Korean longer dramas (family or daily) with an intense/passionate romance where the male lead is wealthy/hot and will stop at nothing to be with his girl once he falls hard? A romance similar in intensity to "New Tales of Gisaeng" would be ideal!
As a drama veteran (been watching since 2000 with hiatuses in btw.), I've always been a fan of OTPs with intense chemistry and the right amount of angst. Love Cinderella stories done right and a romance that develops/unfolds naturally. I need the male lead to be rich, jealous, possessive and he also must have chemistry with the female lead. Also, I hate noble idiocy (leaving the girl for her own good, etc.) esp. when it's committed by the male lead, so none of that please.
The Kdrama world has gone from melodramas to mainly romcoms and since I'm not a fan of too much comedy and fluff, I now mainly turn to family or daily dramas to get my melo fix -they tend to have the passionate/angsty romances I prefer. I like my dramas to be more serious and heavy with sprinkles of comedy instead of the other way around.
Below are examples of my favorite longer dramas that fulfilled this criteria:
New Tales of Giseang -best example, since the hero is both extremely handsome and one of the most passionate/devoted men I've ever seen. Before accepting his feelings for the heroine, he did something cruel, but ended up paying for it tenfold. It was both extremely satisfying and heartbreaking watching his torment over the heroine -she really gave it to him good! This was the angst I wanted and it built up to one of the most climatic/touching scenes I've ever witnessed in episode 33. I was thoroughly convinced that the hero couldn't live without his heroine.
Family Honor -loved the romance/chemistry btw our leads and found it pretty passionate/intense.
Be Strong Geum Soon -another passionate/angsty romance with sizzling chemistry and a hero who wouldn't give up.
Honorable Mentions:
Shining Inheritance -one of my favorite dramas of all time and loved the romance btw the leads. Only reason it's not with the elite is because the romance is more on the lighthearted side and not as intense/angsty as the ones above.
Seven Chil Princesses -would have placed it among the elite had it not been for one of the last episodes where the hero acted out of character and was caught dancing with girls at a club by the heroine. Kind of left a bad taste in my mouth and I didn't see the point of that...
Five Enough/Five Children -loved everything about the secondary couple, Sang Min and Yun Tae, except they weren't the main leads and their relationship could have used more angst. It was more cute rather than passionate. Loved their chemistry tho and it did have its intense moments. Wish the period after he confessed and before she liked him back stretched out more. She liked him far too quickly for someone who harbored no attraction towards him initially. I really wanted to see more of his torment over his love being unrequited.
Fit criteria, but ended up dropping:
Pure 19 and Gloria -had everything I wanted except the male lead (starred in both dramas) wasn't as attractive to me -he's technically handsome, but lacked a certain edge.
Don't Hesitate -main leads' romance was quite good at first, esp. when the heroine was oblivious to the hero's feelings. That was fun to watch. Too bad the entire drama was a train-wreck with ridiculously evil characters and a pushover heroine who's character is sacrificed for plot convenience. Couldn't finish...
I Have a Lover -lost interest after the main guy found out the truth about the heroine's identity. I really wanted him to love the heroine for herself and not just because she's his "deceased" wife. He didn't go all in until the heroine's identity was confirmed. I was disappointed by this...
My Daughter, Seo-young -the leads got together way too quickly and I just didn't find the main guy to be hot enough -personal preference.
Giant -again, the best couple were not the leads and also had far too little screentime together. Even though their romance was extremely passionate/intense, I wasn't interested in the drama as a whole.
Any more recommendations for family/daily dramas that fit this high criteria: Hot/rich male lead that doesn't commit noble idiocy, lots of chemistry btw leads, and romance that's passionate/intense? Thanks so much in advance!
I'm asking to get a sense of what you consider passionate & intense. I have a drama in mind to recommend but need this information to determine if the drama I'm thinking of is the right fit. I haven't seen any of the other dramas on your list above.
Thanks for your reply!
