10 Best K-drama OST Songs

When I first started watching K-dramas, the soundtracks were one of the things that took a lot of getting used to. Many viewers come to K-dramas by way of K-pop, but I wasn't one of them, and the upbeat bubblegum pop and prom-theme ballads seemed pretty over the top at first. Of course, with Boys over Flowers being one of the very first dramas I ever watched, I also suffered from having "Almost PAAAAAAARADIIIIIIISE" stuck in my head on repeat for several weeks. (Definitely memorable, but not in a good way.)

All that being said, drama OSTs (original soundtracks) have grown on me over time, and there are some that really hit the nail on the head in terms of setting the right mood at just the right moment. For me, these are the 10 best K-drama OST songs of all time—the ones that really worked for the dramas they were in and that I didn't mind hearing over and over throughout the series.

1. "Run" by Nell, Two Weeks OST

Confession: I have a complete and utter weakness for the combination of angsty guitar plus falsetto. As a result, Nell's "Run" was the very first K-drama OST single I went out of my way to hunt down. Thank you, Two Weeks, for introducing me to the magic that is Nell and Kim Jong Wan's voice. Now it's gotten to the point where I heard a few bars of the most recent OST release for Suspicious Partner and knew right away it had to be Nell.

2. "Touch Love" (터치 러브) by Yoon Mi Rae, The Master's Sun

Admittedly, "Touch Love" makes me feel just a teensy weensy bit like I should be shuffling around at prom, avoiding making eye contact with my teen crush, but this song IS The Master's Sun. It's the perfect example of why Yoon Mirae is one of the ultimate OST queens—whatever she touches becomes inextricably tied to the drama in a way that doesn't make your ears bleed. Her latest ballad, "Sky" from The Best Hit, is yet another winner, though it's not quite "Touch Love" levels of iconic—yet.

3. "Wake Up" by Eye Candy, Shut Up Flower Boy Band

Pro tip: "Wake Up" is great bathroom-cleaning music. It's also the perfect song for the fake band in Shut Up Flower Boy Band. They have youthful feelings that they can only express through song, okay?

4. "Dreamlike" Vodka Rain, Ex-Girlfriend Club

Most K-dramas use the same songs over and over and over (and over and over...) until you're ready to put your TV on mute every time it plays. Ex-Girlfriend Club played its cards perfectly with a single-use song, using Vodka Rain's "Dreamlike" to build up to the romantic climax of the series. This perfectly timed song proves that when it comes to the best OSTs, less really is more.

5. "Sad Thing" by Eorunai, Coffee Prince

Coffee Prince was my very first K-drama, so I didn't fully appreciate the music until I saw other shows with soundtracks I enjoyed much less. Even years after first hearing it, "Sad Song" immediately evokes the melancholy of the scenes where it appears—just what a good OST should do.

6. "Like a Dream" (꿈처럼) by Ben, Another Oh Hae Young

Another Oh Hae Young had a smart, effective soundtrack all around, and I can't help but wonder if putting such an emphasis on how the male lead listens to anything and everything around him encouraged the production team to take care of the sound details. Of the entire OST, Ben's "Like a Dream" is the one that immediately reminds me of this series, and that's why it nabbed a spot among the best K-drama songs.

7. "A Little Girl" (소녀) by Oh Hyuk, Answer Me 1988

The Answer Me series is great at evoking a sense of the time period with its musical choices, and Oh Hyuk's rendition of Lee Moon Se's "A Little Girl" is a perfect example of a song that knows what show it's in and matches perfectly. If you really want to go down the musical Answer Me rabbit hole, though, the winner has got to be Answer Me 1994's "To You," which went straight '90s with the synth intro and the sexy saxophone/sultry mumbling in the background. Compared to that, "A Little Girl" is definitely on the subtle side of things.

8. "All for You" by Eunji and Seo In Guk, Answer Me 1997

If pretty much anyone other than Eunji and Seo In Guk had sung this song, I would have tossed it directly into the "way too cheesy ballad" pile, but I really can't resist the charm of these two, and the fact that they're singing a duet about their characters' romance on the show is so incredibly adorable that even watching the music video makes me want to go rewatch the entire series from episode 1.

