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?

I Need Romance 2012

I Need Romance 2012

5.5/10

I Need Romance 2012 

Genre:                                   Episodes: 16                                   Year: 2012

Romance

Comedy

Melodrama

Synopsis:

Joo Yeol Mae and Yoon Seok Hyun were in an off-and-on relationship for 12 years before breaking up for the last time three years ago. Although they have been broken up for quite some time, the two remain incredibly close friends and continue to live together in the house they grew up in as children. Yeol Mae still has lingering feelings for Seok Hyun, but he appears indifferent towards her. Shin Ji Hoon, the owner of the coffee shop Yeol Mae frequents, confesses to her and tries to sway her feelings from Seok Hyun to himself.

Cast:

Jung Yu Mi (Joo Yeol Mae)

Lee Jin Wook (Yoon Seok Hyun)

Kim Ji Suk (Shin Ji Hoon)

Kang Ye Sol (Woo Ji Hee)

Kim Ji Woo (Sun Jae Kyung)

Kim Ye Won (Kang Na Hyun)

Heo Tae Hee (Kim Tae Woo)

General Thoughts:

No. This drama can p*ss right off if you want my brutal, honest opinion. What even was that? A monstrosity of an ending that’s what. Seriously, that ending gives ‘Big’ a good run for its money in ‘Worst K-Drama Endings of All Time’. Okay, seriously though. It’s not all bad- on the contrary, a lot of it is very, very good. Very good. I enjoyed a large portion of this drama immensely. Which sadly only made its slow and gruesome death that much more upsetting.

It just...didn't meet expectations

It turns out, it’s the exact opposite of ‘I Need Romance 2011’, in which I disliked a large portion of the series, but its beautifully poetic and justifiable ending made everything make sense and left a sweet aftertaste. In contrast, ‘I Need Romance 2012’ was an interesting and well-crafted drama whose unexplainable and absurd ending made everything make less sense than when we started, and left a rather vomitus aftertaste.

And it was at this point my love for the drama died

The writing in ‘I Need Romance 2011’ was so subtle that the audience was gently guided toward the ending the writers had in store, and everyone left remotely happy. Over the course of the whole drama, the couple acknowledged their mistakes and learned from them, giving the couple an authentic, long-lasting feel. The writers were like a parent holding the back of your seat while you learn to ride a bike, letting go only when you have the confidence and balance to ride on your own. The writing in ‘I Need Romance 2012’ however, was like a parent holding the back of your seat while you learn to ride a bike, letting go when their arm got tired and they couldn’t be assed supporting you anymore, only to watch you fall. And break your arm. On the road. Where you’re hit by a truck. I trusted the writers the way I trusted them for ‘INR 2011’ and they betrayed me. The sad fact is, Yoon Seok Hyun is a weak character with little development that only becomes open to the idea of changing himself in the last episode where he then promptly runs away from everybody after quite splendidly ruining everyone’s life. Top bloke. Throughout the drama he was short-tempered, uncommunicative, and selfish. By the end of the drama he has made no visible changes, yet a year has passed and suddenly he’s an enlightened man who knows how to communicate and treat his woman well. Believable? Not in the slightest.

He cried for a year, then magically learned to love

Joo Yeol Mae was a bit abrasive and could come across rude, but was likeable for the most part. She voiced her opinions and feelings and wanted Seok Hyun to do the same so they could discuss their problems, address them, and move on. She gave Seok Hyun every opportunity to grab onto her, but he didn’t, and right up to the end Yeol Mae was the one seeking out Seok Hyun to comfort him and help him while he sat in his puddle of self-pity tears.

Actually too perfect to be Man No. 2

And then there’s Shin Ji Hoon who is apparently perfect in every way. He’s supportive, understanding, and is able to communicate in order to resolve misunderstandings and fights. And he just gets massively screwed over here. Because apparently the writers (and Yeol Mae) are totally bipolar, and a little bit masochistic. The support characters are actually quite delightful. The acting’s not spectacular and does seem a little forced on occasion (particularly from Kim Ji Woo), but it quite nicely gets the job done. While not without their flaws, Yeol Mae’s friends and their men are constructed as continually changing and developing characters who learn from their mistakes in order to shape their future (unlike our supposed ‘hero’). The story arcs for our support characters are interesting enough and come to logical, satisfying conclusions. The relationship between the three girls was refreshing, and while they didn’t have that initial spark of chemistry that the girls had in ‘INR 2011’, they felt more like real, functional people than our original girls as they could talk about things other than just sex. Like work, social problems, and emotions.

Better characters, but slightly worse acting

The soundtrack was rather unexceptional and forgettable- bar Lasse Lindh’s ‘I Could Give You Love’ which I’ll be singing for the next week.

What Was Great:

Initial Character Setup:

The original character set up in the drama felt similar to the 2011 series. We have an interesting, driven woman with two extremely close friends, and a man she’s had a close relationship with for an extended period of time. Enter new, younger girl that puts a strain on the relationship between the main couple. Enter new, younger man that steps up to comfort the heroine while main man acts like a butt. Two side friends have their own story arcs with separate men.

