Top 5 Terrible Male Leads

Top 5 

Terrible Male Leads

One of the most magical things about K-Dramas I find (at least to me anyway), is their ability to create these wonderful, emotional, amazing leading male characters that seem so real and lived in, yet so unlike anything we would ever find in the real world. There are an enormous number of leading male characters in K-Dramalad- some are cookie cutter tropes, some are wonderfully individualised and unique. And not all of them are good. We always watch a show hoping to like, if not love, the leads, so it can be pretty darn disappointing when this isn't the case. The last drama I reviewed had a really crummy male lead, and it reminded me of all those times I sat through a K-Drama and found myself thinking 'Am I supposed to like this guy? Does the writer really think this type of man is appealing?'...

5: Seok Hyun from ‘I Need Romance 2012’

While this drama wasn't terrible overall, I do remember being distinctly irritated by the male lead. I found the leading lady, Yeol Mae, endearing and sweet, and she really gave it a good go to make their relationship work- even going so far as only being friends-with-benefits because that was the only way Seok Hyun would let her be close to him. Seok Hyun did my head in with his hot and cold behaviour- he pushed Yeol Mae away when she wanted to be close to him, but then got petty and jealous when another (better) man started showing interest in her. He didn't treat his lady well, and that never makes for a good leading man. I'm sure there was a reason (there was a reason given right?) that Seok Hyun acted the way he did, but I cannot for the life of me remember what it was. I just remember that he sucked hard and that Yeol Mae should have chosen the second lead who treated her right.

4: Han Gyul from ‘The Liar and His Lover’

This drama was bad and there was hardly anything I liked in it. One of those things that I did not like was the lead male character, Han Gyeol. He was just so darn moody and broody and depressive. Yes men can have feelings and I LOVE when K-Dramas express this well- but having your main lead sulk around for most of the show and only brighten up when he gets things 100% his way is not really the way to go about it. Han Gyeol was arrogant and uncompromising and it really was his way or no way. I didn't much like the female lead either, so I wasn't too torn up about the pairing, but was slightly troubled that all Han Gyeol's manipulative behaviours were being presented as romantic. 

3: Dae Oh from ‘Was It Love’

THIS is the drama I watched reccently that sparked the idea for this list. There were so many things wrong with the show, but Dae Oh really was one of the biggest ones. He was petty, unobservant and self-centred. Dae Oh really had no interest in seeing the world from anyone else's perspective, and didn't really care about anyone's issues but his own. Honestly, what man finds out their ex from 14 years ago has a 14 year old kid and doesn't even consider that it could be theirs? Talk about daft. His obsession with a girl he dated for less than a year felt creepy and slightly unbalanced as opposed to 'fated' as the drama seemed to be trying to present him. If you're still tied up with angst and anger over a failed relationship from 14 years ago you need professional help, not to rekindle the romance from 14 years ago. 

2: Soo Hyun from ‘Madame Antoine'

Hooooo boy, now we 're really getting into the sucky characters. I remember being completely and utterly baffled that this despicable mess of a man was supposed to be the guy we were rooting for in this show. The character of Soo Hyun in this show is actually so despicable that I started to dislike the actor playing him. The whole premise of this show is that 'Psychologist' Soo Hyun is running an experiment on the leading lady by...pretending to be in love with her. Yeah. So he lies to her, strings her along, lies to her some more, breaks up with her, gloats over her, and lies again. He just had absolutely zero redeeming qualities. Rather than rooting for him, I spent the whole drama wishing the leading lady would kick him to the curb and go for the second male lead. Or the third male lead. Or any male. Actually I would have even preferred if she spent the rest of her life single rather than ending up with the giant jerk that was Soo Hyun.

1: Jun Pyo from ‘Boys Over Flowers'

When this show aired, Jun Pyo was the biggest heartthrob in the world. Since then, a lot of fans of the show have realised and admitted that Jun Pyo had a lot of seriously problematic character traits and behaviours, and is certainly not a character worth idolising. I got onto this drama late, and as such I never had the rosey, romantic view of Jun Pyo that a lot of other people had. To me, this character was always violent, obnoxious and just bad news all round, and I had a really difficult time comprehending how he charmed so many viewers. I mean, when we started this show Jun Pyo was bulling Jan Di quite severely, and as he falls for her he becomes increasingly jealous, possessive and controlling. He is just bad news all round, and if you meet a man like that in real life, my advice to you would be to stay far, far away. 

Who are your least favourite male leads?