Prosopagnosia trope is real?
I have found this drama by accident while searching for "What's wrong with secretary Kim?" and watched it without any regrets 👌 It would seem that when you lie down with severe bronchitis, nothing will make you come alive better than syrup or hot broth but this show did a really great job! Story was fresh and unique and convinced my brain and body to focus on something else than coughing and sleeping 😁Maybe Do Min Ik and Jung Gal Hee started their relationship with cheating, what they built in the boss-secretary relationship was beautiful and unique. The story of the couple was very cool, but Veronica Park beat them anyway. This is one of those characters that after seeing it will stay in your head for the rest of your life.... Veronica Park nobo seyo .... I hear it in my head as soon as someone says that name 😅😅
Good drama with good cast and fresh script. I'm giving it 6/10, it's not extraordinary but reccomendable and won't waste your time. Ideal for lazy watching during the lockdown but if you search for an action - have a look for example at "Mystic Pop-Up Bar".
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I'm sad I couldn't give this drama 10/10 the acting was so fluffy Min Ik spoiled personality was on point and Gal Hee was cute as hell with her big glasses.
The side characters were okay, nothing to comment on.
Story:
This drama had some fake diseases that make no sense and sort of focused on "love overcomes all" concept, if that's not your cup of tea just don't expect much cause that's kind of the main plot.
I felt like so many episodes ended exactly where they begun and they had no story progress at all, however that might be easier to watch if you're binge watching it. (stretched?)
Also, the whole secretaries club plot was stupid and poorly written.
Music:
Amazing, will probably get stuck in my head for a while, I mean for God's sake they have Sondia singing one of the OSTs
Rewatchability:
Lastly and sadly I don't think this has much in this department, knowing how the Veronica act ends spoils 99% of the drama, sometimes I wish I had selective memory...
Anyways if you decide to pick this up you're in for an emotional rollercoaster, have fun!
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It’s okay at best
For starters how can’t the ML recognize the voice of his secretary that he’s worked with practically 24/7 for a whole year? And like all the characters are just dumb, the side characters aside from the FL family are boring and full of cliches, they didn’t add much to the plot.I don’t know, I really wanted to drop this show but wanted to see how it unfolded so forced myself to watch it at 1.5x speed and it good a bit cuter and nicer when the leads got together but it’s still meh.
They dragged this way too much, could’ve done the story in like 8 episodes and it would’ve been way better.
It’s really not worth the rewatch at all.
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Overall like I said the story wasn't the strongest story that leaves you at the edge of your sit or filled your mind with a lot of questions, everything about this drama was typical and simple.
• About the love story, I have to say it was sweet and fluffy and the main cast had great chemistry.
• I love (jin ki joo) and I think her sweet smile melts the heart of any man, also I think she delivered the role of her character.
• And I actually loved the character of (Veronica Park) before watching the drama I thought she's one of those annoying brats that you just want to punch in the face but she was exactly the opposite she was sweet and had a very bold attitude which I loved.
So if you looking for something to spend your time this drama can be a good choice
but if you're looking for something great that leaves an impact on you this drama isn't the best choice for you.
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A Comfort Rom-Com With Surprisingly Strong Chemistry
The Secret Life of My Secretary is one of those dramas that feels light and playful at first, but slowly wins you over with its warmth and character growth. It blends workplace comedy, romance, and emotional moments in a way that feels balanced rather than overdramatic. What makes it special isn’t just the storyline, but how naturally the relationships develop. The humor lands well, the misunderstandings are entertaining instead of frustrating, and the emotional beats feel earned rather than forced.Kim Young-kwang delivers such a strong performance as Do Min-ik. He perfectly captures the sharp, blunt, slightly arrogant boss persona at the start, but what really stands out is how convincingly he shows the character’s gradual softening. His comedic timing is excellent, especially in the more exaggerated or awkward scenes, yet he never turns the character into a caricature. There’s vulnerability beneath the surface, and he handles that shift beautifully.
