I didn't like acting of Park Seo Joon in this one. There was no emotion in his eyes. Both of the main leads felt so fake, with fake smiles and awkward movements.
The unrealistic and cheesy childhood trauma story was annoying.
There was too much sugarness. And when I say too much, it means that the main lead literally said how much he loves her and treasures her every two minutes and all he cared about was this girl in every situation, even though he was supposed to be a busy person.... It all looked like a fairytale for kids - very tiring, and even worse accompanied by his fake acting. It felt like he was so tired himself saying all these stupid things from the scenario.
Now for the good parts.
I really liked the side characters in this drama. They all were so cute and funny, I absolutely adore acting of them all.
Also I liked the hot moments between the main leads. Made me fangirl like crazy.
Also thank God there were not much complications and misunderstandings, which is nice. Saved me the nerves.
Would probably rewatch for the bright and cute atmosphere.
7/10
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I would say its pretty good. It’s funny and enjoyable. It’s a lot of reading though. The conversation is long and witty and sometimes I would say some joke lost in translation which is too bad. But still I got most of it. But it is a very conversation based drama so you wont enjoy this if you dont enjoy reading. Production is really good as always.
I like both of the main characters. The trauma which cost them PDSD is pretty well hidden and slowly shows details as we watch the story unfold.
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It sounds cliché but when I worked at a restaurant I met so many bosses who had married their secretaries that it felt actually quite strange. But it's a matter of fact and the funniest things happen in real life, right? So, it was even more enjoyable to watch. Also, it's been a while since I last watched a pure romance drama, so it was even more relaxing to marathon this one.
Park Min Young's and Park Seo Joon's scenes were well balanced and had really good dynamics. There was perfect timing in their facial expressions and small gestures/reactions were well tuned. It's hard to describe, but I hope you'll know what I'm talking about when you watch it yourselves.
What I especially liked in the beginning was that perfect teamwork between the both of them. It showed so well, how important it is to have a competent, supportive co-worker next to you when it comes to managing such scales. It's a bit sad that they showed less of that team-play as the drama went on. What I also liked was the transition from the newbie to that perfect secretary.
PSJ's acting performance was satisfying, as expected. The narcissistic treats of his character were well shown, even though they surfaced less often in the later episodes, which is a bit sad, imo.
I'm not a fan of kitsch, so... let's just say that the drama could have done perfectly fine without it. I don't even know how SK came up with this kind of image of a relationship in the first place, when they started to produce rom-coms in the past.
I adored all the side-characters. Lee Young Joon's parents were great. Hilariously great. Also, Kim Mi So's sisters (fresh faces who make me want to see them more often in dramas) and of course her dad, lol. And in that sense the surprise cameo. Won't say more though!
Special shout-out to the child actors. So, so cute but also so impressively well done when you think about those scenes they had to play.
And then there's Kang Ki Young. You can't help but enjoy all his roles. He has this comedic talent to make a scene look serious, yet funny without overdoing it.
Overall a well done rom-com with a few points of criticism. The acting is really good, the office life relatively close to reality (sometimes). Only the last few episodes became a bit dragging about two issues and some things were just "too much". It doesn't diminish the overall enjoyment, and with the adding of someone's hidden past you even get some suspense on the side-lines. Enjoyment level alone: 8.5.
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Any sort of drama, of course, requires some sort of 'drama' in order for anyone to continue watching, which indeed it had, with the confusing past between Mi So and Young Joon, along with the brother. However, that wasn't the main focus of this drama and what it was trying to show its audience. If you are looking for a drama which you can properly immerse yourself in and has a heavy plotline, this is not for you. What's Wrong With Secretary Kim i is a drama which is light and fluffy, something to look forward to on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, where you can sit back from a hard day of work and lose yourself in the romance between these characters - something I like to call 'vegging time' (which is necessary for all of us - don't pull a Go Gwi Nam and overwork yourself).
I can wholeheartedly say that this was exactly me. Since I usually juggle watching multiple dramas at once, I like to watch one airing drama, along with a series that has already been fully released. Since this drama is so light and easy to watch, I could delve into other dramas with, indeed, heavy plotlines, and whenever a break was necessary I could sit back and watch some Secretary Kim.
With wonderful side characters, which were NOT annoying AT ALL for once (thank you so much Secretary Kim team <3), I actually found myself enjoying this drama 24/7, and not having to skip any parts of an episode. We had three side romances going on, and I enjoyed every single couple immensely. Besides that annoying brother, which I began to forgive in the last episode, I can say that I enjoyed every single character and their involvement in the series.
