Asian Dramas With Female Centric Storylines

by Chaecutie, February 7, 2021

116 42

Hello, my fellow drama watchers! This is my first article ever, so I hope you'll like my idea and enjoy reading it. I came here because of the Chinese drama Dear Missy and just had to share my thoughts. I'm watching dramas since 2018 which isn't that long of a period of time, but I told myself to give this a try.

Are you sometimes thinking "I want to be like the heroine in this drama, she's so smart, strong and talented; she just has it all!" after watching female-centric drama? But with this success of our female drama heroines comes the tag called "life struggle" or "conflict". This is something that made our heroine this strong and brave whether it's a fight with their families, husbands or just themselves; difficult life situation or lack of funds. Society is a scary place, and we all have to face it without exceptions, endure it day after day and accept reality. So come with me to take a look at some female-centred dramas which, I hope, can encourage you!

	Title: Age of Youth Aired: 2016 Episodes: 12 Network: jTBC University students Yoon Jin Myung, Jung Ye Eun, Song Ji Won, Kang Yi Na and Yoo Eun Jae share a house. Jin Myung is busy supporting herself financially and studying. She suffers from lack of sleep. Ye Eun is devoted to her boyfriend, she is clear about what she likes or not. Ji Won has a bright personality and likes to drink. Yi Na is popular due to her beautiful appearance. Eun Jae is timid, but she has a unique taste for men.
	Title: SKY Castle Aired: 2018 Episodes: 20 Network: jTBC SKY Castle follows the lives of 4 women living in luxurious SKY Castle neighborhood. They try to make their husbands more successful and raise their children like prince and princesses. Han Seo Jin is married to orthopedic surgeon Kang Joon Sang. They have two daughters. Han Seo Jin seems to have a perfect life, but she has a secret. Lee Soo Im is a writer of children's books. She holds a deep affection and consideration for people. Lee Soo Im is married to neurosurgeon Hwang Chi Young. They have a son. No Seung Hye is married to law school professor Cha Min Hyuk. Her husband talks about justice and happiness, but he hides a different side. One with having extreme egoism. They have two sons. Jin Jin Hee comes from a wealthy family. Her father owns buildings. Jin Jin Hee admires Han Seo Jin and tries to copy what she does. Like Han Seo Jin, Jin Jin Hee is married to an orthopedic surgeon, Woo Yang Woo.
	Title: Search: WWW Aired: 2019 Episodes: 16 Network: tvN Bae Ta Mi works as a director for a big web portal company. She is in her late 30's and is quite competitive. With her competitiveness, Bae Ta Mi enjoys success. The methods she uses to win has her wondering if she is doing the right thing with her life. Has she sacrificed too much of her personal life for success? Park Mo Gun is a man in his 20's and is a gifted composer. He creates music for video games. Park Mo Gun meets Bae Ta Mi at an arcade. He falls in love with her due to her competitive spirit.
	Title: Be Melodramatic Aired: 2019 Episodes: 16 episodes Network: jTBC Im Jin Joo, Lee Eun Jung and Hwang Han Joo are best friends, and they are all 30-years-old. Im Jin Joo is a drama series writer. She has emotional ups and downs. Her personality is a bit unique. Even though she is a drama series writer, she tries to write her scripts with a literary style. She also makes conversation with a luxurious bag in a shop window. Lee Eun Jung is a documentary director. She has enjoyed documentaries since she was a child. She runs her own production company, and she is the only staff member in the company. One of her documentaries becomes an unexpected hit. Hwang Han Joo is head of a marketing team for a drama series production company. She is a single mother. Hwang Han Joo struggles to balance her work and raising a kid.
