8 K-Dramas Where The Female Lead Is The Male Lead's Savior
It’s common to hear the phrase “knight in shining armor,” who is ready to save the damsel in distress. However, in K-dramas, the tables are often turned and it is not the woman, but the man who needs saving. These wonder girls are ordinary people with some extraordinary talents, who emerge as lifelines for the men in distress. Here are eight K-dramas where the female lead turned into the male lead’s bodyguard and savior of sorts.
“Our Blooming Youth”
The distressed Crown Prince Lee Hwan (Park Hyung Sik) is under a mysterious curse. Besieged by evil omens and palace intrigues as well as his inheritance at stake, he finds himself struggling with some serious challenges. The only one who can save him is Min Jae Yi (Jeon So Nee), a woman who is on the run and framed for a murder she has not committed. In disguise as a eunuch, she arrives at the palace and joins hands with the prince as they set out to uncover some bitter truths. Jae Yi is an accomplished swordswoman as well as martial arts expert, and she takes it upon herself to stand upfront for the prince, and he in return promises to help guard her secret. When a cute love story emerges between the two, it’s only incidental as the two gear up to surmount the many obstacles. Bu, can they survive their complicated circumstances?
It is heartening to see a male lead who is unafraid to show his vulnerabilities. Park Hyung Sik is often known as the actor who makes his female leads shine, and he does that here in this drama once again.
Start watching “Our Blooming Youth”:
“Kill Me, Heal Me”
Cha Do Hyun (Ji Sung) is the heir apparent to a huge company, but has been struggling with his mental health for years. He suffers from a dissociative identity disorder. Do Hyun “lives” with six other personalities, each of whom comes to the surface depending on the situation he finds himself in. These personalities are his coping mechanisms to deal with his traumatic and abusive past as a child. Oh Ri Jin (Hwang Jung Eum) is a psychiatric resident who runs into one of Do Hyun’s many personalities, and she could well be the key to unlocking his past and set him free from the cage he finds himself locked in.
“Kill Me, Heal Me” is a taut psychological drama. Though it does meander a bit, it never lags in its momentum. The suspense and seriousness of the subject is well balanced with humor. It’s a tough role for any actor to play so many parts, but Ji Sung’s versatility comes to the fore again. And his love-hate bromance with Park Seo Joon’s character Ri On is a bonus.
Start watching “Kill Me, Heal Me”:
“Goblin”
Kim Shin aka the Goblin (Gong Yoo) is a valiant general who has been cursed with immortality. His only salvation is a woman who is destined to be his bride and can help wield the sword stuck in his chest and set him free. It has been close to a century, but he is yet to find her, until he meets the orphaned Ji Eun Tak (Kim Go Eun), who has the knack to see ghosts. She can even call upon the Goblin, but things could spiral out of control for him. The 999-year-old Goblin, now a super rich gentleman in the present day, finds himself drawn towards Eun Tak, but there is a slight complication. Eun Tak has been categorized as a miscellaneous omitted person by the Grim Reaper (Lee Dong Wook) since her birth and has ominously tilted the balance of fate which the Grim Reaper oversees and awaits an opportunity to correct. Though Kim Shin is well aware that Eun Tak is his bride, fate has its own cards to play in their union. And the question is, does he really want her to take the sword off his chest and set him free?
“Goblin” is a bittersweet tale of love and yearning with a fantastical touch. Gong Yoo’s endearing charm immortalized the Goblin for many, and his bromance with Lee Dong Wook is the one of best viewers have ever seen.
Start watching “Goblin”:
“Destined With You”
A brash, high-powered lawyer’s life is turned upside down by a secret family curse. Jang Shin Yu (Rowoon) is ruthless in courts – the man lacks emotion and can turn cases around to benefit his clients. However, in his personal life, he is pitiful. He is tormented by a centuries-old curse. When he meets Lee Hong Jo (Jo Bo Ah), a low ranking civil servant, he realizes they are fated to be together. Hong Jo holds the key to his freedom in the form of a banned book which has been sealed for over 300 years. As destiny brings them together, there is also a love triangle that needs to be detangled as well.
This show is a wild combination of dark, moody supernatural thrills, a passionate love story, and several wisecracks. Rowoon and Jo Bo Ah’s scorching chemistry and onscreen dynamics make this one a must watch.
