THIS DRAMA IS SOOOOOOOO GOOD you have no idea how crazy this made me! Hahaha I love this drama way tooooo much. Jin Ki Joo and Kim Young Kwang and Veronica Park and Gi Dae Ju (cant really remember the real names of the last two on top of my head) portrayed their roles so perfectly I felt like God specifically made them for this drama. Hahahaha. I rarely watch behind the scenes as I don’t really want to ruin really good scenes on my mind. But boy oh boy I just came across one on YouTube and I feel like the ship could sail real good for Jin Kin Joo and Kim Young Kwang. If Dispatch would reveal they’re dating in real, I won’t even be surprised! I’ll probably jump for joy!!
Back to the drama itself - if you’re hesitating if you should give this a go, stop right there and just play episode 1. Swear to goodness this is a really really great feel-good romantic comedy drama that will make you happy!!!! Others do find that the story was lame because of how the face blindness was portrayed. But I was not even bothered, not even a tiny bit! There’s a reason why this was just a drama - a fictional one. You can’t have everything close to reality here!
Thank you to all the cast and crew of this wonderfully created drama!
I seriously don’t know how to let go after watching the last episode. I guess I’ll be rewatching this!
Was this review helpful to you?
Hope anyone who read this will watch this AMAZING drama. :)
Was this review helpful to you?
Review of "The secret life of my secretary". (Spanish, English, French)
(Spanish)“The secret life of my secretary” es un drama coreano con elementos de romance y comedia. La pareja protagonista está compuesta por el CEO Do Min Ik y su secretaria Jung Gal Hee. Do Min Ik, tras un ataque contra su vida, tiene prosopagnosia y solo puede reconocer la cara de Jung Gal Hee, lo que los mantiene más unidos.
La trama de la serie es original ya que el protagonista masculino es incapaz de reconocer rostros, lo que hace que limite su vida cotidiana y le trae complejidades cuando se relaciona con los demás. Además, gracias a esta enfermedad, irónicamente acaba conociendo más profundamente a la gente que le rodea. La secretaria, por su parte, trata de ayudarlo, pero sin querer termina mintiendo a su jefe, así que su relación se enreda. No obstante tengo que decir que me gusta cómo se desenlaza todo, el guion está bien escrito. En cuanto al resto de personajes, en mayor o menor medida, todos tienen un desarrollo y un propósito, no son un adorno.
Las actuaciones y la producción están bien hechas y dirigidas. De lo único que no estoy contenta es que los 32 capítulos se me han hecho un poco largos y he sentido algo de aburrimiento. Pero, hay varios momentos de química entre los protagonistas, con más emoción de lo que podrías encontrar en otros dramas y hay ciertas escenas que se quedarán en mi memoria.
(English)
“The secret life of my secretary” is a Korean drama with elements of romance and comedy. The protagonist couple is made up of CEO Do Min Ik and his secretary Jung Gal Hee. Do Min Ik, after an attack on his life, has prosopagnosia and can only recognize Jung Gal Hee's face, which keeps them closer.
The plot of the series is original since the male protagonist is unable to recognize faces, which limits his daily life and brings complexities when he interacts with others. Furthermore, thanks to this illness, he ironically ends up getting to know the people around him more deeply. The secretary, for her part, tries to help him, but inadvertently ends up lying to her boss, so their relationship becomes entangled. However, I have to say that I like how everything unfolds, the script is well written. As for the rest of the characters, to a greater or lesser extent, they all have a development and a purpose, they are not an ornament.
The performances and production are well done and directed. The only thing I'm not happy about is that the 32 chapters have seemed a bit long and I've felt a bit bored. But, there are several moments of chemistry between the leads, with more emotion than you could find in other dramas and there are certain scenes that will stay in my memory.
(French)
« The secret life of my secretary » est un drame coréen avec des éléments de romance et de comédie. Le couple protagoniste est composé du PDG Do Min Ik et de son secrétaire Jung Gal Hee. Do Min Ik, après une attaque contre sa vie, souffre de prosopagnosie et ne peut reconnaître que le visage de Jung Gal Hee, ce qui les rapproche.
