Park Shin Hye’s fin-de-siècle office survival story has firmly captured viewers’ attention. Her undercover transformation from a 35-year-old elite financial supervisor to a 20-year-old entry-level employee delivered both sharp tension and comedy, heightening audience immersion.
The second episode of tvN’s weekend drama “Undercover Miss Hong,” aired on January 18, ended with a cliffhanger that brought Hong Geum-bo (Park Shin Hye) dangerously close to reuniting with Shin Jung-woo (Go Kyung-pyo). The episode recorded an average nationwide rating of 5.7 percent and a peak of 7.2 percent, confirming a clear upward trend. (Based on paid platforms including cable, IPTV, and satellite, Nielsen Korea)
Episode two depicted how Hong Geum-bo confronts the workplace customs of the era in her own way. On her first day at Hanmin Securities, she is casually addressed as “Miss Hong” and subjected to condescending treatment from her superiors. Yet she refuses to submit quietly, delivering moments of catharsis for viewers.
Particularly striking was the storyline involving her roommate Go Bok-hee (Ha Yoon-kyung), a highly experienced secretary who is belittled by college-educated colleagues because of her background and education. Witnessing this injustice ignites Hong Geum-bo’s anger. Their confrontation escalates into a physical scuffle, and Hong Geum-bo’s unintended “initiation” brings comic relief while drawing the two women closer together.
After being assigned to Hanmin Securities’ Crisis Management Division, Hong Geum-bo encounters Albert Oh (Jo Han-gyeol), whom she had previously met at a video rental store. His growing interest in her emerges as another unpredictable variable in the undercover mission.
The tension intensifies when the identity of the newly appointed company president is revealed. Following Kang Myung-hwi (Choi Won-young), the new president turns out to be Shin Jung-woo, Hong Geum-bo’s former lover. She is immediately placed in danger of having her identity exposed, casting a shadow over the entire operation.
Meanwhile, Go Bok-hee faces dismissal, and Hong Geum-bo is newly assigned as the president’s secretary. Determined to avoid confronting Shin Jung-woo directly, Hong Geum-bo devises a strategy with Go Bok-hee. She subtly uses her knowledge of Shin Jung-woo’s preferences and prepares a setup that allows him alone to answer Chairman Kang Pil-beom’s (Lee Deok-hwa) probing questions during meetings. As a result, Go Bok-hee successfully retains her position, and a fragile sense of camaraderie forms between the two women.
The relief is short-lived. It is revealed that Go Bok-hee has a suspicious employment history, having left every job after only one year, and that she was once reported for embezzlement at her former workplace. The shock deepens when it is discovered that she secretly possesses the slush fund ledger that Yeppi was supposed to deliver, delivering a powerful narrative twist.
Torn between trust and suspicion, Hong Geum-bo sneaks into the president’s office to obtain Kang Myung-hwi’s schedule records, only to find herself on the verge of encountering Shin Jung-woo. The episode ends with a suffocating cliffhanger, stopping just before her identity could be exposed and heightening anticipation for the next installment.
Through episode two, “Undercover Miss Hong” realistically portrays the contradictions and injustices of late-1990s workplace culture while tightly weaving together the characters’ past relationships and hidden secrets. Park Shin Hye’s emotionally grounded performance, Go Kyung-pyo’s solid screen presence, and Ha Yoon-kyung’s dramatic narrative reversal come together seamlessly, making the synchronicity between the characters and the actors shine all the more.
The third episode of “Undercover Miss Hong” will air on January 24 at 9:10 p.m.
Reported by News Culture M.J._mj94070777@nc.press
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