What's Wrong with Secretary Kim (2018)

For me, this drama is a bit of a mixed bag.

On the one hand, I find the writing for Lee Young Joon (the ML) and the complex relationship that he has with Kim Mi So (the FL) is very good.
Seeing how love changes people is always a treat for me, even though most of the times the characters that undergo this kind of transformation shift their personality 180 degrees, basically becoming a new character in the end. On the contrary, in What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, ML's character growth is done is such a way that he gets to keep his cocky personality throughout the whole story, but he gradually shifts from vanity, self-centeredness into a playful overconfidence that he gets to use in a very adorable way, childishly hoping to impress the FL with its boldness. Lee Young Joon is a many-sided character and despite the arrogance that he displays in various circumstances, he remains a very likeable character from the beginning till the end. Not for a second have I hated him or considered him despicable in any way.
The relationship between the main leads is also complex and multi-faceted. They have overall a very healthy connection and the topics chosen to showcase how one learns to overcome the difficulties of being in a relationship are right on point. Compromising, quick forgiveness to avoid extending conflicts indefinitely, putting your partner's need above yours, sacrificing your own desires, being considerate of your partner's feelings - these are all very well presented and even those that have a long experience in dating could learn a thing of two from this drama.

On the other hand, everything that did not involve the main leads was extremely nonsensical, annoying, unfunny and straight up boring. The various secondary office romances were just not interesting and felt much more of a filler than in any other drama I previously watched. Apart from one endearing character (Yang Cheol), I wanted to skip basically every scene involving these characters. The writing was so different from the one regarding ML+FL pairing that it always felt that one writer (a good one) was tasked to write the main leads story, and another writer (an unskilled one) had to handle everything else.

Lastly, even if "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim" is often compared to "Business Proposal" or "The Secret Life of My Secretary", I find these three dramas quite different from each other (despite them having common elements and even identical scenes). "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim" focuses on complex relationship development, while "Business Proposal" and "The Secret Life of My Secretary" gravitate around the idea of a double identity. They're all lightweight dramas, without any substantial plot and all three have a cold-hearted boss as ML with more or less a childhood trauma, but each of them has its own unique charm. "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim" probably has the deepest meaning, "Business Proposal" has the most likeable ML and "The Secret Life of My Secretary" the most memorable side-character (one can never forget the legendary "Veronica Park speaking").

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It could have been better and shorter

I mean it is not a drama that I regret watch but not that great

Everything that needed a conclusion ended within ep 13..but it was dragged until 16
I watched till thirteen and rest of the episodes I read the written update..just because I didn't want to have a lingering feeling

The romance was awesome
Kisses were ultimate
Chemistry too

The thing that impressed me the most was FL acting!!
I mean such a feminine secretary she played
How perfect it can be!!
She played a ton boyish bubbly and unkept girl in healer and it's exactly the opposite how she played secretary her!!

The story was good but it needed some power
It was a light watch and good enough for those who are new to kdramas

You can give it a try if you like good and real kisses..also for good acting

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It’s a trope fest so you gotta appreciate tropes to actually see this drama for the beauty it is.

As the headline states - to be honest with you , it is a real trope fest ! I’m talking chaebol, fate,noble sacrifice, second bananas, rich and poor etc . The whole shebang !I really appreciated the tongue-in-cheek honesty and found this refreshing.

As for my review- This is a really fluid watch hence the utter high marks I give it .Its not strenuous in the slightest nor is it frustrating. To me , fluidity and the feelings aroused are very important points in my drama forays. WWWSK passes it all.