9. "Love High" by the Dream High cast, Dream High

My guess is everyone has a guilty pleasure OST that they find absurdly catchy in spite of themselves, and Dream High is mine. It's a sentimental favorite because I watched this series while grading hundreds of student papers during finals week, and I distinctly remember closing my office door and watching episodes of Dream High as a reward between piles of papers. The dancing and singing kids of Kirin Art School got me through that week, and therefore I succumb to the unapologetic cheeriness of this song.

10. "Stay with Me" by Punch and Chanyeol, Goblin

It kind of blows my mind that "Stay with Me" has 78 million views on YouTube (Chanyeol fans don't mess around, do they?), but I do have to admit that I like the atmosphere of this song, and it was one of the things that drew me into the first few episodes of Goblin. It matched the mood of Goblin without having to go full-fledged belted ballad like so many other top OST tracks (like My Love from Another Star's "My Destiny," for example). It stays in your head, but not in an "Almost Paradise" kind of way.

Bonus: "Hold on There," Cheer Up!

And now, for a bonus instrumental track: the whistling song from Cheer Up. While not something I would go out of my way to listen to, the second I hear any portion of this song, I start whistling along and wondering why I'm not watching Cheer Up over and over and over. It's the perfect little tune for a happy little show.

What's Your Favorite K-drama OST Song?

These just so happen to be some of the songs I found most effective in their respective dramas, but what about you? Do the big ballads get your tears flowing? Are you more into instrumental themes? Let me know in the comments!

The 9 Best K-drama Second Male Leads Who Broke My Heart

It's been a while since I've had a good bout of Second Lead Syndrome—the kind where you spend half the series clutching your heart and shouting at the screen because you know deep down inside that the female lead of a K-drama is going to pick the "wrong" guy.

Recently, I've been in weird limbo with The Best Hit, and I can't tell if my heart is going to be crushed by second lead syndrome for Ji Hoon or if he's actually the romantic endgame for our female lead this time. Usually K-dramas are so blatant about the central pairing that I haven't been this confused since Answer Me 1988 In this case, though, I think it's less about stringing the audience along and more about developing non-romantic parts of the story, which I'm okay with.

Either way, the whole thing's got me reflecting on all my favorite second leads of yore. Here are my 9 favorite K-drama second male leads of all time—the ones I would have picked in a heartbeat if I were in charge of writing the script.

1. Kim Shin Hyuk (played by Siwon), She Was Pretty

Aaaaaaaand now I'm clutching my heart all over again.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again: I started this series for Park Seo Joon, and I stuck around for Siwon. Siwon stole the show with Shin Hyuk, and this is one case of Second Lead Syndrome where I genuinely think the leads should have swapped partners. Shin Hyuk's quirky sense of humor seemed much better suited to Hye Jin's personality than stick-in-the-mud Sung Joon's grumpiness. 

What made it all worse is that Siwon really threw himself into this role and proved himself as an actor better than any of his previous roles (at least the ones I've seen). And then he finished this show and ran off to military service, and we haven't been able to see him in a leading role since. Sigh.

Full She Was Pretty review

2. Moon Jae Shin/Geol Oh (played by Yoo Ah In), Sungkyungkwan Scandal

Geol Oh. Ohhhhh Geol Oh, my first true K-drama love. In the context of Sungkyungkwan Scandal, I guess I kinda sorta get why Yoon Hee picked who she did, but you'd better believe that if I found myself hiding out in Sungkyungkwan, I'd have heart eyes only for our tousled, grumpy warrior. 

I was already rooting for him as the scruffy Batman type, and then, THEN they went and gave him nervous hiccups around women, and I was a goner.

Full Sungkyungkwan Scandal review

3. Yoon Ji Hoo (played by Kim Hyun Joong), Boys over Flowers

This was the first drama where I actually googled who the female lead chooses as I was watching the show. It was also, incidentally, where I first encountered the term "Second Lead Syndrome."

