The Secret Life of My Secretary (2019)

Surprisingly good

10/10 is my rating. This is a 2019 South Korean Romantic Drama with 32 episodes of about 35 minutes. Also known as "How to Train My Blind Boss."

First I provide a synopsis then a review.

Synopsis

Do Min-ik (Kim Young-kwang) is not an easy boss to work for as he relies on his secretary for everything but does not employ beyond a year. Jung Gal-hee (Jin Ki-joo) is determined to be the one to change that, and get her contract renewed, and goes out of her way to meet her bosses' crazy demands. That all changes when Ki-joo's contract is up and Director Min-ik indicates he will not renew. Gal-hee vows to get revenge on her boss and, in an alcohol fueled foray sets out to find him only to discover he needs help as someone genuinely tried to hurt him. Upon recovery from the immediate injury Min-ik suffers from prosopagnosia and is only able to see the face of his secretary as his many hours with her imprinted her image in his mind. Now desperate beyond his only 1 year per secretary policy, he begs Gal-hee to help him navigate a world where everyone looks the same only, this time, she has some conditions. Min-iks adopted mother has designs to use her son to further the family business and wants him to go on blind dates with Veronica Park (Kim Jae-kyung) a former heiress who is notorious for going through men and being difficult to work with. It so happens that Gal-hee used to work for Veronica and used to pretend to be her for various crazy stunts Veronica would involve her secretary in. Due to a mix up in schedules Gal-hee winds up pretending to be Veronica for a blind date with Min-ik and he falls for Gal-hee's version of the heiress. To make things even more complicated the real Veronica, during the same mix-up, falls for Min-ik's friend and fellow company director Ki Dae-joo (Koo Ja-sung). Will Min-ik forgive Gal-hee for tricking him? Has the real Veronica finally met her match?

Review
I tried to think of things I did not like about this series but they were so minor I have to say this is rather perfect. It ends well. The couples romances are well placed, believable and heart warming. Veronica Park is such an iconic character if you watch it for no other reason - watching it for that role would be worth it. But it is really good in addition to that.

Spoiler alert* I did not like that she tricked him. But, in the series, that was not justified and she was not happy with herself about it either. So I felt like she redeemed herself and him forgiving her made sense. I liked that his cold adopted mother "came around" and it was obvious, in her way, that she loved her adopted son. I liked that there was no miracle cure for his facial blindness and that he had to go through a whole process to learn to accept himself with the disability. He found ways to work around it. I liked that they did not miraculously and unbelievably find a way to preserve the Chairman job for him but the way they worked it out was very satisfying. You knew that he would be chairman in the near future. His love and caring for her when she was protesting was so cute. He was willing to give up anything to make things right for her. His relationship with her siblings, the way he "spoiled" them set the tone for how great of a relationship he would have with them in the future. He gained a close knit family and they gained a provider/protector. It was not clear or closed up if Gal-hee discovered her sister had the earrings. Or if her sister got the role. It was implied but it felt like we followed that character so closely I would liked to have known how things went for her. I would watch this one again and highly recommend it to anyone that likes heartwarming romance. There is very little intrigue in this one, the villians are pretty run of the mill, but the relationships completely carry the story in a good way.

Lire davantage

Eye-rolling and joy, somehow

This show was ridiculous in a way that really grew on me (and watching it with the Viki comments on was hilarious, too) and I see-sawed between a lot of eye-rolling and some amusement, which was a really weird mix. (I think a lot of it was made better by having commentary the comments playing at the same time because it still felt slow but without it would have felt really slow). Somehow I didn't love Veronica Park the first second when we meet her but quickly realised she is AMAZING and sometimes carries the show. Her scenes were pretty much guaranteed to always be entertaining.

I wasn't rushing to watch it, but I did enjoy watching it. It was relaxing and comforting - the plot developments didn't feel particularly overwhelmingly emotional at any point.

Lire davantage

Okay so thinking about this drama is making my heart flutter so much!! TRUST ME JUST WATCH THIS!!!!! It makes me so happy i dont know why hahahaha I love this drama so much!!!!!
THIS DRAMA IS SOOOOOOOO GOOD you have no idea how crazy this made me! Hahaha I love this drama way tooooo much. Jin Ki Joo and Kim Young Kwang and Veronica Park and Gi Dae Ju (cant really remember the real names of the last two on top of my head) portrayed their roles so perfectly I felt like God specifically made them for this drama. Hahahaha. I rarely watch behind the scenes as I don’t really want to ruin really good scenes on my mind. But boy oh boy I just came across one on YouTube and I feel like the ship could sail real good for Jin Kin Joo and Kim Young Kwang. If Dispatch would reveal they’re dating in real, I won’t even be surprised! I’ll probably jump for joy!!

Back to the drama itself - if you’re hesitating if you should give this a go, stop right there and just play episode 1. Swear to goodness this is a really really great feel-good romantic comedy drama that will make you happy!!!! Others do find that the story was lame because of how the face blindness was portrayed. But I was not even bothered, not even a tiny bit! There’s a reason why this was just a drama - a fictional one. You can’t have everything close to reality here!

