‘What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?’ reimagined with Pinoy humor, charm

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine adaptation of the 2018 South Korean television series “What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?” promises to be a showcase of Filipino culture while staying true to the original story.

Director Chad Vidanes and some of the cast members shared how the viewers will be able to relate to the Dreamscape Entertainment and Viu collaboration project that starts streaming today on the Viu app.

“As proud Pinoy, maraming nilagay ang writers namin and everyone involved sa pag-gawa ng Secretary Kim the Philippine version. Maraming Filipino touch such as (it’s) family-oriented or ‘yung mga comedy side,” began Kim who plays the titular role. 

“Actually, kapag pinanood mo siya side by side (with the Korean version), medyo parehas siya (sa original Korean TV series) pero ‘yung story namin is more Filipino kaya mas makaka-relate ‘yung karamihan.”

Phi Palmos is the cool, gay boss Walter Ignacio.

Kim’s leading man Paulo Avelino admitted to feeling the pressure of being part of an adaptation project “but what we did was to stick to the script and be true to our culture to show how well we can do it as Filipinos.”

Romnick Sarmenta plays Felix, Kim’s father. He represents a Pinoy patriarch who works hard for the family, seldom talks but is very observant. “He’s not usually warm but you feel that he cares a lot about his family,” Romnick described his character.

Kat Galang, who portrays the sister of Kim, described her character as “masarap yapusin” and family-oriented. “That’s why, the four of us — Kim, Cai, Nicko (Romnick) and myself — feel like we’re a real family (as Liwanag Family), very natural (acting). We really got each other’s back. I’m also a fun and crazy type of sister (in the series).”

Cai Cortez knew from the very start that direk Chad wanted the show to have a Filipino touch “and it becomes easy since we have the right chemistry and our closeness is visible on screen.” 

From left: Romnick Sarmenta, Cai Cortez and Kat Galang. — Photos from Dreamscape Entertainment’s Facebook page

Phi Palmos, who plays the gay boss Walter Ignacio, said that there is no gay character in the original series. “But here, I think as part of the LGBTQIA+ community and as an advocate, I’m really happy that they included a queer character because I think that part is very Filipino dahil ano po ba naman opisina sa Pilipinas na walang boss na bakla,” he said.

Direk Chad, for his part, stressed that Filipino culture is mainly about family. “Well, in the Korean drama series itself, it also has this aspect about family but here in the Philippines, sobrang iba ‘yung lalim (ng relasyon) at appreciation natin sa family natin. I think that’s what will truly stand out in the Philippine adaptation. Also, the work dynamics in office kasi iba naman ‘yung culture natin dito pag nagtra-trabaho.

“What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?” follows the story of Secretary Kim (Kim) and her narcissistic boss named Brandon Manansala Castillo (Paulo). He is smart, rich, and handsome yet so arrogant. Secretary Kim is perfect for Brandon but after years of working for him, decides to quit her job. What follows are overloads of romantic happenings between them until they fall in love with each other.

“This one’s gonna be different. If you are looking for something that can make you laugh and feel giddy, then this show is for you,” Paulo said. “Coming from heavy and serious characters, I’m happy to be given a chance to play a role like this.”

Kim added, “It’s a combination of kilig, romance, family, friendship, ambition and dreams. After you watch the show, feel-good lang, something to smile about. We promise them (viewers) that they won’t be disappointed.”