Kdrama to Maybe Watch: What's Wrong with Secretary Kim? (2018)

What's Wrong with Secretary Kim? (2018)

Grade: B-

16 Episodes, 70 minutes each

Viewing Platform: Viki

Kim Mi So has worked her entire life to help support her sisters through medical school and to pay off her father's debts, and now that Mi So has finally made the last payment, she puts in her resignation. Lee Young-joon, the vice-chairman of a very successful company, won't simply stand by and allow his perfectly trained secretary of nine years leave just like that, though. After some prying, Mi So admits the real reasons she wants to resign: so she can find love and get married, and so she can “find herself” after so many years of only existing to help her family. How will Mi So receive the vice-chairman's generous offer to let Mi So date his eligible self? Will she find the oppa that helped save her from a kidnapping situation from her youth? And how will Young-joon's family react to Mi so piecing together their dark family secrets?

*This kdrama starts off with a really creepy vibe, as the viewer finds out what the kidnapped children went through, and then the main conflicts resolve halfway through the show. This made for a really slow-moving second half, which can sometimes be nice, but in this drama, it feels like two different shows. I didn't like the main theme song/music, the physical contact felt too much like an American show (sex before marriage), and the actor who plays Young-joon isn't my favorite. Plus, once a certain fact is revealed, it doesn't seem like he actually changes or develops as a character, since he was “always” that way. Mi so is pretty cute, but I liked watching the secondary characters' love stories more than the primary story arc. Not sure I'd watch this again.*

KDrama to Watch: I'm Not A Robot (2017)

I'm Not A Robot (2017)

Grade: B

32 Episodes, 30 minutes each

Viewing Platform: Viki

Spunky entrepreneur Jo Ji-ah is determined to make a difference with her inventions. She lives with her older brother and his wife, but he isn't happy about her lack of focus, especially when he finds out his wife gave Ji-ah money to fund another one of her crazy projects. Then Ji-ah's ex-boyfriend calls – he needs her help, for which he is willing to compensate her (and then Ji-ah can pay back her sister-in-law). Ex-boyfriend Hong Baek-kyun is a brilliant scientist who created an incredible AI robot, and it was all ready for testing with the reclusive shareholder to the country's largest financial institution, Kim Min-kyu, when a malfunction threatens the entire project. How is Ji-ah involved with all this? Apparently her ex made the AI robot look exactly like her! Will Ji-ah be able to fool the highly intelligent Min-kyu long enough for the robotics team to fix the real robot? What happens when Min-kyu, who has a severe, bizarre allergy to humans, comes in contact with Ji-ah instead of the robot? And how will Min-kyu and the robotics team face the enemies within the financial institution, the people who tried to take the company from Min-kyu back when his parents died?

*This was a fun show, with some pretty neat graphics (and then a little that were cheesy) and decent pacing. My biggest problem is we never find out who Madame X is – a mysterious figure who helps Min-kyu from the very beginning, when his parents die and he is about to sign away the company to someone else in the company. The person plays a big role in Min-kyu's success; I'm guessing the writers just kind of forgot about it. I might watch this again.*

KDrama to Watch: Oh! My Lady (2010)

Oh! My Lady (2010)

Grade: B+

16 Episodes, 1 Hr each

Viewing Platform: Viki

Yoon Gae-hwa is a divorced housewife and mother in her mid thirties, barely making ends meet since her own mother's cancer and early death used up all her alimony. Gae-hwa does her best with the odd jobs she is qualified for, but housekeeping doesn't pay much and isn't steady work, and she soon finds herself homeless. After begging her ex-husband to watch their daughter for a couple months, she stumbles upon a production company job opening through her temp agency's mistake. The production company offers Gae-hwa a paid internship position, despite her having no qualifications, but with one major stipulation: She has to “bring in” top star Sung Min-woo to be the lead in their original musical! Little do they know, Gae-hwa had just met the young star while fulfilling her temp agency's housecleaning assignment AND discovered an incredible secret about him. Will the housewife be able to convince the cocky star to join the show? What happens when Min-woo's manager also discovers the actor's secret? And how will Min-woo deal with his burgeoning feelings for the older woman thrust into his life?

*I was genuinely surprised at the complexity of the characters in this simple drama. Even my least favorite, the meddling scandal reporter, showed more than one side (albeit for him it took until the last episode). The plot is relatively simple, and each individual scene is at a slower pace than newer dramas, but I enjoyed the whole experience. Choi Siwon is adorable throughout, with a strength and energy that is charming yet unique to his character. Gae-hwa's character felt genuinely older than Min-woo, as she had the confidence in herself that comes to a lot of people in their thirties. I did have a problem with the youngest actress; the character's age was too old for the actress herself. The music was cute though, and it wasn't a totally predictable plot. I'd watch this again.*

KFilm to Maybe Watch: My Little Bride (2004)

My Little Bride (2004)

Grade: B-

Viewing Platform: Amazon Prime

Bo-eun is a 16 year old high school student, dealing with everything that comes at that age – grades, potential first loves, fights with other girls – with one major exception. Her grandfather is demanding that she marry her lifelong friend and senior, the art major about to graduate from college, Sang-min. The two were practically raised together, all because Bo-eun's grandfather and Sang-min's grandfather had made a pact of friendship that their families would one day become in-laws. After falling ill, the living grandfather manages to manipulate the two kids into fulfilling his wish, and they are married! Will Bo-eun be able to keep her marriage a secret from her peers? What happens when she tries to date a boy her own age anyway? And how will Sang-min convince Bo-eun to return his affections?

