What's wrong with 'What's wrong with Secretary Kim?'?
Where I try to be cute
So many things yet it feels so right.
Meet Kim Mi-so. She's been working herself to the bone to pay off her loans and support her family - night, day, weekends - anything to make the life of her boss, Vice Chairman Young-joon, easier. After 9 years, she decides to finally quit her job and go after her dreams. This doesn't sit well with said boss who decides to do everything he can to keep Kim by his side. This includes asking her to marry him so that she'd have no choice but to stay by his side and help him succeed. It's a shocker to him that this proposal is not immediately accepted with shiny eyes and a swoon.
Wrong things: WWWSK is a lot of things but original it is not. It's an often-silly workplace dramedy that is light on plot and heavy in cuteness. Kind-hearted heroine warming the heart of emotionally-stunted rich man-child is not an original concept for romantic comedies.
Right things: It has some extremely good-looking leads who have fantastic chemistry and make this show a pleasure to watch. It’s content to coast on the charm, chemistry, and comedic skills (the 3Cs) of its lead actors - Park Seo-Joon (I’ve written about him and Itaewon Class before) and Park Min-Young. PSJ, in particular, is a riot (I was sold the minute he said "aura") but PMY is no slouch either - her impish expressions and her cuteness is guaranteed to charm even the Grinch's heart. There's more than one love story in WWWSK and it's to the credit of those actors that they manage to get you to root for them even though the main story has the likes of PSJ and PMY.
Wrong things: I do have to admit that I enjoy watching workplace romantic comedies because well, where else will we have to interact with people we’re not on the same page wrt feelings/thoughts/the world? But I also have to agree that a boss-reportee relationship is super icky especially now that I manage people so would not recommend if you’re sensitive to that trope.
Right things: It’s not pretending to be something it’s not. To its credit, the show does try to throw in some plotty plot to give it more substance but I think it takes away from the show rather than add to it. I love self aware shows that lean hard into their core truths and aren’t trying to be anything more than an escape. WWWSK is silly and it knows it and it leans really really hard into it.
Wrong things: Love plots that focus on women changing men for the better and teaching them to be more emotionally intelligent. Let’s perpetuate more stereotypes!!
Wrong things: Love watching people in pencil skirts and high heels while I lounge in my day old pyjamas. Makes me want to reach for more uncomfortable clothes which I am, 10/10, not a fan of.
Right things: I fully endorse Gwi-nam’s one suit for work policy (and one suit only! This is an actual thing that happens in the show to show how cheap he is when he’s really a hero) because it made me feel good about my pyjamas.
Wrong things: Asking someone home for Ramen is supposed to be a euphemism. I’m not sure how inviting someone home for a heavy soupy-noodly meal is supposed to be sexy but perhaps my asking that question explains a lot to you.
Right things: This show is perfect for when you feel like everything that can go wrong with the world is going wrong and you just need a break. AKA every single day.
