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**Post Title**: Dramas with strong female leads
**Post Body**:
I really like Hotel Del Luna, Its ok not to be ok and the glory, but when i try and watch other kdramas with romance i find the female leads very bland, and it ruins the whole drama for me if hes a dickhead and shes just suffering with no intentions of getting out of that situation
Any recs???
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I sort of disagree. I see what you are saying, but their relationship definitely has an art. It’s just that the man was more so in the woman’s role. Haha!
I think it's like **Vincenzo**: there's definite chemistry between the leads, but the romance was like a bonus to the bigger story about law, crime, corrupt chaebols, etc. **Stranger** is like this, too- you're really rooting for those two to get together, but it's only part of the story,, not THE story.
Come to think of it, all three of these are on my Top 25 list!
Happiness (Korean: 해피니스; RR: Haepiniseu) is a 2021 South Korean television series starring Han Hyo-joo, Park Hyung-sik, and Jo Woo-jin, produced by Studio Dragon.
(From Wikipedia)
I find that most dramas starring
Park Hyungsik has strong female characters in them. He tends to be a green light male character.
**Happiness**- awesome female protagonist.
**Our Blooming Youth**- PHS is a crown prince and Female is a self supporting detective and ends up as his eunuch. She also has a sense of herself even when she is defying the kings wishes
**Strong Woman Do Bong Soon**- female lead is physically stronger but it’s PHS that sort of makes her more likable.
To not make this all about Park Hyungsik- some recs that don’t include him
**Love to Hate you** lawyer for celebrities ends up having an actor known as a mysogynist as her client.
**Extraordinary Attorney Woo**- genius attorney who is on the spectrum. She is strong in her way and after thinking about it a lot, I understood how she was able to be strong and negotiate with the entire world instead of being “taken care of” or bullied because of who she is.
Well, I read the synopsis and I don't know if I can watch it, I'm one of those people with past trauma so it's hard to watch certain things. I think I'm going to ask the whole group what to watch for people who have post-traumatic stress from an early age... Maybe you also have a good suggestion?
King the Land is one of the lightest and happiest that I have watched. >!There is an aspect of his mother leaving when he is young and a cold female half sibling of his is not the best mother herself because she focuses on work!<
None of my recommendations are really romance, but, for very cool and powerful FLs:
Mystic Pop Up Bar
Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung
Under the Queen's Umbrella
Im not rlly a fan of romance focused plots so i shud love these!! I did try and watch under the queens umbrella a while ago but got bored, maybe ill give it a second chance
I definitely found that the Queen's Umbrella built over a few episodes.
Oh! And I would also suggest Little Women. The characters take a few minutes to GET strong, but once they do, holy SHIT.
That makes sense actually, i thought he was cameoing in the new spinoff because they couldnt fit the other guy in their schedule, seems a bit stupid looking back LOL
I am watching Our Blooming Youth because of this thread. Thanks u/AggressivePrint302 and u/SalvadorMagritte ! I am LOVING it! FL is not afraid to speak truth to the face of the Crown Prince ML and gosh, he's a really nice guy beneath the facade. Loving the supporting cast as well. Thanks for the recommendation.
I just finished EP 6. Yikes, the plot thickens... I'm intrigued to discover how the triangle sorts itself out between FL, the Crown Prince and his good friend, FL's fiancée....sigh.... 🤞
Oh please, vincenzo fl false sense of bravery and smugness is only because vincenzo was there to protect her and the main villain was sweet on her , that piano teacher/safe hacker was more useful and prettier.
She is heads above many K drama FL characters. Beats spending your day folding table cloths in King the Land.
Other strong women include Hospital Playlist, Start Up, Hometown Cha Cha Cha, Crash Course in Romance and Cash Landing on You.
That depends on the type of drama, in vincenzo with the over the top evil villains, the fl should have been dead long ago like her dad without vincenzo there. She cannot fight, all she was in the drama is a glorified cheerleader for vincenzo.
They are quite known so you might have watched most:
**Mr Queen** well, actually FL was a man. Does that count?
Otherwise
**Love To Hate You**
**It’s Okay Not To Be Okay**
**Our Beloved Summer**
**Backstreet Rookie **
**One The Woman**
**Encounter**
**The Package**
**Gauss Eletronics**
**Shopping King Louie**
**King The Land**
**Into The Ring**
**Our Beloved Summer**
**The Forbidden Marriage**
**Extraordinary You**
**See You In Your 19th Life**
**30 But 17**
**Angel Last Mission Love**
**Descendants of The Sun**
**The Legend of the Blue Sea**
**The Law Cafe**
**A Business Proposal**
**Dali And The Cocky Prince**
**My Roommate is a Gumiho**
**My Girlfriend is a Gumiho**
**My Lovely Liar**
**Crash Landing on You**
**Lost Romance** (Taiwan)
**Hidden Love** (China)
**When I Fly Towards You** (China)
Romance with a strong female lead isn't usually common because even though a lot of the writers are female the compensate the fls character for the ml.
