“Jugglers” ~ Secretaries Might as Well Work in the Circus

“Jugglers” is a 2017 Korean drama TV series, with 16 episodes, categorized as Office/Workplace Romance and Comedy (Rom-Com).

SUMMARY: A secretary thinks she’s everything a secretary is supposed to be. But then she gets fired because she was accused of being something that she wasn’t: her boss’ mistress. Then she gets hired and whereas to do everything for her old boss, her new boss tells her not to do anything.  WHAT?  Who has a secretary who doesn’t do anything?

♦ Isn’t Being a Secretary the Same as Being a Juggler

In “Jugglers”, Jwa Yoon-Yi is the perfect secretary. At least she thinks she is. She is thoroughly convinced that her job is to make her boos look great! Because if he looks great, he will likely be promoted. If she proves that she is indispensable she will probably also get promoted. Over the years she has perfected the art of multitasking or as she describes her secretarial duties and responsibilities … juggling. When it comes to juggling, she’s the best! Not only does she perform the work that needs to be done at the office, but she does “ODA” tasks as well.

What is “ODA”? “Other duties as assigned. ODA could include:

• going out and picking up his clothes from the cleaners,
• attending family funerals and crying if necessary, and
• making up excuses to his wife for why he’s not answering his phone and assuring her that her boss is truly working hard (even if he isn’t).

Jwa Yoon-Yi is so close to getting promoted right along with her boss. Not only that but she’s proud of herself for being so proficient and efficient at making her boss look great! Incredible! All those years perfecting her jugging skills. She even forfeited her own love life to cover up her boss’ messy love life. Was it worth it? NO!!

Because she tried to cover for her boss having an affair, his wife mistakenly believed that she was the one having an affair with her husband. The wife publicly confronted her at a hotel restaurant with many eyewitnesses. Jwa Yoon-Yi tried desperately to explain that she was just a secretary but her words fell on deaf ears. Before she knew it, false and malicious rumors had been circulated at her job and she was unfairly terminated. Would she be able to get employment elsewhere?

♦ I Don’t WANT or NEED a Secretary!!!

Nam Chi-Won is a Managing Director in the Video Business Department at YB Ad. Regards his personal and private life, he is a bit of a loner and prefers not to socialize. Regards his professional life, he is excellent at his job. So excellent that he does not want or need a secretary. His boss thinks differently. So he hired a secretary, Guess who? Jwa Yoon-Yi.

Nam Chi-Won and Jwa Yoon-Yi have had close encounters with each other twice. On another occasion, he happened to be in the same place at the same time and witnessed her in an embarrassing encounter with someone else.

• Close Encounter #!: One day she was trying to get to work, fell on the streets, and he almost hit her with his car. He tried to get her to go to a hospital but she refused. She didn’t just refuse. She kicked him and said: “Now we’re even. You hit me and I hit you.” Then she ran off.
• Close Encounter #2: They saw each other at a funeral. She was pretending to be grief-stricken, crying, and saying consoling words that she didn’t really mean. It was all part of her juggling act. She noticed Nam Chi-Won and assumed that he was a male secretary and wanted to know if he was pretending not to recognize her. The least he could do was ask if she was OK. So he asked. Then she mumbled something about him saying consoling words that he didn’t really mean. He countered by repeating the exact consoling words he heard her say that he knew she didn’t mean.
• Witness to Embarrassing Encounter #3 with Someone Else: Jwa Yoon-Yi’s boss had a very jealous wife who had been trying to find out who he was having an affair with. Jwa Yoon-Yi lied to try to cover u her boss’ infidelity, not realizing that his wife would go a step further and verify the facts. Because she lied to her boss’s wife, the wife assumed that she was the other woman and publicly accused her. While yelling and screaming and yanking and shoving, Jwa Yoon-Yi lost one of her shoes. Nam Chi-Won picked up the shoe intending to give it to her, if he ever saw her again.

♦ We Meet Again?

Nam Chi-Won saw Jwa Yoon-Yi again. But not where he wanted to see her. She showed up at his office as his new secretary. Nam Chi-Won is livid! Who hired a secretary for him when he specifically said he did not want or need a secretary? Since it was his boss who hired her, he decided to try his best to work around her … away from her … without her …

Jwa Yoon-Yi was desperate to make a good first impression to prove that she was invaluable. He was not impressed. And yet, he invited her out to dinner. At dinner, he explained that he would like for her to NOT DO ANYTHING! The things she is doing or did are of no help to him. Her constant buzzing around him like a busy bee is a distraction that prevents him from getting his work done.

Jwa Yoon-Yi is confused. Bewildered. SHOCKED!! She has spent her entire professional career “juggling” because that’s what perfect secretaries do! Now her new boss is telling her that all the things she thinks make her the perfect secretary are just nuisance interruptions that stop him from getting his job done! He is asking politely for her to STOP!! DON’T DO ANYTHING!!

Jwa Yoon-Yi can’t accept this. Her boss must be wrong. Who has a secretary who does nothing? She thinks about her situation and understands that her first impression is not impressive. But should she really come to work and do nothing? She heard him mention at a meeting that there should always be a “Plan B”. So Jwa Yoon-Yi decides that she just needs to come up with a “Plan B” to become his perfect secretary.

Since Nam Chi-Won’s boss is the one who hired her, he invites both of them out to dinner. Jwa Yoon-Yi drinks too much and gets drunk, and Nam Chi-Won is obligated to take her home. There are two things he notices about where she lives. (1) She lives in the house where he suffered a trauma during his childhood and he is still trying to overcome it. (2) There’s a room for rent in that place, so he decides to move in, hoping that the surroundings will help him overcome his trauma. The secretary that he doesn’t want turns out to be his new landlord.

Perhaps he will overcome his trauma. But how will living so close to his unwanted and unneeded secretary affect the relationship that they don’t seem to have?

Main Characters:

• Jwa Yoon-Yi (played by Baek Jin-Hee, “The Real Has Come”, “Missing Nine”, “Jeon Woo-Chi”)
• Nam Chi-Won (played by Daniel Choi, “Today’s Webtoon”, “Ghost Detective”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 7.1 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 7.7 out of 10 stars
• Viki viewers rated this series 9.4 out of 10 stars

My personal rating is the same as the Viki viewers.

This K-drama was added to my watch list based on pure logic. I have already watched and reviewed “The Distributors” (2022), “The Swindlers” (2017), “The Thieves” (2012) and “The Player 1 and 2” (2018 and 2024). Might as well watch “Jugglers”. Right?

This adorable couple had great onscreen chemistry. No surprise they won the “Best Couple Award” at the 2018 KBS Drama Awards. Daniel Choi also won “Excellent Actor (mini-series)”.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Jugglers may have Juggled too much: A K-Drama Review | Crafty K-Dramas

“Jugglers” Remains in First Place in Korean Drama Ratings | Kdrama Kisses

K-Drama Review: “Jugglers” Jives Career Goals, Friendship & Workplace Romance | Hello KPop

“Jugglers” Takes First Place In Viewership Ratings For Its Time Slot | Soompi

TRAILER/TEASER:

Yellowdreams Xx. “Jugglers MV.” YouTube, 10 Jan. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIjZ_Ru4_Mk.