“Whats Wrong With Secretary Kim” Episode 1 And 2 Review And Recap

One of the most anticipated Korean dramas of the second half of 2018 has to be “what’s Wrong with Secretary Kim?”

The drama attracted attention for being Park Seo Joon and Park Min Young comeback drama. They’re both excellent actors and beloved by international audience. I am one of the many kdrama fans who were super excited about this drama.

I wasn’t particularly excited about the script with all honesty, if you actually analyze this script or try to read it more than once, you will realize that it’s really repetitive as well.

A hot narcissistic intelligent CEO/vice president is highly dependent on a woman who works closely with him, she decides to leave which places him in a very awkward situation, he decides to do whatever it takes to get her back, and The Story begins.

The best way I can describe the First episodes is that it’s like a get-tigether with your sweet friend who makes you feel happy, that friend crack jokes, lively, entertaining and fun to be around.

I’m not the person who can easily laugh at whatever you joke you tell me but I laughed a lot at some certain scenes. Not where I think I was supposed to laugh, I didn’t laugh at those particular scenes but I just loved how he poorly handled her resignation and how quickly he went from cold to hot in order to keep her.

It’s fast paced, the drama sucks you right into its atmosphere and you’re on a sweet car ride to beautiful destinations, its a fun ride.

In simple words I can say that I loved the way the drama was executed.

A lot of people are also just as excited as I am. What’s even better is that the ratings of the First episodes were great. The drama is on its way to become one of the highest rated tvN dramas of 2018.

All the characters are fun to watch, I didn’t know that I missed Park Seo Joon and Park Min Young this much until I saw this drama.

It was so nice to get to listen to him complain and fret about losing his secretary.

I loved Park Mi So’s character. Unlike other hardworking characters in kdramas, she is not someone who complains about her boss often, she’s also very dedicated and grateful that she was given the chance.

It’s a more tame side I haven’t seen from Min Young unnie in a long time.

Lee Young Joon’s character is made to be liked. He is arrogant, rude and calculative, the perfect kdrama male character that all fangirls often fall for.

In reality, he’d be punched a lot but if he came from kdrama land women will through themselves at him.

Having said that, I don’t entirely hate his character yet. He also wakes up at 5, he is smart and good looking and he knows it. So he isn’t really bragging about something that didn’t exist, I also liked his dedication and the way the director presented us his character.

If this same script was given to another director I think that other director could’ve ruined it. Director Park Jung Hwa previously worked on “Because This Is My First Life” which is in my opinion one of the best 2017 kdramas.

This director has a way of making stale over-used characters appear so fresh, the way he adds depth to them is also impressive. This is why I think the true hero of this drama is the director. Not to undermine the actors work but that director really knows what he’s doing.

The drama sucks you right in to its atmosphere and it feels familiar instead of something you’ve just been introduced to, there is no dull moment and the drama only lets you go when it leaves you with a cliffhanger.

I am also impressed by the dynamics between Min Young and Seo Joon. They’re true pros, I already ship them.

Its hard to sense the awkwardness, there is tension naturally created because he’s her boss and its her job, she tackles serious matters concerning the most important work of the organization but they also care for each other.

That tension but also familiarity is a hard balance to strike at first, mostly because all the actors are meeting for the first time. Sometimes, I can sense that the actors are awkward around each other and it takes time before they warm up to each other, I am glad we’re over that phase with Seo Joon and Min Young already.

I also liked how his parents react to the presence of Secretary Kim, they like her and don’t look down on her, they appreciate her and care for her because she’s been by their precious son side for so long, I liked that!

I also liked how Secretary Kim truly cares and appreciate him despite his arrogance and narcissism; she protects him and saves his face whenever he forgets something.

She defends him when others claim him to be gay, I especially liked that scene where she asked about his brother but when she thought it was going to turn into gossip with her colleague she stopped him right there!

However, the supporting characters seem to be pushing for the narrative that they like each other, or in this case, Lee Young Joon likes Mi Soo but I beg to differ here.

They’ve known each other for a very long time, Young Joon sensed her need for a job and saw potential in her, she grew on him and he begins to care about her, enough to keep a friendly teasing relationship between them but he always put boundaries and I could clearly sense it.

Mi Soo herself said he was never able to love someone truly because he’s in love with himself, I have seen many men and women who are actually exactly like that. I agree with Mi Soo.

He’s been living in a comfortable zone with his familiar secretary who does her job so good she leaves him no point to complain. He can rely on her for support; he knows that she won’t betray him.

Who would like to suddenly wake up and find out his close friend or colleague planning on leaving?

Since he’s out of his comfort zone, he’s pressured. He feels that she’s belongs to him; she’s always been so for a very long time. He feels threatened.

I especially liked two other scenes, the scene where they fought for the first time because he pressured her so much, and when she ridiculed him over the phone with her cruel brutal honest texts. He was upset by her harsh words but the way he reacted to them was so darn cute.

Having raved about this drama long enough lets talk about my fears.

The thing is….this drama can become boring very quickly because the material they’re working with isn’t anything too special. I am afraid that’ll fall in the pit of other similar kdramas that I have seen hundreds of times already.

I just hope that the script plays out differently. We still have a couple of key supporting characters we’re yet to be introduced to.

I’m also slightly afraid that after the first half of the drama, it starts to deteriorate, and the script becomes less interesting and leans more towards the stereotypical push and pull between the leads.

I also didn’t like the stupid editing of the supposedly horrific dream consequence that shows our leading man has a package, it was edited so poorly to scare the hell out of 5-year-olds, how about you actually make it scary instead of playing badly with editing program and stop adding over the top sound effects?

This is my slight concerns about this drama but I also know that its still too early to judge.

I’m saying this because there is a 90% possibility that I won’t be recapping or reviewing this drama beyond the first two episodes. I might not get the chance to voice my opinion about the drama ever again.

Overall I am pleased with the premiere, excited and happy when I watch the drama.

When is next week coming? This is going to be one looooonnnng week.

What did you guys think of the premiere? Did you like it? Did it live up to your expectations?