Hanah

That's very fair. Japanese dramas are by no means perfect. Tbh, my watching experience is not as extensive as yours but please try:
- Asadoras, as I've mentioned above. Asa ga Kita is my favorite to date and although I haven't finished it yet, I liked Beppin-san too. I am currently watching Natsuzora.
- Nagi's Long Vacation

I also just finished episode 3 and had the exact same thoughts regarding the treatment of female characters - so glad I found your comment which put into words my fury and disappointment for what is supposed to be an extremely hyped show that many have liked over Squid Game. As much as I enjoy the suspense and game set-up, not motivated to continue because of this disparaging inequality.

As to the comments above, I really cannot comment on Japanese or Korean culture/society irl but as an Asian avid drama watcher, Japan (intentionally or not) does a pretty decent job writing female character and even surpasses SK/China in some ways. In fact, many times J-dramas are my go to when I want well-written, nuanced female characters. Their Asadoras would be my prime example. So yeah, it's this specific drama I have a bone to pick with.

I agree, that is a really good way to put it and makes complete sense! This is how he has been his entire life and it would be hard to change these habits/perpetual lying. I think that time skip you mentioned would have been most excellent - much, much better than than somewhat Boys Over Flowers last-minute amnesia plotline they went with (just my opinion).

I think the reason I was so triggered is that I see this exact same set up, male lead hides things/keeps FL in the dark in order to protect her. In this case, as you and @Suki so eloquently pointed it out, the drama writer chose a very thoughtful, character-driven way to incorporate it. In the majority of other dramas, it's just portrayed as this ultra-romantic gesture that turns the FL into this passive, damsel-in-distress character when she is actually note.

I appreciate your thoughts and insight! I definitely agree with you with him being able to show emotions once he drops his guard in front of Ji Won. Personally, I was not very frustrated with him making mistakes due to feel due to being human/having emotions. It was continuing to keep secrets and not trust Ji Won even after he drops his guard and opens up to her.

I am so incredibly fed up with Hyun-Soo right now. He is supposed to be this somewhat (or highly?) intelligent character that is good at manipulating people's emotions. But right now, forget acting highly intelligent - he's being a complete idiot, reckless and kind of arrogant

Hyun-Soo keeping secrets (again) from Ji Won in ep 11 and instead confiding in her male senior in a display chauvinism and utter lack of trust is strike one. I felt Ji Won's pain quite strongly, especially because just spent 11 episodes showing how much she trusts Hyun-Soo. The couple jumping the gun and going to the Baek's house before waiting until YGS is arrested was dumb on everyone's part but it was more-or-less Hyun-Soo's idea so that's like another half strike.

But Hyun-Soo running off in the middle of the night after getting a threatening phone call without telling anyone and then hiding it from Ji won (again again) is so incredibly stupid it's another 1.5 strikes which makes it 3 strikes. Like WHY would you do that?

It really REALLY bothers be how Hyun-Soo is continuing to hide things from Ji Won. First of all, she is his wife. She has shown him time and again that she loves, trusts and believes in him, even when he does not believe in himself. And second of all, she is a police officer - it is literally her job to deal with these things (as she stated to him herself). Does he think he is better than licensed professionals or something?

Honestly though, the way the writing has been for the past 1-2 episodes, I cannot tell if this some character flaw they are going to use to create development or if this is standard kdrama/asian drama 'trying to make the male lead cool and savior-like and the female lead passive and needing to be protected' tropes at play

So I am on episode 13 and I need to vent:

Just started watching this. The concept is nice but the plot is subpar. The drama seems more about having specific scenes than an overarching plot . Even though it tries to tackle topics like academic life and mental health, the story-writing is so contrived that it feels very superficial. The acting, though, makes up for it and I really like the characters as I have a soft spot for reserved female leads and puppy male leads lol. I would say watch it if you are looking for specific tropes or something to casually or mindlessly relax to.

Realizing I already commented so just adding to my initial thoughts:

Han Go Woon: Seo Jun's sister faces the same issue as our female lead but reacts to it in a very mature and enlightened method. I know it is not fair to compare trauma and all but it basically negates Ju Kyung's struggle and makes it much harder to be sympathetic of her.

Soojin vs Ju Kyung: body image issues, insecurity and anxiety are very real. This is especially so for teens, who are going though pubertal changes, hormonal fluctuations and peer pressure and influence. So what Ju Kyung goes through it something many teens (or adults) go though, including ourselves or people we know. Soo Jin's struggle, on the other hand, is very poor-little-entitled-rich-girl and cliché. So WHY then, is Soo Jin as a character, so much more sympathetic and endearing to me then Ju Kyung? I don't condone what she does later but my heart aches for Soo Jin

Weirdly, I think all the Extraordinary You references have a negative impact. It keeps making me think 'this is just a drama' and it adds to the feeling (that I already have) that things are going a certain way just because the writer wanted it to. Ju Kyung is the female lead only because only because the drama-writers said so. Everything feels cliché and very inorganic.

This is spot-on. I'm stalled halfway and reluctant to continue. I went in knowing this was not going to really address self-love/body image issues but even as a mindless, fluffy romcom, the story seems lacking for all the reasons you mentioned above.