Jun Pyo spent the entire series being a terrible person. There, I said it. He opened the series bullying someone into attempting suicide. Then he bullied Jan Di into dating him. And you know what? Even if he fell for Jan Di, I never got the sense that he really got over his terrible personality.

Then you have Ji Hoo, who is kind and supportive. Unlike other second leads who never really have a shot with the female lead, Ji Hoo is not only Jan Di's first love but also—as a fortune teller informs the audience in the most rage-inducing piece of second-lead info ever—her true soulmate. Thanks for nothing, fortune teller.

4. "Master" (played by Lee Chun Hee), Dating Agency Cyrano

Exactly what I said to him every time he was on my screen.

Continuing with the theme of "female leads who have nonsensical taste in men," we get to Dating Agency Cyrano, where I spent the entire series wondering what on earth sassy Min Young saw in boring, emotionally stunted Byung Hoon when she could have been dating smart, fun, kind chef with a bad boy side (and Lee Chun Hee's face), "Master."

Out of all the shows on this entire list, I think this one might win for the biggest discrepancy in quality between the first male lead and the guy relegated to the sidelines. I don't get it. I really, really don't.

Full Dating Agency Cyrano review

5. Jung Hwan (played by Ryu Joon Yul), Answer Me 1988

Is it really any surprise that one of the Answer Me series made it to the list? I managed to root for the right guy in the first two installments, but I kinda feel like the Answer Me gods visited their wrath on my heart tenfold with Jung Hwan.

It's not that I disliked Taek as a husband—it's that a giant chunk of the narrative structure was built to make me feel root for Jung Hwan, and then we got the rug pulled out from under us and didn't even get a satisfying resolution to his story. No, I'm not at all bitter about this anymore! (Yes, I am.)

Full Answer Me 1988 review

6. Jeremy or Shin Woo (played by Lee Hong Ki and Jung Yong Hwa), You're Beautiful)

Pretty much anyone—anyone—would have been better than Jerkface McJerkerton Tae Kyung. I think this might be where my weird aversion to Jang Geun Suk comes from. Try as I might, I cannot talk myself into watching any of his other shows after the trash fire that was this romance.

Go Mi Nyu could have picked the lovable and playful Jeremy. She could have picked the secretly supportive Shin Woo. She could have gone back to the nunnery. Any of those options would have been fine. But no, she threw up in Tae Kyung's mouth, and so the laws of all dramadom decreed that she would love him forever. *Shudders*

Full You're Beautiful review

7. Choi Young Do (played by Kim Woo Bin), Heirs

Ok, if I had a friend who asked me if she should date Kim Tan or Young Do, I would probably tell her to ditch them both and run as fast as she could from that toxic school (and then sell that super expensive uniform on eBay or something). That being said, I couldn't help but root for Young Do, who Kim Woo Bin made genuinely intriguing and heartbreaking to watch in comparison to Lee Min Ho's Kim Tan, who had the personality of a potato.

Don't date bullies in real life. But maybe it's okay to clutch your heart a little when they're crying over noodles on a show.

Full Heirs review

8. Chief Gook (played by Lee Mil Mo), Emergency Couple

Coco and I were on exact opposite sides of the shipping fence for this show. She was 100% in favor of Chang Min and his rippling muscles, and meanwhile I was pining away for Chief Gook, the scruffy, gruff second male lead (mayyyybe I'm seeing a pattern here with Geol Oh...).  I mean, just look at these texts I sent back in the day:

You know you've got it bad when you're insisting that other people share your second lead pain. 

Full Emergency Couple review

9. Hwang Wook (played by Kim Sung Oh), Warm and Cozy

I loooooove me some Yoo Yun Suk, but the character of Gun Woo needed to fall off a cliff into the ocean, get eaten by fish, digested, and pooped out far, far away from Jung Joo so she could get over him and his emotionally manipulative ways and date the goofy mayor instead.

As if I didn't already love Kim Sung Oh enough, this role has endeared him to me forever. He may or may not have been the only thing that kept me watching to the end—that, and I was watching with a group of friends, all of whom kept squealing with glee whenever Hwang Wook showed up.

What about second female lead syndrome?