STORY- well , the synopsis is not much to chew on and I advise those wanting to watch to go in with the low expectation the synopsis provides. You will be surprised by the elements that this drama brings. What you see is also not what you get as well in regards to the OTP.It really isn’t all about a secretary and her boss but let me keep quiet before I spoil. I especially loved its honesty in knowing it was a trope filled rom com and I loved the truthfulness of spinning each trope (knowingly with a wink to the viewer) on its head . I loved how the story was really inclusive of the viewer .I almost felt like a cast member hence WWWSK is engaging . It’s a bright , fluffy and really entertaining watch. The elements of it being based on a web toon added the X factor to the refreshing aspect of WWWSK.To juxtapose - I like the seriousness and thoughtfulness that the main leads incorporate .To be specific - I liked how the main OTPs actually listen to each other when they express feelings or opinions,. There are no plot holes and everything is all very satisfying. Such stellar romantic quotes and flooring declarations plus revelations enough to make you swoon to the gods. Moreover - the subsidiary stories were fun to watch hence the 10.

ACTING - lovely! For once not a stiff wooden female lead and I am soooo grateful for that . She actually closes her eyes when kissing ! In my view - the cast was flawless . They had so much energy and charisma plus geled really well together . The cast is dare I say almost iconic ? Like , I was nearly convinced they were actually really really firm chums in real life having a ball working together . Loved the expressive Park Min Young and the depth and charismatic range Park Seo Joon .

MUSIC - great OST . Loved every tune especially the poignant and profundity that is Its You by Jeong Sewoon. This song actually tells the whole story if one is paying close attention.

FASHION - 10 as well. All the outfits really communicated the characters portraits very well. The fun office girl wore shorts suits , the cutesy one wore baby doll blouses ,chaebol never really got casual etc you get the picture. Office wear was also done in a very approachable manner fit for any Pinterest board. Plus really loved all the accessories as well . Pretty earrings and great handbags . Young Jun’s suits were also really good though I loved his take on casual which wasn’t casual but really communicated the ethos of his character.

REWATCH - yes . I will definitely revisit sometime . It will be fun watching trying to figure out and pin point when and where exactly all the characters really fell for each other . Plus Park Seo Joon has really funny lines .

OVERALL- Personally a firm fave of mine . It’s going into my lists for fave dramas and OTPs . Perhaps the only critique I can give is that the final episodes did delve into some sort of fan service of some sort . Some may say towards the end there was no plot development but what do you want from a rom com ? A masked serial killer ? I personally want cute scenes and resolve and if it means an overload of pretty cute scenes that are actually coherent and reflective then bring on the fan service !

Go watch . It’s better than The Heirs which I dropped and found in its pathetic stead - this gem WWWSK. HA !

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Funny and touching but nonsense.

The story is supposed to be funny with romance and maybe a little bit of drama. I can see where they tried, but the whole premise is off. The romance is fine, I actually think they had decent chemistry but if you watch it more than once, it will be more and more difficult to get into the fun of it. The side characters and romances were fun and some people said they were more interesting than the main pairing, but I have to disagree. I think they added to the show, but they weren't so interesting that they stole it. The main couple: Secretary Kim and Narassistic Boss don't have much character arc, considering the content of the show, but it was still very interesting and I enjoyed watching the entire series once. The music was good, but not outstanding. The acting was also good and I thought very in character. To understand why the underlying story behind the main couple, you have to hear some spoilers, but without spoilers, I can say it wasn't well done and was so nonsensical as to have been ridiculous. I would watch it once, but not twice because those moments of understanding will annoy you more if you rewatch.

With spoilers: the main couple have a history. This explains why a totally arrogant and impatient boss would pick a secretary who wasn't fluent in English and experienced enough in the field. She needed to work super hard to catch up to his needs. Over time as they work together, he grows used to how amazing she is and when he thinks of his life without her, he doesn't want her to quit. He tries mulitiple ways to get her to stay and eventually realizes that he loves her. Naturally, he has to overcome his gigantic ego to get to that point, but still. The process is funny and entertaining. She begins to fall in love with him as she sees his emotional sides. Naturally, the catalyst needed to make them both realize how they feel is the return of the boss's self-centered brother who decides that he wants Secretary Kim. Either because he's so arrogant as to think he can have anyone or because he wants to take her from his brother -- he causes problems between them just as they are getting closer.

