I love TW-dramas so much! Great article but you missed mentioning Marcus Chang and Jasper Liu and Derek Chang! (Not to mention Ivy Shao!) There are so many wonderful TW-dramas - too many to list here. I just recommend everyone find one and try it out. I personally like the newer dramas, (post-2015) but to each their own!
Sometimes they pull it off and sometimes I pretend the characters they are playing are older as in TROP. Two actresses…
I agree with everything you've said here, except about PMY in When the Weather is Fine - I think she pulled off being a high schooler just fine there. But I actually agree a lot that we need to have well-written stories for well-developed older characters.
So there are exceptions to everything, and that's true here too. I (generally) agree with your premise that older actors get cast for and can play a wide range of ages and are often the best fit for their roles because of their experience, etc. And older actors who are still young-looking can often pull off playing teenagers as well as older characters. But I want to highlight the exceptions to the article's premise. (And I should say first that I'm only writing about male actors because I started there and ran out of time - there are plenty of amazing young female actors too.) Starting with K-dramas: There are two former child actors who come to mind immediately as two of the best in the business, 1) Yoo Seung Ho is finally 27 now, but he was 18 when he starred in Warrior Baek Dong Soo and was practically the only saving grace for that mess of a drama. He was so absorbing and so magnetic that I couldn't take my eyes off of him every time he was on the screen. He rarely said anything out loud, and he didn't have to - his eyes and inner monologue was that strong. He was better, (in my humble opinion), than the other ML, Ji Chang Wook, who was 24 then.
Interestingly, that brings me to the next example: 2) Yeo Jin Goo is just now 23, but was only 14 when he played the young Baek Dong Soo in the aforementioned drama. He was a truly gifted actor already, at that young age, and that has continued through lots of years already. His work in Hotel Del Luna, at 23, was phenomenal.
For Japanese doramas, many incredibly skilled actors are still in their early to mid twenties. *Nakao Masaki (Kakafukaka) is 23. *Takasugi Mahiro (Takane to Hana) is 24. *Shison Jun (You're My Pet) is only 25, and he's one of the best actors out there. *Sugino Yosuke The Flower and the Beast is 25. (On the flipside, Sakurada Dori could pass for a teenager - and often does - but he's actually 28. )
Lastly, for C-dramas, which is what your article is about. There are two very notable exceptions here! Song Wei Long, who is only 21, has already been mentioned in the comments, and hopefully has a long career ahead of him. He's lovely and quite talented. But Xing Zhao Lin is only 23, and he is a FORCE OF NATURE. His work in You Are My Destiny was a thing of beauty to behold, not to mention his ability to pull off multiple characters (and even time periods) at the same time in The Eternal Love I, II (and III is coming soon thankfully.)
I'm just grateful we, the audience, gets to avail ourselves of all this amazing talent, no matter what ages the actors are. Thanks for your article.
Personally when actors are closer to the age of the role- early 20's , I find it hard to believe their emotions…
I used to dislike when the ML is much older than the FL and find it creepy as well, but lately I've noticed that I'm more resigned to just let it be. Love it love - when it's mutual, not imbalanced, and not abusive or abused by too much power on either side. And I really like noona romances though, so I'm certainly ok with some age gaps, and I liked the chemistry between the main couple in the recent Dating in the Kitchen.
I have to say that I didn't know that about Kim Ki Duk, as I haven't really followed his work nor his public life.…
I refuse to watch any Woody Allen or Roman Polanski films for these very reasons. I hear you and feel the same about being able to stop appreciating the art of someone who might be a genius but is a repulsive human being. (And don't even get me started on Trump...)