	Title: Avengers Social Club Aired: 2017 Episodes: 12 Network: tvN Features three women from different walks of life coming together for revenge: a fish store ahjumma who envisioned a better life for herself, a housewife, and a chaebol’s daughter who was raised like a delicate greenhouse flower. They’re an unlikely trio who would never otherwise meet, but they join forces to carry out their individual revenge. Although they start out as co-conspirators, along the way, they’ll build a strong friendship.
	Title: Woman of Dignity Aired: 2017 Episodes: 20 Network: jTBC Ah Jin, who is beautiful and has a nice figure, enjoys a splendidly luxurious life after marrying into a rich family. Through her wits and acuteness, she gains President Ahn's trust, her father-in-law and the head of the house. While looking for a caregiver for her father-in-law who has a hard time moving around, Ah Jin finds Bok Ja and hires her. She thinks that the old-fashioned and plain but somewhat cultured Bok Ja seems to be a perfect fit for her family. However, Bok Ja doesn’t remain as a caregiver. She seduces President Ahn with her voluptuous body and takes over the household.
	Title: Good Casting Aired: 2020 Episodes: 16 Network: SBS Baek Chan Mi is a legendary agent for the National Intelligence Service. However, due to an excessive operation, one of her subordinates passes away. After this incident, she takes back all hope of returning to the field when she gets an order to go undercover. She begins working as a secretary for Ilkwang Hitech under the name, Baek Jang Mi. She is joined by a single mother, Im Ye Eun, who has the beauty of a girl group member, and Hwang Mi Soon, a housewife of 18 years whose family believes her to be an insurance salesperson. These three women begin to work together. Meanwhile, Ilkwang Hitech’s CEO, Yoon Seok Ho, knew Chan Mi as his tutor and had a crush on her. He can’t help but think that his new secretary, who looks exactly like his first love but has a different name and age, is a bit suspicious.
	Title: Birthcare Center Aired: 2020 Episodes: 8 Network: tvN Oh Hyun Jin has had a glittering career in her work life. She is the youngest member on the board of executives at the company she works at and is used to acing everything she does. But when she delivers her first child, she is in for a shock. Giving birth was far more difficult than she had expected, and she quickly discovers that although she is a dab hand at all things work-related, she hasn’t got the first clue about how to bring up a baby. After being discharged from hospital, she heads to a birth care center – an exclusive establishment where even A-list stars come to get postpartum care. She is dismayed to realize that she is the oldest mother in the center and embarrassed to notice that everyone else seems to know what they are doing when it comes to looking after babies. Fortunately, the other mothers at the center prove inspirational. Among their number is Cho Eun Jung, aka the Queen Bee – a seemingly perfect mother whom everyone wants to befriend in order to learn childcare secrets. And Choi Hye Sook is the charismatic center manager – a veritable font of knowledge about all things childcare-related.

