My Secret Romance Review

My Secret Romance is a Korean drama series that follows Lee Yoo-Mi, a girl who is living an extremely modest lifestyle due to her mother’s choice in careers. The story begins when she must attend her mother’s wedding at a hotel resort. On the bus to the resort, Yoo-Mi runs into Cha Jin Wook, the son of the the hotel’s owner. Being punished by his father, Cha Jin Wook is being sent to the resort to work after having an encounter with a woman and stirring up bad press. Lee Yoo-Mi and Cha Jin Wook first meet when the two of them end up of the shuttle bus to the resort. Once at the hotel, the two seemingly go their separate ways. Yoo-Mi heads to the ceremony for her mother’s wedding and Cha Jin Wook heads to be put to work. The ceremony takes a turn when Yoo-Mi’s mother puts photos of her adult actress career into the wedding slideshow. Embarrassed by her mother, Yoo-Mi runs off. After a series of embarrassing events for Yoo-Mi, she decides she is going to try to enjoy the rest of her vacation despite everything that happened. After going out and trying to enjoy the day alone, she begins to head back only to feel even more upset. As if by fate, Cha Jin Wook appears again. This time, Yoo-Mi decides to get into the car with him after much convincing. The two head to the beach to enjoy the view and to get away from all their problems. They start drinking, and after a bottle of wine, the two begin to fall for each other, and end up having a one night stand. Embarrassed again, feeling as though she is an easy girl she runs away when she wakes up the following morning.

Three years later, and the two can’t seem to forget each other. Cha Jin Wook has spent the last three years throwing himself into his work, and Yoo-Mi has finally become a dietitian. Pushed again by the hands of fate, the two end up working together after Yoo-Mi is assigned to work at Jin Wook’s company. This causes Jin-Wook to take his revenge, or so he thinks. He begins to make things difficult for Yoo-Mi. However, the more time the two spend together, the closer they become, and the more the couple fall in love. Of course, nothing is ever simple, and the two have to navigate many problems throughout the series. Will the two be able to come to and understanding and move on from their past or will the two crumble under the pressures of a society that can’t seem to allow them to be together?

Secret Romance is one of the most memorable series that I have watched. I think this is more because the concept behind the show was different than most of the others that I have watched. I tend to find my way to either the very lighthearted dramas that are about growing up, or I find myself in the dark side with no happy ending. So, Secret Romance was quite the breath of fresh air. While the show was for the most part lighthearted and kept with the usual theme, it did have undertones of deeper plot points. For example, seeing as the main characters had relations at the very beginning of the series, there is the chance that she could have become pregnant. When Jin-wook sees her with this child, while it is jumping to conclusions, he seems to think that it is his child and she is the mother. The series also circles around the adult movie industry a little bit, and the effects that a job like that could potentially have on those close to the actress.

I have watched Secret Romance at least three times at the point. Of course, it also has its flaws. Now when I say flaws, honestly, I am nitpicking. As I have said multiple times here, I am terrible at picking the right guy in these shows. While I know in my heart Jin-wook is going to win her heart in the end…I mean I can’t help but root for her best friend that has been in love with her forever. The chemistry between those two are hard for me to root for the leading male. With that being said, it is hard for me to call that a flaw, considering it is just my opinion. I think the only true gripe I have with Secret Romance is that it isn’t completely original. While it does dive into some more serious topics and it does have a different approach, it is still a romance series that revolves around a CEO who is cold hearted and a girl of far less status. The two cross paths, and their fate is sealed. After a series of misunderstandings and arguments, the two find their way back to each other because it is just how fate works.

Overall, Secret Romance is absolutely worth the watch. It may have your typical skeletal outline for a Korean romance series, what is contained within that skeleton is well worth the time. It is very well rounded in the sense of balancing humor with seriousness. It talks about some subjects that a lot of these dramas don’t really mention (at least the lighthearted ones), and it turns it into a very sweet romance that will have you laughing and crying with the characters. It also helped that some of my favorite Korean actors/actresses were a part of this series. Overall, I think that Secret Romance deserves a 4 Star rating on my scale.

I know it has been a while since the last time that I wrote, but I think I am back now. I am going to try and get back into the swing of things, and I hope to see everyone in the next review. See ya!