K-dramas are typically constructed to favor second male lead syndrome. In order to properly play out the reverse harem fantasy, show writers often make second female leads either completely irrelevant to the main loveline (aka the best friend with her own story going on) or a terrible bitch who no one would root for in the first place. Most second female leads are disqualified as actual threats to the central pairing the second they show up on screen, and they're relegated to being annoying plot devices that keep our leads apart for as long as possible until they pair up with the second male lead, turn so evil that they become murderers and go to jail, or both.

Still, second female lead syndrome does sometimes happen—In She Was Pretty, I for sure thought Hye Jin's best friend Ha Ri would be a better fit for Sung Joon (which would conveniently leave Hye Jin to date Shin Hyuk...), and I've heard from a lot of viewers that the second female lead in Doctor Strange far outshone the female lead. 

My one true case of second female lead was Joseon Gunman, where Jeon Hye Bin's Hye Won had awesome chemistry with Yoon Kang, and I definitely wanted them to get together for the entire first half of the show (after which I dropped it so I wouldn't have to watch her go evil.) As it turns out, Lee Joon Ki and Jeon Hye Bin eventually started dating in real life, which makes me feel extra validated about the chemistry vibes I was getting!

Image via Namoo Actors

But really, Second Female Lead Syndrome happens few and far between, and it's usually the men we're left heartbroken over at the end of the show.

Who's Your Worst Case of Second Lead Syndrome?

Have you ever suffered from Second Lead Syndrome? Who got you worst?

If you want to discuss more Second Lead Syndrome, check out this post from way back in the day, when we talked about all the reasons we catch (or don't catch) the second lead disease. 

The 10 Best Kdrama Couples of All Time

Maybe it's my impatience for new episodes of Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, or maybe it's the complete dearth of K-drama romances lately (aforementioned Strong Woman excluded), but I've found myself thinking back on some of the best romances I've seen in dramas. If you're looking for some of the best K-drama couples to fill your time while you wait for the neverending stream of legal/office dramas to end, here are my 10 favorite Korean drama couples of all time!

1. Healer: Chae Young Shin and Seo Jung Hoo

If you've ever read anything on this blog, you had to know this was coming. Healer's couple is everything I ever wanted in a K-drama romance. Shared trust, mutual support, shy glances, easy friendship, passionate kisses....If this romance doesn't work for you, you should probably get your heart checked out to make sure you aren't actually a robot. (And I'm sorry to be the one to break the robot news to you.)

Full Healer review

2. Coffee Prince: Go Eun Chan and Choi Han Kyul 

Coffee Prince was the very first drama I ever saw, and you can see where that led me (5 years later, blogging about it in my pajamas instead of vacuuming like I should be doing). What drew me to K-dramas was the way we got to see the full progression of the couple's relationship in this series instead of rolling the credits the minute they got together. Han Kyul's confession of "I don't know if you're a man or an alien" remains one of the most passionate, pleading, and heartfelt romantic moments of any K-drama, ever.

Full Coffee Prince review

3. Queen In Hyun's Man: Choi Hee Jin and Kim Boong Do

There are a lot of time travel dramas out there, but I don't know that any capture that feeling of a love that spans the ages quite like Queen In Hyun's Man. Here we have two leads who get along with each other and care for each other from the moment they meet. It's no surprise that these two actors started dating at the end of the series (though they later broke up)—their chemistry was obvious. 

Full Queen In Hyun's Man review

4. Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo: Kim Bok Joo and Jung Joon Hyung

This drama aired fairly recently, but I doubt it will drop off my personal list of the best couples any time soon. These two have such an easy, natural chemistry, and the show avoided one of the biggest pitfalls I see in so many K-dramas: instead of wasting a bunch of time keeping the couple apart, the bulk of the series focused on showing us just how much they enjoyed being around each other.

5. It's Okay, That's Love: Ji Hae Soo and Jang Jae Yeol

Several of the couples on my list are young, puppylike romances, and part of the reason for that is that many K-dramas seem to have a hard time showing what actual adult romances look like. Not so with It's Okay, That's Love. Here we have a couple dealing with actual issues like sex and mental illness in ways that don't feel immature or shallow. And the kissing. Oh, the kissing.

