KDrama to Miss: The Secret Life of My Secretary (2019)

 The Secret Life of My Secretary (2019)

Grade: C

16 episodes, 1 hr each

Viewing Platform: Netflix

Do Min Ik loses his ability to recognize faces after a head injury, and he ends up having to rely on his secretary Jung Gal Hui to keep his upper management director position at work while they wait and hope his ability returns. Strangely, he can still recognize her face - but only when she wears a certain sweater & her glasses. Gal Hui accidentally ends up tricking him, pretending to be one of her former bosses, a very glamorous potential client/ally for the company. Meanwhile some important information has disappeared from Min Ik's office. Will the pair discover the other deception of how Min Ik came to be injured in the first place? What happens when Min Ik finally realizes his secretary's deception? Will they be able to uncover the plot at work before it's too late?

*I forgot to do a write-up for this kdrama, and honestly, it's pretty forgettable - I had to go online to look up plot summaries to even jog my memory about it. I don't think it was bad, just clearly not anything that made an impression on me. Wouldn't watch again.* 

KDrama to Miss: Doctor Cha (2023)

Doctor Cha (2023)

Grade: C

16 episodes, 1 hr each

Viewing Platform: Netflix

Cha Jung Sook has successfully raised two children, choosing to stay home with them, caring for her mother-in-law, and supporting her husband's career as a doctor. Then one day she finds out she needs a liver transplant, and going through that experience helps her realize she wants more out of life now that her children are basically grown. Jung Sook goes back to school to finish her own doctor training, with her doubtful and even mocking at times husband. Along the way, she discovers her husband is having an affair - but the mistress is a powerful doctor in the hospital Jung Sook is working at. Will Jung Sook be able to finish her residency, despite the interpersonal conflict? How will her family handle her transition back into the work force? And will her pampered husband give up his affair and be the husband she deserves, or at the very least, be able to let Jung Sook go?

*Production value is fine; the destructive and conflicting nature of discovering one's spouse is cheating is very realistic, especially including the history of an unequal marriage (the wife doing everything to take care of everyone, while receiving next to nothing in return from the incredibly selfish, self-centered husband). It was almost too hard for me to watch... The ending is very unsatisfying, albeit realistic (spoiler alert) - she does get a divorce and gains all sorts of self-confidence & self-worth, but she ends up [romantically] alone. By Shakespearean standards, that makes this whole show a tragedy instead of a comedy. Wouldn't watch again.*

KDrama to Miss: Crash Course in Romance (2023)

Crash Course in Romance (2023)

Grade: C+

16 episodes, 70 min each

Viewing Platform: Netflix

Nam Haeng-seon is a Korean side-dish shop owner, raising her sister's daughter, Nam Hae-e, as her own. It's the teen girl's junior year in high school, with intense competition and pressure to do well on the national college placement exam. Hae-e's friend encourages her to study harder, and she gets into a prestigious private after-school program. Haeng-seon wasn't much of an academic herself (she retired as a handball athlete when her sister abandoned Hae-e), but she decides to support her niece as best she can – even if it means dealing with a curmudgeonly “star” teacher at the Pride academy. Choi Chi-yeol is in fact a very talented math teacher, with millions of dollars to his name for his efforts – but he doesn't enjoy what he has. He is so stressed out he can hardly eat, having lost a student to suicide several years ago, due to the extremely competitive academic environment. What happens when he encounters Haeng-seon's home cooking? Will the intensified attacks on those around Chi-yeol finally lead to tragedy, or revelation?

*The romance between Chi-yeol and Haeng-seon is cute, but it is only a tiny part of the drama. They're not physically a great match, either (he is more handsome than she is pretty). The whole drama was too reality-based for my liking, even with a serial killer plot line sprinkled in it. The bad guy “offing” himself felt super convenient, and Chi-yeol doesn't appear to give a second THOUGHT to the betrayal or death! With all the misery Chi-yeol felt at losing one of his students, which is heavily played up with his eating disorder, his under-reaction is bizarre. At times it feels like the show is a condemnation of the competitive culture in Korea – but Chi-yeol does nothing to change the system. Then the ending is much softer than I was expecting, considering the violent buildup with the villain and the rather despicable antagonist side characters. Wouldn't watch again.*

KDrama to Miss: Crash Landing on You (2019)

 

Crash Landing on You (2019)

Grade: C+

16 Episodes, 1.25 hrs each

Viewing Platform: Netflix

Yoon Se-ri runs a successful cosmetics and fashion company, but one day during a test-flight of some new athletic wear, her simple paragliding outing turns into a stormy nightmare: she is blown right across the North Korean border into enemy territory! Luckily the army captain who finds her at the border outpost wants to cause as little trouble as possible for his small troop of loyal soldiers, and Ri Jeong Hyeok does everything he can to return Se-ri before anyone else finds out. 

However, Ri Jeong Hyeok is also investigating his brother's mysterious death – an accident which appears to be part of larger corruption among North Korea's top military leaders – and who better to expose Se-ri than Cho Cheol Gang, the man with leverage against almost every top official in North Korea? What happens when Cho Cheol Gang evades capture for his crimes and flees south, threatening Se-ri's life? Will Ri Jeong Hyeok allow himself to love after losing his brother so tragically?

*This story felt a bit long and slow in places. All the “bad guys” aside from Cho Cheol Gang end up not actually being bad. There is also an actual – spoiler alert – death of a secondary character, the 2nd male lead, which I don't recall seeing in a drama before! So the 2nd female lead doesn't get a happy romance story line; instead she gets the “it's cool to be single” ending, which feels quite American/Western, unfortunately, or just plain tragic at the very least. 

