Jugglers (2017–2018) User Reviews

If you liked "My Shy Boss" this has similar elements

[leahcubed · 8/10 · 22 October 2020]

8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2017/2018 romantic comedy television series that has 16, 60 minute episodes.

Jwa Yoon-yi (Baek Jin-hee) prides herself on being the perfect secretary even though her boss is too busy cheating on his wife to notIce. Like every secretary who tries to have their own life around juggling every aspect of their boss's, she looks happy on the outside but is stressed and miserable on the inside. When scandal breaks out around her boss, Yoon-hi is let go. Nam Chi-won (Choi Daniel) arrives at the company at about the same time as a super star new Director. While he is very skilled in business he is totally lacking in social skills which earns him a lot of enemies. One of those enemies, knowing Yoon-yi is desperate to get back to work pulls strings to bring her back on but as Chi-won's secretary. He figures he can plant a spy to bring Chi-won down. But he does not know Yoon-yi and her ability to make her boss shine. Hwangbo Yul (Lee Won-keun) is a 3rd generation chaebol who seems to have everything except many people in his life who truly care. He does not take work seriously and cannot keep a secretary because he is immature and unreasonably demanding. He has decided that Chi-won is cool and would make a good Hyung. Yul is also intrigued by Chi-won's secretary and in lieu of luring her away accepts her recommendation for a secretary who is Wang Jeong-ae (Kang Hye-jung) a single mother who was abandoned by her philandering husband and left penniless and desperate for a job. The problem is Yul has criteria for his secretary that would exclude Jeong-ae so she has to pretend to be her younger sister and not a separated housewife. Will this one of many secretaries be the one that makes Yul grow into the successful business person hiding deep inside? spoiler alert. I decided to watch this one because I had finished "My Shy Boss" (MSB) and was looking for other drama that had a male lead that was really shy or had similar personality issues. This one was recommended as having a cold and not very socially adept boss that was similar to the boss in MSB. Because of that I was a little concerned that the two dramas would be too similar. There was of course a love triangle in this, as well as a friend group, another side couple, and a Bromance or two. I like all those elements and really can't get enough of them played out in many different ways. What reduced my enjoyment about three quarters of the way through was a romance that was juvenile and over-the-top on cringe factor for me. I know that people can be sort of silly when they first discover they love each other but the age of the people in this just made that behavior seem out of place and it broke the fourth wall for me. Still if you like my shy boss I would say that this parallels in enough elements that you would likely enjoy this as well. Of the two I like my shy boss just slightly better but this one was a very close second for that type of movie. I recommend this for a romantic comedy that has workplace issues and a slice of life for the way secretaries supports high-level executive positions.

What I enjoyed the most

[prundlaps · 9/10 · 3 January 2018]

At first glance, Jugglers appears to follow the pretty standard setup of an office drama-elite boss, underdog secretary, quirky group of employees for comic relief. I expect that it will follow the familiar formula where the leads hate each other at first, are forced to work together despite their personal feelings, and over time learn to respect each other and eventually fall in love. That's not to say that it can't still be a lot of fun; I mean, formulas are formulas because they work. What I like most about this drama at first glance is the casting, and the way all of the characters seem to be people who know who they are and don't try to be what they're not. Yoon-yi puts on the stereotypical competent, loyal secretary mask while at work, but in her personal life she's messy, foul-mouthed, and slightly annoying even to her friends. Chi-won is, of course, her polar opposite: judgmental, overly cautious, rigid, and resistant to any social responsibilities. It's going to be entertaining to watch them clash, mostly because I think that Baek Jin-hee and Daniel Choi are nailing their roles so far, fully committing themselves to their characters' wide extremes. Yoon-yi, who is a fun mix of organized and hot mess. I understand the need to be super organized in your work persona, leaving nothing left when it's time to go home. She seems like the kind of person who is good at her job because she's dedicated and driven, but she's also prone to bursts of inadvisable emotion, where she lets her feelings get the best of her and acts out in ways that could be harmful to herself and others. Kicking someone who's showing concern for you, even if you're in a terrible hurry, is pretty awful, and I don't blame Chi-won for being disgusted when he witnesses her being insincere at the funeral, then turning around and demanding sincerity from him. Yoon-yi may be a competent secretary, but she's driven by her instincts instead of what's right, which is something she's going to need to fix. Chi-won seems to have a very centered (if overly rigid) moral compass, making his lackadaisical attitude towards his job feel very out of character. There's definitely some nepotism going on in this company, though I'm unsure yet exactly where everyone stands. Vice President Do's treatment of Chi-won seemed very fatherly, and Yul is obviously not a managing director because he earned the position. Why they're both working for YB Group, and why Chi-won in particular doesn't seem happy about it.

They didn't even try

[Park_Min · 4/10 · 8 June 2023]

A very bland and uninspiring office romance drama. Absolutely nothing stands out about it, not even the chemistry. The backstories were boring as well. They sprinkled a few side stories at the beginning but only gave attention to the main one while the rest ended up being neglected. Even the main couple's story ended up being underdeveloped. On a side note, it's another drama where they draw parallels with Kim Tae Hee for being the beauty standard. For the past 20-something years, Korean writers are still placing Kim Tae Hee as the benchmark of beauty and I still don't know why. Anyway, it's alright.

Good enough

[PennyReviews · 3/10 · 24 January 2018]

With all these fantasy dramas out there, Jugglers was kind of refreshing. At least, at first. The first episodes were funny and had some interesting scenes and events. The story seemed promising as well. However, and that probably should have been expected, the rest of the drama was kind of a disappointment, concidaring that there was no new element in it. Plus, I couldn't find the chemistry between the two leads that good, but at least it was good enough. The ending, finally, was so so, so all in all, 3 out of 10.