A Vida Secreta da Minha Secretária (2019)

This is a very nice romantic comedy that deals with all the dynamics surrounding the male lead that suffers from a neurological condition that renders him unable to recognize faces. The drama offers entertainment and it combines comedy and romance throughout its duration. The leading couple has great chemistry and the second leads are really cute together. The second leading lady, although at moments insufferable, delivers a great comedic element and the leading lady’s brother is hilarious. Although there’s a revenge plot that affects the lives of all involved, the drama is lighthearted and fun to watch. The main and supporting cast did a great job bringing their characters to life. There are some inconsistencies in the drama but, overall, is a good watch. Enjoy it!

Leia Mais

Of all the story i've watched with i can't recognize faces this is the 2nd-most disappointing. Thank goodness the leads are both good looking and somewhat has "spark" in them.
I believe the guy was also in the movie "your wedding" and a drama about a poor man who married the female leads mother..he was way better than this romcom. Actually i was expecting a lot from this drama i guess thats why it flopped on my list its because the "mystery/suspense" part of the series lacks "substance" they didnt put enough effort for it. Its a good series but not good enough to rewatch again.

Leia Mais

Drama that cleverly subverts some tropes...but never goes deep enough

Is The Secret Life of My Secretary for you?
If you are in need of something lighthearted with attractive cast and a truly iconic second female lead, sure, go for it! Just don't expect anything too deep or memorable. Also, the FL lies to the ML (he becomes faceblind and she pretends she is someone she is not while also maintaining her "secretary" persona) and the lies become tedious and take way too long to resolve. Consider this a fair warning if you are sensitive about that.

THE GOOD: SUBVERSION OF SOME TROPES & VERONICA PARK
– The first two episodes make very clear (at least for me) that the seeds of romance between the two leads have already been there for some time. Especially from the ML's side. They are both just too dumb to realize it. The FL's elaborate (and stupid) lie just allowed them to explore the off-work side of their relationship and get closer.

– The drama is not at all about an arrogant, abusive boss who spends his days bullying his poor secretary as you might think from a synopsis. No, it STARTS with your average perfectionist boss and his overworked, pushover secretary AND THEN the field is somewhat evened when he fires her, then begs her to come back and they team up to help him overcome his disease and get him the chairman's post. It's made very clear that he only made things harder for her because he intended to fire her after one year (it's still wrong) and didn't want them to form an attachment (they still did). And during the course of the series they mostly support and help each other, which is refreshing in this genre.

- The heroine's "frumpy" self is not called "ugly" by the other characters and they have no trouble recognizing her when she's "dolled up".

- The ML's abusive adoptive mother never interferes significantly with the plot, which I am profoundly grateful for. His family doesn't even try to ruin his relationship with the FL....simply because they never learn about it during the course of the show :P.

- The second female lead, the one and only Veronica Park, easily became a scene-stealer and one of the greatest, most memorable characters in the whole dramaland. On the outside, she presents herself as a loud, dramatic and self-confident person, but occasionally she also shows her vulnerable and mature side. She actually surprised me by her serious approach to the FL's dilemma – she didn't excuse the FL's questionable behaviour or made it easy for her (FL pretended to be Veronica in front of her face-blind boss) but she nevertheless supported the FL and spoke up for her when the truth was revealed. Veronica's romance with the ML's friend is sweet and believable and their storyline is one of the highlights of the show (personally, I liked them better than the main couple, which rarely happens).

THE BAD: THEY SHOULD HAVE DIG A LITTLE DEEPER
- The show fortunately never gets too boring, but there ARE slower parts. The big lie shenanigans drag for way too long. And the "crime subplot" surrounding the ML's accident, a mysterious USB and a secretary team is rather stupid.

- However, my main problem is that the first two thirds of the show (until the big lie reveal in EP 24) hyped us a lot about the main couple's relationship. They had sizzling chemistry, sparks flew everytime they were on screen together and their kiss was super hot.

- But once they started to date in the last episodes, they somehow became more awkward around each other? Seriously, they were like two inexperienced teenagers, instead of two adults around 30! I didn't really feel the intimacy between them, and I don't just mean the physical kind. They seemed unsure of each other and never talked deeply about anything. She never even told him she loved him. I was waiting for it, but it never happened. And they still called each other "Director" and "Secretary Jeong" respectively, never even discussed calling each other by first names!