Jin Ki-joo truly shines as Jung Gal-hee. She brings warmth, quiet strength, and sincerity to her role, making her incredibly easy to root for. Her performance feels grounded and natural, which balances the drama’s more playful tone. The chemistry between her and Kim Young-kwang feels comfortable and believable, and their dynamic is what carries the emotional core of the story.
The supporting cast deserves appreciation as well, especially Kim Jae-kyung and Koo Ja-sung, who add extra energy and humor. Their storyline brings boldness and charm, making the drama feel fuller and more entertaining overall. The OST complements the soft romantic vibe perfectly, enhancing both the lighter and more heartfelt moments without overpowering them.
Overall, The Secret Life of My Secretary is a genuinely enjoyable, easy-to-binge drama with strong chemistry, lovable characters, and a comforting atmosphere. It’s the kind of rom-com you watch when you want something sweet, funny, and emotionally satisfying.
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This is the proof that a simple, overdone story can still be amazing
Has this drama satisfied all my needs: Yes.Has this drama over-satisfied my needs: YES.
Has this drama given you diabetes: Yes.
Damn. I loved it way too much! I was not sold at ALL when I first saw this coming out, last year, but damn I was bored as heck and needed a cute unproblematic romcom, in this quarantine situation and YES did it satisfy me! I was seriously taken aback at how much I just liked and loved everything! The main leads! The main leads TOGETHER! And hot damn, their KISSES! Kim Young Kwang as Do Min Ik YESSSS! Jeong Ga Heel is such a cute pie I loved her to bits. I know that this drama is not one of those that go down in history or rise up in ratings, but it is certainly underrated in a sense. I tend to easily get tired of a drama and drop it after a few ep, but I literally binged watched this in two days. Maybe it's because I dig romcoms, but the thing is this drama didn't excel in comedy, the romance was superb between the mains! (so much better than many other hotshot dramas out there upsi) But it was so lighthearted it felt so nice. Maybe I am getting old, but I sick of those overly used melodramas and tragedies. They don't do anything positive for me and my life.
Shoutout to the fact that there was no second lead! And NO LOVE TRIANGLE I MEAN!! One of a handful!
And shoutout to the fact that the main "antiprotagonist" wasn't bad at all. It was justified and very understandable. I am overlooking the "plot holes" since people tend to nickpick a lot and honestly compared to soooo many other popular dramas, these plot holes were minimal. And lastly shoutout to the fact that they made Do Mi Ik keep his illness. One half of me wanted to see a cliché healing wonder, but another half just wanted him to live with it for the rest of his life, which is way more realistic. And yes it happened (even though I don't know if those moments were he suddenly sees faces again for a longer period of time actually works). Imo it makes their relationship a bit more meaningful and those moments too. When he argued about how his illness has positive effects too I was lowkey impressed.
Satisfied the heck out of me. An underrated gem! Not life changing, but lighthearted, superb chemistry, bromance and womance! and damn satisfying, you don't ever want to eat sweets again. The main couple might just kill you with cuteness. Enjoyed every bit!
P.S.: Kim Young Kwang will make you fall in love with him, be prepared. And also Jin Ki Joo, she's so adorable.
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I liked this drama way more than I expected and that is definitely thanks to the characters. Phenomenal cast, all of the four main leads were entertaining, had great chemistry and you just rooted for them.However, the story is not only simple, but sometimes quite silly and inconsistent. Also, and that might only be because of my personality, the element of the double life and constant lying was very hard to watch for me. I totally procrastinated the episodes where this situation culminated. The only thing that got me trough that were the sweet scenes between the main leads.
On the other end, I don't regret my time with this drama. It had so much good stuff in it - the relationship between the siblings, Do Min Ik finding out his worth with a disability, the constant bickering and genuine fun of Gal Hee and Min Ik on the screen and also a female character that was very into one male character.
Music was nice, I also think that this drama has a few of those scenes like little gems that I am going to go back to.
Overall, if you are in a mood for something simple and easy with amazing characters, this a good choice.
