Synopsis:
An overbearing and narcissistic Vice President of a thriving international company tries to stop his extremely hard working and proficient secretary from leaving the company. Vice President Lee Young Joon tries several strategies to keep his amazing right hand woman, Kim Mi So, by his side but along the way he develops real feelings for her. As their love blossoms secrets from both their pasts begin to surface, secrets that neither want to have resurfaced. Their newly budding romance is threatened by the traumas of their past.
Review:
Hello my dear reader! I know, I know it's been an extremely long time since I have put a review out. In the words a song from my favorite American TV show, Smash: "I know I've made you angry, I know I've made you mad but this time that I've spent creating was the best fun I've ever had. . . so give me a kiss and cut, print... moving on." My life has once again moved on it's access due to a job change and another big move. I have been keeping up with the new dramas but none have caught my eyes and made me excited to write a review.
However, I have been watching some older dramas with my sister (who always made fun of me for watching K-Dramas) and so I thought I'd write a review on one the dramas we're watching at the moment. My sister hates having to read subtitles so for
her to even like these dramas are BIG. I'm not gonna lie, I feel a little satisfied with myself for making her like these.
If you are a new reader let me explain how I rate my dramas. I rate my dramas on mainly two categories, storytelling, and direction. Under Storytelling, I take into account not just the acting, but the writing, and music as well. It is usually presented as a percentage. Under the category direction, I consider both editing and direction, editing counts for 2 points while direction counts for 3. It'll be out 5. I call them my sticky notes because that tends to be what I write my thoughts on when I'm watching. So, for What's Wrong with Secretary Kim I gave storytelling a 87%. Under direction I gave a the drama a 3 our of 5.
This is one of Park Seo Joon's more popular dramas. The story line is interesting and it'll annoy you just enough so you can figure out what the heck is happening. It's selling point is the curiosity it creates in it's audience. My sister sat on the couch for four hours straight on a Saturday morning repeating to herself, "I'm so confused,
what's happening?" She was dead silent and invested in the story. The acting is great. However, when it comes to the intimacy portion between the two main leads there is a bit of awkwardness that his hard to ignore. Park Min Young, is a fine actress until it comes to intimacy. I've seen several of her dramas by now and it's the same in every drama she's in. She freezes like a scared deer in headlights. Her body goes limp like a dead fish when it gets to the steamy moments. I understand people being shy when it comes to intimacy but she's an actress you can at least act like you're enjoying it.
Some of the side characters are a bit annoying as well. They're over exaggerated personalities don't spark any desire to continue to watch their segments. Character's like Go Gwi Nam, who has an overactive "the world revolves around me" complex or Bong Se ra's overacting in general just make it hard to watch. To be honest, I tend to tune out when they are on screen.
I have no qualms with the music but it's also not my favorite. The music is nice for setting the mood but it isn't all that memorable afterword. So, the music does its job but it's not like Oh My Venus where the music will stick out to you.
As far as directing goes. The scene's move flawlessly and move the story well but it's artistic quality is not anything like "It's Okay to Not be Okay" or "Hotel Del Luna." There is also constant flashbacks which keep you interested when it comes to main mystery but is unneccarsy for trivial things like the side characters. I don't want to see the same scene three times for the same couple. I get it, they met each other randomly on a rooftop where he sadly lives. One flashback is fine, I don't need more than that.
In my opinion Secretary Kim really lacked in direction as far as I'm concerned. I know a lot of the acting is on the actors and writer even not so much on the director. However, it is also up to director how he wants to shoot the series. He can ultimately change how the actor is portraying their character.
As always Park Seo Joon does a solid job. I'm always amazed at the different characters he is able to portray. This character is supposed to be a genius as well as a Vice President. So, his speech is quick and short. My sister says he is a bit hard to follow because he talks so fast in this drama. So, word of caution dear reader if you're new to the drama world I'd try to get used to reading subtitles quickly before you start this one. It's not impossible but it'll be more enjoyable if you can read quickly.
All in all it was a solid drama, not my favorite but all not the worst. This is my second time watching it and as I stated before my sister is likewise enjoying it. So, if you are looking to seeing it do! I watched it on Hulu but I believe it's also available on Netflix. If you know of another place to see it please leave a comment below for the next person. Also, please leave your opinions about the series down below. I'd love to hear from you. Goodbye and until next time, dear reader!