But who am I deciding to pick out specifically as the one who made the series for me? Without a shadow of a doubt, I'd say my man Kang Ki Young playing Park Yoo Shik. Each of his scenes was a blessing to watch, in which I found myself crying with laughter thanks to his failed attempts to get back with his wife, his absolute EXPECTATION for his secretary to mess SOMETHING up every single day , his tolerance of Young Joon despite his narcissism and willingness to listen to his problems with Mi So, regardless of his own problems. Once he got back with his wife at the end, I found myself literally leaping with joy (and getting weird looks from my parents at the same time).
The only flaws of the series I came to pick up on, which explained the 9.5 is how the drama dealt with Young Joon's narcissism. Besides the fact that Young Joon did NOTHING the entire series to help my precious baby Park Yoo Shik with his wife problems (which really got me annoyed, especially considering I had waited for the entire series to see Young Joon return the favour and help him out for a change), was never really 'finished' to my taste. One of the main themes of this drama was the narcissism of Young Joon, one of the main reasons that Mi So had decided to quit her job, but instead of really battling with this aspect of him, it was put aside for the audience as well as Mi So to simply just accept. Now, I can understand the argument against this which first comes to mind, that it was about Mi So learning to love him in spite of his narcissism, but I think there was just so much more they could do with that quality of him, more comedy and indeed some more emotional chemistry between the main couple as Kim Mi So helps him overcome it.
But why am I so hung up over it? For me, the narcissism of Young Joon was actually due to the fact that he was incredibly insecure. With family issues left and right, having that sort of 'disconnect' from his colleagues and friends, it was obvious that he wasn't the kind of person to get love or befriend others, because he couldn't do the same with himself. Instead of Mi So helping him learn to love himself first, we were just thrown the choice to 'accept it or leave'. As a key theme (even being in the description of this drama), I feel quite disappointed that from the main theme at the beginning towards the middle, it became an underlying one at the end.
Then again, I suppose you can say that I am always quite stingy with rating dramas a 10 and look for any sort of flaws with a drama in order to not rate it a 10. Although it is important to notice that I believe that if a drama can make up for its flaws in other ways, it can one hundred per cent deserve a ten.
Thank you very much, What's Wrong With Secretary Kim Team, for a wonderful drama that enjoyed immensely, and thank you for taking the time to read my review.
~ Ambi x
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- This drama has its fair share of clichés, maybe even more, from rich man poor woman, boss falling for his secretary, possibility of a past connection, and many more. But the execution of these clichés is done in a way that's really enjoyable for the audience.
- A narcissistic male lead, who is NOT unlikeable at ALL. Other dramas need to take lessons from this one on how to write characters in such a good way.
We could never get enough of Young Joon expressing just how perfect he was.
- A hardworking and smart female lead. She does everything to accommodate her boss but at the same time, she doesn't let him push her around. Now that's something we love to see!
Also a side note, just how pretty is Park Min Young?!
- The chemistry between the leads!! They are so adorable together, and when they want to be, so , so hot too!
- The side characters are just as likeable to watch as the leads. Same goes for the side romances.
- Hard not to mention Mi So's dad. So very unlike the usual dad's (or just parents, in general) in Kdramas, he didn't get on his daughter's boyfriend for no reason. His scenes were just so fun to watch.
- Almost every episode would have (more than) one scenes that would leave you with a silly smile on your face. This drama is just pure fluff. While it had its serious moments, they far from overwhelmed the light, fun and cute scene. The drama is a breeze to get through.
- The 'main plot' of the drama gets resolved waay before the finale. Afterwards, it's just pure romance. While to some, it felt draggy at that point, to some, it was enjoyable to watch more of their OTP. The last two episodes specially, are pure fillers. But the kind of fillers you can actually enjoy. I guess it depends on the viewer to an extent.
- Over all, I'd say I really enjoyed this show. It's a great rom-com, one I'd recommend to people. But it's not something I'd rewatch. Still, I had an enormous fun time while watching it the first time.
Most probably you've already heard all the good things about this drama, and it's already on your PTW, but just in case it isn't, what are you waiting for? It's already completed, it has a great cast, a high rating, good comments- basically it's a complete package! So, please, go ahead and start this. You'll have a great time watching it!
