In the world of K-dramas, What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim has become a beloved classic, and luckily, there are several more romance K-drama series that are just like it. Released in 2018, What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim centers on a narcissistic CEO, Lee Young-joon, and his hardworking secretary, Kim Mi-so. After nine years of loyal work, Mi-so unexpectedly quits, turning Young-joon’s world upside down. As a result, he will do anything to get Mi-so to return, causing their relationship to grow more intimate than it ever had before.

The best K-dramas to watch after What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim are those that share the series’ best qualities. For one thing, What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim is a workplace romance. Therefore, picking out dramas that follow couples who work together is a great choice. Additionally, the stars of What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, Park Seo-joon and Park Min-young, have gone on to make other amazing k-dramas that are worth watching. For those seeking unlikely romances, these are the ideal K-dramas to check out.

10

Master’s Sun (2013)

Master’s Sun Is A Supernatural Romance

Released in 2013, Master’s Sun used the CEO romance trope long before What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim made it cool. This K-drama follows a cold-hearted CEO who forms a strange relationship with a woman who can see ghosts. When the woman realizes that her ghosts go away when she touches the CEO, she promises to help solve his girlfriend’s murder in exchange for staying near him. Despite their differences, they quickly learn to appreciate each other’s company.

Master’s Sun is a great follow-up to What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim because it has a similar romance at its core. Both series see emotionless CEOs putting their selfishness aside for an unlikely woman. Though Master’s Sun does not technically have the workplace romance trope, it makes up for it with a unique supernatural spin. By watching this K-drama, audiences can appreciate the joys of an enemies-to-lovers K-drama with a bit of murder mystery on top.

9

Business Proposal (2022)

A Workplace Comedy About Fake Dating The CEO

A K-drama that may be just as popular as What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, and for good reason, is Business Proposal. This romantic comedy series tells the story of Shin Ha-ri, who goes on a blind date in place of her friend and ends up in a fake marriage with her boss. Meanwhile, Ha-ri’s friend finds herself living beside a man who she is infatuated with but who wants to avoid her at all costs.

On its own, Business Proposal is an incredibly entertaining K-drama. It is a comedy of errors, with each character desperate to maintain their secrets and keep up their lies. Yet, without their permission, love blossoms and leads them to the truth, no matter how messy. Ultimately, Business Proposal has the same workplace romance element as What’s Wrong with Secretary Woo, but portrays it in a much sillier and chaotic light. It is a funny K-drama series that is equal parts funny and sweet.

8

Her Private Life (2019)

A Fangirl Fake Dates Her Boss

A year after Park Min-young portrayed Kim Mi-so in What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, she appeared in a new K-drama called Her Private Life. This series centers on Sung Deok-mi, a talented art curator who hides her status as a major fangirl. However, when rumors start to fly that Deok-mi is dating her favorite musician, her boss, Ryan, suggests they pretend to date to fend off his angry fans. Eventually, the relationship they are faking proves to be real.

Once again, Her Private Life offers a workplace romance, but with a distinct twist. Where What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim sees a pair of long-time colleagues fall in love after a years-long professional relationship, Her Private Life follows strangers jumping into a romantic relationship and developing feelings that way. Her Private Life has the additional excitement (and stress) of Deok-mi’s fangirl problems. All in all, this drama captures the magic of What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, but with an entirely different story.

7

Kill Me, Heal Me (2015)

A Struggling Businessman & His Therapist

This K-drama may have an odd premise, but it is more like What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim than it seems. Kill Me, Heal Me is a 2015 K-drama that follows Cha Do-hyun, a businessman who has dissociative personality disorder. Hoping to take control of his mental health, he enlists the help of a psychiatric resident. However, their relationship comes under fire when the resident’s twin brother starts trying to get dirt on Cha Do-hyun.

Similar to Master’s Sun, Kill Me, Heal Me explores the struggles of a CEO and his unexpected relationship with a woman who can show him a new perspective. However, what Kill Me, Heal Me caters to most is the emotional side of What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim. Though they are romantic dramas, the series both delve into their lead characters’ traumatic pasts. In this way, both series are dark, yet hopeful, along with being romantic.

6

Crazy Love (2022)

A Secretary Fake Dates Her Amnesiac Boss

Where What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim is fairly straightforward, dramas like Crazy Love have much more complexity to their premises. The 2022 series follows Noh Go-jin and Lee Shin-ah. After getting in a car accident, Go-jin pretends to have amnesia to avoid his responsibilities as CEO of South Korea’s top math institute. Meanwhile, his secretary, Shin-ah, takes advantage of his amnesia by pretending to be his fiancée, knowing her days are already numbered.

