After we became fans of Kim Myung-soo (also known as L, after the Death Note character), we eagerly anticipated watching his new series, Royal Secret Agent.
He also starred in Angel’s Last Mission: Love, and was a supporting character in The Emperor: Owner of the Mask.
Royal Secret Agent Review
Royal Secret Agent finished airing only last week, so this is a new series. Try it if you’ve run out of shows to watch.
Plot Summary
Seong Igeum is a low/mid? ranking official in the Joseon government. Something happened in his past so he has lost his ambition and just spends his time gambling with the palace eunuchs and other officials. This is a no-no for government officials. One day, he was caught and ended up agreeing to take on the role of a Royal Secret Agent.
A Royal Secret Agent reports directly to the King, and is given a lot of power by the King to expose and arrest corrupt government officials.
Seong Igeum is assigned a mission to get to the bottom of what is happening in a certain town. Accompanying him are his servant, Chunsam (sidekick), and Hong Dain, a female police officer who has her own back story.
They go undercover to find out what is really going on. They find abuses of power which ultimately leads them to find out how bad the corruption really is and how horribly the common people are treated. Along the way, they are confronted by issues from their past and aim to find the truth about the conspiracy that happened 10 years ago. Everything is not as serious as it sounds – there is a lot of comic relief and lighthearted humor in their adventures 🙂
Number of episodes: 16
Review
I enjoyed this series. It shows the hardships common people go through, especially when those who are supposed to look after them abuse their power, but it doesn’t go too deep nor dwell too much on negative things. The tone is still light & funny. There isn’t much depth to any of the characters, but this isn’t that kind of K-drama. This is just light rom-com, but doesn’t focus heavily on the romance.
I wish they had given Kim Myung-soo more to work with — I’ve seen him act in The Emperor: Owner of the Mask, and the guy can act. The lead actress also does well in her role, but again, there are no heavy scenes for any of the actors to showcase their acting talent. The sidekick steals the spotlight sometimes ?
In terms of action – there are some fight scenes, but sadly, there’s no fancy, acrobatic, jaw-dropping action.
What this series does well is in the interaction of our endearing characters. We meet them individually, see them get thrown together by circumstance, and watch them bicker then become a team who work well together and care about each other.
The show isn’t very cliffhanger-y so you can easily pace yourself, but that doesn’t mean it’s boring. I didn’t feel that there were any draggy parts, nor did I notice any filler episodes. Also, the series doesn’t focus much on the romance, but does have some fun bromance moments.
As for the ending… I can accept that ending, but it wasn’t the one I had hoped for where they are rewarded with what I think they deserved. But overall, it’s okay.
Summary
Royal Secret Agent is an enjoyable series, light & fun, but not particularly memorable. It’s entertaining enough, so give it a go if you’re looking for something new to watch.