Happy Watching!!
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Highly overrated! Unrealistic ML who is just over qualified to win Nobel and Olympic at once!
Another overrated drama providing a nonsense storyline with cheesy romance! The title should be instead "What's Wrong with this drama"Ugh, even in fictional plot, I cant understand " how such a person exists!"
Too much dramatic, too much narcissistic ML again with nothing admirable but with a ton of money and good looking, just pathetic!!!!
I wonder what such drama aims for? I think these are dramas for "gold-digger"-type girl, utterly nonsense! Such girl can put up with a pathetic ML for his money, looking and idiotic personality.
This drama only have a good touch: the cute childhood story behind the plot, thats it. For that only I fast forwarded this drama till the end.
ML with money, good looking, traumatic childhood, with a "grownup baby" like attitude which can be single-handedly controlled by one and only FL, kind of sexist, up front rude to all other girls except FL, too much perfectionist, allrounder, dictatorship, abnormally smart (they just over qualified to win Nobel and Olympic at a time): DAMN it! Now-a-days all these abnormally shitty characteristics are forcefully portrayed as standardized example of "prince charming" for teen generations!!! Its just a both way dagger to distort the "EXPECTION" for teens. No normal guy can fulfil this qualification while no normal girl can feel satisfied with such expectation.
Now, please dont give me "LAME" excuse to justify such idiotic drama in name of "Comedy+romance" or "just entertaining" ! If u do, then I can assure you that your taste is already got distorted. And I am very sorry for that!
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Park Min Young and Park Seo Joon are a romantic dream team! Their chemistry, their comedic banter, and emotional moments are flawless. A narcissist male lead is nothing new, but Yeong Joon takes this trope to a whole new level. He is unapologetically egotistical, but early on we start to see that he may be much more considerate than he appears. Secretary Kim Mi So is his perfect work match, but it soon becomes clear that they compliment each other in other ways as well. I never got tired of watching these two together. It doesn't hurt that they look amazing together (with an amazing wardrobe too). Whether their scenes were ridiculously comedic, tragically melodramatic, or beautifully romantic, I loved every moment of watching them together. Their characters were so well played that even their smallest comedic nuances were on point. I also want to give a shout out to Kim Mi So's epic ponytail! I swear it was it's own character. Another shout out to Yeong Joon's house, which is my dream home from Secret Garden (my all time favorite drama, which probably explains why I like this one so much)
The rest of the cast is just as good, and well played. Sure, many of them are comedic, even silly, but every single character is strong on their own, even if they are just for comic relief. I am not always a fan of Korean humor, and sometimes it can be a little to corny for me. In this drama, some of the silliest characters that I thought were annoying initially, became some of my favorites. This is especially true of the work staff, who were such a great ensemble. The mvp being Hwang Bo Ra, who I thought I would hate, but often made me unexpectedly laugh the most. I even liked the cheesy graphics and sound effects. The only character I could think of with any weak acting moments was Lee Tae Hwan as Yeong Joon's brother. Since he had one of the most melodramatic parts in a cast full of comedic ones, I'll give him some extra credit for that.
At some point in the middle there is a major departure from comedy that goes into melodrama, and even the thriller genre a little bit. The reason why I think this worked was because it all helps to better understand the characters. They also were even able to still find some humor related to that storyline, so that it didn't seem completely out of place to me. It's hard to say too much about the story without giving it away.
It was very surprising to me just how much I liked the story. I definitely started out not wanting to see these two together, which I think is the vibe the show purposely gives you. The rest of the show reveals that there's so much more to the story than what it seemed like initially. Some of the story is admittedly unrealistic, and super "convenient", but I can't think of a single hole or flaw. Even the supporting characters had stories that I loved, and there were a few random early moments that I forgot about, but when reintroduced they made perfect sense. Maybe it helped that they had something to adapt from, because even though the plot had some very cheesy moments, the storytelling remained impressive.
I can only give the soundtrack a 9 because none of the songs were amazing to me, but the music in the episodes, especially during the comedic moments, always complimented the scenes perfectly. Also, minor spoiler, Park Seo Joon does sing, which is hard to be mad at.
My rewatch score is a 10 because I'm already starting over from episode 1. What I already notice is that the show is even more entertaining knowing that there's more to certain scenes that I missed the first time. So nothing is lost by knowing what will happen, in fact, it makes the story a little better. I also wasn't ready to say goodbye to this cast yet.
