Oh Namgoong Min. What can I say? I love this man. He's a delightful actor. In Chief Kim, he plays Kim Sung Ryong, a former accountant for mobster types sort of turning over a new leaf. His character is smarmy and over the top and utterly lovable. This show is very much about corporate politics and corruption and the redemption of two men. I was a little bit worried that they were going to make it into a basic love triangle, but was actually really satisfied when that ended up not becoming the case. The second lead in this show is really Lee Jun Ho as Seo Yool, who starts out pretty darn despicable and rotten and is the foil for Namgoong Min's Chief Kim. Nam Sang Mi plays Yoon Ha Kyung, who thankfully ends up not being paired off with anyone. The plot lines and evil corporate shenanigans in this show are very often over the top in an almost makjang way, but just when it seems like this show is going to jump the shark, they reel it back in to the final, satisfying, rush to the finish line where the evil are punished, the good are rewarded, and the somewhat grey move forward with turning their lives around. It wraps up very satisfyingly and I was actually really pleased that it pretty much lacked a romance plot line. It didn't need one.
Even smarmy and over the top, Namgoong Min is pure joy to watch. I'm pretty sure he'd be on my list of actors that I'd pay to watch read the phone book.
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It is light hearted... but very SLOW in the beginning. It wasn't until episode 7 or so that I began binge watching episodes. Totally worth it.
It is an intentionally absurd comic made into a tv show. Bromance is STRONG with this one. The chemistry is present with every single person. If you want something warm, fuzzy, and absurd, watch this.
BONUS (or not): lots of accounting and economics talk! I LOVED it. It can get esoteric if you don't understand accounting, but that doesn't detract from the story.
No romance, btw! Pure fun!
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As someone who normally only watches rom-coms, this comedic business show is certainly outside of my regular preferences. The drama has the most amazing episode endings ... that kept me watching episode after episode, but in the middle of each episode there seems to end a bit of a lull. I was so happy to get to episode 16 and 17, where the bromance really starts to heat up.
The bromance between Nam Gung Min and Lee Jun Ho is of epic proportions. This Love Hate relationship is what keeps most viewers watching. The drama teases it throughout the series, but it really gains momentum from episode 16. I would venture to say that this drama is worth it just for the bromance and the comedy.
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Story:
The writing, how the plot was playing out and how they made a construct of problems and obstacles only to make the character's find a solution which is even more amaizing, surprising and especially: clever!; is what made me being glued to the screen.
Acting:
The actors... don't make me start on them! They did an amaizing job! The acting, especially from Nam Goong Min, captivated me to the extend that I forgot everything around me. Nam Goong Min did an amaizing job of delivering the comedy through facial expressions, way of talking and simple body movements (I have a folder on my computer which is Nam Goong Min's facial expressions only, I swear)
Music:
I don't remember the music that much but I remember that the athmosphere was captivating and on point throughout the drama. The music plays a huge role in that aspect and that's why there is nothing to complain about ^^
Rewatch value:
I can 100% see myself watching this drama again to enjoy the cleverness, unique acting and the overall feel it has!
Thanks for that drama!
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What happens when you introduce a thug with heart into a corrupt corporation? This is the premise of Chief Kim.
What made the drama shine? Rather than the story, the drama shined because all of its ingredients, the acting, the writing, the music, all came together beautifully like a wonderfully conducted orchestra.
This drama has one of the best depictions of love-hate bromances you will see anywhere in kdramaland. There are also multiple bromances and mentor relationships. It also has many characters who were fully multidimensional. Sometimes it's common to see only the main 2-3 characters be fully fleshed out in a kdrama. However, everyone in this drama has unique personalities.
No romance here, but it's really not needed. You don't always need romance for excellent chemistry to spark between cast members.
All of the comedic effects were on point. Be prepared for lots of laughs and simple enjoyment along the wonderful OST.
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This review may contain spoilers
DRAMA WITH THE BEST BROMANCE I’VE SEEN SO FAR :)
I started watching this drama because I was head over heels about Nam Goong Min after watching Hot Stove League, and I’m clearly not disappointed at all. I have to admit that the first 4 episodes are a little boring for me, but I made the best decision to still continue.The story wasn’t really new, but it was unpredictable. The actors and actresses were spot-on, even though I don’t think they’re quite popular, the funny scenes didn’t fail to make me laugh, and the bromance scenes didn’t fail to make me melt either. What I thought was really great was how the story could balance the funny scenes, the emotional scenes, the serious scenes and made it into a very great drama.