The actual spoiler is why the premise is really messed up and nonsensical. You see, way back when Secretary Kim was 4-5 years old and her boss was 9-10 and self-centered brother was maybe 11-12, the brother bullies the young boy boss and eventually leaves him in a deserted street where he is kidnapped. Then baby girl Mi So (Secretary Kim) is also kidnapped. They help each other through the experience and end up home safe and sound but naturally with fears. Why Mi So's family doesn't tell her the truth when she asks if she was ever kidnapped makes absolutely no sense to me. Until you recognize and accept that you've been hurt you will never be able to deal with it on an emotional level. So keeping it from her is like telling her to pretend she doesn't feel the pain rather than taking her to the doctor. The young boss hires her because he remembers her, but she doesn't remember and he also doesn't explain. No reason, but that's more excusable. Last, boss's mom and dad who are supposed to be good, normal, loving parents, are actually full time idiots with hateful and stupid notions about family. When older brother feels bad for what he did, he has a mental break and decides that he was the one who was kidnapped. Then mom and dad decide that it's better to pretend that their arrogant, self-centered older son was actually kidnapped than to make him face his wrongdoing. Which is to say that young boss who was the one who was wronged, has to deal with an insufferable prick brother who treats boss as though he were the one in the wrong. Why would the parents take the side of the bully child over the one who has an actual trauma that needs to be dealt with? Because they are stupid, thoughtless, self-centered, and hateful bullies themselves. I mean, they did raise two sons who think they are perfect and hate each other. Who comes up with these plots? If you're going to make them thoughtless bullies, don't have the main character pretend with them. He was an adult, he should have told them the truth and said that their behavior was stupid and hurtful and then told them they needed to tell the truth and stop pandering to their favorite child (obviously the self-centered brother). I will never understand why people who are supposed to be smart and strong and well mannered never can seem to stand up for themselves or say no when something is wrong. Then again, if they were all people who had backbone and common sense and courage, the show would have been over in 3 episodes. Still, that's why I can't watch it twice. I want to ring the mother's neck and kick the older brother very hard in his self-centered face. I get too angry and annoyed at their behavior to be able to watch it twice, but that's me.

Ok, rant over. If you can deal with this amount of stupidity for the background story, the rest is really wonderful. I think they had great chemisty. I thought it was super funny and well acted. I enjoyed it so much that I was tempted to watch it twice (then I tried and had to go bake for 2 hours to get rid of my frustration).

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A fun representation of all of K drama classic tropes

Kim Mi Soo is a capable secretary of a narcissistic vice president of a family-owned company, Lee Young Joon. After 9 years of working diligently for him, Mi So now wants to resign to focus on her personal life & romance. But twist, Lee Young Joon actually finds her presence irreplaceable in his life.

Now, there are a few other layers of convoluted messy chilhood connections happening with the show, as expected by the K-drama formula, but I'm not going to touch on those because they could be considered as spoiler. And if you want to know a bit more about the show, you can just watch the trailer, which will give a bit more information about the plot setup than I just gave. I'm going to go right into my pros and cons briefly as I should be doing schoolwork.

Pros:
- Fun and entertaining to watch
- Very good chemistry between the leads
- Nostalgic feeling for fans of classic K-drama tropes
- Enjoyable friendships between characters, both leads and supporting

Cons:
- Forgettable characters and plot
- Lack of emotional investment
- Pacing slows down in later episodes

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minor spoiler

meh not the best I've seen not the worst. It was a while ago i watched it but from what i remember it was enjoyable, cute and funny. Though I feel like they could have left it at that. I wasn't bothered by the whole rich ceo, "poor" secretary trope. Its alright once in a while but the whole kidnapping and them knowing eachother when they were younger felt a little out of place. Like they could have left it as it was. People can fall in love without having the whole "childhood friends/lovers reunited" thing. It just felt unnecessary. It could have been left alone as a little cute love story but they had to mash in the dark truamatic experience they had as kids together. Overall i wouldn't rewatch. It can be really enjoyable for certain people just wasn't my cup of tea. Actors did a good job as per ususal from what i remember and i think i liked the ost? nothing super memorable tho.

