Television series

What's Wrong with Secretary Kim

Name: What's Wrong with Secretary Kim
Genre: Drama, Romance
Released: 2018
Cast: Park Seo Jun, Park Min Young, Kang Ki Young, Pyo Ye Jin, Hwang Bo Ra

A delicious romantic comedy about a perfectionist vice-president and his indispensable secretary. When she suddenly quits, he realizes he's lost the one person who made his life work. What follows is a witty, character-driven exploration of love hiding in plain sight, buoyed by chemistry so electric it practically glows through the screen.

TVMaze rating

4.0

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy a slow-burn workplace romance where the sparring between two sharp, proud people does most of the work, and you don't mind a prickly lead who needs some taking down.

Skip it if you want a tight, fast-moving romance, since at 16 episodes of roughly 69 minutes this is a long, leisurely commitment with many scenes spent on his arrogance.

What it asks of you: Expect a long, unhurried series, about sixteen episodes at roughly seventy minutes each, where the tone leans playful and feelings build gradually rather than all at once.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

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But The North Korea premise feels heightened even by K-drama standards, and some episodes lean harder on comedy than you might want.

Descendants of the Sun2016

A soldier and a surgeon navigate love amid a war zone. It pairs the workplace-romance framework with genuine stakes and a hero who isn't just charming but genuinely heroic, giving emotional weight beneath the swoon.

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Her Private Life2019

A successful woman with a secret fan-fiction obsession falls for her colleague. It has that perfect K-drama recipe: workplace chemistry, witty dialogue, characters with actual depth, and a heroine who doesn't need saving.

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Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from What's Wrong with Secretary Kim

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

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Both are structured around watching someone realize that the person they work with every day has become essential—the gap between who we think we are and who we actually are, revealed through proximity.

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But It's British and brutally bleak in a way that makes K-drama look optimistic. The second season veers toward something almost transcendent, which some find moving and others find affected.

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A recently divorced woman rejoins the workforce and bonds with her boss over their shared love of books. Warm, thoughtful, and genuinely funny, with leads who feel like real adults navigating real complications.

But The pacing is gentler than Secretary Kim—less fizz, more slow-burn—and it won't scratch the same itch if you want constant forward momentum.

Business Proposal2022

An employee schemes to set up her boss with her friend to dodge an arranged marriage. Snappy, clever, and packed with the kind of rapid-fire banter and mistaken-identity chaos that makes Secretary Kim so much fun.

But At nine episodes it's lean, which is good, but also means some character beats feel slightly rushed to the finish.

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A man plots revenge against the family that destroyed his own, but finds unexpected connection and tenderness along the way. Darker and grittier than Secretary Kim, but built on the same foundation of complex characters learning to trust.

But It's violent and sometimes brutal, with a revenge arc that demands emotional investment. Not a comfort watch, and nothing like the lighter tone you're seeking.

True Romance1993

A lawyer and an actress navigate the mess of real love across the city. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Patrick Dempsey have that exact same electric chemistry, and it's a smart, funny script that knows romance isn't just about the moment you fall.

But It's Hollywood romantic comedy, not K-drama, and some of the early-2000s plot mechanics feel contrived now.

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Three women in their late thirties grapple with friendship, romance, and mortality. Emotionally sophisticated and beautifully acted, proving K-drama can do romance with real weight and genuine stakes.

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Both explore what it means to have someone become essential to your life—but while Secretary Kim is about recognizing it, Be with You is about losing it. Same emotional core, opposite ending, completely different register.

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But It is absolutely, unrelentingly sad. There's no glow of new love, just the ache of something real being taken away. If you wanted Secretary Kim for joy, this is the opposite.