L'intrigue de la série est originale puisque le protagoniste masculin est incapable de reconnaître les visages, ce qui limite sa vie quotidienne et lui apporte des complexités dans ses relations avec les autres. De plus, grâce à cette maladie, il finit ironiquement par mieux connaître les gens qui l'entourent. La secrétaire, de son côté, essaie de l'aider, mais finit par accidentellement mentir à son patron, leur relation s'enchevêtre. Cependant, je dois dire que j'aime la façon dont tout se déroule, le scénario est bien écrit. Quant au reste des personnages, à des degrés divers, ils ont tous un développement et une finalité, ils ne sont pas un ornement.
Les performances et la production sont bien réalisées et dirigées. La seule chose qui ne me plaît pas, c'est que les 32 chapitres m'ont semblé un peu longs et que je me suis un peu ennuyé. Mais il y a plusieurs moments d'alchimie entre les protagonistes, avec plus d'émotion que l'on pourrait trouver dans d'autres dramas et il y a certaines scènes qui resteront dans ma mémoire.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
If you hate misunderstandings I would avoid this show
TLDR: Every issue in this show could be solved by someone saying one sentence at the right time but everyone refuses to open their mouths.Disclaimer: I give average shows a 5 so everything above that is pretty good to excellent while everything below that is pretty bad to horrendous. Everything is also in reference to other shows. I am not an expert in film making so I cannot say how well the technical aspects were executed, but I can give my opinion on how they compare to other things I've watched and how much I enjoyed them relative to other shows even if I can't put into words the exact technique used that made it more/less enjoyable.
Overall: I would say this is a slightly above average drama with some fun elements and an interesting premise. Unfortunately it overstays its welcome and can't find a way to move things along which makes the middle of the show drag.
Story: The premise is interesting and entertaining at first. I has its own charm and its fun to see the FL try to navigate all the obstacles of her own making. But at some point it starts to go from fun to frustrating. Most K dramas have some element of misunderstanding/miscommunication that sparks the romantic plot and this one is no exception. However, it quickly becomes redundant as the character find themselves in the exact same situation over and over and over all while wondering how they're going to fix things when the answer is immediately obvious to anyone with a functioning brain. If the characters were reasonably intelligent for 30 seconds the episode count could have comfortably been cut from 16 to 10 without feeling rushed. Instead we are left with many episodes in the middle that feel like the the FL says "this time, I'll tell him the truth..." and then proceeds to not change or do anything. (side note: you know that whenever someone says they're doing something tomorrow that shit aint getting done). The only time the ongoing misunderstandings seem remotely organic is when the 2nd FL has a hand in it because it fits with her character. Outside of this, any cliche you've ever seen in a drama is present here (dead phone battery, ML protecting FL from car, tripping into close up, etc.) and it can get annoying.
The mystery elements of the story were interwoven throughout the story, but I never felt like they got the gravity they deserved. This is a pretty common theme in Kdramas but if someone is out to kill you that's not the time to brush it off and say that you're gonna be fine. The opposite is also true in that if there is a simple problem to fix its not the time to break out the sad violins and pretend like the world is ending. In this instance the tone falls into the former where there is some pretty serious stuff going on but the characters don't really seem to care which results in even more life threatening situations and makes it tough to know how to feel about it given the dichotomy between their reactions and what is actually going on. Spoiler: But like, if some guy has already tried to kill your boss, and he comes to your home with a weapon, saying your blind brother has trouble getting used to new places is not a valid reason to stay. Or imo if you use that reason then you kind of deserve to get killed the next time he comes. The mystery was also overall super predictable. It was pretty obvious who was going to be good and who was a red herring from the outset so some of the dramatic reveals felt more cringe than anything.
I would say my fundamental problem with the romance side of the story is that the emotional investment it tries to make you feel as the plot progresses don't feel earned. They try to make it seem like the characters are making tough decisions and grappling with lots of emotions, but then you realize that its a rerun of the previous 4 episodes so why should I care. Watching a character make the same mistakes over and over and over all while telling themselves and the audience how they are going to change requires fantastic writing/acting or a more comedic tone in order to keep the viewer invested. This show does not quite hit the mark on either of these leading to a frustrating rather than fun viewing experience at times. During every emotional or dramatic reveal instead of feeling sad/happy/whatever else they wanted me to feel, I just get annoyed that it didn't happen 3 episodes earlier when there was a perfect window and no good reason for it not to happen.