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Recomendo

Demorei pra ver mas gostei muito, super levinha e legal, confesso que o primeiro ep não me prendeu muito, eu ate demorei um pouco pra continuar, mas a parti do 2 eu começei a gostar mais e me fez querer assistir todo dia

Os personagens são super divertidos e engraçados, todo ep eu dava uma risada, os personagens principais tbm foram perfeitos

Park Min Young é maravilhosa, concerteza vou querer ver mais trabalhos dela, e o Park Seo Joon super lindo ?

Outra coisa q eu gostei muito foi das Ost's do dorama, a unica coisa que eu achei meio confuso foi sobre o principal e o irmao dele nessa confusao de quem tinha sido sequestrado, mas enfim, muito bom recomendo

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Perfectly balanced mixture of laughter, romance , peculiar weirdness, diverse characters, good acting skills and timing. Maybe the script was not that great as many say and story not so unique but sufficiently different to others. So even though drama follows some common rom-com elements, it still managed to shine. There wouldn't be so many recommendations across the world if it wouldn't, right? ?

When it comes to the leads, I definately prefer Kim Mi So over Lee Young Joon. His character was great don't get me wrong. Fantastic performance. But! Kim Mi So was way more realistic, current and common. He was a kdrama character all the way ? The further you go in the drama the more you notice that the story is shown from more her point of view than his. The focus went from her work, to her house, from the family to Young Joon. We slowly could see what is actually wrong with secretary Kim ? Mr Lee of course played a big role and there was a nice balance present through out whole serie but she was the centerpiece.

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There's absolutely nothing wrong with 'what's wrong with secretery kim'

If perfection was a Korean Drama, I am sure this one would make the cut.

Character Development: Every character involving the leads and supporting alike, will grow on you. Their individual stories morphing into a whole within an office scenario will almost compel the viewer to feel the laughter, shock and turmoil with/within each one of them.
The depth and character development hence, comes out exactly on point. Not too fast neither too gradual, just perfect.

Plot: There as such, wasn't a well defined plot in here, a theme rather. Of reconciliation, mutual admiration, acceptance layered with a veil of enigma, that were some past memories. Which lemme tell you the drama pulled off. Brilliantly.

Acting: What more can I say of the overwhelming "aura" that is of Park Seo Joon that hasn't been said already. The guy himself is a masterpiece (even when he's trying to be an obnoxious douchebag).
Park Min Young complimented him thoroughly and I was impressed.
Everyone else kept me entertained throughout.
But I'll give the credit where it's due, the child actors especially Moon Woo Jin did the finest job.
For me, the excellent portrayal of the childhood trauma was in all honesty, the highest point of the show.

Extra: The love triangle could have been avoided but I forgive them cause they didn't stretch it pointlessly for too long.
Unpopular opinion, the blooming romance between Gwi Nam and Ji Ah was more fun than that of the lead pair. I mean the duo had their own quirks and toe curling moments which I enjoyed from the get go.

In conclusion, if you're into rom-coms you really can't miss out on this one!

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Originally written on Nov 13, 2022

I didn’t take any notes while watching this, so no long ass review this time, but this was just okay.

The premise of a secretary who’s quitting her job and slowly falling in love with her boss over the course of her last month at the company is interesting, but the whole thing is dragged down by a forced mystery side-plot about childhood trauma.

Vice-president Lee is a narcissistic clown, and while the show explains why that is, it doesn’t make him a very likeable person. Hearing him talk about himself like he’s the most perfect person in the world is incredibly off-putting. Secretary Kim is a saint, as she’s been putting up with this shit for 9 years, and seeing her reward this behaviour with her love doesn’t sit right with me. It doesn’t feel earned. It feels bought.

It’s fun enough, and around the mid-season point there are a couple episodes which are really funny, but there are better, similar K-Dramas out there. Business Proposal, for example.

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