Kdrama Review: Protect the Boss (AKA everything I love in a kdrama!)


After a couple of moody, intense, recently-aired dramas, I decided to watch something funny from a few years ago. Thus, “Protect the Boss”!

Has anyone else noticed that 2011 was a ridiculously good year for kdrama?? “City Hunter,” “Dream High,” “Secret Garden” (technically a 2010 drama, but it finished in 2011), “Heartstrings,” “Protect the Boss”… All of the dramas in my top five are from that year (except for “Heirs”). Maybe I should just watch all the dramas from 2011… What was I doing back then, anyway? Oh yeah, college – studying and not enjoying hilarious, heart-warming, Korean TV.



Anyway, “Protect the Boss”: Chaebol Cha Ji Heon (I know, another heir) is an OCD slacker who avoids work and can’t keep a secretary. His cousin and rival for the company, Cha Mu Won, hires an unqualified but determined Noh Eun Seol to be Ji Heon’s new assistant. Perfect setup for a love triangle. An ex-girlfriend eventually shows up, and we’ve got an even more comical love quadrilateral. Supporting characters include Ji Heon’s father Chairman Cha, also known as the Gangster President, and Noh Eun Seol’s best friend and cohort, Miss Wrestler Lee Myung Ran.

Coming off of “Heirs,” I couldn’t help but compare the two dramas a little. They both have some stereotypical themes – the rich guys, the poor girls, the disapproving parents, the company politics, the male leads that don’t want to inherit their fathers’ jobs, yadda yadda. But each show tackles these commonalities in completely different ways. “Heirs” is a drama (as in the genre) and “Protect the Boss” is a romantic comedy. So when faced with a disapproving-chairman-father once again, instead of mourning dysfunctional families, I laughed. Hard. Because “Protect the Boss” is freaking hilarious.

Like, when Noh Eun Seol is determined to keep the best paying job she’s ever had, and Cha Ji Heon is determined to make her quit. Or when Chairman Cha beats his slacker son in the company elevator while their secretaries frantically block the CCTV with their folders. Or when both Mu Won and Ji Heon fall for Noh Eun Seol, intensifying their competitive relationship and causing mothers everywhere to faint while Eun Seol coolly refuses both of them. HA! I could go on with the comical situations, but I don’t want to give away too much!

The humor in PTB reminded me of why I started watching kdrama in the first place. Actually, a lot of things in PTB felt “classic kdrama” to me, making me smile. I can’t think of a character who wasn’t funny. I actually liked the two lead characters and the main romance, and didn’t have to rely on short moments with side characters to keep me going. Noh Eun Seol is the definition of Strong Female Lead, with not only the ability to kick butt, but also the decisiveness to not get jerked around in a relationship. So much to love!!

PTB was a breath of fun, lighthearted, fresh air after the other dramas I’ve seen lately. On the other hand, both second male lead (Mu Won) and second female lead (ex-GF Seo Na Yoon) felt a little flat to me. As in they didn’t have tons of personality, thus they weren’t any serious threat to the main romance in my mind. Once I realized that Na Yoon’s purpose was comic relief, I enjoyed her character more. I found Mu Won most interesting when he was competing with Ji Heon; otherwise, I was distracted by the fact that all his suit jackets make him look too skinny.

Annnnd that’s my only critique. PTB was a lot of fun! I definitely recommend it!

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