Overall this is exactly what I love in a romcom drama... a romance I can root for, and episodes that entertain me from beginning to end. Kim Mi So and Yeong Joon are now among my favorite Kdrama couples. I loved both actors in dramas previously, but for me this is them both at their best. "What's Wrong With Secretary Kim?" is the most charming romance I've seen in a while. I think it's proof that a seemingly simple drama can make a strong impact.
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Let's face it - this is not a story worth of Oscar Award, but that was not the point. Despite it, I found this drama very enjoyable to watch!!! I can't count how many times I laughed while watching it - I also cant count how many time my heart flutters during romantic scenes. I am sure that for many people the plot could be very cliche, but that's how it supposed to be - just light drama to watch as a form of relax from stresses of outside world.
Let's focus on leading roles - Park Min Young and Park Seo Joon were just perfect couple. He, as a narcissistic vice chairman, and she, as his secretary, created characters that make You laugh, cry, angry. You can feel the chemistry between them. But not only them - also support actors left really good impression. In that drama there is no such person You couldn't like :D
Moreover, this drama has got one of the best special effects I've ever seen. All this flying hearts, lewd devils etc. were the perfect match to the scenery. The music also made this drama really pleasant not only to watch, but also to listen.
Overall, 'What's Wrong With Secretary Kim' is perfect, if You want to relax during the afternoons and forget about everything. Just gather with Your friends, grab some popcorn and start watching it!!! You won't regret it, so just sit comfortably and enjoy it!!!
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everything all tied up in a little bow
Came for the cute romance between the two leads and got more than what I expected! This is a simple drama to watch with a forgiving mix of romance and comedy. This drama is exactly what I was looking for when I needed something light to watch amidst other more "serious" dramas.The one thing I really enjoyed about the storyline was there was no shaming the "poor girl" nor is the "rich guy's" mom spiteful towards her. I love all the familial relationships. But other than that, there wasn't really anything special about the plot. It has all the ingredients for your typical kdrama (not a bad thing). However, I did feel like it dragged out for a bit. Perhaps I am just impatient and considering that the episodes were an hour long, but I pushed on! I don't regret watching it. Like I said, it's a fun drama to watch so just don't take it seriously :)
What really carried the show was the acting especially between the male and female lead. They have so much on-screen chemistry it's insane. It really sells the story. Every time they're doing an intimate kissing scene, I keep forgetting they're doing all this while the film crew is surrounding them because it truly felt so natural seeing them together.
P.S. Don't forget to check out the OST. Every song is good
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Romantically Intelligent drama with the most Lovable Narcissist ML ???
So I had already watched it once last Year, when I had just started watching Kdramas. And then this series felt good, but nothing exceptional. It took me an year to develop the direction,story telling and the cultural understanding to really appreciate it, when I saw it the second time. The story is good, but it's the Narration, direction and acting is what really makes this series! It's very intelligence but in a emotionally artistic way.It's peaks at episode 8-10 into such a unreal (boss and secretary) but relatable (the dynamics of romantic relationship)way.
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This drama is so cheesy and overuse scenes
For me "What's wrong with secretary kim" has a weak storyline, I mean nothing special or rare about it. This scenes where the pen fell and then they will have eye contact ughh. It's to cheesy and too old for meI actually don't care about the music and i must say they're acting is very good
And last if you're planing to watch this drama is so cheesy corny and bad storyline
Nothing special about
Overall of 3.5
If you like kdrama like weightlifting fairy, suspicious Partner, while you were sleeping
You will be disappointed with this
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This review may contain spoilers
It's a generic kdrama, if you're looking for something that's different, it's not for you
I decided to pick up this drama because of the hype going around it and I briefly read the webtoon however I personally found it difficult to engage with.Personally, I'm a viewer that enjoys dramas that stray away from the 'narcisstic guy fell for the kind female lead' because at some point I feel that it gets dragged on for too long (maybe that's just me though because I've seen a lot from that trope). I found it difficult to engage in after seeing a 'Business Proposal' because the romance aspect of the show was dragged on for too long and there wasn't any power-duo that kept me wanting to watch more.
For the viewers, if you're looking for a drama that's different from the generic kinds of romance plots or has seen a LOT of romance kdramas, I wouldn't recommend this drama for you.
However if you're a newbie in the kdrama world, this drama is a good one to get you going.
Happy Binging!!
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