6. King 2 Hearts: Lee Jae Shin and Eun Shi Kyung

With how hard it was to narrow down my list of favorite couples, you would think I should stick to main couples. Yeah, I tried telling myself that, too. But few K-drama romances have made me smile, cheer, and bawl my face off like wild princess Jae Shin and her very earnest, very straightlaced Shi Kyung. It doesn't hurt that Lee Yoon Ji is my ultimate "Why is she so underrated and not the star of everything?" Korean actress, and Jo Jung Suk fell into the exact same category until Oh My Ghostess. (P.S. Lee Yoon Ji's Instagram and all the photos of her little daughter make me love her even more—as if that were possible.)

Full King 2 Hearts review

7. Cheer Up!/Sassy Go Go: Kang Young Do and Kim Yeol

These two. They just put a smile on my face. They manage to capture exactly what it feels like to be 18 and dating for the first time—the flirty post-its, the embarrassing blushes, the irrepressible grins (with a healthy dose of cute eye smiles all around). They're just so stinking adorable that I could watch scenes between these two all day, every day.

For the record, this couple just edged out Eun Ji's other youth romance, Answer Me 1997. While there are a lot of things I love about Answer Me 1997 as a whole, the relationship was a little too shouty to make the list. Still, for those Shi Won/Yoon Jae shippers out there, I give you this conciliatory screen shot:

Full Cheer Up! review

8. Marriage, Not Dating: Joo Jang Mi and Gong Gi Tae

Marriage, Not Dating is probably my favorite K-drama romcom of all time, and it introduced me to the massively charming Han Groo (who is off having twins, which is wonderful for her but sad for my TV screen). I love how Jang Mi and Gi Tae seem like real people, and the show managed to keep up the comedic spark between them without devolving into a sea of tears at the end.

Marriage, Not Dating initial impressions

9. The Princess's Man: Lee Se Ryung and Kim Seung Yoo

Okay, so I don't actually remember a ton of the details of this couple, but what I do remember is being swept up in the sheer force and grandeur of the romance. I sometimes have a hard time connecting with the romance in historical dramas because everyone's so buttoned up and formal, but the fictional characters let this one focus more heavily on the love story. If you're looking for epic, this couple will give you epic and then some.

10. Birth of a Beauty: Sa Geum Ran and Han Tae Hee

Look. Sometimes the best shows don't have the best couples, and sometimes bad shows have good couples. Brith of a Beauty isn't a show I generally recommend to people, but I genuinely love the interactions between Geum Ran and Tae Hee. I got through all the piles and piles of nonsense on that show through the sheer power of their chemistry—and that's really saying something.

Full Birth of a Beauty review

Stray Observations

This list was nearly impossibly hard to compile. I wish you could see how much I agonized over including this drama and excluding that one (all at the expense of showering or finishing that ever-present vacuuming). But coming to the final conclusions left me with some interesting insights.

• This list overlaps with four of my favorite K-drama kisses and four of my favorite male leads who aren't jerks. Go figure—if you don't populate your dramas with cruel male leads and actually let your characters kiss, you have a better chance of having a good couple!
• No actor or actress made the list twice (though I did cheat and mention two Eunji dramas).
• The oldest show on the list is Coffee Prince from 2007. The most recent is Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo from 2016. While I have seen quite a few classic K-drama romances, a lot of them either really play up the noble idiocy or have controlling male leads that kept them off the list. The one I considered including is Dalja's Spring (also 2007), but ultimately even that one was too draggy to make the cut.
• As it turns out, a lot of my favorite dramas have one character who's pulling most of the weight and making the show work. Off the list with them! Everyone pulls their weight around here!
• Strong Woman Do Bong Soon isn't over yet, but if it keeps going at this pace, it might just make the cut. It's a balanced relationship with mutual respect and swoon-worthy chemistry. Don't ruin it, show!

I know some of you will have opposing opinions about this list! Let me know who your favorite K-drama couples are!


Note: After a recent layout switch, we're seeing comments posted before April 7, 2017 missing on a few posts. We're working on a solution, and any new comments will appear!