I have heard that the portrayal of North Korea is based on actual reports from defectors, so it's supposed to be quite accurate in that regard. There are some cute, humorous moments seeing people experience technology & plentiful stores for the first time – very similar to other kdramas where people from the past end up in modern times. 

Overall, this doesn't have the happiest of endings – he can't leave North Korea long term, and she certainly can't live there, so they settle for only seeing each other for 2 weeks of the year, living together in a neutral country (Switzerland, where they originally met). Wouldn't watch again.

KDrama to Miss: "Doom at your Service" (2021)

Doom At Your Service (2021)

Grade: C

16 Episodes, 1 Hr each
Viewing Platform: Netflix

Tak Dong-kyung is an editor at a web novel company who helped raise her younger brother after both their parents died when they were young. Her aunt did take them in, but now that the siblings are grown, Dong-kyung has been on her own for a while. She gets the life-changing news that she has a brain tumor, and it is fatal, with only a few months to live. To top that off, she discovers her boyfriend is actually married with a pregnant wife, a pervert bothers her, and she gets reprimanded at work. In a moment of deep frustration, she wishes for “doom” to end everything – her life, and the entire world! What happens when Dong-kyung discovers Doom is real and he offers to grant her a wish in exchange for ending the world? Will “god” allow Doom to destroy humanity? And what happens when Dong-kyung's kind heart starts to pity the miserable Doom?

*The premise had promise, but this ends up being a super soapy drama with little humor and a lot of angst. I ended up watching this on 1.5x speed just to finish it faster. “God” is portrayed as a creation of mankind – a teen girl who suffers and dies repeatedly as humanity's way of purging sin (an odd interpretation of religion). I wasn't totally invested in Doom succeeding either way; Dong-kyung was kind of cute, and because she's kind I did want her to get a happy ending. I was going to give this a lower grade, but the last episode and overall ending is soft, happy, and gentle, so that bumped it up a bit. Still, not a drama I'd recommend or watch again.*

 

Philippines/Korean Film to Miss: Ultimate Oppa (2022)

 Ultimate Oppa (2022)

Viewing platform: Amazon Prime

Yana is a Filipino girl, working in a fast-food chicken shop while she dreams of one day becoming a romance writer. Yana would love to write a drama for television starring her favorite Kdrama star, Moon Shi Woo – he replies with such sincere, heartfelt support every time she sends him her fanfic online. It isn't actually Shi Woo who replies to all his fans, though – his assistant Jay does. One day the conceited actor responds to some haters online, and it immediately spins out of control. His agency then decides to hold a special contest for all his fans to help redeem his image. Yana is selected, and she gets to experience an all-expenses paid trip to a ski resort in South Korea! The other contestants try to outdo each other in the elimination round competitions, but Yana is gracious throughout, genuinely impressing Shi Woo. Meanwhile, Jay keeps coming to Yana's rescue – finding her locked out of her room in the cold, locating her misplaced passport, singing a duet with her in the karaoke competition. What happens when the two young men both start to develop feelings for the sweet, kindhearted Yana?

*This was a disappointing movie. There were at least a dozen F-words throughout, and with the mix of Korean, English, and Tagalog, the dialogue didn't come across with the same sincerity as the single-language shows I've watched. While it does have a happy ending, the charm was lost in translation, coming across as stilted and cheesy in an uncomfortable way. Wouldn't watch again or recommend.*

InFilm to Miss: Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018)

Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018)

Viewing Platform: Amazon Prime

Verdict: Pass

Sonu and Titu are childhood best friends. The pair became inseparable when, at age 13, Sonu's mother died and Titu's family took him into their home to finish raising him. Sonu is more worldly and he takes it upon himself to assist in hapless Titu's disastrous love life. Is it a bit manipulative of Sonu to pressure his friend to end what Sonu considers a bad relationship? Yes, but it comes from the right place – especially as Titu is the sole heir to his family's successful sweets shop franchise. When Titu jumps into an arranged marriage after only a few months post-breakup, Sonu tries to talk him out of it, thinking it's just a “rebound” type response, but Sweety is the perfect bride candidate and the family welcomes her with open arms. Sweety finally shows her hand after the engagement ceremony, admitting she is the villain in this story – but only after Sonu blundered into an ungraceful accusation against Sweety, which she easily (and convincingly) explained away. Will Sonu be able to convince Titu he's telling the truth about Sweety's gold-digging scheme? Or will the villain succeed in coming between the two lifelong friends?

*This should not be labeled a comedy, as ~ spoiler alert ~ there is NO wedding among ANY of the characters! I have a feeling the writers chose this in order to stand out from all the other traditional Bollywood films, which is their prerogative, but I was disappointed. It would have been funnier if Sweety and Sonu fell for each other instead – they're a better match with their machinations and plotting anyway – and Titu could have gone back to his former girlfriend. Plus there was Sweety, taking all these steps to trick and manipulate Titu and his family, while Sonu did next to nothing; again, it would have been funnier if the writers had him match her, move for move. Instead it all came down to Sonu crying at the end; seemed like a weak way to end it. I also didn't like how several dance numbers were very suggestive, in an American/western fashion; and Sweety looked too fake (veneers, contact lenses, and possibly a nose job). I won't watch this again, and I don't recommend it.*