Hmm, agree to disagree. IMHO, Hye Ran is someone who struggled extremely hard to rise to success. Yes, she probably is something I personally would have a hard time getting along with irl. But I have all the respect and admiration for her as a well-written and complex female character, one drama-land needs more often.

As for her lying/blackmail, they 100% do it to themselves. If that person didn't do something wrong in the first place (i.e. if Han Ji won never went after a married man), they would never have gotten in trouble. Outside of Hye Ran's doing, the drama makes sure this rule (getting punished for doing bad things) applies to all the characters, be it Hye Ran, Tae Wook, Myung Woo, Ji Won, Eun Soo or the prosecutor.

And for your last statement ("the entire man selflessly sacrificing and protecting the woman"), my whole point is the opposite. It is NOT selfless at all. In fact, it is entirely selfish being done only out of pride. And not only was it selfish, it did not help Hye Ran at all - it made things even worse for her. This applies to both Myung Woo and Tae Wook.

This is an excellent and well-written article. Funnily enough, it's something that was just being discussed on the forums (https://kisskh.at/discussions/korean-dramas-movies-variety-shows/64637-for-real-why-are-k-dramas-so-popular?page=1). I coped my response in that forum here cause I have the same thoughts:

'What I came to notice about the Korean adaptations and K-dramas in general is that they seem to market to a more global audience. They invest more on production quality and hardware. Many titles are in English. The genres and plot lines are more general. In short, Korean dramas are more "basic". I don't mean that in a bad way - you have to be well-known to even attain basic status.'

And I think explained it perfectly on good vs bad. A lot of people started watching Asian dramas on purpose (especially in the West) because they wanted something different. To them, K-dramas starting to become more like Western means a loss of the initial appeal. To others, the globalization brings a sense of relatability (and to a certain extent, accessibility)- something older Kdramas and J-dramas cannot offer.

I think one interesting theme this drama explores is gender norms, the idea of men as protectors and passivity of women. Kang Tae Wook states, from the very beginning, his actions are to protect Hye Ran. While a portion on that may be true, we end up seeing a lot of that was to protect himself and, more importantly, his pride. It's something Ha Myung Woo brings up specifically and the reason why he keeps a close eye on Tae Wook.

Myung Woo admits himself is another male character that strives to protect Hye Ran. In fact, I feel like every other word he says is 'protect' lol. But we can interpret that his 'protection' did way more harm than good. I initially though the revelation from 19 years ago was the Hye Ran actually killed the guy and Myung Woo took the blame. Who would have thought Myung Woo just sort of rushed it and did that without even thinking about it. He was quite right about his self-reflection and the reason why he did what he did 19 years ago was not love, it was "a man's unless pride." If only he just listened to Hye Ran.

Which brings me to the passivity of women. It feels like all these guys think their job is to be Hye Ran's protector but Hye Ran never wanted a "protector". She just wanted her voice to be heard and for someone to listen and believe in what she was saying. More than her husband defending her, he just wanted her to believe her saying it wasn't her (which, in retrospect, he should have totally agreed right off the bat since he obviously knew it was not her). If both men had just listened to her, things would not have turned out the way they did.

The drama brings up a great point in addressing this, but I feel like they back-track by what they do at the end. Having Myung Woo cover the blame has him play the 'protector' role again and robs Hye Ran of her voice and opinion, for the determent of everyone's path. I genuinely feel husband and wife would have felt more at peace and able to find catharsis if the true criminal confessed and paid his due. Now, she is left with lifelong unhappiness and most likely a widow to boot.

I think a lot of dramas tend to have this protector-men, wait-to-be-saved women. A knight is shining armor is never a bad thing, but should not be at the expense of the characterization of someone else. This drama manages to display this so acutely, whether they meant to or not.

Hmm, I want to watch this for Kim So Kyun and what seems like an interesting character that she is playing. I liked her in the last drama I saw (Tale of Nokdu) but that drama was more focused on the male lead. Based on the description, it seems like this drama is supposed to be focused on the female lead and journey. However, entire comment section is filled with nothing the male lead lol, so I cannot tell this drama is really about the female lead or not.

The dramas are I alluding to are:
- Soojin from True Beauty
- MiYa from Gank Your Heart

This is a fantastic article that clearly reflects the amount of groundwork and consideration you put into it! Not only that, but a topic that clearly needs to be addressed more. I'm so glad you took a multidimensional approach to this issue because that is often the case with most social issues. In this case, as you so eloquently described above, this is a complex issue involving drama viewers, drama makers and the culture surrounding dramas.

It would be unfair to blame everything on misogynistic female viewers or bad writing, although the two are a synergistic, inter-related combination of contributors.

It cannot be denied that there a subset of biased viewers that will tend to subjectively view male characters more favorably then female ones, even when doing the same actions. But why? Part of it could be the societal and/or cultural gender norms the viewer is exposed and has come to adhere to. Part of it could also be mindset. I think a lot of people (like me) watch dramas for relaxation or a chance to turn their brains off, so to speak. When a female antagonist shows up, especially one that is meant to be disliked, the viewers are not going to spend time thinking about how the writers could fix her character or psychoanalyze her. They are simply going to dislike her.