- I also find deeply troubling that they stayed in their employer-employee relationship. There MIGHT be couples that could make it work, but I am not certain if these two dummies can always separate professional and private lives. (Not to mention that her financial situation is dependent on him and that her professional life revolves around his...)

If The Secret Life of My Secretary went deeper in the final episodes, I might consider rating it 8 or more. As it is, I will probably rewatch some parts with Veronica Park but likely not the entire drama.

Leia Mais

The first few eps had me wanting to see more. At first, I really had the urge to keep watching because I felt like this drama would be the RomCom I'm looking for. The acting was great, and the FL was good in portraying her bubbly character. I also liked how determined she was in the beginning and I almost cried on that one scene when she's talking about her struggles to her boss when he's talking about removing her from work. However, I nearly dropped this drama when I was already at its middle, specifically when Gal Hee started acting like Veronica Park. The constant “I’m telling him everything tomorrow” and then nothing happens the next day puts me off, it's so draggy and frustrating that I almost want to just stop watching. But then, I gave it a chance thinking that it is the main point of the story; the secretary acting like someone else infront of her boss, so I let it off the hook. Since then, and even later when everything was spilled, I find the story getting dull and uninteresting. Aside from the cute moments we had from the side characters, specifically Veronica Park & Dae Ju, as well as Gal Hee's siblings, everything else was getting boring. Sometimes, I don't see the chemistry between the main leads, also some other times with Veronica Park and Dae Ju. Yes the main leads acting was good individually, but when they had those lovey dovey moments, I can't feel the spark. I feel like the romance didn't get to develop smoothly, like Gal Hee was just determined to remain to her job at first but when the crazy part of the plot started, she suddenly wants to protect her boss and falling for him eventually. Same is true with Do Min Ik. He was just acting like the boss that he is then suddenly, he's so confused with the two girls (Gal Hee as the secretary and Gal Hee as Veronica Park). I didn't get why he fell for the fake Veronica Park just because he sees his secretary in her, when he didn't even care about his secretary at first. Maybe because he couldn't imagine a chaebol daughter acting pure and humble with him? I feel like him having feelings was rushed. I don't know if it's just me. For the rest, when everything was revealed and we're only left with some side stories, I didn't find something that's interesting enough for me to love this drama, even the main plot was made frustrating and draggy to me. Overall, I think the story went downhill. The only thing that barely made this drama worth watching for me is the acting.

Leia Mais

VERONICA PARK SPEAKING SAVED THIS DRAMA

I give this a higher rating because of Veronica park she is the reason why i was so entertained in this drama, she has her own style of being fabulous , and the way she pronounce korean and english is so hilariously good it reminds of one character from mean girls lmao big salute to the actress who played her character, and so addictive to watch they should have shorten the episodes until 12 becoz it became more cliche and draggy from the last 4 episodes but ill take it atleast its cute fluffy romcom show with flair of suspense or mystery. The first couple had a sweet chemistry but i was more into the second couple because the way Veronica park flirt with her boyfriend is so satisfying to watch i cant lmao. That is all thank you.

Leia Mais

Fluffy bubbly lovely cute drama :)

This drama is a very cliche RomCom but i still loved it. I generally love Kim Young Kwang, the actor who played Do Min Ik the main male lead. I was also looking forward to the second main role for female lead Jin Ki Joo, whom i loved in come and hug me. she was great as Jeong Gal hee. Acting was great story was good, it was nice cute and bubble nothing super bad.

What I liked:
- The side character VeRRRonica Park :D she was Awweeeesomeee!!! <3 i love her she became my favorite character. i was expecting her to be the annoying second female who get jealous and does bad stuff, but nope she was Aweeesome!! (Bangawoyo Original VeRRonica Park - i yeyo~~")
- The side character Gi Dae Joo, Veronica's love interest and Do min Ik's best friend. He was so cute haha the innocent and all goody guy :)
- Do Min Ik and Jeong Gal hee themselves they were so cute!
- Secretary squad
- Invisible Confidence Coat that gave confidence to anyone who wears it <3 haha so cute
-Jeong Gal Hee's sister's relationship with veronica park and her cursing in that play.
-Woo Hyun's cameo in the sauna as Jeong Gal Hee's date (the little actor who played Lee bang ji in tree with deep roots and who was chosen as the ugliest person in Infinite challenge lol) he is so cute. lol
- Ending