I didn't watch much of "My Daughter, Seo Young" since the male lead didn't really do it for me. Many people found him hot, but I didn't. Also, I wasn't feeling their chemistry, but then again, I only watched around 9 episodes, so maybe they would have grown on me eventually. Anyway, it's hard to invest in a romance when you don't find the male lead to be that appealing -for a romance, I need to find the male lead attractive. I heard from others that their romance is extremely intense/passionate, so that's why I gave it a try. But, I still didn't quite warm up to the male lead and their interactions weren't sizzling, so I dropped it.
This is only my opinion though. From what I've seen so far, they don't have chemistry like the leads from "New Tales of Gisaeng:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2ZkPalWR3Y&ab_channel=WindzOz (the montage is heartwrenching...)
If you haven't watched "New Tales of Gisaeng," and enjoy passionate/intense romances, I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend it! The leads have so much chemistry and although it starts out very slow, stick with it and the drama will soon evolve into a roller coaster ride. God, the way the male lead stares at the female...intense!!! If you need more convincing, skip to 56:30 in episode 33: https://kissasia.cc/episode/new-tales-of-gisaeng-kissasia-cc-episode-33.html (cries...batters my heart every time)
I don't think I'd have anything to recommend to somebody who's been watching dramas for the last 17 years, since I've only just started last January,lol.
My personal favourites atm are Emperor from Empress Ki and Chon Wook Tak from My Heart Twinkle Twinkle, I just love how desperate they are for the women that they love.
I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this thread as well as checking out what you've recommended. Especially New Tales Of Gisaeng, which I haven't watched yet. Thank you ;-)
You're lucky if you ever get a proper kiss between the couple in a family/daily drama and most to all references to sex/physical intimacy is taboo. What you do get in abundance, though, are characters who are sooooo in love that they will go through any and all kind of hardship and indignity for their love. When I looked at your request in that context, asking for a 'passionate & intense' family drama made more sense.
So rather than a passionate & intense romance overall, I think what you're looking for specifically is a male lead who is singlemindedly & maniacly in love with the female lead, probably a bit more than she loves him. Would you say I have interpreted what you're looking for correctly?
Just for contrast, my definition of a passionate & intense romance that really lights MY fire ... is when BOTH the hero & heroine are madly, desperately in love & slightly obsessed with each other, like in
Too Late To Say I Love You,
Sealed With A Kiss,
Cruel Romance
Lovers or even It's Okay, That's Love.
(Chinese dramas are generally good with the obsessively in love type of heroes)
Their passion for each other is expressed both emotionally AND physically. So you're not going to see any chase kissing or platonic hugs ... but really passionate & intense interactions between the leads -- kissing, hugging, love making, tender moments etc. In family dramas, this NEVER really happens, at least not in the ones I have seen. The most you'll get is a lip brush.
I watched My Daughter, Seo Young from start to finish and I found the relationship rather lukewarm, which is typical for family dramas, but also because Lee Bo Young is a rather frigid actress when it comes to playing romantic roles. It's not only her, most Korean actresses make very little effort to create real chemistry with their co-stars, which I think is because of both personal or and cultural reasons.
I remember when I saw Lee Bo Young's wedding photos with Ji Sung. I was shocked because unlike how I am used to seeing her in dramas, she looked soooo relaxed. In her romance dramas, there's always this restraint to her behaviour, you can see that she's not totally comfortable getting close to her male co-stars, but in her wedding photos she had that natural, comfortable, easy chemistry with Ji Sung. You could see she wasn't holding anything of herself back, as she does in her dramas.
Lee Bo Young is an alright actress, but really good actors are able to create this natural chemistry with their co-stars ... even if they hate each other's guts.
One of the few actresses who is able to create sizzling chemistry with all her co-stars is Yoon Eun Hye. In Coffee Prince she totally smoked up the screen with Gong Yoo. In Lie To Me the famous cola kiss is a classic in dramaland. I always look forward to dramas with her because I know she won't hold back, but go all in when it comes to creating great chemistry with her co-star. Too bad her last drama was horrible & she hasn't been very active since.
Ok ... went totally on tangent there. Back to the recommendation.
So as I was saying, MD,SY ... very lukewarm romance, but the male lead does love her wholeheartedly and puts her first in everything.