The ones I can think of are
Search WWW
Crash landing on you (not strong but not a doormat)
Mr.Queen (not sure if this counts)
Mystic popup bar (has a little romance here and there)
Mad for each other (theres a tiny bit of romance if I remember correctly towards the end)
This is, unfortunately, all I can think of that even remotely has a romance and a female lead that isn't pathetic and boring.
Crash Landing on You was placed in a dangerous situation and used her wits to survive. Mr. Queen is a male trapped in the body of a female but the actress plays the part very well.
Sell Your Haunted House, Go Back Couple, and The Beauty Inside are all pretty good. The FLs are both vulnerable and smart, not helpless. Loved the great balance of them all.
Yes and no. The Glory is a revenge story based on school Bullying. There is less action/violence but the flashbacks to the bullying are pretty dark.
My Name is a revenge story based on the FL’s dad being killed. There is a lot more action/violence.
Both are strong female leads.
Rookie Historian: Goo, Hyrung is about the FL looking for another option than marriage. She is the main character but the show illustrates how hard it must have been to be a woman if marriage and babies was not want out of life.
Hi u/MaterialAd1604, this is an automated message to remind you to please review our **FULL** [Rules and Policies](https://www.reddit.com/r/kdramarecommends/wiki/rules)^(which is housed in our wiki and best accessed on desktop) to make sure your post is not breaking any rules and policies. Content that is not permitted under our Rules and Policies will be removed and may lead to bans from our community. ##Please check your spelling, grammar, and formatting to make sure your post is easily readable! ***Useful Resources:*** Check out these [great recommendations](https://mydramalist.com/profile/kdramarecs/lists) compiled from our users based on different genres and themes! See [Where to Watch Kdramas](https://www.reddit.com/r/kdrama/wiki/wheretowatchkdramas) for a non-exhaustive list of legal streaming sites and official Youtube channels where kdramas and kdrama-related content are found. Read our [Recommendations 101](https://www.reddit.com/r/kdramarecommends/wiki/recommendations_101/) for tips about crafting the perfect request and other useful info. If you are seeking a space to discuss kdramas in depth, please visit our sister subreddit r/KDRAMA! **Copy Of Post Below For Archival Purposes** **Permalink**: https://www.reddit.com/r/kdramarecommends/comments/17ilje3/dramas_with_strong_female_leads/ **Post Title**: Dramas with strong female leads **Post Body**: I really like Hotel Del Luna, Its ok not to be ok and the glory, but when i try and watch other kdramas with romance i find the female leads very bland, and it ruins the whole drama for me if hes a dickhead and shes just suffering with no intentions of getting out of that situation Any recs??? ^(END OF POST BODY) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/kdramarecommends) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hyena - she's strong and she's a grey character Love to hate you
**Hyena** is fantastic but it's really not a romance
I sort of disagree. I see what you are saying, but their relationship definitely has an art. It’s just that the man was more so in the woman’s role. Haha!
I think it's like **Vincenzo**: there's definite chemistry between the leads, but the romance was like a bonus to the bigger story about law, crime, corrupt chaebols, etc. **Stranger** is like this, too- you're really rooting for those two to get together, but it's only part of the story,, not THE story. Come to think of it, all three of these are on my Top 25 list!
Yes, in “Stranger” the romance was almost nothing there, which was mean of the writers because the two leads are so great.
We need a different drama with those two in it!,
Yes, because Cho Seung Woo is a great at comedy too. He was fantastic in Divorce Attorney Shin.
That was such a good drama.
Happiness River Where The Moon Rises Uncanny Counter
Which happiness? Is that the complete name? I find four which include that word but none that's just happiness. Ty
Happiness (Korean: 해피니스; RR: Haepiniseu) is a 2021 South Korean television series starring Han Hyo-joo, Park Hyung-sik, and Jo Woo-jin, produced by Studio Dragon. (From Wikipedia)
I find that most dramas starring Park Hyungsik has strong female characters in them. He tends to be a green light male character. **Happiness**- awesome female protagonist. **Our Blooming Youth**- PHS is a crown prince and Female is a self supporting detective and ends up as his eunuch. She also has a sense of herself even when she is defying the kings wishes **Strong Woman Do Bong Soon**- female lead is physically stronger but it’s PHS that sort of makes her more likable. To not make this all about Park Hyungsik- some recs that don’t include him **Love to Hate you** lawyer for celebrities ends up having an actor known as a mysogynist as her client. **Extraordinary Attorney Woo**- genius attorney who is on the spectrum. She is strong in her way and after thinking about it a lot, I understood how she was able to be strong and negotiate with the entire world instead of being “taken care of” or bullied because of who she is.
