How Do You Know Kim Young Kwang?

As I worked my way through my annual re-watch of “The Secret Life of My Secretary,” I was struck yet again by the amazingness of Kim Young Kwang. He’s tall, he’s funny, and he’s super handsome! Read on for three excellent dramas you can enjoy watching this “Model Avenger” in.

1 – “The Secret Life of My Secretary”

My favorite genre of dramas will always and forever be romcoms with depth. On the surface, “The Secret Life of My Secretary” looks like a simple story about a company’s director who becomes afflicted with facial blindness and is dependent on his secretary’s help to vie for the company’s CEO position. But there’s more to it than that, and Kim Young Kwang does a brilliant job bringing Director Do Min Ik to life. He’s competent and arrogant in the beginning but melts quickly after the facial blindness kicks in. Rather than becoming bitter, Do Min Ik strives to cope with his ailment, and Kim Young Kwang does a great job of showing his determination as well as his softer, sillier side. What could have been a dark and dour role becomes deep and funny in his capable hands. I’m in the middle of watching the drama again because I loved it that much!

2 – “Mission: Possible”

On the surface, “Mission: Possible” is a wacky spy mixup movie with great comedic moments from Kim Young Kwang and his costar, Lee Sun Bin. Lee Sun Bin is a rookie Chinese intelligence agent sent to Korea to stop an arms smuggling ring with the help of a Korean NIS agent she’s never met. The mixup happens when she encounters Kim Young Kwang in the prearranged meeting location and automatically assumes that he’s the NIS agent, trusting him immediately with details of the mission. Kim Young Kwang is a bumbling private investigator, used to finding lost dogs instead of blocking incoming gun shipments, but he takes on the mission with a sense of confidence he has no right to have. The two “agents” end up as decent partners, but what kept me hooked was a shift in Kim Young Kwang’s character halfway through the movie. You’ll have to watch it to see what he does, but let’s just say he made the change believable and relevant to the story. I loved this movie so much that I re-watched it the very next day!

3 – “On Your Wedding Day”

So this is not a great way to start a recommendation, but “On Your Wedding Day” broke my heart. The thing is, though, it broke my heart beautifully. I can always recommend beauty! In this movie, Kim Young Kwang and Park Bo Young play friends who grow to become more over the ten years that they know each other after a fateful meeting in high school. Their relationship changes them, and Kim Young Kwang does a fantastic job of going from an aimless high school student to a focused college student to a contributing member of society. The emotional turmoil of their relationship is wonderfully laid out over a storyline that flows between past and present. Kim Young Kwang’s character grows and matures in a way that makes me cheer and roll my eyes and everything in between. 

And Many, Many More!

With Kim Young Kwang, you’re not limited to just these three projects. He has an IMPRESSIVE roster of dramas and movies under his belt, including the star-studded drama special “White Christmas,” which launched the careers of almost everyone in it. You can also find him in “Pinocchio,” “The Guardian,” “D-Day” (I’m watching that one next!!), “Room No. 9,” “Hello! Me,” and so many more. Tell us – how do YOU know Kim Young Kwang? What drama of his will you be watching next?

You can find “The Secret Life of My Secretary” fully subbed and ready to go right here on KOCOWA.