What i didn't like:
-Do Min Ik's extremely cute side lol i like cuteness but not that much xD i kinda prefer manliness, but this is only my own preference so this doesn't count as a minus for this drama
-Jeong Gal Hee's too much crying in the middle parts of the drama. Well i do understand her being sorry but being unable to tell, but it was taken to too many episodes i almost lost my attention, BUT Verrrronica Park kept me :D
-Jeong Gal Hee's brother... lol i understand he can't see and is kinda cute pretending to be manly strange and quirky but sometimes it was too much for me haha he added lots of comedy though.
-Do Min Ik's mother, well their relationship was too much but Min Ik made it better at the end. (this also is personal preference haha)

Well actually all the above in "what i didn't like" is mostly personal preferences so don't make them keep you from watching this drama.

Overall:
It was Aaawesomeeee (in Original VeRRRonica Park's voice)

Leia Mais

I've been dying to see this drama ever since I watched the trailer, and thought that maybe Viki would release the drama maybe a few months after it's release for standard members as the drama was only for premium...and I refused to upgrade my plan. But more and more dramas started to pile up that I wanted to watch, but I didn't have the right sub and they weren't releasing it for everyone. So I finally caved in for the holidays as there will be a second anniversary major 2 week binge session coming up for me.

Unfortunately, I follow a few korean drama instagram handles that will give major spoilers for each episode of dramas. I've been getting better at avoiding them, but unfortunately for this drama, I knew the major plot points. I knew how Do Min Ik would react when he found out that his secretary had been lying to him and secretly dating him as Veronica Park. It was almost like watching Nice to Meet You - how they played the wedding/leaving at the alter scene in the first few minutes, and then started the drama 6 months before as the wedding. It made it painful to watch as you knew the first 30 something episodes were of how they met and fell in love, but in the back of your mind, you knew that something huge happened for the main guy to break off the wedding, during the wedding. So during those those 30 something episodes...it was hard for me to believe the main guy when he said he loved her and nothing she could do would make him want to leave her. Luckily, in this drama...it wasn't as painful as the other drama. But unfortunately, I didn't understand Jung Gal Hee reasoning for doing what she did unlike the main girl in Nice to Meet You. I think since the start of the drama, Jung Gal Hee was playing an innocent trick on Do Min Ik, her boss, because he couldn't recognize faces and expected to have the worst possible date and he would never call her again. And yes, as she kept meeting him because he had fallen for her version of Veronica Park, she felt worse and worse about leading him on and eventually wanted to tell him the truth, but that was after like 4 dates. All I could think about is...how the hell is she going to get herself out of this one. I felt like Do Min Ik's reaction was fair as his prosopagnosia was fresh and emotionally he hadn't come to accept it completely and Jung Gal Hee knew that. He felt as if it was a crutch in his life as well as his work, so it doesn't help that the one person who he trusted the most basically made him fall in love with her saying she was someone else. Given he is a man in his mid 30's and has no reason to be a child, but yes...Jung Gal Hee did not have a justified reason for what she did and she is lucky that he forgave her and decided he wanted to be with her only an episode (2 half eps) later. I also personally think it also hurt cause all Do Min Ik wanted was a normal family life, and he wanted to love of his step mother who had raised him after his father's death. He knew that their relationship was manipulative, but he still became the perfect son so one day she would say that he was her son and not step son. In this timeline, his mother wanted him to became head chairman of his father's company (take it away from his uncle) as well as marry into a family with high status, and decided to set up an arranged marriage with Veronica Park (CEO of biggest film company in Korea). Even though he knew about Veronica Park's demeanor, he still gave her a shot because he so badly wanted to please his mother. I think that is maybe why he fell for her so hard and so quick, he so badly wanted it to work out, so when Jung Gal Hee decided to act in the place of Veronica Park (while the real one was on a date with Ki Dae Joo) and he sensed a speck niceness (something that he lacks in his family life, but craves for), he was like, "this is my wifey."