Thank you to all the cast and crew of this wonderfully created drama!

I seriously don’t know how to let go after watching the last episode. I guess I’ll be rewatching this!

Lire davantage

Okay first off, the main actor is hot and the lead actress is really pretty. So there's that. Second off, the story line is not all that unique. It's pretty cliche but still very cute. You tend to begin to fall for the cast and find them very lovable. You anticipate each episode and look forward to the next event that will occur. The secretary that you encounter at first is a very dramatic one. Not herself but the things she is put to do. The lead actor at the beginning is very closed at first but there is a reason why. The supporting roles are very suspicious but also very exaggerated. They could have toned it down a bit. The ending was not all that great, the beginning was so-so and the middle content was amazing. I laughed so much not gonna lie.

Hope anyone who read this will watch this AMAZING drama. :)

Lire davantage

The secret life of my secretary was out about the same time as when her private life had finished.

The drama had an odd start and an even wierder plot description. And it almost looked like they couldn't pull it off, but they did. The whole drama, after episodes one and two at least, was really cute. The office drama was interesting, although towards the ending, it was boring. The couple, however, was cute. And the chemistry of the two leads was incredible and it helped the drama a lot. They had many cute moments and the love story was really good and intence.

Finally, the performances were good by everyone in the cast. But, the drama didn't have anything special to offer other than the love story. So, seven out of ten.

Lire davantage

Light yet childish

I have a hard time liking this show since it started up messy with the over-romanticized concept of love. It's a good idea to introduce to the viewers that face blindness is a real-life condition. However, the show failed to provide a script that tackles the deeper taught of this phenomenon and solely focuses on the charm of romance that isn’t even as powerful as it should be. The female lead has a senseless nature that made her bland. Except for Veronica, most of the cast is somehow annoying. I also don’t like the continuous appearance of the female lead’s deceased mother who she can talk with in times of trouble. I got the idea of how they’re trying to establish the loneliness of the main character but it was too dramatic in a way that the viewer felt too much coming out from the genre of the show which is rom-com.

Nevertheless, I finally enjoy the last few episodes of the show after the Director catches the lie of his secretary. Yet, it was still not that sensational compared to a lot of romantic shows that I’ve watched before. They even rushed the ending by having the Director gain back his sight of people’s faces then cut the scene after the two met at the rooftop. Overall, it is not that great but not that bad kind of drama that is still good at some point.

Lire davantage

Not earthshattering, but very enjoyable

The Veronica Park character, very annoying - but she really redeemed herself and was so amusing. The storyline, initially not too interesting. Once the storyline really got started, lots of twists! The main characters? Great chemistry and they were both lovely to watch. I found myself smiling, a lot, they were just so cute together. He did a wonderful job of portraying loneliness in his life. He also had the cutest pout. And yes, I did some crying, oh, and laughing too! I don’t like when there aren’t consequences for evil (uncle). Mistaken identity went on longer than I would have liked, but overall this show gave me all the feels. Lovely happy ending.

Lire davantage

Not really...

I didn't really like it. Boring, in my opinion.
----
The plot was meh, kinda boring. The secretary that with a make-up, hair done, and expensive clothes, is a new other person. Like... how even...(?)
I also think that Gal Hee kinda... took advantage of Min Ik... I mean, he thought she was Veronica, while she wasn't, taking advantage of his condition. So for me, their couple is a no.
---
I actually watched it only for Veronica Park and Dae Joo. And they didn't disappoint.
----
I really, highly doubt I'd re-watch it. At least, not the entire episodes.

Lire davantage

it's something you won't regret!

since i'm running out of romantic chinese dramas atm, i gave it try and didn't expect that i would fall for sfl (veronica park's role) and sml.. unlike other romantic kdramas or cdramas where its sfl was potential to be third wheel (snaky gurl) or messed up w/ main lead's relationship, this cp being hilarious of all time even i couldn't help but laugh at them instead :D
on the other hand, i was rooting for main lead cp as well. their relationship might seem a bit complicated yet nevermind, as long as fl the one who acted those roles hehe.
》 sums up my review : it's a light pretty funny drama in which main lead cp + 2nd lead cp were filling one another. they're such complete packaging as u could find bromance and sismance at the same time ahaha! just one thing that annoyed me, they seemingly rushed over the last epi though it was happy ending after all however i wasn't able to see veronica park's wedding *sobs

Lire davantage

The acting saves the story!