Like Business Proposal, Crazy Love has quite a quirky and chaotic concept, but that only makes it more fun to watch. Crazy Love certainly gives the workplace romance of What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, but it adds interesting dynamics via Go-jin’s fake amnesia and Shin-ah’s deadly diagnosis. While it is certainly enjoyable to see the pair fall in love, it is almost better to try and figure out how they are going to make it past all their lies.

5

Clean With Passion For Now (2018)

A Germophobic CEO & His Messy Employee

Released in the same year as What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, this touching K-drama has one striking similarity to the series. Clean with Passion for Now tells the story of a wealthy CEO who has mysophobia, yet develops feelings for his employee, who is messy to the extreme. Together, they overcome their cleanliness preferences and class differences in order to fall in love.

Just like What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, Clean with Passion for Now has the classic boss-falls-for-employee trope. In this way, their foundations are exactly the same. However, Clean with Passion for Now stands out, not only because of the CEO’s mysophobia but because of how the series handles it. The K-drama may be a romance, but it isn’t afraid to dive into class differences to explain how the characters are different. In this way, the show has as much substance as it has romantic fluff.

4

Fight For My Way (2017)

Four Friends Try To Get What They Want

Fight for My Way may seem nothing like What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, but the dramas actually have two major details in common. Released in 2017, Fight for My Way follows four friends who are attempting to get the jobs and the relationships they want, despite their immature ways. The friends try to overcome their pasts while also building the futures they desperately want.

First and foremost, Ko Dong-man is the K-drama character Park Seo-joon played right before What’s Wrong with Secretary Woo. Therefore, those who loved his performance should certainly check this out. More importantly, Fight for my Way shares a major theme with What’s Wrong with Secretary Woo. Just as the four friends are making strides to get what they want, Lee Young-joon must come to terms with wanting Mi-so. Both series show the importance of being true to yourself, no matter what traumas may hold you back.

3

King The Land (2023)

A Hotel CEO & His Best Hotel Employee Get Together

King the Land is just like What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, but add an inheritance war into the mix. King the Land focuses on a hotel CEO who is in the midst of a violent inheritance war. The situation is only made worse when he begins to butt heads with his hardworking and optimistic hotelier. As expected, these enemies eventually turn into lovers.

While many of the K-dramas on this list came out a few years ago, King the Land is the most recent. However, that isn’t the only thing that makes this series stand out. The hotel setting is actually one of the best parts of King the Land. Other workplace romances often take place in skyscrapers or corporate buildings, but this one has a much different feel. Yet, King the Land is still adjacent to What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim. King the Land’s strong, independent female character is exactly like Kim Mi-so.

2

Suspicious Partner (2017)

A Prosecutor’s New Intern Is A Murder Suspect

Romance may be a key factor in a romantic K-drama, but the plot is sometimes just as thrilling. In 2017’s Suspicious Partner, audiences follow prosecutor, Noh Ji-wook, and his prosecutor trainee, Eun Bong-hee. The two work together on a mysterious case of a serial killer, and in time, discover all the ways in which they are connected. However, their partnership turns upside down when Bong-hee becomes a murder suspect.

Suspicious Partner takes the workplace romance trope and flips it on its head. While the series certainly has its fair share of romance, the aspect that really makes the series shine is its murder mystery component. The stakes are higher than an average romance, and in turn, the relationship becomes so much more important. Plus, like What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, this series also includes details from the characters’ pasts which come into play in the present.

1

The Secret Life Of My Secretary (2019)

A Face-Blind Manager Depends On His Secretary

Finally, the K-drama that is an ideal follow-up to What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim is The Secret Life of My Secretary. This series follows the manager of a mobile company who loses his confidence when he becomes diagnosed with face-blindness. In desperate need of help to keep his company afloat, he enlists the help of his secretary, who he soon falls in love with.

The Secret Life of My Secretary not only has the CEO/secretary relationship, but it is also bursting with heartwarming moments. In both series, the CEO characters are proven to be not as strong as they previously thought, and their female love interests are able to help them find love and acceptance. Overall, audiences who loved What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim should most certainly add the K-drama The Secret Life of My Secretary to their list.