of emotional masochism is tragic. And at one point, I swear he even told her “We’re not even friends.” Like dang. He said “you’re not even in the group chat.”

Was she pathetic? Yeah. But also? Relatable. Because people act like second female leads don’t have feelings too — like they can just flip a switch and move on. She just wanted love. It doesn’t make her evil or crazy. She was just in pain. And that pain was real.



🧍‍♂️SECOND MALE LEAD: COMPLEX, TRASH, BUT HUMAN.

Now this man right here… He had me switching sides every 10 seconds. Like at first I was disgusted. You had the mother of your child go to jail for YOU?! You let her take the fall for a crime you committed?! I was throwing hands through the screen.

But then… plot twist. He didn’t do it on purpose. And yeah, he was scared, weak, selfish — but also? So painfully human. I don’t condone it AT ALL. But fear and regret? That’s real. He’s not evil. He’s just a messed-up person who made a horrible choice and regretted it.

And that car crash flashback? The full truth? It hit. You realize he didn’t plan anything. He was a coward, not a villain. Still trash for not standing up for the FL, but again — human trash, not demon trash.



👶 THE BABY + THAT PLOT TWIST:

Yo. I dead thought he did something to that child. Like I was convinced he hurt the baby somehow. But nah, he gave his son up for adoption… and honestly? That was the first mature thing he ever did. He realized that kid needed stability and peace, not a broken home with legal drama, toxic men, and constant trauma. I respect that.



❤️ RELATIONSHIP VIBES: I FELT NOTHING.

Now let me be clear — if I’m not shipping the main couple by episode 6, I’m out. And here? I felt nothing. The ML and FL gave absolutely zero chemistry. Like I don’t care if they kissed, cried, or confessed — I was numb. The only characters I cared about were the second female lead (because girl, please choose YOU for once), and the second male lead (because his redemption arc almost got me).



🧠 FINAL THOUGHTS: EVERYONE WAS TRASH BUT REAL.

I don’t think any of them were evil. They were just broken, selfish, scared, and stupid — aka real people. The ML was hateful and obsessed with revenge. The FL was weak and way too self-sacrificial. The second ML was a coward. The second FL was love-sick and drowning in delusion. But none of them were monsters. They were just flawed.

So do I recommend Secret? Not really. I didn’t vibe with it. Maybe it works for people who like emotional pain and messy forgiveness arcs. But for me? If I’m rewatching a drama three times just to remember I never liked it… that’s not a good sign.

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Completed
zinnia
0 people found this review helpful
8 days ago
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

This shows what chemistry looks like

rewatching my favourite
This is my favourite couple in kdrama I already rewatched multiple times, now did again
i like them more in this than kill me heal me

i feel they have the best chemistry, any kdrama couple hasn't been my favourite as much as them they're top 1

ml- it's better to watch for ml than FML here boy gets scammed by 2 people the FML and his bf I feel only bad for him first later FML , he's one of the best character in drama the obsessive type I have seen men like him only in manwha and this drama
he wasn't wrong to FML at all, same people meet eachother that do too much or extra in love

FML - so she was getting married to a guy who didn't like her that much? and knowing she did it ? she ruined her own life , the way the man let her go to prison says enough that he doesn't love her because being in prison is suffering for her , girl also abandoned her own father for bf ? who is alone and old ? FML is hard to like when she cause a mess like this in real she a good person but she choose a wrong guy, I also dislike the fact she hide the bf being the killer till end

romance - , visual couple,both are so good looking,I am type to like interactions more than intimate moments like kiss ? they have the best interaction I have ever seen in drama and feels realistic , sadly story focus too much on melodrama and villians 😭😭😭😭 less space for romance my most favourite couple romance appears barely 30-40 % even in that they breakup ? seriously? 😭😭😭 i wanted to see more romance I'm really annoyed by less romance shown here , other stories have satisfying romance here interaction is more satisfying than romance

what I dislike
too much side characters even though they're main but villians? since I'm rewatching I skipped all scenes of ml friend and FML ex

plot/villian - as this is old drama the romance part is really satisfying even though less but when it comes to villians? no ? only till last end ep the FML ex got arrested seriously? after tormenting her continuously and other crimes they show it like this ? not even that ,ml broke up because of FML ex and his female friend ? and successfully got married or engaged? i dont know I skipped ? I'm really dissatisfied by this really annoying, villans annoying till the end

end - I forgot story so I think when ml company has problem because of that FML ex everything turns back to him ? but no ? instead ml gives up and does what his family and female friend wants ? and time skip ?
as I rewatched I only remember the satisfying romance and forgot the end eps sucks even though only at last scene they get back together, the revenge or villians party is completely annoying since nothing satisfying happened in the end , the romance did ....

the villians ml friend and FML ex feel they're shown way too much or even more than main couple? because I skipped all their parts I felt the main couple had less screentime? their meet-ups were shown more than the main couple ? like who wants to see that ? every few minutes they would meet and talk ? and both were toxic

the fact that ml being so crazy to punish the killer forgets when he found out the ex is the one? because he didn't do the same to him like he did to FML ? and he being rich and powerful couldn't handle a lawyer? the way ml himself put him in his company was also ridiculous

not logical or ridiculous - now I saw ml had already fallen for her knowing she killed his ex? how is that possible? i thought he liked after finding out she didn't kill her

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Completed
Keke 234
0 people found this review helpful
Jan 13, 2026
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Masterpiece!

