About “What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim” in a few words:

What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim is a romantic K-drama about a highly capable secretary, Kim Mi So, who suddenly decides to quit after years of perfectly managing her narcissistic boss, Lee Young Joon. What follows is part comedy, part romance, as he tries to understand why she’s leaving — and maybe realizes he needs her more than he thought. Beneath the humor, there’s also a deeper story about past trauma, identity, and emotional growth.

Meet the characters from What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim

Kim Mi So

She is the ridiculously competent secretary who somehow keeps the whole office from collapsing, which is both heroic and mildly terrifying. Calm, precise, and unforgivingly organized — desk like a shrine, pens in a row — but also the kind of person who will forget her lunch because she was alphabetizing email folders. There’s this low-key stubbornness under the composed surface, like a pressure-cooker of dignity and tiny rebellions (she owns three identical blazers and wears them like armor). She can be hilariously prim one moment and secretly soft the next — cries at one sappy commercial, then schedules your week with military efficiency. Also, small detail: collects sticky notes she never uses, which somehow makes sense, right?

Lee Young Joon

Oh man, the textbook chaebol with a perverse love of rules and a soft spot for dramatic entrances — equal parts narcissist and big kid. He runs everything with obsessive precision (timing, posture, the correct angle of a head tilt) but also hoards plush toys in a top drawer like it’s not a personality trait. There’s this bizarre mix of chilly control and cringe-worthy sincerity — he’ll deliver a corporate monologue and then melt over a compliment five seconds later. He can be infuriatingly confident and completely clueless about normal human boundaries, yet somehow earnest and oddly charming. Little random fact: he claims to hate mess but insists on arranging pens by color, which is both trying and adorable.

Kim Ji Ah

Blunt, loyal, and weirdly soothing, Ji Ah is the friend you call when you need someone to tell you the hard truth with a side of sarcasm. She speaks in riffs and one-liners, but there’s a steady core of empathy under all the sass — she will protect you like a pit bull and then make you coffee that tastes suspiciously like home. She’s practical, quick-thinking, and kind of impatient with nonsense, though she has this indulgent habit of buying tiny cakes for no reason. Sometimes she seems like the most straightforward person in the room and other times she’s hiding a private, shy little hobby (poetry? pottery? gummy bears in a jar). Also, random and probably inconsistent memory: she hates rom-coms but owns every one on a dusty hard drive.

Lee Sung Yeon

Sung Yeon is the cool, polished rival type — measured, composed, and always three steps ahead, which makes him fascinatingly intimidating. He keeps his cards close, dresses like he was born in a suit, and has a way of smiling that means he knows more than he’ll ever say. Underneath the calm there’s this stubborn streak and a surprisingly soft center (fireside conversations? more like tightly controlled vulnerability). He’ll run a board meeting like a scalpel and then accidentally reveal a terrible, terrible weakness for overly bitter espresso. Tiny quirk: he claims to dislike gossip but apparently memorizes everyone’s birthdays, which is suspiciously sweet.