‘What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim ?’ and 2 Park Seo-Joon K-Dramas That Are a Must Watch
South Korean actor Park Seo-Joon has generated a buzz when it was confirmed he will star in Marvel Cinematic Universe’s The Marvels. Before the actor debuts in Hollywood, Park is already one of the most respected and famous actors in Korean dramas and Korean movies. Many K-drama fans have followed him from early on in his career to one of his breakthrough roles in What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim? As Park appeared in more dramas, he quickly became a fan favorite in the romance genre. His versatile acting skills have won him top remarks by audiences. Park has many accolades under his belt, but some of his K-dramas are classics.
‘What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?’ is the ultimate employee-boss romance
K-dramas have been around for years, but the 2018 romance-comedy drama, What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim? gained an international fan base. It starred Park in the lead role as Lee Young-Joon alongside another well-known Korean actor, Park Min-Young. The drama became a staple in defining the boss-employee romance trope and many others.
Young-Joon is a hot-headed and assertive vice chairman of a major company. He has it all until his longtime secretary, Kim Mi-So (Park), announces her resignation. Young-Joon realizes he can not survive without her and tries to do everything possible to make her stay. Along the way, Young-Joon and Mi-So realize their work relationship is something more. The K-drama gained international recognition even years after its premiere. Part of the reason was its passionate and intense kissing scenes that broke the mold of most dramas. According to Soompi, one of the drama’s pivotal kiss scenes surpassed in 200 million views mark in 2020.
‘Itaewon Class’ became Netflix’s top-ranked K-drama
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The 2020 K-drama Itaewon Class was one of the first dramas to hit mass recognition on Netflix. Based on a popular webtoon, Itaewon Class captured audiences’ attention thanks to Park’s role as the lead character Park Sae-Ro-Yi. Soompi even calls the drama ‘ life-changing and explains, “the storyline of Sae-Ro-Yi overcoming so much to become successful is an underdog story that many can root for.” Fans came to resonate with the main character’s determination to change his life around.
Sae-Ro-Yi gets into an altercation on his first day of high school with another student. The student happens to be the son of a powerful CEO of a restaurant business. To make matters worse, Sae-Ro-Yi’s father works at one of the restaurants. When Sae-Ro-Yi refuses to apologize, he is expelled, and his father is fired.
A bad situation becomes worse when Sae-Ro-Yi’s father is killed in an accident caused by an ex-classmate. Fueled by rage, Sae-Ro-Yi goes after the person responsible and receives a prison sentence for assault. Sae-Ro-Yi vows to change his life around after prison and opens a bar-restaurant in Itaewon. When his past follows him, Sae-Ro-Yi vows to destroy the CEO and his son, who want to see him fail.
Park Seo-Joon shined in the comedy-romance ‘Fight For My Way’
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Many K-dramas and their characters are known for their aegyo. Aegyo is a display of cute affection using baby voices and facial gestures. In 2017, Park was the lead role in Fight For My Way alongside actor Kim Ji-Won. The drama became highly recognized for its striking display of cringeworthy aegyo, according to Screen Rant. Fight For My Way centers around two childhood friends Ko Dong-Man (Park) and Choi Ae-Ra (Kim).
Both characters struggle in the workforce to make a name for themselves. Dong-Man was once a highly acclaimed martial artist who left it all behind due to a painful past. Ae-Ra dreams of becoming a professional announcer but finds herself stuck at a department store’s customer service desk. Amid comedic moments, adult struggles, the two best friends find themselves in an unexpected romance.