What's wrong with Secretary Kim ?

 Korean title: 김비서가 왜 그럴까

16 episodes

Aired on tvN from 2018 June to July

Main cast:

• Park Min Young as Kim Mi So
  
• Park Seo Joon as Lee Young Joo
• Lee Tae Hwan as Lee Sung Yun
• Kang Ki Young as Park Yoo Shik
• Pyo Ye Jin as Kim Ji Ah
  
• Hwang Chan Sung as Ko Kwi Nam
• Lee Yoo Joon as Jung Chi In
• Hwang Bo Ra as Bong Se Ra
• Kang Hong Suk as Yang Chul
• Kim Ye Won as Sul Ma Eum
• Baek Eun Hye as Kim Pil Nam
• Heo Soon Mi as Kim Mal Hee
• Kim Byung Ok as Chairman Lee
• Kim Hye Ok as Mrs. Choi

 Production credits:

• Production companies: Studio Dragon, Bon Factory
  
• Director: Park Joon Hwa
• Screenwriter: Jung Eun Young (ep 1-4), Baek Sun Woo, Choi Bo Rim
• Based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Jung Kyung Yoon  

Notes: 

• I don't know why but I'm less motivated to write reviews for dramas I actually like! It's easier to rant. Hence why this review is belated. And from memory.
  
•  Hwang Chan Sung is a member of 2PM, a K-pop group.
• This drama was my introduction to all these actors, including Park Seo Joon and Park Min Young. I get the hype now! (edit: after putting the labels, I realised I already had a Park Min Young one because she was Girl in Sungkyunkwan Scandal! Oops. and Kim Hye Ok was in Bad Guy too. Her character is really different here).
  

 

Review: +

Title: A good title! A bit long but catchy and intriguing. And for once, it's really satisfying to hear it in the dialogue.

Girl: She's a great protagonist. Though she's an insanely competent secretary, she's relatable.

Boy: A chaebol heir! How original! His narcissisim is actually funny and when we get to know him more and the layers of his character are revealed, we appreciate him even more. I feel bad saddling this review with the "arrogant jerk" because he's not really a jerk but he's definitely arrogant so yeah.

Other boy: Yeah no. I have some degree of sympathy for him because I'm not a monster but the character was really one note and annoying. Also, it's a bit random but he's supposed to be the older brother and the actor is 6 years younger than the actor for Boy who is playing his age. His behaviour tends to feel more immature too, so there was some disconnect every time we are reminded that he's supposed to be older.

Other girl: Look, there isn't one !

Plot: There is vaguely a mystery about something that happened in the past but the twist is quite obvious so I was just waiting for it to be revealed. However, the gradual revelation of what happened was quite well-done.

Relationships: There wasn't any B-couple but two C-couples among their coworkers. I'm not complaining as there were both very different but still cute and funny.

Other characters: his parents, her sisters, his best friend and their coworkers. 

Funny? Yes. It's a big part of why I like it. Special mention to his best friend (and his disaster of a secretary) and to Bong Se Ra.

Clichés: Office romance. Childhood connection.

Music: I don't remember it so it must have been fine.

Bottom line: I'm surprised that I remember so little of this drama, besides liking it. The mystery is hit or miss and the brother character is annoying but there are some genuinely funny moments and characters, Girl and Boy are strong characters and their relationship is believable. +!

Sungkyunkwan Scandal

Korean title: 성균관 스캔들

Aired on SBS2
From 2010 August to November
20 episodes

Main cast:

Micky Yoochun: Lee Sun Joon

Park Min Young: Kim Yoon Hee

Song Joong Ki: Goo Yong Ha

Yoo Ah In: Moon Jae Shin

Jun Tae Soo: Ha In Soo

Seo Hyo Rim: Ha Hyo Eun

Kim Min Seo: Cho Sun

Jo Sung Ha: King Jeongjo

Ahn Nae Sang: Jung Yak Yong

Lee Jae Yong: Ha Woo Kyu

Note:

I watched it just after Coffee Prince and I had seen Micky Yoochun as a nobleman previously in Rooftop Prince.

At the beginning, I expected this drama to be a Fav! Alas...

 

Review: +/-

Title: Not sure about the scandal (it makes me think of the superior drama Capital scandal) but it takes place around 1791 at Sungkyunkwan, a school that trains future members of government/public servants.

Girl: She has to make a living for her mother and sick younger brother. Since she's educated, as girls are not supposed to, she pretends to be a boy and writes letters, homeworks for students etc. She's warm, responsible and likes to study. The only negative is that I find that she is passive on several occasions and that Boy makes decisions for her.(+)

Boy: He's a strict, law-abiding, moral, big-on-principles nobleman. I like that type though he was a bit too stoic for my tastes. (+)

Other Boy: Hot-headed rebel. He's on my very short list of guys who look good with long hair. (+)

Other girl: She's a spoiled young girl but her love is pure and sincere. She's funny too. (+)

Relationship: I like how it developed but watching the character confused and tortured over his sexual orientation for nothing was frustrating. Moreover, since not much was happening on the "plot" side, it dragged. Meanwhile, you're just waiting for him to find out so the drama will get some momentum again.

Plot: The overarching arc is about the King wanting to build a better society by getting rid of the noble families' influence. For that purpose, he needs the McGuffingest McGuffing I've ever seen. I liked the depiction of a good King and of families' rivalries but this is never really developped. It's just talks in the background about how the McGuffin would fix everything. Yeah, sure.

Then, there are shorter arcs with more urgent stakes for the characters, the villain being the President Student. At first, these were interesting enough and yielded character developments. But at one point, I realised that the good guys were always doing the good things and the bad guys bad things and SPOILER ALERT failing. So in the end, there is no suspense and the stakes lose their power.

Other characters: There is a character who has an interesting trajectory. Side characters are also pretty good. The villain, however, is a terrible character. He's one-dimensional and has two expressions throughout the drama: expressionless - so is it actually just one? - and frowning menacingly.

Bonus factors: Period! Hats! Politics of that time!

Funny factor? Not much.

Music: OK. There was one song I liked.

Most egregious clichés: Girl pretending to be a boy. McGuffin.

What the... ? I will go with opening a very secret and big box in plain view. And hugging instead of running. Wait, I almost forgot... Other boy gets hiccups when he's with a girl. I have no idea why and what was the purpose of giving him that trait... Also, (trying hard not to spoil here) one character learns something important but never discusses it with anyone.

Bottom line: There are a lot of things to like in this drama (some characters, some developments about their relation to their family, the 18th century setting, the promising beginning) but then my interest withered away.

Oops! I forgot about one important character. It's telling that I forgot about her even though she's featured in several storylines. I think she's interesting but a bit "random". She's likable but in the end feels like a composite of several traits that don't totally add up.