Like the title suggests, I'm looking for good dramas where the male lead is hot (no old/unattractive leads please) and rich/semi-rich and falls HARD for the female lead. He loves her unconditionally and would overlook any misunderstandings because he wants to be with her above all else. Basically, a male lead who, upon falling in love, never wavers in his resolve to be with the heroine no matter the setbacks. He should suffer a bit during this process because that makes his persistence all the more admirable and swoon-worthy when he fights through all the obstacles.

Good examples of what I'm looking for are:

Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms/Eternal Love
Game Rai Game Ruk
New Tales of Gisaeng
Meteor Garden I and Hana Yori Dango I 
(didn't like "Boys over Flowers", so I dropped it)
Memory Lost
Punch (2003)
Truth (2000)

My Lucky Star

Because of meeting you (ML initially gave up on the FL after discovering something unappealing about her, but this was before they were officially together. Later on, he still decides to go after her and really fought to be with her despite those setbacks. This was before the truth came out and it really showed unconditional love on his part.)


Five Enough 
(a bit more on the lighthearted side, but he suffered through unrequited love and really tried hard to get the heroine to fall for him, never wavering in his resolve)

Every male lead up above really suffered and fought HARD to be with their beloved :)

Honorable Mentions: Love O2O (didn't suffer, but put a lot of work in his pursuit and never wavered), Healer (didn't suffer as much when it came to romance, but really yearned and fought pretty hard to be with the heroine)



Dramas I dropped due to a messy plot or lack of one (please don't recommend anything similar to these):

Descendants of the Sun (lacks an overall direction; plot's all over the place) 

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (incoherent plot; tries to be too many genres at once)


This is probably very challenging, lol, since quality dramas are hard to come by as it is, let alone ones with unwavering hot male leads who really fight hard for their relationship. But I just wanted to fish around to see what quality dramas I've missed that fits this thread. Thanks so much for all your help!

I think Giant is a good one....I love the second main couple Mi Ju and Min Woo.....Mi Ju's brother's put Min Woo through hell because Min Woo wasn't a good person and they were super protective of their little sister...The romance etween them was AMAZINGGGGG......And this drama is underrated,but the ratings is good here on MDL

 Otps4Life:

I think Giant is a good one....I love the second main couple Mi Ju and Min Woo.....Mi Ju's brother's put Min Woo through hell because Min Woo wasn't a good person and they were super protective of their little sister...The romance etween them was AMAZINGGGGG......And this drama is underrated,but the ratings is good here on MDL

Ooh, forgot to add "Giant!" Yep, I agree it definitely fits this thread and I loved how persistent Min Woo was when it came to Mi Ju. The only thing I didn't like was how much he seemed to be into the female lead earlier on. Lol, I pretty much only watched the secondary couple and skipped through everything else that's not related.

for sure Cruel Romance, Sound of the desert, The Princess Wei Young, Too late to say I love you, General and I  

  1. Khun Chai Puttipat
  2. Khun Chai Ronapee
  3. Kon la Kop Fah
  4. Massaya
  5. Boss and Me
  6. Cruel Romance
  7. Sound of the Desert
  8. Plerng Chimplee
  9. Two Spirit's Love
  10. The Queen of SOP
  11. My Sunshine

Would also recommend What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, but it's just a fluffy romance and you may not have liked it. Otherwise, it did have a really rich male lead that absolutely didn't let go of the female lead at all, ever.

Also check out:

  • Love Now
  • Scent of a Woman
  • Moon that emb4aces the sun
  • Thousand Days Promise
  • Ashes of Love
  • Moonshine and Valentine
  • My Love eundong
  • Kingyo Club - Not really the rich/swmi rich guy since this is highschool romance but I really think this is one of those dramas where ML loves uncondionally and fough to be together type of story
 Soju:
  1. Khun Chai Puttipat
  2. Khun Chai Ronapee
  3. Kon la Kop Fah
  4. Massaya
  5. Boss and Me
  6. Cruel Romance
  7. Sound of the Desert
  8. Plerng Chimplee
  9. Two Spirit's Love
  10. The Queen of SOP
  11. My Sunshine

Would also recommend What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, but it's just a fluffy romance and you may not have liked it. Otherwise, it did have a really rich male lead that absolutely didn't let go of the female lead at all, ever.