The Secret Life of My Secretary is a fluffy office rom-com and while it touches upon the theme of discrimination of contract employees, that is not the essence of the story, at least for me. I recently re-watched the story and liked it better than my recollection of the first watch. What I liked about the show most was all the actors bringing their best to embibe the characters that could otherwise have come off as cookie cutter - chaebols, secretary, childhood bestie VP etc - with unique quirks, personalities and vulnerabilities that did not feel forced while watching.
The leads - Do Min Ik and Jung Gal Hee have a typical boss-employee relationship like is expected of this genre with exploitation of the power dynamic by the hero. However, despite everything on paper that would have made Do Min Ik a very annoying character to watch, Kim Youngkwang's portrayal puts an emotional strain to even his more cold behaviour making him stand apart in the crowd of other such drama characters.
Similarly, Jung Gal Hee portrayed by Jin Ki Joo is the typical hard working - providing for her family - poor - female lead, but her inner world of thoughts on why she makes the decisions she does including her betrayal of her boss makes you pity her naivety as well as root for her. She feels like a fleshed out person despite all the cliches enthrusted onto her.
As for the second lead couple, the stand out star of the drama - Kim Jaekyung as Veronica Park made it memorable. Everyone who has seen the show will agree that the character of Veronica is what makes the show stand apart and fun to watch. She is a rare gem in the world of 2FL roles. Jaekyung manages to make an outlandish chaebol not annoying with her heartfelt portrayal of a confident, ridiculous but also mature Veronica.
Koo Ja Sung as Ki Dae Joo served as a source of warmth for Do Min Ik and was a good supporting character who had his own storyline which was more involved in the contract employee plotline. Admittedly, he did not stand out as much as the other three leads though.
Amongst the other supporting casts, Choi Tae Hwan as the Driver caught my attention the most. A more of a throwaway role with limited screentime, he still convinced me of his pathos as well as loyalty and brought the emotions into the otherwise obligatory social commentary plotline that most rom coms try to do.
Another limited role that had me intrigued was the role of Jung Ae Ri as Do Min Ik's mother. Even though their relationship was dysfunctional and bordered on abusive, it was interesting to watch as usually these roles are either white or black, but she remained gray till the very end. And that made me understand why Min Ik still stuck to her and wanted her validation so badly, as even though they had a fake mother-son relationship, there was a subtle strength built over the years of association for both of them.
When I rewatched the series and paid attention to the characters and their individual arcs, the show was much more fun to watch as a whole than just trying to follow the plot. The smaller beats and the sum of its parts are bigger than the whole show at a glance, and made me upmark my initial rating. The actual plotline of the secretary disguising as a chaebol and the prospognasia were more cliche, however the fallout was handled much better than other dramas - the guilt, the betrayal, the forgiveness, made these cliches still feel like a real part of these people that might exist in some fictional drama land.

Lire davantage

A charming romantic comedy, but which will not go down in history.

A cute comedy, where a CEO does not recognize faces (oh, the overused plot !!! ), following an assault (from business & family competitors), except that of his secretary. The FL, on occasion, also poses as an eccentric heiress, who refuses to date with the ML, Veronica Park,. This results in a lot of misunderstandings! With the help of his secretary, the ML will search for the culprits, fall in love (love triangle) and accept his disability.

PROS:
+ Very classic storyline, but well done and excellent actors (Kim Young Kwan, particulary).
+ Lots of humor, notably thanks to an excellent and colorful Veronica Park.
+ Production without downtime.
+ OST in the cute genre, but not memorable.

CONS:
- the trio of secretaries is ridiculous.
- the secret organization of secretaries is not credible. The storyline should have found something else to explain the successive twists...
- the character of the blind brother, very dependent and even comical, does not honor disabled people. It's ableist !

=> a charming romantic comedy, but which will not go down in history.
****************************************************************************************
Une comédie mignonne, où 1 CEO ne reconnait pas les visages,sauf celui de sa secrétaire, à la suite d'1 agression (business & family competitors). La FL se fait aussi, à l'occasion, passer pour une héritière excentrique, Véronica Park, qui refuse un date avec le ML. En découlent bcp de malentendus ! Avec l'aide de sa secrétaire, le ML va rechercher les coupables, tomber amoureux (love triangle) et accepter de son handicap.

PROS:
+ Storyline très classique, mais bien faite et excellents acteurs (Kim Young Kwan, particulary).
+ Bcp d'humour, notamment grâce à une Veronica Park excellente et haute en couleurs.
+ Réalisation sans temps mort.
+ OST dans le genre mignon, mais pas mémorables.

CONS:
- le trio de secrétaires est ridicule.
- l'organisation des secrétaires n'est pas crédible. La storyline aurait du trouver autre chose pour expliquer les twists successifs...
- le personnage du frère aveugle, très dépendant voire comique, ne fait pas honneur aux personnes handicapées.

=> une charmante comédie romantique, mais qui ne restera pas dans les annales.

Lire davantage

N/A

IMO this is a past time drama. A show where you only watch to lose time. The story is a bit predictable and I in the first episodes I had predicted a possible ending.

“You weren’t accustomed to being treated nicely, so when he gave you the bare minimum you fell in love with him”.

They romanticized the boss’s biggest red flag.

Lire davantage