Characters: I liked all the lead characters. The FL is charming and charismatic in a bubbly kind of way that allowed me to still like the character despite the many questionable things she does throughout the show. She manages to play both versions of her character well and both were believable identities. The ML is ok, but I did feel like he was more of a passenger in the show being yanked around in whichever direction the plot needed him to go. He was supposedly instrumental in most of the plot threads but never seemed to actually have any agency in what was going on. Looking back, the only real things he does throughout the entire show is try to cure is illness so he can chase after a girl. (spoiler: perfect example but the secret org is scared that the ML is onto them as he reasonably should be, but we the viewers know that he hasn't given the file a second thought after finding it a few episodes prior and will only start to care about it once its convenient for that plot thread to wrap itself up) The second FL is probably the standout for me. The actress looked like she was having a blast playing the role and it definitely shows. She is over the top and quirky in the best way possible and I love her chemistry with the second ML. She steals most every scene she is in all while filling the comedic relief role in a show that could've used more lighthearted moments. The second ML is good as well. I think he is used by the story to add suspense and mystery to the show multiple times which actually worked initially because the actor can pull off the guilty without trying to be aura really well. Their chemistry was also great and I liked all the second leads scenes together.
My favorite side characters were probably the FLs family. Her sister was great as the mature kid trying to be the adult and the brother was funny while also being the voice of reason when the story needed to give the FL a push. The slow mo secretary scene is also goated. Most other side characters don't get much screen time so its hard to say much about them, but the second FLs mother was also quite funny.
Music: I'm not a huge music person and I also watch at faster speeds 1.5x so can't really comment on the music much but I assume it was good.
Rewatch: This would probably be on the lower end of the rewatch list for me, but not at the very bottom. The story is certainly not a reason to rewatch and the characters aren't good enough to justify rewatching this show over others.
Was this review helpful to you?
Trope fest but surprisingly sound and good
I always say to viewers that are watching office romances that you have to enjoy the tropes so the drama can actually land. Same goes for school dramas- you have to appreciate the bullying tropes , love hate angles for the school dramas to really land .That being said - Secret Life of My Secretary is a typical office romance . Mean and ambitious boss who is secretly self sacrificing who has a secretary who is super diligent , embarrassing and reliable. TYPICAL but it goes above that and that was so surprising . It explores with delicacy conditions, forgiveness , patience and the virtue of being truthful and honest whilst outlining the stark emotive differences between honesty and truthfulness.
The main leads journeys regarding themselves and each other were refreshing and the warmness that this drama exuded was very refreshing . The subplots of the office intrigues brilliantly brought out the overall themes and it was very pleasant how this whole drama was handled.
The cast had great chemistry and every story was enjoyable . Particularly loved the second leads romance and the doctor .
However - it was not too swoon worthy but all basic and warm. Lets just say that I am not going to look for Youtube MVs of the couples . The music was also meh . That makes it score a 7.5 but a hot 7.5 leaning to a 8.
If you like an office romance - then this is definitely a handy one to have in your list !
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
FUTRE EDIT: I recently re-watched this drama and now feel compelled to come back to my old review and make amendments, as I made some criticisms that I simply don't agree with anymore.Original Review (now with amendments):
I'm gonna give you one suggestion before you start this drama. Disregard everything about Do Min Ik being a face genius. It's superfluous information that has no bearing on the overall story, and you'll enjoy the drama better if you just ignore it.
EDIT: I completely renounce this suggestion. While there are still some issues with this part of the plot, I don't think him being a face genius at the start is as big of a problem to the story as I once did. I address said issues a little further down in my original review. :FINISH EDIT
As for the rest of this drama, it has an old-school style filled with small, but important, twists on a classic formula. A male lead who's not really a jerk, just starts off a little thoughtless then quickly becomes the cutest puppy you've ever seen (and I mean Quikly). A female lead who's a candy but not, who stands up for herself repeatedly and doesn't let anyone push her around and is very proactive in her own life. The use of disability(ies) in a way that is thoughtful and kind, even if not very accurate (looking at you, face blindness), and that isn't used as a plot device only to be reversed later (ie. not giving characters disabilities only to take them back at the end in order to achieve a 'happy ending').
EDIT: I STAND BY EVERYTHING IN THIS PARAGRAPH. :FINISH EDIT
There's an office plot outside of the romance, but that's gonna be really hit or miss for a lot of people, and probably more of a miss for most. It's not a typical office plot, in my opinion, and I really appreciate where the writers were trying to go with it, but it does have some glaring flaws that keep it from being as compelling as it could have been.