I really enjoyed the show, but I feel the karma wasn’t strong enough especially for the second lead actors, particularly the second male lead. I didn’t get to see them truly suffer for what they did to the main couple, and that made the ending slightly disappointing for me. It also didn’t sit right with me that she never got her son back because of the second male lead and his mother’s foolish actions. Despite these issues, the show is still a masterpiece with excellent acting from the cast.
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Completed
Asma Mohammadi
0 people found this review helpful
Apr 29, 2017
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This is my favourite serie and everything was perfect in this drama. Thus this show was amazing not from the story itself alone, but from the flawless portrayal from the main characters and the amazing chemistry between Jo Min Hyuk and Kang Yoo Jung :)
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Completed
Djam
0 people found this review helpful
Nov 1, 2014
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 10
One of the best dramas! It surprised me. I really don't know what I expected but I didn't expect the twists and it made it so much better. I Binged on this one. If this doesn't tap your emotions something is wrong. I know I wanted to bust through the screen and hit someone at one point....Well done.
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Completed
Sofia
0 people found this review helpful
Jul 15, 2017
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 6.0
I haven't watched many dramas in melodrama genre so I didn't have any expectations when I started watching it thus will not compare it to any other. I have really enjoyed watching it and it easily caught me and before I knew it last few episodes came around. I really recommend watching it, but i just couldn't give it perfect score cause few things were bothering me throughout the drama.

The beginning was a bit odd for me, it kinda seemed forced so, to be honest, I was in dilemma if i should continue watching it. It was hard to sympathize with some characters, especially MinHyuk, and that all bothered me. But I am so glad that I have continued cause after first two or three episodes drama really starts a new pace and becomes more than interesting, you could say addicting. That pace changes as the drama goes so sometimes some parts feel a bit slow and some a bit fast, but more often it's just right.

Every person has a reason for acting the way they are, even tho it's sometimes stupid or pitiful it's the best they know. You should have in mind that characters don't know everything that we know as watchers and that their judgement is limited to that. I like that drama is written that way, it engaged me into the story even more. Actors did an amazing job in portraying their characters and their development.

What I personally really liked about this drama is it's comedy relief. Because of the heavy story it was much needed and I would say it was very well done. If some of those characters were a bit more developed it would have been even better.

Music was also fantastic, very immersive, especially symphonic OSTs. It was well placed and it filled up the silence perfectly.

There is this other thing that i minded and that affected the overall score i gave it quite a bit, and if you are going to watch it, you may notice, or have noticed like I did if you have already completed it. The editing of some scenes feels a bit off. Some scenes are prolonged by adding shots one on top of the other from other angles and that made them feel awkward, or just very wrong at times, even tho i don't think that's the feeling that they were going for. That's the main reason why i couldn't give this drama 9 or more.

With all that being said I would just like to add once again that I've really enjoyed watching it, it has a good plot and I recommend it.

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Ongoing 12/16
DinoAvila
0 people found this review helpful
Apr 18, 2025
12 of 16 episodes seen
Ongoing 0
Overall 4.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Good Story - but too much subservience

A good story indeed. Very gripping and intense. The subservience of the FL to the ML was bearable and may be understandable - kind off up to episode 8 or 9. However, from there onward, the subservience of the FL was too much already. It has become unacceptable because it was bounding on being unrealistic already. To the point that the question is: she has become too robotic by following and believing whatever the ML would demand or instruct.
Its unrealistic in the sense that every person has predisposition. I dont think that the FL has no ability to weigh things or balance things. As such, she could have asked for advice or help from anyone in regard to her being subservient. But no - there's none, at all. Even the dumbest of people is able to think of solution. But no, the FL is more than the dumbest. That's where the writer/director has gone too far.....
The love story between the FL and ML was forced by the director. South Korean directors are notorious in being not good in romance especially love connection between FLs and MLs. Few exceptions are: Crash Landing On You; Full House, Whats Wrong with Sec Kim; Hometown Chachacha, etc...

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Completed
yalda
0 people found this review helpful
Sep 24, 2015
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 9.5
one of the best korean dramas i've ever watched. the filming quality is not that great, and like many it was not free from the cliches as the terrible father, yet the story itself as well as the acts are so great (especially the female leading role). i enjoyed the slow development of love between the characters which was based on inner desire. I enjoyed the complete portrayal of of the main leading role from the careless man to a quiet responsible person in a gradual way. and Finally the Love itself is illustrated so nicely and carefully in a believable way.
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Secret Love poster

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  • Score: 8.3 (scored by 20,379 users)
  • Ranked: #1022
  • Popularity: #508
  • Watchers: 42,051

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