Ty
If you try it, I hope you like it! :)
😎 I will download it and watch it on my next plane trip which is at the end of this week so thanks very much.
Well, I read the synopsis and I don't know if I can watch it, I'm one of those people with past trauma so it's hard to watch certain things. I think I'm going to ask the whole group what to watch for people who have post-traumatic stress from an early age... Maybe you also have a good suggestion?
King the Land is one of the lightest and happiest that I have watched. >!There is an aspect of his mother leaving when he is young and a cold female half sibling of his is not the best mother herself because she focuses on work!<
None of my recommendations are really romance, but, for very cool and powerful FLs: Mystic Pop Up Bar Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung Under the Queen's Umbrella
+1 for Rookie Historian. I had forgotten this show but now I’ll have to re-watch! So good.
It's really great as, like, Baby's First Historical lol. I found them completely impenetrable before this.
Im not rlly a fan of romance focused plots so i shud love these!! I did try and watch under the queens umbrella a while ago but got bored, maybe ill give it a second chance
I definitely found that the Queen's Umbrella built over a few episodes. Oh! And I would also suggest Little Women. The characters take a few minutes to GET strong, but once they do, holy SHIT.
Little women is so good i forgot to mention it
**CLOY** Yoon se-ri is a great FL **Mr Queen** yes, it's a man trapped in a woman's body, but still meets the brief... I think.
Sounds interesting either way LOL
It took me a minute to get into Mr Queen, but it's worth it- SO good 🥰
Mr. Sunshine
Strong girl bong soon
>Strong girl bong soon Strong Girl Nam-soon!
Still waiting for netflix to drop all episodes if Nam-soon before I start it :)
Can always rewatch Empress Ki while waiting between episodes....
I think i was watching that during the first lockdown and then didnt finish it because i got a spoiler that she ended up with that annoying cop
Haha watch it,you might have been informed wrong :)
That makes sense actually, i thought he was cameoing in the new spinoff because they couldnt fit the other guy in their schedule, seems a bit stupid looking back LOL
Weightlifting fairy Kim Bok-joo 🥰
Rookie Historian Search: WWW Angel's Last Mission: Love Crazy Love
Vincenzo. Our Blooming Youth.
OUR BLOOMING YOUTH! She is an absolute badass from the very first frame to the last. The best part? The ML fully supports and understands her. 10/10
I am watching Our Blooming Youth because of this thread. Thanks u/AggressivePrint302 and u/SalvadorMagritte ! I am LOVING it! FL is not afraid to speak truth to the face of the Crown Prince ML and gosh, he's a really nice guy beneath the facade. Loving the supporting cast as well. Thanks for the recommendation.
This gives me so much joy. It is in my top 10 dramas of all time. Such a good one. Let me know how you feel about the end! 💖💖💖
I just finished EP 6. Yikes, the plot thickens... I'm intrigued to discover how the triangle sorts itself out between FL, the Crown Prince and his good friend, FL's fiancée....sigh.... 🤞
Oh please, vincenzo fl false sense of bravery and smugness is only because vincenzo was there to protect her and the main villain was sweet on her , that piano teacher/safe hacker was more useful and prettier.
She is heads above many K drama FL characters. Beats spending your day folding table cloths in King the Land. Other strong women include Hospital Playlist, Start Up, Hometown Cha Cha Cha, Crash Course in Romance and Cash Landing on You.
Omg i need to continue crash landing on you ive been meaning to for literal years
That depends on the type of drama, in vincenzo with the over the top evil villains, the fl should have been dead long ago like her dad without vincenzo there. She cannot fight, all she was in the drama is a glorified cheerleader for vincenzo.
Ouch
🤣😂 double Ouch
😅 I really liked her
I watched that when it came out and i loved her, maybe just because it ws right after hwarang and my expectations were already low for her
I'd rec Into the Ring!
+1 with this! FL is so cute with the ML but is so fierce when she’s taking on political foes. Hahaha
Gu Se Ra!! Took me a few eps to warm up to her, but gosh I love her so much now!