I believe this was Do Min Ik's only flaw though...for me at least. I loved every character in this drama, Do Min Ik's especially. But there were a few flaws or character development holes that I didn't understand. For Do Mink Ik, I loved his loving and bubbly attitude, and went through his little character development - after a secretary he trusted for many years betrayed him, he had a hard time trusting secretaries, and only signed a one year contract with each. Normal stuff. I loved his goofy smile and cute personality that he always had towards his best friend Ki Dae Joo and once he got prosopagnosia, he started to lean and trust more on Jung Gal Hee and showed her this side as well. He was basically a puppy who wanted to be loved. He did throw little tantrums here and there, which wasn't my favorite, but he got better at them. I also think another thing I wasn't very fond of was his stance on the whole secretary unfairness issue towards the end. He only really helped out because he saw his girl suffering in the protest. Yes, that is very sweet, but nowhere did he mention that he did what he did to help her as well as all the other secretaries because it was wrong. Yes, what he did created a domino effect that helped all the other secretaries...but it was a domino effect, not the sole reason why he did it. Maybe he did do it for both reasons and I am reading the signs wrong, but Min Ik wore his feelings on his sleeve so the fact that he didn't come out and say it was also for the secretaries, makes me think it was a side note.

I liked Gal Hee's can-do and quirky attitude. She always wanted to help and she was great at it. She saved Min Ik's ass on many occasions. I just didn't like how her "reason" for pretending to be Veronica Park was so she could experience just once , what it was like to be on the receiving end of her boss's good side. Instead of her pulling out his chair, he pulled out hers. Instead of her making reservations and picking out the fanciest wines for him and a quest, she would drink a fancy wine. Not...really...the best reason so I wasn't super into their fake romance plot. Min Ik was being hella cute...but I couldn't get past it. It's wild if you think about it - if Gal Hee went that day and said that Veronica Park couldn't make it, I know that Gal Hee and Min Ik's romance would have still happened and it would have been cleaner and sweeter as he started to fall for her when she told him she would help him becoming head chairman. Plus Gal Hee's heart would have broken less because she wouldn't see her boss falling in love with someone else. But...I guess...if we want to think about it in a positive way, her pretending to be Veronica Park made her gain confidence in herself that she was lacking? But a counterpoint would be that she gained a lot of that confidence when she was helping him strategize how to maneuver the chairman meetings.

Veronica Park was annoying the beginning, she she went through a lot of development as she started to get a clue when she met Ki Dae Joo. I didn't really believe their romance in the beginning. For Veronica, it seemed like the very basic troupe, I can get any man I want, but you keep rejecting me so I want you. So she kept pestering him while he only wanted to talk business with her. Eventually, we find out that Dae Joo actually likes her because he thinks she is the "coolest woman he has ever met," he he wanted something serious with her and not to be her "play thing." After they decided to be "serious" they became actually really cute, but also their conversations turned suggestive and they became rabbits. Ki Dae Joo was just a homie to Min Ik and I loved everything about their bromance and how they called each other wifey. It was unfortunate that Min Ik started to distrust Dae Joo, as we all did, but to be fair, Dae Joo was being extremely suspect when he didn't need to be. Yes, that added drama to the drama...but we could have saved a lot more time if he just said exactly what happened from the get go. Plus, it would have helped if Lee Eul Wang would have told most of the truth form the get go because she seemed hella suspect from the get go, making us think that she was out here murdering people left and right.

This drama was very interesting in that; it made you think that there was this huge plot in which a lot of people from the company were a part of, with the main goal of getting rid of Min Ik. But in reality, there was only one bad guy who was an asshole, but that was his only crime, while everything else ended up being a huge misunderstanding, but no one wanted to come out and say anything because they wanted to protect one another. That's what this whole drama was about...a HUGE misunderstanding that created this chain reaction because no one wanted to say anything and Min Ik ended up getting the worst of it. For that 8.5/10. Still a great drama; it got me in the feels whenever Gal Hee needed advice and the ghost of her mother would come back and comfort her. I nearly teared up every time, especially towards the end when it seemed like Min Ik imagined Gal Hee's mother giving him advice (when it was really Gal Hee's older brother) about how you shouldn't concentrate on the things you have lost, but be thankful for the things you still have. I believe that was a huge revelation to Min Ik. He was always trying to chase love from people who didn't give it to him, that he didn't see the people who already did love him. The love of his best friend and the love from Gal Hee as well as the newfound love and acceptance he found in her family. Definitely will watch this drama again in the future as I need more Kim Young Kwang and his goofy smiles in my life <3

Leia Mais

If you are looking for a light fluffy unapologetically cheesy drama this is it.