New characters spice up a familiar situation

Very similar, but also new enough in that the characters were sufficiently different from the original. Yeol Mae was outspoken and headstrong, not afraid to chase after what she believed was her own happiness. Seok Hyun was withdrawn and mildly mysterious.

Got his happy-ever-after a year later (in true K-Drama style)

Ji Hoon was open, understanding and willing to let our heroine search for her happiness while simultaneously insisting that it was with him. There were enough differences with our characters and their relationships that it was interesting to imagine where the writers would take us this time with the differing dynamics. Spoiler alert: they take us to the same place as last time. Also, it was hilarious and interesting to see Heo Tae Hee return as Kim Tae Woo- who happened to be the ex-fiancé of Kang Hyun Joo who he dumped in ‘INR 2011’ for not being sexy.

Second Male Lead Syndrome:

So basically Kim Ji Suk is adorable, and he plays an adorable character. Shin Ji Hoon is every woman’s dream and the most unrealistic thing in the whole series is that he would still be single at 30. Because he’s more or less perfect. Granted, Lee Jin Wook is pretty gorgeous when he smiles- but sadly for him, his mopey character doesn’t do that often. Which means that Kim Ji Suk/Shin Ji Hoon was able to brilliantly outdazzle him in both looks and character. 

This is what we wanted. This is what we all wanted.

What Wasn’t:

F*ck Off:

This male protagonist just didn’t cut it for me. I felt he was selfish, irrational, and his decisions made less than no sense. For starters, he had clearly given Yeol Mae up and was not interested in having a relationship with her that had any sort of definable future.

His puppy-eyes are like a dead puppy's eyes

Why, you may ask? Because his family has a genetic disease which he may or may not have inherited, so he may or may not die. And yet he sticks around not having enough guts to bugger off, starting weird undefined relationships with our leading lady on a whim, then breaking them off on a whim- all while openly flirting and toying with the feelings of his younger co-writer Kang Na Hyun. Sound like a bit of a jackass? Probably because he is. He constantly hurts and pushes away this woman who he says he loves (in voiceover no less), then when she is finally moving on, being happy and forgetting him- he butts in to try and take her back. Only when she comes back…he doesn’t want a relationship with her. And he moves house…and vanishes for a year…so he can…cry? C’mon bud, get your sh*t together. Had there been an understandable reason behind why he’d been so secretive and pushing her away, his character may have been halfway acceptable. But there wasn’t. So he can’t promise a future to her because he might die and he wants to spare her that pain. Okay, acceptable reason- if you then let her go and have a future with someone else. But no, he keeps her hanging around in limbo, where his death would still end up hurting her just as much.

Once a wanker, always a wanker- that's what I always say

Also, what a selfish, d*ck move to not tell her about his sister’s death? Yeah, he’s trying to keep his family illness a secret or whatever, but he wasn’t the only one Yeol Mae grew up with. Yeol Mae had a relationship with his younger sister that was all her own and extended beyond ‘my boyfriend’s sibling’. She had every right to know about that death and mourn it in her own way. Seok Hyun just flip-flops more than any character ever should, and with no clear, understandable reasoning behind his decisions.

"Should I dump you? Nah. Should I date you? Nah."

He was so sweet and thoughtful to start (though still rather uncommunicative), then randomly became bitter, closed, and disagreeable, before arriving at expressive, communicative and understanding in the last 5 minutes. It was unbelievable that he could have such a turnaround in the space of 1 year when he’s spent the last 12 or so years making the same mistakes and being unwilling to change. From 2/3rds in right until the end, all I could think when Yoon Seok Hyun was on my screen was ‘F*ck off, buddy’.

Not Expressing Love:

Ji Hoon was actually the only character that was able to express his emotions through his words and actions. With our leading couple, unfortunately the writers relied far too heavily on the voiceovers as a tool to explain what our characters were feeling. I don’t want a voiceover telling me that Seok Hyun has realised in an instant what he couldn’t see for the last 12 years. I want you to show me how he came to that realisation, and how he’s going to express this change of heart to Yeol Mae. I don’t want to hear a voiceover telling me Yeol Mae is in love with Seok Hyun when all I’m seeing is her being perfectly happy and in love with Ji Hoon. It’s the tricky balance that the original struck just right that the sequel has sadly fallen short off. We heard about the apparent unbreakable connection between our two leads, but we didn’t see it. What we saw (and didn’t hear) was the connection between Yeol Mae and Ji Hoon, which led to their relationship being much more understandable to the viewers.

That tree got more loving looks than Seok Hyun ever did

What was so magic about the original ‘I Need Romance’, was that it was blaringly obvious that the main couple loved each other deeply and belonged together- and some sort of witchcraft kept the main male lead from coming across as the world’s biggest prat. There was also a viable reason behind why the newer relationship wouldn’t work that went beyond ‘I think I might still love my ex’. Sadly, in this drama our main couple was just plain unconvincing. While there was undoubtedly some chemistry between the actors, they sold an unbelievable couple.

Re-watch?

No. I repeat myself: f*ck off Yoon Seok Hyun.

Perfect example of how a sh*tty ending can ruin an otherwise fantastic drama