Great article! My two cents: Gu Dong Mae...oh my broken heart Joo Wal (Tale of Arang - my Yeon Woo Jin) Lee Joon Gi in whatever he's in Kim Bum in Tale of the Nine Tailed
I love all of these! I would add: Aaron Yan and all of his leads....just more Aaron Yan, please. Same with Yeon Woo Jin. Just more. Ji Chang Wook and Park Min Young (more Healer goodness) Lee Seung Gi and Ha Ji Won (King2Hearts) I'd love to see them both now that they're older Yoo Ah In and Im Soo Jung (more of their fiery chemistry from Chicago Typewriter) and Wayne Song and Huang Juan Zhi.....and we may get our wish!!! https://kisskh.at/71407-history4-make-our-days-count-2
"The typical female lead in current K-dramas is usually an unfeminine mean woman with narcissistic traits who…
Nope, never said that. I've been trying to say that female characters can be whatever they want or need to be to fit the moment, the situation, the time period, etc, etc, etc and they don't need to ask permission or apologize for being loud or mean or aggressive or whatever pejorative traits you seem to want to assign to female behavior. Also, female (and male characters) can exhibit many different behaviors in a single drama and still be fully human and authentic. A female character can be loud and brash and mean sometimes and sweet and kind other times - because that's how humans are.
I didn't think it was possible, but I actually disagree with EVERYTHING you have said here. You seem to be making the same argument again and again, that "feminine = quiet and sweet and nice" and "masculine = mean, loud, aggressive, etc." I call BS on that. First of all, women and female characters don't have to be likable or ask permission of men (or other women) to say what they need to say as characters and to still have inherent worth as characters (and human beings.) In the long run, it doesn't really matter if men think these female characters are unlikable because the characters are there to tell a story - the writers, directors, actors, and crew have put them in that place to tell a specific story in a specific time. And there are a million different ways to tell a story, no matter if you are male or female or transgender or genderqueer or anything in between. Human beings are way more complex than how I think you are portraying them to be here.
But this is what irks me the most about what you said. Who are you to say what's "attractive" or not in a female (or male) character? And who says that only "lowly men" are mean and loud and aggressive? Who gets to decide that? If certain female characters have had a thousand years of trauma and heartache and disappointment and grudges (Hotel del Luna), for instance), then it wouldn't make any sense if they acted out of character.
"The typical female lead in current K-dramas is usually an unfeminine mean woman with narcissistic traits who…
Also, please explain how the FL in Witch's Court was anything but what she needed to be. She dealt with sexual crimes all day long. Or The King: Eternal Monarch - she was a police officer. I'm curious.
As a feminist, I say the word "feminine" with the highest and utmost respect, so I'm not sure where this is coming from. I was responding to the OP here who said , "Fortunately, romcoms' female leads are not always like that" "that" meaning loud, obnoxious, mean, etc, etc. And I took issue with THAT, frankly, because we all know that rom-coms have availed themselves of certain tropes, which have included an overly naïve, (bordering on stupid sometimes), woman who has to always be sweet and kind as her supposed lover walks all over her. And I was partly asking for some clarity about that statement.
I will repeat myself here and say there is a lot of room between feminine and masculine - it's a huge spectrum and I made a point to the OP about how I didn't agree with their representation of those two concepts. So I'm not the one who's going to think that a female is acting masculine when they're badass. I don't really understand your last statement actually - of course a woman can be feminine and badass...that was my entire point.
And what's wrong with a female character being loud??! You're darn right I'm going to praise those characters for being loud when they want to be loud, because they've probably been told, like I've been since I was a child, that they're TOO LOUD and as an adult, they can finally be what they want to be, and maybe that's too loud, and maybe that's aggressive, and maybe that's not being nice - to anyone, including men, God forbid.
I'm not sure you're understanding my original point, and I hope I cleared it up a bit. If not, I can try again later.
1 
There are so many wonderful TW-dramas - too many to list here. I just recommend everyone find one and try it out. I personally like the newer dramas, (post-2015) but to each their own!
Starting with K-dramas:
There are two former child actors who come to mind immediately as two of the best in the business, 1) Yoo Seung Ho is finally 27 now, but he was 18 when he starred in Warrior Baek Dong Soo and was practically the only saving grace for that mess of a drama. He was so absorbing and so magnetic that I couldn't take my eyes off of him every time he was on the screen. He rarely said anything out loud, and he didn't have to - his eyes and inner monologue was that strong. He was better, (in my humble opinion), than the other ML, Ji Chang Wook, who was 24 then.
