For my thirty-fourth drama, I picked Protect the Boss 보스를 지켜라. Protect the Boss was a drama I've been wanting to watch, but didn't get a chance to watch until recently. Being a fan of the idol girl group A Pink, I was already familiar with one of the main songs that they contributed to the Protect the Boss soundtrack. Also, the two main leads, Ji Sung and Choi Kang Hee were guests on an episode of Running Man. I thought they were fun to watch and like many of the previous dramas I watched due to a guest appearance on Running Man, I wanted to watch Protect the Boss.
No Eunseol (Choi Kang Hee) has trouble finding her first professional job with a poor academic record. However, Eunseol has a lot of street smarts and a strong personality. Eunseol meets Cha Jiheon (Ji Sung) at a upscale business salon. Jiheon is the youngest son of a wealthy family who owns the elite DN Group. Jiheon has a lazy and immature personality. When Eunseol leaves, she bumps into Jiheon who drops his phone. When several gangsters chase after Eunseol, Jiheon is unintentionally dragged into her situation. Although Eunseol quickly runs away, Jiheon isn't able to get away, leading to a scandal that affects DN Group. Eunseol tries to look for a new job. She catches the interest of Director Cha Moowon (Kim Jae Joong), Jiheon's cousin, when she storms out of her interview with DN Group. Moowon hires Eunseol as a new secretary for DN Group. Little does she know, she would turn out to be Jiheon's personal secretary. Jiheon tries to get rid of her by being demanding but Eunseol's tenacious personality foils his plans. After several weeks, Seo Nayoon (Wang Ji Hye) returns to Korea to try and win back Jiheon. However, Jiheon begins to fall for Eunseol's persistant attitude.
There are a number of dramas I've watched that are similar to Protect the Boss as far as dramas revolving around a rich, immature guy who falls in love with the poor, down-to-earth girl. Eunseol's unique background of being a thug during her youth is the biggest factor for what separates Protect the Boss from those dramas. For one thing, it causes the pairing between Eunseol and Jiheon to be a comical relationship. Eunseol's interactions with Moowon and Nayoon's mothers are priceless. When the mothers plot against Eunseol, Eunseol and Myungran pull out one of their old tricks from their thug days. Normally, the main girl tends to be passive and just take all the yelling. However, Eunseol talks back to both mothers repeatedly. It always leaves a smile on my face when I see the surprised look on their faces when they see Eunseol's tenacity up close and personal. Nayoon was an interesting character in Protect the Boss. Typically in these dramas, Nayoon would take the role of the bad girl, trying to win back the main male character. In this case, it was true for only a few episodes. It didn't take long before I found her character to be funny too, in a different way from Eunseol.
One of the main reasons I picked up Protect the Boss was for A Pink's "Let Us Just Love 우리 그냥 사랑하게 해주세요". This is an upbeat song, characteristic of A Pink's pop music. As an A Pink fan, I was a little disappointed that they did not promote this song more. I think that I would be satisfied with just an official music video. Being a talented singer himself, Kim Jae Joong contributes to the soundtrack with "I'll Protect You 지켜줄께". There are also some songs featured in Protect the Boss that I felt might a fan would want to know. In one episode, Nayoon takes Moowon to a noraebang to help comfort him. Nayoon first sings Jin Joo's "I'm Alright 난 괜찮아". Moowon follows up by singing Shin Sung Woo's "Soft 서시" and Sung Shi Kyung's "You Made Me Impressed 넌 감동이었어". After he's passed out, Nayoon sings Baek Ji Young's "Don't Forget Me 잊지말아요" from the IRIS OST.
Protect the Boss is surprisingly one of the funniest dramas I've ever seen. The drama also ends well without any crazy, unexplained plot twists. In other words, the flow of the drama is consistent from start to finish and leaves the viewer with a smile. I highly recommend this drama, as the story is suitable for any audience. Protect the Boss covers some issues that could easily shown in a very serious context. Yet, from start to finish, the drama keeps consistent to its genre as a romantic comedy. The actors and actresses fit very well with one another, no doubt because they are all experienced. Protect the Boss is one of those dramas that seem typical at a glance, but is actually a really good drama to watch.