EDIT: I really liked the office plot the second time around. It doesn't go the direction you expect it to (I suspect because one of the actresses playing one of the secretaries central to this plot had to leave the drama due to a family scandal and this required changing the storyline unexpectedly), but I actually like where it ended up going. It's not super high stakes or exciting or intriguing, but it's very realistic and conveys a very strong message. :FINISH EDIT
The two main problems with this drama though are going to be this:
1) Making Do Min Ik a 'face genius' worked against them when they took away his ability to recognize faces, as he should have had no real trouble recognizing the people around him via their voices, mannerisms, way of dress, etc. (as is implied he was very good at when he was a 'face genius'). Yet he can't recognize any of these things about people, and there's no reason given as to why, which makes you strongly question just how much of a 'face genius' he was before. This is why I said to completely disregard this part of the plot as it's unnecessary and you'll enjoy the story more without it.
EDIT: I mostly stand by this. It doesn't make sense that he was so incredibly good at reading people and then when he lost his ability to see faces, he lost everything else as well. At the very least, he should have been able to recognize people's voices. I can recognize my parents' coughs and sighs and sneezes when they're on different aisles of the grocery story. Surely, he could have recognized people's voices. :FINISH EDIT
2) People are tired of dramas where the main conflict is dragged out longer than necessary, and this drama definitely makes you feel like the main conflict is being dragged on longer than necessary and can make you really dislike the female lead even though you clearly aren't meant to. (I never disliked her as the lie itself never upset me to the level it did everyone else, but I definitely felt the frustration many felt over her not ending it sooner than she did.) But once you get past this part of the story, and the writers finally give you an explanation for some things, you do understand why they chose to go this route, and it makes a lot of sense.
EDIT: Again, I mostly stand by this, but I also felt a stronger empathy and understanding for Gal Hee this time around. Truthfully, some of the blame should be on Veronica as well, as her way of punishing Gal Hee for deceiving Do Min Ik...was to make her deceive him some more. She should have been held at least partially responsible for that. And even though the lie goes on overlong, I also think it was consistently well-utilized. There aren't any scenes where I felt like 'This is unnecessary. This harms the drama/the story.' The conflict I experienced was that I understood and appreciated the decisions the writers were making with the lie while also knowing and anticipating and being already heartbroken that Do Min Ik was going to be gutted when he found out. And he was. :FINISH EDIT
What I would have liked to see in this drama:
1) Gal Hee's mom should have been a central character from the beginning. The drama starts off with mom playing a more central role in the early episodes as a sort of voice of wisdom to Gal Hee, but then she sort of disappears for awhile for no explainable reason. She starts popping up again in the second half to have little, private conversations with Gal Hee about things, and it adds So much to the story as you get to see into Gal Hee's mindset and why she does the things she does. The first half would have greatly benefitted from more of this, and I think people's anger at Gal Hee's character would have been cooled by it.
EDIT: I don't know what I was on about. Mom was actually very well-utilized throughout the story, and I don't know why I remembered her only showing up toward the beginning and the second half. I'm also not sure if the story would work as well if mom showed up more often. I liked her a lot, but it probably worked better for her to pop in periodically rather than every, or every other, episode. :FINISH EDIT
2) I don't mind that Do Min Ik couldn't tell that Gal Hee and 'Veronica' were the same person. The explanation we get later on as to why works for me. There just needed to be more insight early on into what was going through Do Min Ik's mind to help us understand why he never recognizes how similar Gal Hee and 'Veronica' are to one another and why he has so much trouble choosing between them. It would have gone a long way to easing the frustration a lot of viewers felt over his not being able to figure it out.
EDIT: I agree. :FINISH EDIT
And that's ultimately where the split is going to be in this drama. Either you're going to be frustrated with Gal Hee for not ending the lie sooner or you're going to be frustrated with Do Min Ik for not recognizing they're same person. But at least for my part, I don't feel like either of these things should deter anyone from watching this drama. I fully admit that my rating for this drama is based purely on my enjoyment of it and not it's flaws. Despite the flaws and some frustration in the middle bit, I thoroughly enjoyed this drama. It's fluffy and lighthearted and not meant to be taken too seriously. The writers know exactly what kind of story they're trying to write, and they don't try to be anything they're not. At the same time, they managed to take an old, tired formula and make it new and refreshing and full of little twists here and there and filled with characters you can't help but fall in love with. (You will love Do Min Ik. You just will.) It also has possibly one of the greatest final scenes in all of dramadom. Literally. That. Was. The. Moment. To. End. The. Drama. On. That last scene….was perfection.