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Adorable
This was the typical rom-com — very adorable and never really high stakes because you knew things were going to be okay.Ultimately, I really enjoyed it, and it helped that the secretary and boss didn't fall too much into the cliche cold jerk/weak but warm stereotypes. JGH stood up for herself when necessary, and DMI was nicer than a lot of other bosses. The chemistry was really good.
I do, however, have a natural dislike for characters that keep these kinds of secrets — the kind that involves and hurts someone else and is purely for selfish reasons — and while I think the drama did a good job of balancing how JGH wanted to be someone else and yet felt trapped in her lie, I still think it might've been dragged on for a little too long.
I also wish the rules around DMI's face blindness were worked out a little better; how it was resolved at the end honestly felt deus ex machina, though I was still kind of relieved we got a nice resolution.
The secretary subplot was honestly really interesting, but I really wish it had been given more screentime and had been fed to us earlier. It's also rare that our two main characters are so uninvolved in the subplot and rather just victims of it (which was interesting to see actually). But I also felt like it wrapped up a little unsatisfyingly, though that could've been because I just didn't spend enough time with those characters to care deeply for them.
I liked JGH's siblings as well — even though they were parent-less, there wasn't ann overdose of angst and I loved how they still teased each other and supported each other.
Ultimately, this was a really fun watch, and I gotta say Veronica Park was HILARIOUS and cast perfectly. Favorite character.
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This is basically a poor man's version of "A Business Proposal." Though the premise is more or less the same, one thing I did not like here was how Gal Hui took advantage of her boss' illness to dupe him into believing she was somebody else. Overlooking this fact, the rest of the drama is cute and funny, and sometimes heartbreaking. I can't believe I enjoyed this drama more than I should, despite it's many loopholes. To name a few: 1) The Fall. I am surprised that Do Min Ik did not split his head open while he fell from a good height (on his head!). The chances of surviving this fall is slim to none without major injuries. I get it that he dislodged the pin that made facial recognition possible, but that is all. No bandage wrapping around his head, no broken bones, how is it possible??
2) The Box Cutter. How lame it is that the person who tried to hurt Do Min Ik and others uses the same weapon multiple times??? There was blood on it, dude! How can you use the same damn thing?? Might as well put a sticker on it, "Property of this Idiot."
3) The USB File. I guess everybody has the same USB that could be mistaken easily, that it is a wonder how confidential documents are kept. You can have cat videos and accounts of extortion in the same damn device and people can just take it or leave it or throw it as they please
4) Dubious Company policies. It must be some poor HR screening policy that allows people who were once fired, to be employed again. Do they not keep some records? Won't there be more questions why you are coming back to work?
5) The Police. Clearly they have nothing else to do but to solve this one case of non-murder. They are so easily swayed by statements made by their suspects that it will be surprising if they caught anybody. Hint: they did not. The idiot in #2 turned himself in.
And the best of all:
6) The Cast. I mean the cast on fake Veronica's arm. I mean Do Min Ik may not be able to see faces, but a glaringly obvious green cast with a heart he drew on Gal Hui's cast. In what world would she be able to explain that away??? Even if her cover was not blown earlier in the night, she would be caught green-handed.
There are too many coincidences in this drama to make me believe in logical thinking, but if I switch my brain off, and overlook these inconsistencies, the drama teaches you to open your heart to possibilities and be more human.
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Eye-rolling and joy, somehow
This show was ridiculous in a way that really grew on me (and watching it with the Viki comments on was hilarious, too) and I see-sawed between a lot of eye-rolling and some amusement, which was a really weird mix. (I think a lot of it was made better by having commentary the comments playing at the same time because it still felt slow but without it would have felt really slow). Somehow I didn't love Veronica Park the first second when we meet her but quickly realised she is AMAZING and sometimes carries the show. Her scenes were pretty much guaranteed to always be entertaining.I wasn't rushing to watch it, but I did enjoy watching it. It was relaxing and comforting - the plot developments didn't feel particularly overwhelmingly emotional at any point.