And it does remind me a lot of ... The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop. I think when it comes to the dynamic between the leading couple, it's very similar to My Daughter, Seo Young. So if you liked the chemistry in MD, SY - though you didn't like the male lead - you might also like the chemistry in The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop.
It's not a very melodramatic, angst filled drama -- at least not to any great extent. The male lead, once he falls for the heroine, however, is very single-minded in his devotion to her. He puts up with a lot from & for her and doesn't like when she's out of his sight.
Again the male lead does a good job of trying to build the on screen chemistry, but the actress who plays the female lead is one of those actresses who are very frigid when it comes to portraying romantic leads. I find her annoying for this reason, along with the fact that she plays the exact same pious, good two shoes characters in ALL her dramas. She's on my black list now, but maybe you won't mind her as much as I do, esp if this will be your first time seeing her.
As for the attractiveness of the male lead, I find him attractive and wish he'd had more engaging female co-star (ironically enough he and the actress had a torrid affair, he knocked her up & they had to have a shotgun wedding lol). Here's to hoping their real life romance is a lot more passionate & intense than it was on screen.
Anyway, with a better actress I am sure the chemistry would have been a lot more palpable than it was. But if a totally devoted male lead who is completely in love with the female lead is what you're looking for, then this fits the bill.
What's also great about The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop is that even better than leading couple, is one of the supporting couples in particular. So there are 4 romantic arcs in this drama: 2 couples in their 40s, 1 couple in their 30s (the lead couple) & 1 couple in their 20s.
The couple in their 20s was my absolute favourite and if you watch the drama you'll see why. They are the cutest, most adorable drama couple I have ever seen & to me they had much, much better on screen chemistry than the leads. The only thing that might be an issue for you is that the girl fell for the guy first, but believe me when I say it works. That guy needed some TLC after what he went through, and as the drama progressed their relationship & love for each other grew so beautifully. Everyone who has watched this drama loves this couple. Honestly, when the actress who plays the female lead was getting on my last nerve with her annoying interpretation of her role, I stuck around for this couple. They were THAT awesome & adorable.
Aright, I am going to stop myself here. Jesus, I can't believe I wrote a whole book just to recommend one drama! LOL
This couple's love is definitely not like New Tales of Gisæng. It's more easy & relaxed. While New Tales is not my kind of drama, intensity & passionate is something I look for in my dramas as well, but the kind of passionate & intensity I want should not be angst ridden ... in the sense that there's acrimony between the hero & heroine for most of the drama. There can be some like in Too Late To Say I Love You, but if it goes on for too long I get frustrated and might drop the drama. That's why even though I've heard of New Tales many times, I never watched it. I want the couple to be together & be in love and happy more than they're fighting and being angry with each other.
The other dramas I mentioned above (Sealed, CR & the rest) are the type of intense romance dramas I love to watch. So I don't really like cutesy romcoms, although you'll see a few on my list ... however, the 20s couple in Gentlemen had such amazing, amazing chemistry between them that I got really caught up in their romance. They are like the perfect match and they play so well off each other. Even though sometimes the girl can be a bit silly, I could never really get mad at her because they really were so adorable together.
As I said before, you will get more of the type of love you're looking for -- with some jealousy and possessiveness -- from the leading couple. It's kind of the best of both worlds. A somewhat angsty romance & one that's more cute & fun. There's also the 2 other couples in their 40s ... I didn't like them as much, esp the oldest couple, but you might.
Thanks! Also, although the leads in "New Tales..." do separate after the hero's despicable actions, they get back together by episode 34 and since it's a 52 episode drama, there's still plenty of happy times ahead. And even during the separation, the heroine doesn't stay mad at the hero upon realizing his sincerity and has her own reasons for refusing him. She truly felt that they're not destined to be together and tries to reason with him civilly. The hero, on the other hand, is determined to prove her wrong. Overall, I thought the drama was well-balanced when it came to pain/happiness. I also hate dramas where the leads spend the majority of their time either fighting or separated: I need loads of sweet scenes when it comes to romance. The leads in "New Tales..." definitely have plenty of sweet/beautiful scenes together even when they were not "officially" together. So, check this wonderful drama out if you get the chance, you might be pleasantly surprised.
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