 

10 Best, Most Passionate Kdrama Kiss Scenes That Will Make You Weak at the Knees

We all know the dreaded K-drama dead fish kiss—when the female lead stands with her eyes wide open as the man inches towards her face and then they barely brush lips. Nothing is more infuriating after you've invested hours watching a romance develop. I'm not saying that they need to rip each others' clothes off during the first date, but when people are in love (and especially when they overcome absurd plot hurdles for that love), physical desire is a manifestation of that emotional connection.

Just like a bad K-drama kiss can undermine the emotional payout of the show, a good kiss filled with passion makes the whole thing worth watching.  So, for those of you tired of frozen lip-bumps, here are the 10 best gut-flipping, knee-melting kisses we've ever seen in K-dramas.

(Note: We've overhauled this post to celebrate all the many fantastic kiss scenes since we originally wrote it in 2013. Updated: February 2017)

1. Lie to Me: Karaoke Kiss/Cola Kiss

I agonized over which kiss to choose from this series. The cola kiss is more generally popular, but the the karaoke kiss was what really sold me on this show. In both scenes, it's this intense, immediate realization of attraction that leads to on-screen magic. There have been some close competitors in recent years, but this show still takes the cake as the best K-drama kiss.

2. Healer: Apartment Kiss

I know what you're thinking, and you can just stop right now. Yes, the "hat kiss" is the more iconic one from this show. No, that does not make it the best kiss.

K-dramas looooooove to use props that make kisses "memorable" (aka easy to nickname), but those props often undermine the execution itself. No, I don't think that licking foam off of someone's face or sharing a piece of sharp, pointy toast is romantic. Call me a kissing purist, but I'm sticking with this beautiful, vulnerable, loving kiss instead of the one where the female lead can't see anything.

3. It's Okay, That's Love: Waterfall Kiss

Surprise! Adults actually like to kiss each other sometimes. If you want to see a series that actually addresses the topic of sex, this is the show for you.

           

4. Coffee Prince: Man or Alien Kiss

You had to know this was coming.New K-dramas may try to edge this one out, but it's a classic for a reason. The pure emotion behind this scene ramps up the passion, and of course, Yoon Eun Hye pulls her weight, which explains how she ended up in 2 of the top 5 Korean drama kisses on this list.

5.  Queen In Hyun's Man: Tiptoe Kiss

I remember hearing about how good this kiss was, and I wasn't disappointed. This is one of the best K-drama love stories of all time, and the kissing matches the romance.

6. Answer Me 1988: Noona Kiss

Consent is sexy, y'all.

7. Warm and Cozy/Jeju Island Gatsby: Restaurant Kiss

This show was nonsense, but this kiss was probably the best part of the whole thing. I don't know that it's worth watching the entire series just for the kiss, so let me tell you the important parts. Yoo Yun Suk's character is a jerk for no reason, Kang So Ra's character puts up with him for no reason, and then this kiss happens, and then blah blah.  Just watch this on repeat and skip the rest.  

8. Jealousy Incarnate: "We Must Be Crazy" Kiss

She's dating his best friend, and they have no business kissing, but when Jo Jung Suk looks at her like that, it's impossible not to put this one on the list. #sorrynotsorry

9.  Another Oh Hae Young: Wall Kiss

This kiss isn't entirely unproblematic since he's pinning her up against a wall before it begins, but it's pretty clear from the start that they're both extremely invested in that kiss. Seo Hyun Jin is like a younger Yoon Eun Hye—she's always just as passionate as her male costars in the kissing department.

10.  She Was Pretty: Proposal Kiss

I debated whether I should reward Park Seo Joon's kissing abilities in Witch's Romance or She Was Pretty, and a drama-watching friend convinced me this one was the better choice. Really, you can't go wrong with Park Seo Joon.

I'll have you know that I ended up cutting about another 10 fantastic kisses from this list (Seo In Guk, I'm sorryyyyyy, but there just wasn't space, okay?). I know there are some other good options out there! Which of these kisses was your favorite? Which ones did we miss? Are there any more passionate drama kisses out there that we should check out?