*Compared to most kdramas I watch, this had a much lower film quality and a very simple, slow plot. All the dialogue felt familiar though, despite the film's age. It was an interesting look at what might have happened in ancient times, when women were often married as young teenagers to older men. Sang-min was a gentleman though. For something that could have been very awkward, it was tastefully done (aside from one scene where Sang-min is watching porn at his newlywed apartment...). It was also interesting to realize just how much older he was – at first I thought he might be 24, but then they mentioned his 3 years of military service, making his character closer to 28 years old for an age gap of 12 years. That means he felt affection towards her as a toddler, preschooler, kindergartner, while he was in high school – it's a very different way to view love, to consider that it could grow along with the object of affection's age. I might watch this again.*

KDrama to Watch: Marriage Not Dating (2014)

Marriage Not Dating (2014)

Grade: B

16 Episodes, 1 Hour Each

Viewing Platform: Dramafever

Cheerful department store worker Joo Jang Mi decides to propose to her boyfriend of one year, the playboy Lee Hoon Dong. Fortunately Hoon Dong has backup; once he senses Jang Mi's intentions, he calls best friend Gong Ki Tae to help break up the couple. Jang Mi is relentless though, and plastic surgeon Ki Tae has to step in more than once to spell out that the relationship is over. Meanwhile, Ki Tae's meddling mother is threatening to sell Ki Tae's home – his sanctuary – unless he settles down and gets married. Out of desperation and a need to settle things once and for all against his mother, Ki Tae hatches a plan: find a girl that his mother would NEVER accept, and pretend to be dating her. The perfect accomplice is of course the sincere and sympathetic Jang Mi, with the promise of revenge against Hoon Dong. What happens when the supposedly simple lie in this game of chicken with Ki Tae's mother keeps growing bigger? Will Jang Mi be able to keep seeing the mysterious and handsome waiter at Hoon Dong's restaurant? How will Ki Tae handle the realization that he doesn't want the deception to end?

*This drama is more risque than most Korean dramas I've seen, with the characters sleeping around, showing a lot of skin, and drinking a lot – but nothing more than a PG-13 movie would show. Jang Mi's character is cute, and I love when the prideful guy realizes the girl he thinks he'd NEVER love ends up fulfilling him in ways he didn't think possible. This had a great pace as well, with very few slow moments, and the writers managed to show some real character development over the course of the drama. The music was fun, too. I might watch it again.*

KDrama to Miss: She Was Pretty (2015)

She Was Pretty (2015)

Grade: C+

16 Episodes, 1 Hr each

Viewing Platform: Dramafever

Kim Hye Jin used to be a pretty, popular girl, but after puberty, the other half of her genetics kicked in, and she's no longer the cute, outgoing girl of her childhood. Instead she bounces around from temp job to temp job after college, as the larger companies won't give her a second glance. In the meantime, her chubby, awkward elementary school friend Ji Sung Joon has grown up to be quite the success, and handsome to boot. After losing contact for many years, Sung Joon makes an extra effort to reach his former friend, but what happens when Hye Jin decides to ask her best friend Min Ha Ri to pretend to be her when meeting Sung Joon again? Will Hye Jin survive her new job working temporarily at a top fashion magazine – the same magazine which Sung Joon has been assigned to save? And how long will Ha Ri keep up the charade of being Hye Jin?

*The premise is cute, with the idea of first loves finding each other later in life and falling for each other again, but the second male lead FAR outshone the lead, even to the point I was hoping Shin Hyuk would win over Hye Jin. There were even clues in the writing that hinted at Sung Joon simply needing to see Hye Jin for closure, that it wasn't necessarily his destiny to be with her, and how Ha Ri needed Sung Joon more than Hye Jin did. I also didn't think the timing for Hye Jin's makeover made sense – why didn't she do it sooner if she knew her looks were part of the problem in finding employment? Or why not do it before meeting Sung Joon, if she was embarrassed with how she looked, or after the first 3 times the big magazine boss said she didn't look the part for the job? Hye Jin's character was rather annoying as well, and I didn't like the slow focus camera technique that this director favored. It really dragged toward the end as well. If you just want a simple, light drama, this could work for you.*

KFilm to Miss: Mood of the Day (2016)

Mood of the Day (2016)

Grade: C

Viewing Platform: Amazon Prime

Bae Soo Jung has to travel to Busan via train for an important business meeting, pitching the advertising agency she works for to a potential new client. The day doesn't start off well – she is hit in the back of the head with a basketball and spills coffee all over her suit as a result, then Soo Jung hears that one of her friends is engaged to her former high school sweetheart. After that, a handsome yet crude young man shares the seat next to her on the long train ride, telling her that he will be sleeping with her that night, and then their train breaks down halfway to Busan. Kim Jae Hyun is used to one-night stands and confident in his charms, so despite Soo Jung rebuffing his efforts, once he finds out she would love to sign on the famous basketball player that Jae Hyun's agency represents, he decides to help facilitate a meeting – if they can find the elusive sports star. Will Jae Hyun convince Soo Jung to have a little fun? Or will she prove her point that sleeping around is empty and meaningless?

*The film has a few cute moments, but it felt much too similar to American movie plots with American values and the nonchalant acceptance of cheating in relationships when they're “basically over” anyway. I can't root for a couple when *spoiler alert* their relationship starts with one or both parties cheating on another person. The comic relief character was kind of gross, too. I wouldn't watch this again.