In progress

What's Wrong with Secretary Kim?

(김비서가 왜 그럴까) 2018 tvN

Secretary Kim (Park Min-Young) has worked for Lee Young-Joon (Park Seo-Joon) for 9 years. Today, she quit her job to find herself. Lee Young-Joon is young, rich, handsome, and completely full of himself. He also shows no romantic interest in women. In his attempt to retain Secretary Kim in his employ, he woos her and proposes marriage, but he doesn't understand love…yet. There's also confrontational brother who is an author and has been living in the US, some touchy childhood abduction scenes, and a lot of animosity. In the end, everyone falls in love, or at least their hands touch.

K-Drama Bingo Score

Using the Modern K-Drama set

Toggle descriptions Toggle spoilers

Childhood friends forgotten
(2 pt)
Notes
Characters knew, or at least encountered, each other in childhood, but somehow forgot
S01E01
Hinted at in the first episode, when Kim Mi-So asks her sisters: "Are you sure that I've never been lost? When I was 4 or 5 years old?"
Cartoony FX
(1 pt)
Notes
Animal or cartoon visual and sound effects to reinforce behavior or mood
S01E01
"Like a bruised apple…"
Chicken & Beer
(1 pt)
Notes
치맥, anyone?
S01E03
Pil-Nam, carrying takeout chicken & beer, arrives just as Mi-So approaches home on foot.
Crushing Debt
(1 pt)
Notes
Characters are motivated by their debt (or a family member's), including the threat of foreclosure

S01E01
Secretary Kim has worked so hard to put her sisters through school, and to pay off loan sharks.
Finger hearts
(1 pt)
Notes
Any use of finger hearts by a character
Korean Standoff
(1 pt)
Notes
Two principal characters have a serious, sometimes emotionally confrontational, conversation while standing at least 1m apart
Pinky swear
(2 pt)
Notes
Two characters doing a pinky swear

Touching thumbs at the end is not a thing in America (based on my terrible polling), so that gets an easy bonus point for any wannabe K-drama.
Bonus point for: Touching thumbs at the end
Rumble tummy
(1 pt)
Notes
Audible stomach rumbling to indicate hunger
S01E01
Kim Bi-So somehow blames "having to wear a dress today" for her gurgling belly, while Lee Young-Joon denies needing to eat after his meeting, but his stomach says otherwise.
The Playground
(2 pt)
Notes
Any scene taking place in a neighborhood playground
Bonus point for: Eating ice cream at the same time
S01E06
Sadly, Secretary Kim is alone.
Thumbs up
(1 pt)
Notes
Two thumbs up for "Good job!"
S01E03
Manager Jong gets excited about the Field Day
Wrist grab
(1 pt)
Notes
Dramatically grabbing someone by the wrist as they walk away

Unmatched Bingo Spaces

(Dis)possession
Ghosts, spirits inhabiting bodies, or body- or identity-swapping
Vehicular tragedy
Someone is/was hit by a car, truck, bus, or motorcycle
Bullying
Be Best, Korea
Cramped quarters
Sleeping in a repurposed closet, or on a balcony, or in insane tiny student housing
Memorial service
Funerals and memorial services
Middle-of-the-Road Soliliquy
Verbal musings on deep existential questions and/or tragicomic situations while in the middle of the street
Piggyback
Someone gives someone else a piggyback ride
Shamans & Talismans
Yellow paper talismans, written in calligraphic red ink; visits to a shaman for fortune-telling or body transfers
Son Hyeung Min
Mentions of Son Hyeung Min, or staying up to watch Tottenham Hotspur play
강한나 (Kang Han-Na)
The presence of Kang Han-Na makes everything at least 1 point better
내 친구 ("My friend…")
A character tells a story about "My friend" that is actually about themselves
한국어학교 (Language lessons)
Specifically linguistic wordplay, discussions about spelling, pronunciation, or Chinese root words