For some reason a "strong" FL in K dramas either means physically strong or hot headed; readily throws fits at the drop of a pin.
I loved your article, and I just love how a lot of K drama fans are paying more attention to stuff like this nowadays.
I don't want these dramas to completely drop the charms and the cliches, but I'd appreciate it if the females were a little bit less submissive.
This might be controversial, but one of my recent favorite FLs is the girl in Temperature of Love. I fail to see weakness in her character. She was just an ordinary girl in her late 20s. She acted goofy, had fun, she made good decisions and bad ones, she got sad and gloomy and broke down at times but who doesn't?
She was a girl who put her job first like any normal career woman and she didn't do the stupid thing where people constantly shat on her and she took it cuz deep down she had a kind heart or any of that bs they like to emphasize in K dramas. No! She stood up for herself and when she had enough she didn't force herself to go through added struggles. She wisely and sternly stepped down.
She was passionate and it really showed. She made mistakes and apologized for them with confidence. She was just so... dignified
She just acted like a freaking adult ok!
I'm so sorry I ended up rambling. But yeah I definitely agree with everything you said. We need more realism. If you wanna make a weak character at least make it believable that that's who she is as a person not just a "trope". Same goes for strong FLs.
Just more work should be paid to character development.
Solid drama. Jang Hyuk is phenomenal as always. Park So Dam is such a brilliant actress. If only that final cliche twist and the episodes cut didn't happen. Freaking lung donation are you serious.
One of the worst dramas I've ever watched. The leads are the only reason this drama became successful. As much as I hated it I can't deny how brilliant Lee Min Ho, Park Shin Hye, and Kim Woo Bin are as actors. But the plot and characters are absolute garbage.
Choi Shi Won in she was pretty gave me the severest of second lead syndromes ever. I've never rooted for a second lead so hard in my life. You've hit the nail on the head w/ that example
What has to bug me the most is the failure of dramas to produce a real strong female lead. I'm not talking physically…
Sister, say it louder for the people in the back.
I'm sick and tired of how it's always the male lead with all the money, brains, and power. And when he starts facing problems that's when the female lead comes in handy. To be all hugs and smiles and just "be there". Good house wife material, ya know.
They'll fool you into thinking she's got this career going on, but the truth is her work place is just another drag-by-the-arm pick up location where she could always be present at his convenience.
Chaotic af. Writers tryna fit every possible turn of event, doing anything and everything. It's not that it was difficult to follow, It was just straight up ridiculous. Trying so hard to prove something. I dropped it round ep7
Agree. The mother annoyed me but not as mich as the second lead. And at least with the mother there was a clearing…
Yeah I get that but still. Kang Doo had what can only be described as PTSD and he got over it over one night. ONE NIGHT! Ok, so receiving professional help was not an option but at least gradually ease him into healing or just coming close to it. Then there was the whole liver failure thing and I was like NO! Idk man. Different choices could've been made but they picked the cliche K Drama rout.
Women having absolutely no good relationships with other women like no friends, no siblings, no nothing. Just…
Don't even get me started. Even if she had friends, she doesn't complain to them, tell them her problems, or nothing. It's always like "what's wrong female lead!", " oh, it's nothing you guys. Let's go eat". (Reference: Weightlifting Fairy)
I'm talking best friends, childhood friends, sisters, ALL OF THEM. Characters that are there and depicted as the closest person to that lead but it's always bs.
If I got kissed randomly by my stupid snobby boss all of the sudden, hell yeah I'm telling the bestie first thing. Matter of fact I'll text her right in the middle of it since my eyes are wide open already.
And don't get me started on how everyone is basically shadows of the same character in all dramas. How the plot always got that same flow, how at times, the dialogue becomes predictable and shallow just for the process of leading the plot in that same old flow.
And how it's perfectly fine for the female lead to be dragged by the hand, yelled at and always be the weaker link that is misunderstood and at the receiving end of all the bs. But never fights back properly.
