Secret Love

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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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.”

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🧍‍♀️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.

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🧍‍♂️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.

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🧍‍♀️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.

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🧍‍♂️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.

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👶 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.

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❤️ 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).

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🧠 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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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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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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