My Shy Boss (2017)
Grade:
C-
16
Episodes
Viewing
Platform: Dramafever
Small time, minor role stage actress Chae
Ro-woon quits acting in order to work at a PR firm – the same firm
at which her late older sister had worked. The CEO, Eun Hwan-ki, is
distant and cold, with his own employees fearful in his presence and
not even sure what he looks like. Ro-woon gathers quite a lot of
“telling” information about the reclusive CEO once she begins
working, all in her quest to find revenge for her sister's suicide.
But what happens when Ro-woon realizes that Hwan-ki is simply shy and
misunderstood, not a snob or cruel, and unlikely to be the cause of
her sister's death? Will the co-CEO Kang Woo-il be as charming as he
appears when Ro-woon puts him under scrutiny as well? And what does
Hwan-ki's sister have to do with the secretary's suicide?
*I
had a difficult time enjoying this drama, as the entire plot revolves
around a young woman's suicide. It's a complex issue, and while the
drama does have its lighter moments, like all good kdramas have, it
felt like the writers were not treating the topic with enough
solemnity. The soundtrack and cinematography are all high-quality,
but it wasn't enough to make me like this show: the characters are
incredibly messed up. One of them had been cutting herself in secret
– another serious mental health issue – and she slits her wrist
in front of a girl when she thinks that girl is stealing her man.
Plus there is infidelity, which nobody bats an eye at, and some
premarital activity. It just felt too much like an American TV show,
and I watch kdramas to get away from all of that. This drama also
touches on transgenderism, referring to it as a person “wanting a
fresh start” – another example of the writers misunderstanding
mental illness (although most people don't see it as a mental illness
to begin with, so for some viewers, that wouldn't be a reason to skip this drama). But for all of those reasons, I won't watch this
again.*