Speaking of fights. I've yet to see an actual representation of one. It's always like my turn, your turn, my lines, yours. I wish someday we'll be able to see that epic fight where people talk over each other and throw hands.
I've seen a lot of improvements in the kissing department, we're getting there. As for the phones thing I heard it's not that uncommon in Korea to be walking around with the latest installment, not sure about the details tho.
Clothes are where things become a little bit shady. In The Heirs, Park Shin Hay's character was supposed to be dirt poor, but she wore different shoes, bags, and jackets every day. I've also noticed that in a lot of other dramas. And going back to phones, I think it's a little bit weird too. Especially since the characters are usually built for us to believe they ain't got nottin.
Anw, recently I've seen a lot of dramas breaking out of the cliches and I hope this trend continues. Alot of them unfortunately fall under the popularity of other mainstream trends or popular cast.
for me was a disaster all her mother screen time, on top of complain and restraining her like a 12 Yo child to…
Agree. The mother annoyed me but not as mich as the second lead. And at least with the mother there was a clearing for her. She broke down but then she received treatment and stopped acting up. All of the main characters should've gone through a similar healing process
I loved your article, and I just love how a lot of K drama fans are paying more attention to stuff like this nowadays.
I don't want these dramas to completely drop the charms and the cliches, but I'd appreciate it if the females were a little bit less submissive.
This might be controversial, but one of my recent favorite FLs is the girl in Temperature of Love. I fail to see weakness in her character. She was just an ordinary girl in her late 20s. She acted goofy, had fun, she made good decisions and bad ones, she got sad and gloomy and broke down at times but who doesn't?
She was a girl who put her job first like any normal career woman and she didn't do the stupid thing where people constantly shat on her and she took it cuz deep down she had a kind heart or any of that bs they like to emphasize in K dramas. No! She stood up for herself and when she had enough she didn't force herself to go through added struggles. She wisely and sternly stepped down.
She was passionate and it really showed. She made mistakes and apologized for them with confidence. She was just so... dignified
She just acted like a freaking adult ok!
I'm so sorry I ended up rambling. But yeah I definitely agree with everything you said. We need more realism. If you wanna make a weak character at least make it believable that that's who she is as a person not just a "trope". Same goes for strong FLs.
Just more work should be paid to character development.
I always start chanting "get off, get off, get off!" But it's no use
I'm sick and tired of how it's always the male lead with all the money, brains, and power. And when he starts facing problems that's when the female lead comes in handy. To be all hugs and smiles and just "be there". Good house wife material, ya know.
They'll fool you into thinking she's got this career going on, but the truth is her work place is just another drag-by-the-arm pick up location where she could always be present at his convenience.
I'm talking best friends, childhood friends, sisters, ALL OF THEM. Characters that are there and depicted as the closest person to that lead but it's always bs.
If I got kissed randomly by my stupid snobby boss all of the sudden, hell yeah I'm telling the bestie first thing. Matter of fact I'll text her right in the middle of it since my eyes are wide open already.
I hope to live and see the day when that stops.
And how it's perfectly fine for the female lead to be dragged by the hand, yelled at and always be the weaker link that is misunderstood and at the receiving end of all the bs. But never fights back properly.
Speaking of fights. I've yet to see an actual representation of one. It's always like my turn, your turn, my lines, yours. I wish someday we'll be able to see that epic fight where people talk over each other and throw hands.
I've seen a lot of improvements in the kissing department, we're getting there. As for the phones thing I heard it's not that uncommon in Korea to be walking around with the latest installment, not sure about the details tho.
Clothes are where things become a little bit shady. In The Heirs, Park Shin Hay's character was supposed to be dirt poor, but she wore different shoes, bags, and jackets every day. I've also noticed that in a lot of other dramas. And going back to phones, I think it's a little bit weird too. Especially since the characters are usually built for us to believe they ain't got nottin.
Anw, recently I've seen a lot of dramas breaking out of the cliches and I hope this trend continues. Alot of them unfortunately fall under the popularity of other mainstream trends or popular cast.