New Hit K-Drama Leaves Fans Unimpressed, As It Teases Clichéd Trope
Spoiler Alert
SBS‘s new K-Drama, Love Scout (also known as My Perfect Secretary), premiered recently and is quickly becoming a hit worldwide due to its fresh take on tired clichés.
A successful and confident woman (Han Ji-Min) is the CEO of a head-hunting company. To survive in the fiercely competitive headhunting field, she puts everything she has into her work. Outside of her job, she doesn’t know how to do anything. She has a secretary (Lee Joon-Hyuk) who takes care of pretty much everything for her. Unlike his boss, the secretary is friendly, well-mannered, and considerate of other people. He is a single father, who is also good at parenting and housework.
— AsianWiki
With its first three episodes, viewers praised the show for gender swapping a trope that has become cliché. Rather than a man portraying the coldhearted and arrogant CEO, Kang Ji Yun, with a tragic backstory, it is actually actress Han Ji Min (Our Blues and Behind Your Touch). In this story, actor Lee Joon Hyuk (Our Beloved Summer and Vigilante) portrays her friendly secretary, Yu Eun Ho, whom she ultimately falls for despite initially hating him.
#lovescout first ep was literally a breath of fresh air, be it the gender reversed roles or the unique profession of head-hunting i absolutely enjoyed it! lonely arrogant girl-boss CEO & calm collected single girl dad off to a rocky start….INJECT IT pic.twitter.com/ZBp1kG9PEo
— 𓍯 (@damibeen) January 4, 2025
female ceo with a painful past and a sunshine male single dad secretary who will heal her wounds? They really did a reverse of this cliche trope and I’m here for it #lovescout pic.twitter.com/R0FHNkUJSo
— 𝑑. (@lunamoon104) January 7, 2025
everytime i'd watch a show with a "lonely workholic male ceo with no colour in his life, no food in his fridge until he meets a female lead who brings colour in his life" plot, i always wanted to see a show where the roles are reversed and #LoveScout is just THAT show for me !! https://t.co/Vxm2PQOo3W
— yeobeen fans mumbai (@hiraikyung) January 5, 2025
While Episode 3 ended on a high note for viewers, as it provided another twist on a common K-Drama trope, Episode 4 disappointed some.
other kdrama couples VS #LoveScout couple pic.twitter.com/oEL7meO4BS
— daisy han (@kdramadaisy) January 10, 2025
the pinkfong umbrella !! 🤣😂 #LoveScout pic.twitter.com/nlhrI28jad
— daisy han (@kdramadaisy) January 10, 2025
THE ICONIC PINKFONG UMBRELLA!!! 🩷#LoveScout #LoveScoutEp3 pic.twitter.com/Rltic1jmMf
— daisy han (@kdramadaisy) January 10, 2025
While Love Scout has been commended for its fresh takes on overused tropes thus far, a recent episode concerned some.
In Episode 4, it was revealed that as a child, Eun Ho was in what was seemingly the same fire that killed CEO Kang’s father. Eun Ho briefly had flashbacks as fire trucks triggered him.
I have feeling that jiyoon's dad went to save eunho during the fire but he didn't survived😭, oh no the plot twist😱#LoveScout #LoveScoutEp4 pic.twitter.com/C28jqzZka9
— mir (@moonskzk) January 11, 2025
Viewers were shocked by the brief reveal. Yet, many were disappointed, as it indicated that the leads had been connected since childhood.
wait Kang Ji Yun's father died in a fire because he came back to save someone and now we found out that Yoo Eun Ho has a childhood trauma related to the fire🧐… will it be what I think it will be🤔#LoveScoutEp4 pic.twitter.com/L2Yj2tmg3V
— *🌙☀️ * (@winterboyksj) January 12, 2025
just read a theory saying that what if eunho’s childhood fire incident trauma is connected to jieun’s dad accident and that this is like a “fated, meant tobe” trope where they heal each other from the trauma they’re unknowingly connected to #LoveScoutEp4
pic.twitter.com/1ut1ZvOwBB— t (@gyjbws) January 11, 2025
Another basic K-Drama trope is the leads discovering they met or knew each other as kids and have long been connected. Viewers are tired of this, so if Love Scout goes this route, many will be disappointed.
still thinking about this…. like why would you add this past connection trope in between to this perfectly fine middle aged cute office romance thing that they have going on like is it necessary to have some childhood connection or something https://t.co/WzX3LfLj1P
— t (@gyjbws) January 12, 2025
oh no they are using this trope. seems like when Jiyun's dad went back into the building to save someone, and that someone is Yu Eunho? Eunho survived but Jiyun's dad trapped inside and passed away 🥲🥲
oh I can't imagine the angst when both of them found out#LoveScout… pic.twitter.com/rhXVuE2bPN
— daisy han (@kdramadaisy) January 12, 2025
kdrama writers really need to normalize two people falling in love without some forced past connection😭 like some strangers just meet and fall in love, no need to make it seem like they were ‘meant to be’ https://t.co/QPiMFlEP1c
— gee (@geeforfreedom) January 12, 2025
Despite this, many viewers are still enjoying the show, especially with Episode 4’s cliffhanger ending. Read more below.
New SBS K-Drama’s Most Breathtaking Pre-Kiss Scene Leaves Viewers Screaming
