Let me begin with a rather romantic quote from Vice Chairman, Lee Young-joon… “Secretary Kim is someone I need! She is like a suit that was tailor-made for me. Off-the-rack clothes produced in factories do not fit my body perfectly, nor do they suit me.” With this quote, I believe you could guess how impressive and at the same time, valuable person secretary Kim, would be. “What’s wrong with Secretary Kim?” is humor filled Korean Drama, which everybody should give binge-watch. And, if you are a working individual, you would really connect with the characters better than an average viewer, during this incredible show.
Synopsis: “What’s wrong with Secretary Kim?” revolves around a conglomerate chaebol, Vice Chairman Lee Young-joon and his secretary from nine years, Kim Mi-so. Lee Young-joon is a very demanding boss and very self-obsessed. Secretary Kim, on the other hand has been working very hard and one of the only persons who know how to manage her demanding boss. Be it appointments, family affair, lunch/dinner with corporate clients, events preparations or anything else in between, Secretary Kim has him covered. She is a perfect secretary for a boss who consider himself to be a perfectionist. It won’t be totally wrong if I conclude that vice Chairman Lee cannot imagine his one day’s schedule without secretary Kim.
So what’s wrong with Secretary Kim? Well, working for nine years with Lee, she hasn’t been able to live her own life. She couldn’t even get time to date a guy because of her demanding schedule. She tries to do few things, but to her disappointment most of the times. There is only one way to fulfill her dreams as well as aspirations and that is to “quit”. Upon her resignation, Vice Chairman Lee is devastated and wants to retain Secretary Kim at any cost. Will he be able to retain her or would she be able to live her dreams, is to be seen. And for that reason…
Here are my five reasons, why you should watch this show.
1: Office impression and routine life of employees.
Anybody, who is working as an average employee in a company/corporation, can certainly relate the after office hours from this drama. This series makers must have either worked for a very long time in a corporate atmosphere or may have observed the day to day lives of office goers. To release the office pressure, we see them going for occasional dinners, drinks etc. Moreover, it is fun to watch the series when someone gets drunk and crosses the line. Of-course, boss is a jerk to tag along always and that is why you must watch this series to understand why I have to say this.
2: Office Jerks:
In every office, we know we have different kinds of people, the bathroom talkers, the organizer, the chatterbox, the companion and the ones who fancy food. But we all know, there are two specific kinds that everyone in their offices have and that is why they make this series watchable, and they are the ‘Flatterer’ and the ‘Conniver’. You can actually picture these characters with your real time office colleagues and relish every single episode of “What’s wrong with Secretary Kim?” It is fun to see the real live truths portrayed beautifully and smartly in this Korean drama. I remember while I used to work back in the day, one of our colleague used to brag about his riches and perfectionism. Well, I am glad I lived those same days again with this beautiful series.
3: Support Cast:
The backbone of any series is its support cast. It is likely possible that you have a brilliant main cast but a bad support casting. However, that isn’t the case in this series. In fact, each and every character is well planned and elected that you can seriously look at their face and judge how good or bad their next move would be. Not just the main character, even the side story characters, such as child artists. God knows how long did the series makers auditioned before making the final call, but damn, they did a fabulous job that even looking at the child you say that who he’s/she’s going to be once they grow up. Apart than the office colleague, who are absolutely fantastic, there are other characters associated with the main protag of the story, his person friends from senior management. I can comfortably say, that is what keeps you going when you start feeling a repetitive frame of same characters. The character of President Park is a phenomenal one and just because of his funny tidbits in this series, I look forward to watch any of his current and future series.
4: The Bourgeoisie: The familiar divide between the rich and the strapped.
In one of the scenes, the boss asks one of the colleagues, where he can take his girl for a dinner date. Totally unaware, the employ suggests a small organ shack, which surprises the conglomerate chaebol. In one of the instances, this chaebol was led by one of his colleagues for barbeque pig skin, which he likes. This series is filled with such scenes where we can see a clear divide between the rich and the strapped. Be it Rameyun experience, Clam (farming), Soju or after work parties, totally unaware of such fun, this rich boss acknowledges the fun in learning all these little happiness he never experienced. You would feel happy to see him do this things the same way when you feel happy to watch Reaction/ASMR/Humanity videos on YouTube. This also makes me realize that we have such a freedom to choose what we want and not that we are under any bondage of custom, limit or regulation. Not only these scenes are well shot, but will certainly trigger your hunger buds. Log on to your favorite online e-commerce site, order some Korean Rameyons (just like me), cook them exactly the way they appear on these Korean dramas, grab a bowl and play that damn Korean drama. Trust me, there is nothing in the world comparable to this experience, or at-least I feel that way.
5: Back story:
Unlike many conventional Korean Drama, this one is a fast paced and majorly focuses on the main protagonist as well as Secretary Kim. However, there is a very strong back story, which unfolds slowly and eventually ends with the final chapter. It slowly and steadily solves the puzzles and unlike many dramas, where we can guess what’s coming next, this one is hard to guess. The back story necessarily isn’t part of the mainstream theme, however without this, the drama would be incomplete and unsettled. The back story also tells us about the sacrifices a person can make irrespective of the age. Not just this, it also enables us to understand why it is so important for us to communicate with each other frequently. A relationship is built on trust, faith, love and more importantly, communication.
Overall, “Whats wrong with Secretary Kim?” is a fast paced, interesting Korean drama, which will not just keep you engrossed, but also stimulate your emotions, be it hunger, urge to work, be organized, be responsible, how not to be a jerk and whatever the aforementioned reasons suits you. I highly recommend this Korean Drama. It may be different from conventional Korean Fantasy/Super-Natural dramas, but certainly watchable to keep you in love with your daily Korean Dramas watching life. Hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed watching the show. Your suggestions are welcome in the comment section below in the comment section. And finally, let me leave you all with this short trailer of the show to encourage you all to watch. You can watch this show on Netflix! Gamsahabnida!