-----------
If you're curious how our list from 2013 was ranked, here it is. Only Lie to Me and Coffee Prince made the cut for the update, but I definitely agonized over leaving Personal Taste out this time around. I'd say it landed just outside the top 10.

1. Lie to Me
2. Prosecutor Princess
3. Flower Boy Ramyun Shop
4. Coffee Prince
5. Goong
6. Personal Taste
7. My Princess
8. My Lovely Sam Soon
9. Secret Garden
10. A Gentleman's Dignity


1 2  3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Note: After a recent layout switch, we're seeing comments posted before April 7, 2017 missing on a few posts. We're working on a solution, and in the meantime, any new comments you leave will work!

10 Nice, Sweet K-drama Male Leads Who Aren't Jerks: Yes, They Exist!

Horrible, rich jerk meets poor, cheerful girl, and by the magical power of love, he becomes sort of nice! That's pretty much 90% of K-dramas in a nutshell. Sure, bad-boy-turned-squishy-marshmallow stories can be fun to watch, but sometimes it gets tiring trying to root for nothing but reformed bastards, and you just want to watch a genuinely non-terrible male lead for once. Well, if you're the type who always roots for the kindhearted second lead, here's a list of 10 nice K-drama male leads who actually aren't jerks.

1. Kim Boong Do (Ji Hyun Woo), Queen In Hyun's Man

Time traveling scholar Kim Boong Do snags the top spot on this list for being a magnificent unicorn of a male lead who is kind, thoughtful, and respectful from day one. Queen In Hyun's Man was the first drama I saw with a genuinely sweet lead, and at the time, I almost couldn't believe some writer actually created this character.

Full Queen In Hyun's Man review

2. Jung Joon Hyung (Nam Joo Hyuk), Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo

Jung Joon Hyung might crack some insensitive jokes at the beginning of Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, but even when he's immature, he's never ill willed, and he spends the vast majority of the series following Bok Joo around and trying to make her happy. What more could anyone possibly want?

3. Yoon Dong Ha (Park Seo Joon), Witch's Romance 

Oh, Yoon Dong Ha, you do things to my heart. I love dramas that flip gender norms, and while this series lost a lot of steam in the second half, I appreciated that we had a fierce leading lady and a younger, adorable puppy as the male lead.

Full Witch's Romance review

4. Seo Jung Hoo (Ji Chang Wook), Healer

I really very much want to write words about how much I love Seo Jung Hoo's character, but just thinking about it turns my brain into happy cotton candy. Jung Hoo takes a while to let Young Shin in, but he's always looking out for her from day one.

Full Healer review

5. Kim Yeol (Lee Won Geun), Cheer Up!/Sassy Go Go

Fun fact: Cheer Up! is the one and only K-drama I have ever watched more than once on my own. Everything about this series makes me smile, and Kim Yeol's crinkly smile certainly doesn't hurt. Like Weightlifting Fairy's Joon Hyung, Yeol has some growing up to do, but it doesn't take much to make him realize when he's being self-centered.

Full Cheer Up! review

6. Enrique Geum (Yoon Si Yoon), Flower Boy Next Door

Enrique wasn't my personal cup of tea (I much preferred the also-sweet comic artist next door), but there's no denying that he's about as kindhearted as they come. His unabashed friendliness was exactly what the female lead needed to pull her out of her isolated world.

Full Flower Boy Next Door review

7. Song Sam Dong (Kim Soo Hyun) and Jin Guk (Taecyeon), Dream High

I couldn't bring myself to call out just one male lead on this show. Suzy's character was surrounded by nice guys who would go out of their way to help her, and that's why it wasn't clear to me for most of the series who she would choose.

8. Choi Taek (Park Bo Gum), Answer Me 1988

Taek is basically the anti-drama-lead. He's quiet and childlike, unlike the boorish alpha males who fill most shows. Even if you weren't one of the ones rooting for his character to end up with the girl, it's hard not to spend the entire series wanting to pat him on the head and give him candy.

Full Answer Me 1988 review

9. Choi Dal Po (Lee Jong Suk), Pinocchio

Lee Jong Suk has such a gentle demeanor in all of his real-life interviews that it's tough to see him as an actual jerk on any show. In Pinocchio, Dal Po is always looking out for In Ha and doing his best to support her.