	Title: Followers Aired: 2020 Episodes: 9 Network: Netflix Nara Rimi, an established and popular photographer, meets Hyakuta Natsume who has come to Tokyo with dreams of becoming an actress. Although Natsume suffers setbacks, she grows from these experiences in this story about the lifestyles of women whose lives intersect in this world dominated by social media.
	Title: Tokyo Joshi Zukan Aired: 2016 Episodes: 11 Network: Amazon Prime The story follows Aya Saito from last year in high school to her 40s, as she moves from Akita, a small rural town in the Japanese countryside to the glittering metropolis of Tokyo. Aya has to adjust to the different values and perceptions of the big city as she struggles with challenging situations. We get to follow Aya's move from one neighborhood to another as she maneuvers her career and love life.
	Title: Dear Sister Aired: 2014 Episodes: 10 Network: Fuji TV 27-year-old Fukazawa Misaki and 29-year-old Hazuki are sisters who are polar opposites in both lifestyle and personality. Although they would hurt each other's feelings, they would also make up for each other’s deficiencies. The beautiful Misaki is the typical younger sister who is good at putting on the little girl act. She did not fare well academically but knows how to swim with the tide. After graduating from high school, she left home and went missing. But one day, she suddenly moves into Hazuki's apartment and behaves with wild abandon. However, Misaki has a secret which she keeps to herself. Hazuki works at a ward office and has set her sights on an early marriage to her boyfriend who works in the same office. She is the well-organised, fastidious chairperson type, but is a wee bit socially awkward. Hazuki feels that Misaki snatched all their mother's love in childhood. Hazuki actually has a secret which she cannot tell Misaki too. As these two sisters clash while living under the same roof, their values start to change little by little.
	Title: Miss Sherlock Aired: 2018 Episodes: 8 Network: Hulu MISS SHERLOCK pays homage to the classic by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes, with bold interpretations of the iconic characters, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. *MISS SHERLOCK* is set in modern-day Tokyo, and both lead characters are Japanese women – Dr. Wato Tachibana, a surgeon recently returned from a volunteer doctors’ mission in Syria and Sara Shelly Futaba, an investigation consultant to the police department who solves bizarre and difficult cases. Throughout the series, the pair solves mystery after mystery with Miss Sherlock’s extraordinary observation and reasoning skills.
	Title: Ito-kun A to E Aired: 2017 Episodes: 8 Network: TBS Yazaki Rio is a 32-year-old screenwriter, who was once popular but has not written any new titles in a while. One day while she was giving a lecture, she distributes a questionnaire to the attendees. Later, when reading the answers, she notices that 4 women are all talking about a man named "Ito". With her producer's encouragement, she decided to write a new TV series about the women and their relationship with "Ito".
	Title: Araburu Kisetsu no Otomedomo yo Aired: 2020 Episodes: 8 Network: TBS Kazusa Onodera is in the first 1st grade of high school. She is also a member of the literature club at her school. The literature club has a total of 5 members, with the other members being Niina Sugawara, Rika Sonezaki, Momoko Sudo and Hitoha Hongo. The five girls all have unique personalities, but they are also not very popular and even ridiculed by other students. They are far from having any romantic relationships. When Kazusa Onodera reads books with explicit stories, she feels embarrassed, but also interested. One day, members of the literature club talk about what they want to do before they die. Thinking about those explicit stories, Niina Sugawara blurts out.
	Title: Shokuzai Aired: 2012 Episodes: 5 Network: WOWOW The murder of Emili, a young girl, leaves the inhabitants of a small Japanese village in shock. The raped body of Emily is found by the four classmates with whom she was playing. The murder is never solved. Emili's mother, Asako, is torn by grief and puts a curse on the four girls when they claim that they don't remember the killer's face. Each of the girls, in their own way, will do their penance for their silence. Deeply struck by the words of Asako and burdened with her curse, the four girls are forced into adulthood which eventually triggers a tragic chain of events.
	Title: #Remolove: Futusuu no Koi wa Jado Aired: 2020 Episodes: 10 Network: NTV Mimi Ozakura is single and about to turn 29. She works as an occupational health physician at a corporate clinic. She is a perfectionist at her job. She will not compromise a person's health with anyone or for any situation. This is how she picked up the nickname "Clinic Dictator". She's busy with work and dealing with situations like the coronavirus outbreak. One day, Mimi Ozakura realizes that she wants to fall in love. She then meets someone on social media. She doesn't know that person's name or what they look like, but she still falls in love with that person. Mimi Ozakura soon realizes that her love interest works at the same company.

