After taking a break from K-Drama, I wanted to watch something that would be completely addictive. Based on reviews and ratings, I thought this drama would be exactly what I was looking for, but boy was I mistaken. Secret Love was everything I've already seen in K-Dramas, recycled in the most ineffective way. First, I disagree with all comparisons to Innocent Man, which I enjoyed. The only similarity is that both main characters go to jail for a crime they didn't commit, sacrificing their aspirations so that the person they love can follow their dreams. Other than that, the stories and characters are completely different. Secret Love lacks all the excitement of most revenge after betrayal stories by waiting way too long to get to that part of the story. The majority of the episodes are about horrible things happening to the painfully passive main character Kang Yoo Jung, and watching her cry too much, and then smile like everything is ok. Kudos to Hwang Jung Eum for being able to switch emotions so well, but it didn't make me care at all about her poorly written character. She was way too much of a doormat for me to root for her. I was also let down by the romance. To me, it just didn't make any sense. Why did these two fall in love? Pity? And where was the chemistry? Ok, maybe they had one or two cute moments, but that's it. I really wanted to like Ji Sung as Jo Min Hyuk, but his character's transformation felt really forced to me, and so did the romance. In fact, it felt so forced that they had the 'rapey'-est first kiss I ever saw in any K-Drama. Even though he was my favorite in the cast, It didn't change the creepy factor of his overall stalking, and aggressive behavior. I'm surprised this couple got so much praise, because I just don't get it. Now on to the rest of the cast.. The bad guys Ahn Do Hoon, and Shin Se Yeon, were very boring. Both had a few good character moments, but most of their scenes were skippable. And the idea that Ahn Do Hoon & Kang Yoo Jung were ever really in love, never came across. They had zero chemistry, so it was hard to care about their relationship falling apart. The rest of the supporting cast were pretty good. I liked Kang Yoo Jung's prison buddies, and Ahn Do Hoon's parents. There were times when they were more interesting than the main characters. That's probably because the main characters did so much crying and feeling sorry for themselves, that it became annoying to watch after a while. Overall I had a really hard time getting through the first episodes, and didn't start to have any interest until about episode 6. The director got some good artsy shots in, and the music wasn't bad, just a tad too melodramatic at times. Still, nothing could save the story that dragged, and the "secrets" that were pretty predictable. I had to force myself to finish this drama, just because I was curious to see if I would like it more by the end. The answer? No. I know this drama has a lot of fans, and usually I'm a fan of this genre of drama, but maybe this much melodrama is just not my cup of tea. My advice? If you start watching, and you aren't loving it, move on to the next drama.