Overall, 9.5/10. The reason why I couldn’t give this drama a perfect score was because there are some scenes that could be portrayed more entertaining, and some scenes that could have a more suitable background OSTs. But, overall this drama is seriously recommended especially for Hottests and Nam Goong Min fans out there! ⭐️
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You may feel that there is nothing new in the firstlook. But once you started the first episode you will defenetly continue to watch till the finale. Such an outstanding enjoyabe drama.yes basically it deals with office problems company issues with some politics etc. But there is no boring elements or laging portions. Every bit of the episode was awesome.
Acting is the another factor .The title Character Chief Kim was the back born of this drama. Exceptional Acting.His attitude, behaviour,style, dialogue delivery, humour sense,eye contact such as everything was perfect and mind blowing. Some of the other characters are also just brilliant especially that three main lead lady characters.. very cute attractive and humurous acting. Brilliant overall screenplay and the real soul of the drama was the Orginal Sound Track with Beautiful mixing of background score.
Just try it everyone,20 episode with 1 hour per episode. Its not a usual drama it has much more elements which will surprise you even more
Enjoyed a lot
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You'll love Chief Kim!
Now THAT’S what I’m talking about! I had seen scenes of this show and I’ve read a few of the reviews. I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to like this show because 1) it’s not a romance; 2) I don’t care for over-the-top or slapstick comedy; 3) I don’t like when shows have a ton of villains. Since I’ve not recently had terrific luck with finding a fabulous romance, I thought I’d give it a try. This show was a pure joy from beginning to end. It had me laughing out loud one moment and in tears the next.WRITING/STORY: Extremely well-written. For me, there were no draggy parts (hard to find in K-dramas, unfortunately) and there was no “throw away” dialogue. Every word spoken had a purpose, which might be confusing at the moment, but it would be explained in later scenes. I loved how they used flashbacks – something would happen that didn’t make sense, and they would go back and show what had happened behind the scenes to lead up to that point. It’s hard to find a show, especially one with a cast this large, that has fully fleshed out characters, from the main leads, all the way through the supporting characters. I have to like the characters to really be invested in them and I was worried about the character of Chief Kim, because he was a con man and his facial expressions often seemed cartoon-ish. His character development was fun to watch. Watching him grow as a person, but also seeing how much he helped everyone that he worked with, how his co-workers gained strength from what they learned from him…it was so special. The writers did a great job of letting us delve deeply into each character, get to know them better, and then you can’t help but root for them. They were very three dimensional and completely developed. The humor was often very exaggerated, but it fit in very well with the story. There was A LOT going on in this show – multiple villains, and lots of accounting stuff – I have arithmophobia so that was kind of painful, but the journey was just so much fun.
ACTING: Everyone in this show was absolutely amazing, but I have to call out a few that were complete stand-outs for me. Most of the other actors I’ve seen in other shows, and they were so good in this. It was fun to see Kim Seon Ho and his dimples, as a bespectacled nerd, which was a change!
Namkoong Min as Chief Kim – I was so impressed with him. He completely owned the part of Chief Kim. He was funny, playful, eccentric, and yes, a little bit crazy. He would pull these faces that would have me laughing out loud. He had to display such a wide array of emotions, and when he wasn’t being goofy, his intenseness was spot-on. You could feel his confusion as he started to leave his old life behind and actually let others into his life. There’s a line early in the show about him “fake crying” because what he feels isn’t real. Later on, when he cried, it just about broke my heart.
Lee Jun Ho as Yool – now, here is a villain you love to hate! I’ll start by saying that he’s just so beautiful, I got a little lost in him every time he was on screen. I was hoping that he would redeem himself, and the way the writers handled his storyline was excellent. I loved watching how he reacted to the female lead – a hint of a romance that is never actually addressed. (If you haven’t seen him in Just Between Lovers, he’s excellent in that as well!)
Kim Won Hae as General Manager Choo. This is an actor that is normally used for comic relief. He was extremely funny in this, but we got to see so much vulnerability and caring from his character. I especially loved his scenes with Chief Kim.
MUSIC: At the beginning, the romantic songs just didn’t fit with what was going on, but later on they made more sense. I absolutely LOVED hearing the Descendants of the Sun music when one couple met for the first time, so funny!
REWATCH VALUE: There aren’t a lot of shows that I would re-watch, but I think I’ll watch this again in a couple of weeks. It might be fun to watch it, already knowing the end.
So, I can wholeheartedly recommend this show. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll love the characters, and you’ll be glad you watched.
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