During the holidays I avoided watching anything heavy and went for pure fluffy ,chessy fun and this was definitely the right choice. If you are looking for a rom-com that will have you all giddy and giggly whenever the Main couple is on the screen then this is definitely it.
The two main leads had great chemistry and they were cute and adorable together. The writers did a good job showing and making it distinctive that the ML was also falling for his secretary, who is the actual FL and not for her as Veronica Park. Dramas that have this kind of plot line usually fail at this department (Yes Oh My Ghostess I’m looking at you)
The ML was such a pleasant deviation form the cold/emotionless CEO we are used to. He was so cute and sometimes childlike and thanks to the actor he did not came across as annoying or irritating. But I also found him brilliant in his most emotional scenes, he really made you feel for him.

In the same lane is Veronika Park. She was such hard character to get right and get people to like and root for her, so kudos to the actress for making her come across in such way!

The FL was also a breath of fresh air, not only to the weak and spineless FL we usually get but also to the doormat secretary. She was not afraid to stand up to herself and ask for what she though she deserved.
I also enjoyed the fact that upon the ML choosing and forgiving the FL, she didn’t change her looks and actually the ML liked and fell for her with her normal looks. Usually dramas tend to give the FL a short of makeover first so that the ML would start to take notice.

The female friendship and the support among the secretaries was amazing and something you unfortunately very rarely see in a K-drama.

As much as I enjoyed the drama in general there were a few things I did not like. For one I did not like the 2nd ML. He was too wooden and blunt and honestly did not feel his relationship with Veronica.

When it comes to the plot, at first for me it was clear as to why the secretary did what she did. She was someone who always put others first and took care of them, her boss, her brother, her sister drowning her own wishes and desires. For once she saw the opportunity to be taken care of, she saw the person who always ignored her to finally “see” her and treat her the way she always treated him, but then it just took her too long to tell him what she did to the point that it was kind of uncomfortable to watch.

Another plotline I did not quite like was at the beginning when the FL was insisting that she got fired. She wasn’t. She had a one-year contract that was not renewed and although it sucks it is not firing and she knew it was coming. Those were the terms she signed up for.

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this drama and I will definitely recommend it if you are looking for a light fluffy unapologetically cheesy drama.

Leia Mais

Non gli avrei dato due lire e invece...

Il titolo non mente, era lì fermo nella mia lista ormai da più di un anno.
Improvvisamente l'altra sera cercavo qualcosa con episodi non più lunghi di mezz'ora e l'ho visto. Ho iniziato a guardarlo senza interesse ma poi la rivelazione. Era una sorta di cenerentola dei drama con episodi brevi.
La storia è carina, nessun capolavoro, ma molto simpatica. Ha tutti gli elementi che ti tengono un po' appiccicata allo schermo: il colpevole, la coppia segretaria sfigate e capo ricco ma con i suoi problemi esistenziali, la madre di lui ovviamente acida e antipatica come da copione, la ricca, l'amico meno famoso e bello di lui.
Alla fine ho finito tutto con un sorrisetto compiaciuto sulle labbra, perché sì mi è piaciuto.
Lui è stato molto bravo, con quella faccia da prendere a sberle a tratti ma mi ha incuriosita così ho cercato altri suoi lavori.
Se cercate un drama leggero, che possiate vedere senza fare notte fonda fa al caso vostro,

Leia Mais

Started off by watching it since I had it in my watchlist since it was announced, but at the same time the plot didn't inspire me so much 'cause these kinds of dramas tend to be pretty much all the same (prosopagnosia and boos-secretary love) and I didn't want to watch another drama like ''what's wrong with secretary Kim''.
I can say that i really liked the chemistry between the leads but I really couldn't go on after the 10th episode, yeah, a good plot in general but everything was soooo slow that bored me in really no time.
Is a good drama to watch when there's nothing else or when you want something really light but absolutely not my cup of tea...

Leia Mais