Interestingly, that brings me to the next example: 2) Yeo Jin Goo is just now 23, but was only 14 when he played the young Baek Dong Soo in the aforementioned drama. He was a truly gifted actor already, at that young age, and that has continued through lots of years already. His work in Hotel Del Luna, at 23, was phenomenal.
For Japanese doramas, many incredibly skilled actors are still in their early to mid twenties.
*Nakao Masaki (Kakafukaka) is 23.
*Takasugi Mahiro (Takane to Hana) is 24.
*Shison Jun (You're My Pet) is only 25, and he's one of the best actors out there.
*Sugino Yosuke The Flower and the Beast is 25.
(On the flipside, Sakurada Dori could pass for a teenager - and often does - but he's actually 28. )
Lastly, for C-dramas, which is what your article is about. There are two very notable exceptions here!
Song Wei Long, who is only 21, has already been mentioned in the comments, and hopefully has a long career ahead of him. He's lovely and quite talented.
But Xing Zhao Lin is only 23, and he is a FORCE OF NATURE. His work in You Are My Destiny was a thing of beauty to behold, not to mention his ability to pull off multiple characters (and even time periods) at the same time in The Eternal Love I, II (and III is coming soon thankfully.)
I'm just grateful we, the audience, gets to avail ourselves of all this amazing talent, no matter what ages the actors are. Thanks for your article.
Also Reply 1988 and Hwarang and Chief Kim and Goblin and Melo is My Nature.
Gu Dong Mae...oh my broken heart
Joo Wal (Tale of Arang - my Yeon Woo Jin)
Lee Joon Gi in whatever he's in
Kim Bum in Tale of the Nine Tailed
Aaron Yan and all of his leads....just more Aaron Yan, please. Same with Yeon Woo Jin. Just more.
Ji Chang Wook and Park Min Young (more Healer goodness)
Lee Seung Gi and Ha Ji Won (King2Hearts) I'd love to see them both now that they're older
Yoo Ah In and Im Soo Jung (more of their fiery chemistry from Chicago Typewriter)
and Wayne Song and Huang Juan Zhi.....and we may get our wish!!!
https://kisskh.at/71407-history4-make-our-days-count-2
First of all, women and female characters don't have to be likable or ask permission of men (or other women) to say what they need to say as characters and to still have inherent worth as characters (and human beings.) In the long run, it doesn't really matter if men think these female characters are unlikable because the characters are there to tell a story - the writers, directors, actors, and crew have put them in that place to tell a specific story in a specific time. And there are a million different ways to tell a story, no matter if you are male or female or transgender or genderqueer or anything in between. Human beings are way more complex than how I think you are portraying them to be here.
But this is what irks me the most about what you said. Who are you to say what's "attractive" or not in a female (or male) character? And who says that only "lowly men" are mean and loud and aggressive? Who gets to decide that?
If certain female characters have had a thousand years of trauma and heartache and disappointment and grudges (Hotel del Luna), for instance), then it wouldn't make any sense if they acted out of character.
I will repeat myself here and say there is a lot of room between feminine and masculine - it's a huge spectrum and I made a point to the OP about how I didn't agree with their representation of those two concepts. So I'm not the one who's going to think that a female is acting masculine when they're badass. I don't really understand your last statement actually - of course a woman can be feminine and badass...that was my entire point.
And what's wrong with a female character being loud??! You're darn right I'm going to praise those characters for being loud when they want to be loud, because they've probably been told, like I've been since I was a child, that they're TOO LOUD and as an adult, they can finally be what they want to be, and maybe that's too loud, and maybe that's aggressive, and maybe that's not being nice - to anyone, including men, God forbid.
I'm not sure you're understanding my original point, and I hope I cleared it up a bit. If not, I can try again later.