Viewers like the way the show handles overused clichés!
Koreaboo
K-Dramas tend to be formulaic, which some viewers like, as they know what to expect from them. Many K-Dramas contain popular clichés, such as the rich CEO with a tortured past who falls in love with the colleague, enemies to lovers, and even the umbrella scene, which for many signals the beginning of growing romantic feelings.
Common Male Chaebol Core Tropes:
byu/ILoveParrots111 inKDRAMA
A new K-Drama contains all these clichés but with new twists.
SBSit’s the new K-Drama, Love Scouts (also known as My perfect secretary), debuted last week with its first two episodes. Rather than a man playing the cold, arrogant CEO with a tragic past, she is actually an actress Han Ji Min (Our blues AND Behind your touch). In this story, actor Lee Joon Hyuk (Our beloved summer AND Vigilant) plays his friendly secretary, who he eventually falls in love with despite initially hating him.
A confident and successful woman (Han Ji-Min) is the CEO of a headhunting company. To survive in the highly competitive field of headhunting, he puts everything he has into his job. Outside of his job, he doesn’t know how to do anything. She has a secretary (Lee Joon-Hyuk) who takes care of pretty much everything for her. Unlike her boss, the secretary is friendly, polite and considerate towards others. He is a single father, also good at parenting duties and housework.
— AsianWiki
With the premiere alone, viewers praised the show for its gender-swapping, a cliche turned cliche.
#lovescout The first episode was literally a breath of fresh air, whether it was the roles reversed or the unique profession of a headhunter, I loved it! Lonely and arrogant CEO, girl boss and calm and collected single dad, off to a rocky start… INJECT IT pic.twitter.com/ZBp1kG9PEo
— 𓍯 (@damibeen) January 4, 2025
Female CEO with a painful past and a solemn single secretary dad who will heal her wounds? They really turned this cliché on its head and I’m here for it #lovescout pic.twitter.com/R0FHNkUJSo
— 𝑑. (@lunamoon104) January 7, 2025
every time I watched a show with the plot of a “lonely, workaholic male CEO, with no color in his life, no food in the fridge until he meets a female protagonist who brings color to his life”, I always wanted to see a show in which the roles are reversed and #LoveScout it’s just THAT show for me!! https://t.co/Vxm2PQOo3W
— Yeobeen Mumbai fan (@hiraikyung) January 5, 2025
Love Scouts didn’t just stop at gender-reversed roles in providing a fresh take on K-Drama clichés. In episode 3, the protagonists also share a cute moment under the umbrella, which has become quite overused in K-Dramas. Yet, inside Love Scouts, the umbrella used belonged to the daughter of the male protagonist, also a single father.
other kdrama couples VS #LoveScout couple pic.twitter.com/oEL7meO4BS
— Daisy Han (@kdramadaisy) January 10, 2025
the rosafong umbrella!! 🤣😂 #LoveScout pic.twitter.com/nlhrI28jad
— Daisy Han (@kdramadaisy) January 10, 2025
THE ICONIC PINKFONG UMBRELLA!!! 🩷#LoveScout #LoveScoutEp3 pic.twitter.com/Rltic1jmMf
— Daisy Han (@kdramadaisy) January 10, 2025
Many found this scene captivating and hilarious. It was even enough to melt the female protagonist’s frozen heart!
And with that, Jiyoon’s frozen heart is finally starting to melt for you eunho🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠 they are so beautiful as they smile together so HUAAA#LoveScout #LoveScoutEp3 pic.twitter.com/I8rpee2OwG
— 🍑 (@peachyblume) January 10, 2025
THANK YOU pinkfong for being the reason Jiyun and Eunho laughed together 😭🫶🏻 this scene is everything to meee #lovescout pic.twitter.com/AHnTm2iWxA
— ocha (@segyuis) January 10, 2025
them catching feelings under the pink mist umbrella 😭😭😭 the production team needs a pay raise, it’s so funny 😭😭😭#LoveScout #LoveScoutEp3 pic.twitter.com/FF4U312FTB
— love scout brainrot (@sprinkleflakes) January 10, 2025
Thank you all Pinkfong (the company known for Baby Shark) for contributing to this iconic scene.
ice queen kang jiyun starts to soften and shows a big smile thanks to eunho’s genuine care and pinkfong umbrella 🫶🏻 #LoveScoutEp3 #LoveScout pic.twitter.com/fozoXVW3JA
— 🌳 (@sonyeoljin) January 10, 2025
What makes this scene even cuter and more endearing is the fact that Eunho is not ashamed of using the pinkfong umbrella 🩷. He was even discreetly showing off his daughter Byeol’s umbrella in front of Jiyoon 😂. Zero toxic masculinity detected!#LoveScout #LeeJoonHyuk #HanJiMin https://t.co/m2y0yGEzUy
— simply ayiena 💛🩵🌸 (@EpilogueQueen98) January 10, 2025
K-Drama continues to surprise viewers with twisted clichés.
I thought it was going to be a cliché scene and a classic “I can open the door myself” line but in the end kang jiyoon got to the wrong car (again) so he just had to stop her from getting in😭#LoveScoutEp3#LoveScout
pic.twitter.com/dbl599DwPO—anna. (@kdramacokr) January 10, 2025
Love Scouts airs every Friday and Saturday at 10pm and is available for international streaming via Rakuten Viki.