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1st watched in 2019 (8*) rewatched in 2026 (7*)
Pieces of this are great, but as a whole, it's too frustratingly flawed to be satisfying.I was surprised that I disliked this alot less when I rewatched it. The parts I disliked made me want to give it less than 7*
There's ALOT to like about this drama . How you feel at the end of a drama really can overshadow & make you forget the parts that you didn't like so much. That's how this drama was for me as it sandwiches the dislikeable parts in between the first half-(which has a good bit of silly comedy) and the last half (which has a good bit of warm fuzzies leading to happy endings for the 4 main characters.)
There are honestly some very lovely moments where the leads have sweet interactions. The male lead's character brings the heart fluttering moments & the drama ends happily making it difficult to remember how much I hated the middle part of the drama .
1) The drama pretty much centers around the female lead who is sort of a surrogate mother to her boss, which makes for an odd romance. The bulk of the drama is about her taking advantage of her boss in a way that only takes a second to become completely humorless. By Episode 11 the lie has gotten old & now it feels as the female lead is using the boss. You can't "sugar coat" it- it's a lie, it's deception and it is mean. The fact that it continues almost to the end of the drama was too much.
++++That's what disappointed me & kept me from loving the drama.
Female lead also goes on to break his heart twice, but not to worry because
2) Male lead's character is an (annoyingly) endearing golden retriever puppy type ( with abandonment issues) whose up bringing does not match up with his willingness to forgive.
3) There are some very good kisses in this drama (again, the male lead shines)
5) The inconsistencies of :
the 2nd male lead knowing then somehow not knowing about what's going on with his best friend the male lead.
the male lead saying that his secretary is the only face he can see & then later he isn't able to even when she's wearing the same clothes ...it doesn't make sense
4) They present the office workers stealing from the company & thier bosses as justified & righteous when they actually made things worse for themselves by stealing. How are they not just as bad as the people they are stealing from ?
5) The female lead isn't honest which puts the male lead through alot of misery.
6) The female lead thinks that it's better to break someone's heart than let that person lose thier position at work. This noble sacrifice trope is anything but noble and is more selfish than sacrificing a she's supposed to know her boss better than anyone, so she should know what is most important to him, but she totally disregards his words & intent & unilaterally makes a life altering decision for him.
7) The male lead is confused as soon as he gets what he wants- showing just how much the female lead messed up his head! (this is-yet again, not a point in favor of the female lead).
8) Male lead's best friend is given all the clues & even explanations how does he not know about the male lead's "handicap" !? And then the female lead tells him, yet he totally seems clueless afterwards !
Quite a few :innuendo moments.
Interesting drama quote :
"Stop thinking about where your love is headed & think about where you feelings originated
__
**********Spoilers***********
Specific instances in the drama that chipped away at me:
Cleaning woman goes into men's room knowing a man is in there & calls HIM a pervert (plus he is a CEO which she would recognize him as such)
Veronica Park in the bathroom stall while handcuffed-was disgusting-not comedy in my culture.
Why doesn't almost getting hit by a car raise the male lead's blood pressure ?
Female lead leaves the male lead ALONE at a funeral full of people that he is unable to tell them apart ! they've written her character So badly, as it is 3/4 of the way through the drama so how can she do that ?
the attacker caught in the office-throwing things at male lead, uses a box cutter on him & THEN the female lead defends the attacker (he's wearing a cap & mask just like he did in the previous attack PLUS he's got a box cutter!) it's just stupid that she doesn't connect the attacker to the previous attack plus she defends the attacker.AND no one mentions that the flash drive is gone from the desk drawer (eye roll!) (& we are to forget the she saw the attackers face in the first attack !)
The attacker: His motive is ????? he's willing to harm any person who would interfere with his the group that steals to support the office workers.... so he will harm even co workers (the very people his group say they support!?) and then he attempts to stab an innocent blind man who doesn't want him to steal a laptop from the blind guy's house. I'm not seeing any Righteous agenda here.
Attacker breaks into same drawer & steals flash drive twice & no one notices ?
the lap top is stolen twice !!
The male lead goes through alot for the female lead and she can't just give him a straight answer to his proposal!?
when will men in dramas learn that giving a woman everything that they think that she thinks she wants will always lead to her being spoiled instead of satisfied
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