On the other hand, it cannot be denied that there are some very poorly written female antagonists (and protagonists, let's be honest). A lot of viewers complain about these poorly written characters and are labeled as sexist but they genuinely want to see better written females. But why is the prevalence of poorly-written female antagonists so high, especially when compared to male antagonists? Is this the cultural/societal views of the dramas writers/producers/sponsors at play? Is it beyond the talent of current set of writers? Is this supply and demand? The entertainment world is a monetary one. Certain characters and tropes do exist because viewers explicitly or implicitly ask for them, even if we "hate" them.

I think this intersection of variables is best seen when you have a female antagonist that is pretty well written, with background stories and motives for their behavior. I will give a few examples in the spoiler reply. While you still have viewers that completely trash her, there are others that sympathize with her and acknowledge her struggles.

So yeah, I think there is a lot that goes in the bias against female villains and a topic that should be addressed more often.

I am enjoying the drama but something about it just feels off. Currently at episode 8.

I think part of it the either the editing or directing. Sometimes reaction times take way too long or too much time is spent staring off into space.

If Suho and Soojin's families have known each other for 10 years and Suho clearly knows Soojin's dad is hitting her and why he is hitting her, why is he just ignoring it? Giving her a 2-sec "oh, hang in there" seems really cold. And I get this is not the point of the drama and the male lead needs to be perfect and cannot pay attention to any other girls (no matter their circumstances) but itseems like he really does not care and it makes him come off as a major jerk.

And where was the Ju Gyung's brother when she was being bullied at her old school? I can maybeee understand if it was implied she was a first year at her old school (i.e. freshman at HS) so her brother would be in his last year of middle school (as in, not in the same school) so he would not have been able to witness it. So does that mean she has never been bullied up until that year of school?

Maybe I'm just not this drama's target demographic lol.

The Xue Rucheng being a "fake" Duke Cheng/Cheng Wang. Unless I'm just not interpreting things correctly or missed something, the drama sort of hinted that Duke Cheng was really alive the entire time. When our male lead figured out there was somebody controlling the assassinations, the fake coins and the shady army stuff, he suspected Duke Cheng, not a fake pretending to be Duke Cheng. Even the other characters were shocked at the male lead for coming to that conclusion. And when XR was introduced with his alternate identity to the viewers, he was introduced as Duke Cheng, not someone pretending to be Duke Cheng.

So I was a little confused when the final showdown is the ML accusing XR of only pretending to be Duke Cheng. And more that, I guess I feel a little cheated? I think it would have been really interesting if Duke Cheng was alive. Technically, Duke Cheng, being the son of the previous emperor has rights to the throne. It is sort of a Simba vs Scar situation. They made him a little over-the-top evil in the end but it's clear XR was cunning and intelligent and it's not like the current emperor is a bleeding innocent either. It would bring good food for thought.

But I guess that is not the point of this cute little mystery/friendship/romance drama. I just wish the fact XR was a fake was more emphasized so I wouldn't feel like the ending is almost a cop-out of sorts.

I really enjoyed this drama. It has a lot of things that felt so refreshing, like multiple intelligent female leads and a very strong pace. The one thing I was little confused and maybe disappointed by was...

This article is well-written and very prettily edited! I noticed you listed flaws about the female leads but did not point out the flaws for the two male leads however.

I dropped AOL about half-way through (might pick it up again one of these days) so I cannot comment entirely but I felt the ML came off somewhat entitled? Like, he has that cold/aloof/arrogant thing almost every cdrama male lead has and not adding anything new or unique, but that is more of a genre problem and not a personal flaw. But it was beyond that. Like, if you compare his life to his brothers, Ran Yu's life objectively sucks. But the ML doesn't really try to help him or understand him in any way. If he really does not know how much RY is suffering, it does not make sense given how powerful/knowledgeable he is and make him seem stupid. If he does not, it seems like he does not care, at all.

As for Si Feng in L&R, as much as I love him, his problem is his utter lack of communication and inability to open his mouth. Tbh, I don't blame Xuan Ji a bit because he hides everything (EVERYTHING!) and kind of only speaks up when it is too late. And I get that it's supposed to be with good intentions but that is so chauvinistic. I think plenty of IRL couples have broken up due to lack of communication that not nearly as bad as Si Feng's.

As for the FL, I agree that I feel Xuan Ji in L&R is more developed than JM in AOL. I felt like Xuan Ji's character made sense and despite her given limitations, she was trying her best and quite straightforward.

Anyway, just my $0.02. Apologies for the rant and feel free to disagree.

What a well-written and comprehensive article. The concept of motherhood, whether having or being one, is universally relatable but ironically complex at the same time.

"However, by doing that, we would be showing ignorance towards reality that society sets different standards according to gender" - I really like this line! It can be applied to many different areas of society. Race is one example - being 'colorblind' or 'not seeing race' can be a good thing but if applied too broadly, it ignores the specific discriminations certain races go through