Bonus: Dong Hae Sung (Lee Won Geun), Thumping Spike 2

If you don't have time to watch an entire show but just want to see a bunch of cute romance all in one sitting, then Thumping Spike 2 is the series for you! Most web dramas really play up the extremes of the jerk boy/poor girl story. While Thumping Spike 2 definitely goes for a lot of typical K-drama cliches, the male lead isn't one of them. Hae Sung is popular and a little standoffish to the outside world, but he warms to our female lead rather quickly, which means—you guessed it—lots and lots of Lee Won Geun crinkle smiles. (Okay, yes, those are my weakness. Can you blame me?)

Are there other dramas with non-jerk K-drama male leads I should check out? I'm always on the lookout for more suggestions! Who's your favorite from this list?

Note: After a recent layout switch, we're seeing comments posted before April 7, 2017 missing on a few posts. We're working on a solution, and in the meantime, any new comments you leave will work!

List of the Best Korean Dramas Available for Streaming On Netflix 2017

Here is a list of K-dramas currently streaming on Netflix (updated June 2017). It's pretty great considering that when I first started watching Kdramas on Netflix years ago, they only had three. We've noticed that this is a popular search term, and people have asked us for this list. Netflix rotates their selection of Korean dramas, so we'll try to update this every once in a while. I tried to categorize them as best as possible, but some of them fall under multiple genres. I put symbols next to the ones we've watched to show how we feel about them. You can find out more about them, and other K-dramas we recommend that aren't on Netflix but are on DramaFever or Viki in our post Best Korean Drama Recommendations. There are also links to the ones we've reviewed here on our blog. Have fun watching your favorite K-dramas without commercials!

Key: 

* Really Liked
+ Just Ok
-  Didn't Like
# Quit Watching
% Web Series (very short, fluffy episodes)

Romantic Comedies

9 Seconds Eternal Time%
After School; Lucky or Not%+
Age of Youth (under title Hello, My Twenties)*
Be Arrogant%
Birdie Buddy
Boys Over Flowers *
Can We Get Married
Click Your Heart%+
The Cravings%
Descendants of the Sun#
Detective Alice%
Dream Knight%+
Falling for Innocence (under the title Beating Again)
Full House, Take 2
Kpop: Extreme Survival
In Need of Romance
In Need of Romance 2
In Need of Romance 3+
It's Okay, That's Love*
Jumping Girl
Love Cells%
Love for Ten: Generation of Youth%
Noble, My Love%+
Madame Antoine-#
Magic Phone%
The Miracle%
My Little Baby
My Only Love Song+#%
My Runway
Never Die%
One More Time
Panda and Hedgehog
Playful Kiss --
Ready for Start%
Reply 1997*
Reply 1994*
Sound of Your Love%
Spark%
Tamra, the Island
To Be Continued%#
Tomorrow's Cantabile
What in the World Happened?


Melodramas

28 Moons
A Man Called God
Beloved Eun Dong (under the title This Is My Love)
Cain and Abel
Color of Woman
Goodbye Mr. Black
Goodbye My Wife
Happy And
Heaven's Garden
Her Legend (under title Love in Her Bag)
Immortal Classic
Love Rain
Lucid Dream
Misaeng, Incomplete Life
Night Light (under the title White Nights)
Nightmare High%
Operation Proposal
Outstanding Woman
Peninsula
President
Saving Mrs. Go Bong Shil (under title Go! Mrs. Go)
Secret Love Affair
Tong: Memories%
Under the Black Moonlight
Wild Chives and Soybean Soup (under title 12 Years Promise)

Action/Crime Drama

Aftermath%
Bad Guys*
D-Day
Iris
Last
Man to Man

Note: Netflix swaps out its Korean dramas pretty regularly, so if you see any new ones that have been added and aren't on the list, let us know! Also comment below on which of these you recommend.

After a recent layout switch, we're seeing comments posted before April 7, 2017 missing on a few posts. We're working on a solution, and in the meantime, any new comments you leave will work!