To mark Women's Month this March, we have prepared a series of female-centric features that celebrate the best that k-dramas have to offer.
In this first installment, the GwenchaNoonas reflect on the strong female leads who left a lasting impression on us. Most of these characters are from dramas that aired over the past few years, signaling a rise in the number of unconventional strong female leads in k-dramaland.
Seoul-lo
Goo Hae-ryung (Shin Se-kyung) of Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung (2019)
Available on Netflix (territories and periods vary)
Goo Hae-ryung from Rookie Historian, the eponymous role played skillfully by Shin Se-kyung, is one of the most interesting female characters to come out of a sageuk (historical drama).
In 19th century Joseon, Hae-ryung’s very existence is anomalous. For one, she is an unmarried 26-year-old. For another, she can read and write. And to top it all off, she holds a job interning to be a historian in the Royal Palace. Most sageuk noblewomen are portrayed as scheming mothers and wives plotting masterfully behind their husband’s and son’s backs, or helpless young women waiting to be traded off by their fathers and brothers for political gain. But Hae-ryung surprises us by choosing her own destiny and inadvertently altering history in the process.
She is a young, independent, forthright career woman who solves mysteries and pushes for reform on one hand. And on the other, she is completely believable as an awkward, inexperienced, spontaneous woman in love with a younger man, who happens to be the sheltered and innocent prince (Cha Eun-woo). While the story is entirely fictional, with many anachronous events and storylines (there were never any female historians in the Joseon era), Hae Ryung’s character shows a very real longing for every woman’s desires—to be treated justly in the workplace, not to be judged for the choices she makes, and to define her romantic relationships beyond society’s standards—desires all women can relate to in any century and country.
Shin Ga-Hyun (Nam Ji-hyun) of 365: Repeat the Year (2020)
Available on Viki (territories and periods vary)
Shin Ga-hyun (Nam Ji-hyun) is a webtoon artist who attempts to alter an unfortunate event in her life by agreeing to go back in time with nine other people in 365: Repeat the Year (2020). The time travel sets off a series of murderous events that result in the death of each of the time travelers. Ga-hyun’s life is at stake and yet she refuses to play the victim in this highly suspenseful story.
She doesn’t sit around waiting to be saved by the police detective (Lee Jyun-hyuk), and instead forms an equal alliance with him in order to solve the mystery. Using both intellect and intuition, she sets off on her own investigation, confronts the villain(s), and makes sacrifices when the need arises. Without resorting to guns or unusual physical strength, Ga-hyun shows that a woman is just as capable of saving the day.
Ko Eun-kang (Chae Soo-bin) of Rookie Cops (2022)
Available on Disney+ (territories and periods vary)
Ko Eun-kang (Chae Soo-bin) dreams of entering the Korean National Police Academy because...her crush is there. It’s hardly a noble intention. But in the course of her studies, the young and spirited rookie comes of age and finds her purpose and calling.
An unwitting hero, Eun-kang has an innate sense of justice and uncanny intuition for solving mysteries. Faced with the unfair practice of hazing and corruption in the police, she makes a stand and, along with her friends, takes down the unjust system. But she’s not all work and—like any young adult her age—has fun dating, making new friends, and basically living a wholesome university experience.
Eun-kang’s unbreakable spirit has us rooting for her on every step of her journey.
Read our review.
Barrio Chaebol
Dr. Ji Sun-woo (Kim Hee-ae) of The World of the Married (2020)
Available on Disney+, Netflix, Prime Video (territories and periods vary)
Betrayed wives all over the world found their voice—and drew much strength—in the electrifying performance of Kim Hee-ae as Dr. Ji in 2020's runaway hit, The World of the Married.
As a wife whose seemingly perfect marriage comes crashing down upon the discovery of her husband's infidelity, Dr. Ji is the farthest from a meek victim, and Kim Hee-ae brings tremendous nuance to the complexities of the female psyche undergoing such incredible stress. She can be a doting mother and wife, but when the callousness of both spouse and the mistress get to her, there's no telling how far a woman can go to save her child...and herself.
Oh Sunny (Jang Na-ra) of The Last Empress (2018)
Available on Netflix, Viki (territories and periods vary)
Makjangs (a Korean drama genre similar to the Mexican telenovela) are rife with outlandish and badass characters, but the strongest of them are usually those who are able to keep their cool in the midst of the crazy storm. Enter Oh Sunny (portrayed by the amazing Jang Na-ra), a naïve theater actress who, by force of circumstance, marries the emperor of a fictional modern-day Korean monarchy.
It is fascinating to watch a woman come to terms with the harsh realities of palace life, and once Oh Sunny wakes up to the manipulations of everyone around her (including her husband), she quickly battens down and uses her skills and wits to plot her way out of the madness. Despite rousing the affections of both the emperor and her bodyguard along the way, Oh Sunny stays focused on her mission and in the final twist, chooses to yield to neither. After all, when a woman needs to bring down an empire... well, as the meme goes, "ain’t nobody got time for that."
Ko Moon-young (Seo Yea-ji) of It's Okay to Not Be Okay (2020)
Available on Netflix (territories and periods vary)
As soon as she dangerously toyed with her dinner knife in the first episode of It's Okay to Not Be Okay (2020), it was clear that we were about to have another "interesting" female lead. But Ko Moon-young (Seo Yea-ji) would become more than that. In fact, she would come to evolve into the unexpected anti-heroine we did not know we needed to see onscreen.
Not only does she—repeatedly—make the first move on her man, but her character is also complex enough to accommodate all the dark female desires often considered taboo in Asian society: resentful of one's parents, too comfortable with being alone, overtly sexual, and resistant to domesticity, among other traits.
It was a role made perfect by Seo Yea-ji, whose acting chops and trademark huskiness would make Moon-young the lovable savage we would all end up rooting for. Of course, it didn't hurt that Seo Yea-ji's face and features fit her incredible couture wardrobe perfectly, taking Ko Moon-young from just being an "interesting" character to making her one of the most stylish and compelling characters in k-dramaland.
Go Hye-ran (Kim Nam-joo) of Misty (2018)
Available on Disney+, Netflix, Viki (territories and periods vary)
Kim Nam-joo delivers a flawless performance of the flawed—and incredibly complex—broadcaster Go Hye-ran in Misty, a drama centered on one woman's fight to survive the cutthroat (and often misogynistic) world of Korean broadcasting and politics.
Not many k-dramas deal with the unpalatable realities of women in Korean workplaces, or even touch sensitive issues such as abortion, female-initiated adultery, and divorce, but that is exactly what Misty is all about, and only a few veteran actresses like Kim Nam-joo could have pulled it all off with the requisite nuance and finesse.
Helmed by The World of the Married director Mo Wan-il, the drama further gilds the lily of Go Hye-ran's performance with incredible cinematography and topnotch visuals, making Misty a sharp and stylish commentary on the price some women have to pay to fulfill their most honest ambitions.
Yoon Hye-jin (Shin Min-ah) of Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021)
Available on Netflix (territories and periods vary)
She may have first seemed like a snobby Seoulite who moved to a sleepy coastal town just to make money, but she certainly charmed her way into our hearts and ended up becoming one of the most memorable (and favorited!) female leads in recent k-dramaland.
Yoon Hye-jin, played by the skillful Shin Min-ah, is no coquettish pushover who centers her life on finding a man; in fact, her entire life is a full and vibrant expression of who she is and what she