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.*