“My Roommate Is a Gumiho”
Shin Woo Yeo (Jang Ki Yong) is a 999-year-old gumiho on earth and is a writer of several history books. He has a deadline to meet, which is to fill his fox bead with human energy before he turns 1,000 years old. Woo Yeo wants to shed his gumiho skin and turn human.
When 22-year-old university student Lee Dam (Hyeri) accidentally swallows Woo Yeo’s fox bead, she becomes the master of his fate. He makes Lee Dam move into his house to keep an eye on the bead, which is also a pretext for being close to her. As their two very different worlds collide, a passionate romance begins as well as several mishaps on the way, as Lee Dam affectionately chides him for the generational gap between the two.
“My Roommate Is a Gumiho” is a rom-com with a fantastical touch. The ancient and rather handsome gumiho is played to the hilt by Jang Ki Yong, and his awkwardness is offset by Hyeri’s infectious energy as the spunky Lee Dam.
Start watching “My Roommate Is a Gumiho”:
“I Am Not a Robot”
You might have heard of someone not being a people’s person but Kim Min Kyu (Yoo Seung Ho) takes it to a whole new level. He is a finance whiz as well as the youngest and largest shareholder of a successful company. But he does not want any human connection since he is allergic and hyper-sensitive to people, and any contact with a human being can trigger strange reactions in him, so he prefers staying away. Jo Ji Ah (Chae Soo Bin) is a hustler, and one of her many jobs is that of a personal shopper to her patrons. When Ji Ah finds herself shopping for Min Kyu, whose insufferable personality gets on her nerves, what she does not realize is that she is a boon to him, since her presence does not trigger Min Kyu’s anti-social symptoms.
“I Am Not a Robot” is a clever drama, and it has an even cuter love story. It’s an easy and entertaining watch which throws up quirky and comical situations, and it features a sweet romance between a couple whose eccentricities are as endearing as they are.
Start watching “I Am Not a Robot”:
“Strong Woman Do Bong Soon”
Do Bong Soon (Park Bo Young) is a petite and cute looking girl who can pack quite a punch. Fondly called “the force,” she has superhuman strength and can take on people twice as well as thrice her size, and she can also lift anything and everything which is beyond human strength. But the caveat is that she can only use her super power for a good cause. So it’s no surprise when she finds herself hired as a bodyguard to the charming and goofy Ahn Min Hyuk (Park Hyung Sik), the CEO of a gaming company. What she does not know is that her boss has a crush on her which goes back to their childhood days, when she had saved his life. It seems protecting him is indeed her full-time job, and it does not take long before a cute romance blossoms between the two. But there is a third angle in this love story in the form of Bong Soon’s friend, who is a detective and also needs her help in solving a case.
“Strong Woman Do Bong Soon” remains a fan-favorite for many. A wholesome entertainer, it scores with its strong female lead who drives the narrative and is graciously supported by the men in the show, who are in awe of her and are her biggest cheerleaders.
Start watching ” Strong Woman Do Bong Soon”:
“Protect the Boss”
Eun Seol (Choi Kang Hee) is a bit of an oddball and is struggling to get a job. She has had poor luck due to her third rate university degree. But when she gets a job at a company, she realizes her boss Ji Hun (Ji Sung) is the man she had a not so pleasant run-in with some time ago. Ji Hun is the immature youngest son of a chaebol family and is regarded as a bit of a man-child, but the truth of the matter is that he is suffering from acute agoraphobia. When Eun Sol starts working with him, his rebellious nature gets on her nerves but she is one of the few people who has the guts to stand up to him. It is not before long that Ji Hun falls for her, and Eun Sol realizes she has to help him both personally as well as professionally so that he can overcome his fears.
“Protect the Boss” is an older, cute rom-com and a breezy watch. There are no villains in this story – just engagingly funny characters who keep you entertained.
Start watching “Protect the Boss”:
Hey Soompiers, which one of these couples is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
Puja Talwar is a Soompi writer with a strong Yoo Tae Oh and Lee Junho bias. A long time K-drama fan, she loves devising alternate scenarios to the narratives. She has interviewed Lee Min Ho, Gong Yoo, Cha Eun Woo, and Ji Chang Wook to name a few. You can follow her on @puja_talwar7 on Instagram
Currently watching: “A Time Called You.”
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