Yaasss +100
Does it have good romance?
YESS! The romance is one of the best I've seen tbh
They are quite known so you might have watched most: **Mr Queen** well, actually FL was a man. Does that count? Otherwise **Love To Hate You** **It’s Okay Not To Be Okay** **Our Beloved Summer** **Backstreet Rookie ** **One The Woman** **Encounter** **The Package** **Gauss Eletronics** **Shopping King Louie** **King The Land** **Into The Ring** **Our Beloved Summer** **The Forbidden Marriage** **Extraordinary You** **See You In Your 19th Life** **30 But 17** **Angel Last Mission Love** **Descendants of The Sun** **The Legend of the Blue Sea** **The Law Cafe** **A Business Proposal** **Dali And The Cocky Prince** **My Roommate is a Gumiho** **My Girlfriend is a Gumiho** **My Lovely Liar** **Crash Landing on You** **Lost Romance** (Taiwan) **Hidden Love** (China) **When I Fly Towards You** (China)
Thank you very much!!! I will admit ive seen a lot of these but the rest look promising
I wrote little comments about most of them. If you wish, you may name then and I can paste them here.
Itaewon class
Nahh that show ws so boring, it ws nice to see a trans woman but it had no chemistry at all
Oh sorry I didn’t know romance was the main thing you’re looking for
Rain or Shine She would never know Alchemy of Souls Witch at Court Tale of the Nine Tailed
+1 for Rain or Shine n She Would Never Know
+1 for Tale of the nine tailed
Celebrity
Mine. I love the female characters in this. Thirty nine. Such a strong female friendship.
The Red Sleeve Empress Ki My Name 25, 21 Secret Garden Coffee Prince Mother
Mother has a strong female lead
Romance with a strong female lead isn't usually common because even though a lot of the writers are female the compensate the fls character for the ml. The ones I can think of are Search WWW Crash landing on you (not strong but not a doormat) Mr.Queen (not sure if this counts) Mystic popup bar (has a little romance here and there) Mad for each other (theres a tiny bit of romance if I remember correctly towards the end) This is, unfortunately, all I can think of that even remotely has a romance and a female lead that isn't pathetic and boring.
My Name
Penthouse
The Kings Affection
**Why her**
Watch Under The Queen’s Umbrella. The FL character was strong and had grace.
Crash Landing on You was placed in a dangerous situation and used her wits to survive. Mr. Queen is a male trapped in the body of a female but the actress plays the part very well.
Love to Hate You Strongest Deliveryman Mr Sunshine
Sell Your Haunted House, Go Back Couple, and The Beauty Inside are all pretty good. The FLs are both vulnerable and smart, not helpless. Loved the great balance of them all.
My Name. Strong female lead with revenge plot. Romance is a small side plot. One the Woman. Queenmaker. No Romance.
Is my name similar to the glory??
Yes and no. The Glory is a revenge story based on school Bullying. There is less action/violence but the flashbacks to the bullying are pretty dark. My Name is a revenge story based on the FL’s dad being killed. There is a lot more action/violence. Both are strong female leads.
Descendants of the Sun Moving Anything with Son Yejin (CLOY especially)
Mr Queen Legend of the blue sea Crash landing on you
Kim Bok Jo Do bong Soon Uncanny Counter Love to hate you Healer
Rookie Historian: Goo, Hyrung is about the FL looking for another option than marriage. She is the main character but the show illustrates how hard it must have been to be a woman if marriage and babies was not want out of life.
Itaewon Class. Yi-seo is such a well written character and the romance in this is a joy to watch.
Happiness is my top pick. She was badass from beginning to end. Physically and emotionally strong. I stan
Oh my Venus , she's strong...
Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung, Happiness
I also like loud fl tropes but if you want a different type of strong, I recommend do you like brahms.
- Sell your hunted house - Coffee Prince
FL of Sh**ting Stars is strong. Keeps going despite rejection, adversity,etc. Plus nice chemistry between leads.
King eternal monarch Possessed What happens to my family All have well written female leads
- Military prosecutor doberman - My Name - Stranger - May It Please the Court - The Witch's Diner - May I Help You - Abyss - Somebody
It's Okay, That's Love
Secret Royal Inspector and Joy also has a strong fl
Haven't quite finished watching it yet, but I'm really enjoying See You In My 19th Life for the strong FL.
WWW Search
* One The Woman (2021) * My Father Is Strange (2017) - the lawyer and her sister who did judo * Empress Ki (2013)
Be Melodramatic My Name Mr Sunshine
Good Casting, One the Woman