Thanks for all these recs! There are several I haven't watched. Does the male lead in "Massaya" fall HARD for the female lead and really fights to be with her despite any misunderstandings, never giving up on her?

 Czakhareina:

Also check out:

  • Love Now
  • Scent of a Woman
  • Moon that emb4aces the sun
  • Thousand Days Promise
  • Ashes of Love
  • Moonshine and Valentine
  • My Love eundong
  • Kingyo Club - Not really the rich/swmi rich guy since this is highschool romance but I really think this is one of those dramas where ML loves uncondionally and fough to be together type of story

Thanks, but I don't think the male lead in "Ashes of Love" fits this thread: He's weak for one thing (incompetent and dumb throughout the drama) and is unable to protect the girl. Also, after the supposed "betrayal," he's too scared to put his heart on the line and repeatedly pushes the female lead away -ugh, he even attacks her in order to defend the other woman. I felt the secondary guy was way more capable and did whatever it took to be with the girl -truly fought hard to be with her.

Ooh, forgot another good drama that fits:  My Lucky Star (2007) 

The male lead, despite all the misunderstandings later on, still succumbs to his feelings and pursues the female lead, prioritizing her above everything. Their relationship later on was really intense and romantic and the male lead's willingness to start over without knowing the truth really touched me.

 indra:

"Autumn's Concerto" was a good drama, but really disappointed me in the romance department. Even in the earlier half, the male lead committed noble idiocy (my 2nd most hated trope after cheating) and pushes the female lead away. This was after he fell hard for her. Then in the later half, the leads' kid takes over and the show becomes all about him and the court cases. The male lead pretty much waits for the female lead to chase him because he's tired of taking the initiative -not very romantic. I wanted to see him pursue/court the main girl and really fight for her, but didn't get any of that. I ended up feeling that the child mattered to him more than the girl and the only reason they ended up together was because of the kid.

 Jess4163:

Thanks for all these recs! There are several I haven't watched. Does the male lead in "Massaya" fall HARD for the female lead and really fights to be with her despite any misunderstandings, never giving up on her?


 Soju:
  1. Khun Chai Puttipat
  2. Khun Chai Ronapee
  3. Kon la Kop Fah
  4. Massaya
  5. Boss and Me
  6. Cruel Romance
  7. Sound of the Desert
  8. Plerng Chimplee
  9. Two Spirit's Love
  10. The Queen of SOP
  11. My Sunshine

Would also recommend What's Wrong with Secretary Kim, but it's just a fluffy romance and you may not have liked it. Otherwise, it did have a really rich male lead that absolutely didn't let go of the female lead at all, ever.

Just found out that the male lead in "Massaya" commits noble idiocy and breaks up with the female lead later on for her own good. This is a trope I try to avoid at all costs and is akin to giving up in my book. So, definitely won't be watching this one.

  • Sound of the Desert +1
  • Princess Wei Young +1 - the ML wavers for like five seconds after the FL is framed for killing his mother, but the second he gets over the immediate shock he goes back to being concerned for the FL's well being and trying to protect her / figure out the truth
  • Legend of Fu Yao - there's a point in the narrative that makes it look like the ML wavers, but that version of events was manipulated and the truth that he never wavered is revealed later
  • Love in the Moonlight - at one point in the story the FL leaves (noble idiocy, although fairly practical in this case) and she's framed as a traitor, which the ML never believes, but later on when he arranges to meet her and she insists on leaving again he eventually lets her go not because his feelings waver at all but because the FL is desperately committed to that course of action;  even then he still works towards creating a situation where they can be together again
  • The King's Woman - the King's feelings never waver, although his love isn't exactly selfless (he forces the FL to marry him) and it takes him a bit of time to accept the fact that she's pregnant with another man's child

@AH

Thanks for these recs! 

I read enough on "The King's Woman" to put it on my "avoid list" mainly due to messy writing, mediocre acting from all aside from the male lead, and the terrible ending: He voluntarily kills her.  

 Jess4163:
I read enough on "The King's Woman" to put it on my "avoid list" mainly due to messy writing, mediocre acting from all aside from the male lead, and the terrible ending: He voluntarily kills her.  

Can't blame you for that. Of the five dramas I listed, it was definitely my least favourite, and you're right; the ending does conflict with what you're looking for.