EDIT: My rating for this drama is because this drama is wonderful, and the flaws are not nearly as large as I once thought, and the emotional heart of this story is compelling and strong, and the leads are incredibly sweet together, and I stand by this statement, Dang It. :FINISH EDIT
I highly recommend this. It's too cute not to.
EDIT: HECK YEAH, I DO! :FINISH EDIT
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Same problem as so often...
This started rather funny and easy to watch, with nice visuals, music and at first an interesting storyline about someone who suddenly suffers from face blindness - which probably is rather irritating and devastating - at first at least.The second episode is really funny and again Kim Young Kwang stands out to me with his acting abilities as he can even do comedy stuff - he can play a total psycho (Somebody), a depressive, silent businessman (call it love), a nasty deity, he can convincingly cry his eyes out in front of the camera, you name it, he can do it all.
But once again the writers are so sloppy with the storytelling - and this drama here is no exception sadly.
So, yes, the ML suffers from face blindness, but how does he also suffer from not recognising distinct individual voices of people? Especially his secretary, who deceives him with claiming she is Veronia Park? Her voice is so distinct and sometimes screeching even in both characters she plays, and he doesn't realise it's her? Not credible. Same goes of course for many other people around him. You normally recognise people not only by their faces, but by their voices, walks, scent, soooo many things. So dragging this blindfold-story for about 10 episodes without him realising it is just nonsensical.
That said, I have another problem with this: It really bothers me again and again that the female leads are portrayed like 5 year-old girls, totally naive and never taking action.
So here, given she deceives the ML, when he finds out and is so hurt? She apologises, but never tells him how she really feels about him. Then the ML has got to crawl back to her and apopgise and understand her and HE confesses his love, when she does not even then tell him that she likes him too? And it goes like that until the very end, he is almost lovedrunk, babbling the most over the top romantic stuff, and she still just silently looks like a shocked deer in the headlights and like she does not even know what's happening? Why does it always have to be this 'helpless, clueless little-girl-portrait of adult women? With this pre-story, and her being in love with the ML for so long? If he confesses, an adult woman would react differently for sure?
I just can't get used to that image of women like that. And they dragged this for sooo many episodes, I even ff-ed from episode 7 to the end then to just see when they will finally get together. And even that was then underwhelming because she even then can't bring herself to simply say to him 'I like you too'.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
One of the best of this kind
It was really good , the acting was top notch , the male lead really did such good job to show what he had been going through, the only thing is it was dragged for a bit too much. There were so many elements which added nothing to the story like you could literally some put those scenes anywhere upto to the last episodes and it would make sense, that's how vague they were. But , overall , I personally loved this drama so much. Recommended.Was this review helpful to you?
Cute office romance!
I’ve been planning to watch this for so long, gladly I decided to give it a chance. it’s a great romcom with some “hidden identity” plot, I guess, that gets better each episode. the dinamic of the main couple is adorable and they have so much chemistry, no toxic traits! The drama talks about redemption, love, trust and the characters are so likable. I definitely would recommend this if you like titles such as business proposal or king the land with no boring episodes. it’s so worth it!Was this review helpful to you?
A brilliant drama!
My friend suggested me to watch this drama and as she said, it never disappointed me even I was hesitated at first.Good storyline, good casting, good acting, and good kissing. The only thing that makes me unhappy about this story is how the FL failed to end early her acting as Veronica Park. Really pitied the ML.
This drama makes me cannot stop watching. And because of this drama, I went to find out what is the illness that this ML have. I really never heard about this illness before and thank you director for include this illness in this drama. It was such a new and great info to me. I never knew that there is such of this illness.
Despited the ML and the FL, I also like these second couple. Dae Ju and Veronica Park. Nice.
So, overall, it was a very nice drama. Enjoyable. I rate this drama at 4 stars.
Was this review helpful to you?
I don't understand why other people got mad that Galhee lied? That's a part of the story lmao. And it make sense why she lied, she said she wants to see how her boss treat other girls that's not her. And she slays acting like Veronica Park too.
Anyway, I'll give this drama an 8/10. Not that extraordinary but still reccomendable. Won't waste your time.
Was this review helpful to you?