	Title: Dear Missy Aired: 2020 Episodes: 36 Network: JSTV Story of two best friends Lu Ke and Shen Si Yi, who has contrasting personalities but are each other's closest friends. Their relationship broke down during graduation, but nine years later, they meet and reconcile. The two encouraged each other, faced difficulties, and overcome the setbacks in work and life together.
	Title: Ode to Joy Aired: 2016 Episodes: 42 Network: Dragon TV Five women live on the 22nd floor of the same apartment. Different in personalities they each have their own struggles in their career, family and love life. As they get to know each other and journey through the struggles of living in Shanghai, they each undergo a transformation.
	Title: Youth Aired: 2018 Episodes: 26 Network: Youku When five college students share a house, they also share their experiences with life and love. Han Yi Tong, Ni Jin, Chen Chen Chen, Lin Xiao Chun and Zhang Sheng Nan are roommates who share a house while attending the same university. Can they support each other through the many challenges they face?
	Title: Nothing But Thirty Aired: 2020 Episodes: 43 episodes Network: Dragon TV The drama follows the perspectives of three 30-year-old women and tells the story of urban women who encounter multiple pressures at the age of 30. Gu Jia, a full-time wife with strong abilities, she manages her small family and her husband’s company in an orderly manner. However, it is this excessive pursuit of perfection that makes people around her feel stressed. At the same time, her happy marital life was intruded on by a third party. But Gu Jia did not escape and chose to face it bravely. Wang Man Ni is a maverick rebel, convinced that she has both the face and brain, and she always deserves better. However, she also has her own troubles. Zhong Xiao Qin lives a very standard life. Her husband is committed to his work as a public servant, and she keeps an ordinary job herself. However, due to her husband’s relatively indifferent personality, communication problems arise.
	Title: Love Yourself Aired: 2020 Episodes: 36 Network: iQiyi A story that follows four women in their thirties during a glorious chapter in their lives. In the city of Shanghai at the age when they are most beautiful, they continuously strive for growth, independence and ultimately find friendship and love. As four friends stepped into their thirties, their lives, which seemed to be on the right track, start to go off the rails. TV producer Sun Yihe may be bold and fearless at work, but she is at a loss when it comes to love. Wang Xinyi is a fitness coach and single mom. As she hesitates before a relationship, she discovers something about herself. Dingding is an aspiring manager who wishes to help her trainees become the best boy band in China. Corporate executive Renran has always been rational and on top of things, but she craves for love and finds that the harder she holds onto it, the faster it fades.
	Title: Danger of Her Aired: 2020 Episodes: 14 Network: iQiyi A classmate gathering, a late night out, and a trending article brings married woman Qiao Wei, chief editor Su Yao, television producer Nicole and hotel chef An Xin together. The four women with different personalities suddenly find their fates deeply tied together, and together they form an "alliance". They take revenge against violent husbands and cheating boyfriends, using methods like threatening, intimidating, scheming and even death.
	Title: Another Me Aired: 2019 Episodes: 53 Network: Hunan TV Two city girls with widely different personalities have been best friends since they were thirteen. Their relationship is tested due to the complications of the heart. In a small city in the South, the high-spirited An Sheng helps her bashful friend Qi Yue get together with Su Jia Ming, their senior in high school. Su Jia Ming gradually becomes attracted to An Sheng, and in order to protect her friendship with Qi Yue, An Sheng joins band singer A Pan in his travels. Qi Yue and Su Jia Ming grow apart after entering different universities, and their meetings become less frequent and far between. At this time, An Sheng and A Pan end their relationship. She meets a businessman named Han Dong and starts to change jobs in order to make a living. Qi Yue busies herself with wedding planning after graduation, but Su Jia Ming repeatedly blows it off. When Qi Yue visits Su Jia Ming at work, she discovers that he has a relationship with An Sheng. The two former friends meet again in the workplace, but can they still salvage what's left of their friendship?
	Title: My Best Friend's Story Aired: 2020 Episodes: 38 Network: CCTV Set in 21st century Shanghai, it revolves around two women with different backgrounds and personalities who forge a deep friendship as they support each other through hard times in life. Zhu Suo Suo is born into poverty and is taken in by Jiang Nan Sun's family. From then on, the two women became close friends. After they stepped out into society, Zhu Suo Suo quickly made a name for herself in the workforce with her talents and exemplary performance. Jiang Nan Sun continues to pursue academics, earning a reputation as an intellect. However, the Jiang family later met with trouble and fell into despair. Zhu Suo Suo helps Jiang Nan Sun settle into the workforce, by assisting her with living accommodations and work opportunities. With her hard work and knowledge, Jiang Nan Sun gradually transforms into an outstanding white-collar lady.

The Village: Achiara's Secret	Dear My Friends	The Penthouse: War in Life
XX	Mistress	Marriage Lyrics For Divorce Music
Twenty Your Life On	Get Married Or Not	Be Together
Ghost Writer	Mistress - Onnatachi no Himitsu	Shichinin no Hisho

If you got here then you're on the end of this article! ｡◕‿◕｡

Thank you for reading and enjoy your daily dose of drama!

_{Edited by:}_Jojo_{(1st editor),}_YW_{(2nd editor)}

ode to joy avengers social club age of youth sky castle the penthouse mistress dear missy followers miss sherlock danger of her dear my friends love yourself