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Wanted: Couple with chemistry/Strong leads/No two year travelling

DammitJanet
Hello and happy 2013.

First of all, thanks for reading my post.

I'm a relative "newbie" to Kdrama since I've only started watching last year December, but I am currently a Proud Addict. Although it's been a short time (if some of you consider a month short :p), I've managed to squeeze in a lot of dramas and maybe that's why I'm getting a bit frustrated at the storyline/plot/characters of some of the dramas I've watched.

What I want is two strong lead characters, who when they decide they love each other, stick with each other. I will accept a small hiccup here and there, but do not want the struggle between deciding who to love issue lasting three episodes. I also want chemistry between the characters, and also..

Ninety percent of the time in the last episode someone leaves for 2 years and comes back. WHAT THE HECK??

Most dramas that I've already watched are:

Coffee Prince- My first, my last, my everything!! (except the ending)
Loved Yoon Eun Hye and Gong Yoo are one of my ALL time favourite couples. He was a perfect male lead and she was a fantastic lead actress. Loved her acting to pieces and his emotional struggle and sweetness just made me cry. Great CHEMISTRY, wonderful story, until she left for two years, then I got a bit upset.

Boys over flowers- Stab me in the eye with a fork repeatedly if I ever think to watch it again.
The lead Lee Min Ho, handsome as he is, was too aggressive and there was Like 10 PERCENT chemistry between the female lead and him... and OMO what Drama drama drama.. Bleh. Then he left for four years. WTF??

Personal Taste- One of my personal faves!!
Lee Min Ho again, with no perm, haha. He was awesome here and his co-star was really hilarious, warm and direct(ish). She was a bit too insecure for my liking, but hey, we can't have everything. Chemistry between these two (although her looks are not my taste) was really awesome :) This has one of my favourite Kiss scenes aka Game Over!! *Faints!*

Goong/Princess hours - Hit me on the head until I am unconscious!!
Because of Coffee Prince, I just had to look up Yoon Eun Hye (she's my favourite K actress) and the beginning of this was really cool. I liked the prince with princely airs, and the neighboorhood girl with her spunk. Then after episode 4/5 thinks went downhill.. An insecure female a too cold male... and lots of unnecessary drama inbetween.. Drag drag drag... and then, she leaves for a year!! WTF??


Full House - Rip my eyes out and put hot coals in my ears!!
It started off well and funny... and then the ping pong effect took hold (He likes her, but he likes someone else as well and can't decide) BAHHH!!! She was sooo weak and annoying (but her cuteness made up for it). The lead... *GAG* verbally abusive that I almost wanted to not finish this drama *Cries* I totally felt like the supporting male character (whom I supported) and felt like I was stuck in a very very bad marriage *shudder* Then the lead leaves for several months and comes back and it dragssss for no reason at all T_T

Lie to me - The hero of my dreams...
I loved this one. Yoon Eun Hye was a strong, funny, witty, smart, loveable female lead and the male lead went beyond my expectations. I had a few "I hate him!!" moments with Kang Ji Hwan but he came back strong!! and declared his love over and beyond.... YEH travelled away for 6 months towards the end and that disappointed me a bit, but I would definitely watch something similar to this

My name is Kim Sam Soon - The woman I want to be!
Kim Sam Soon is a wonderful wonderful WONDERFUL lead actress. OMO, how great she is. She made the whole drama. The male lead was good, confident, smart, witty (prefer a guy like Kang Ji Hwan though), but I'd watch this again because of her. She was funny, kept to her principles, quirky, perfect for herself, and smart. She stood up for herself!!!
The male lead also had his ping pong moments.. and they peeved me off AND then he travelled overseas for a few months *rolls eyes*

My Girl- Oh what fun tangerines are... to a point
This was a lot of fun to watch. The female lead (Roo Jin I believe) was sneaky and funny and made me roll around laughing!! That was in the beginning The male lead was similar to Kim Sam Soon's... cool, confident, witty.. but he also ping ponged along!! The main issue I had here was she LEFT for TWO years and made things worse with the lies she told afterwards... Although there was chemistry... the romance was VERY Limited. BAH!

Please forgive me since I probably have overtyped and over criticized and perhaps am not making much sense in my typing skills... but I suppose I was trying to explain my feelings over these dramas. I suppose it's going to be hard to find the perfect drama (so far, my top faves are Personal Taste, Kim Sam Soon, Lie to me and Coffee Prince)... and I really want more of the same type of characters... I'm really a romantic at heart and really hate the leaving and the ping ponging between two loves... It drives me bonkers.

I'm planning on watching City Hunter and the Devil Beside you.
I've also already watched Absolute Boyfriend, Hi My Sweetheart, Heartstrings (really nice, except for his wrist problem), Hana Kimi (Taiwanese version).

I'd really appreciate any suggestions from you guys... :)

Thanks in advance!
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WowCreations
I would suggest Queen In Hyun's Man. They have wonderful chemistry :) This one not has lovey dovey but when the main leads get together...great chemisry between them!- Sungkyunkwan Scandal
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shaz22
If you don't mind Jdrama, then you may watch "Buzzer Beat", I loved it. The leads are strong, decisive and most importantly not superficial. I am also few months old and loved "Personal taste", hated "Full House" and dropped "Boys over Flowers".
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Winnie
Hiya your style of writing is very funny "hot coals in my ears!!!" LOL.... I would suggest Queen In Hyun's Man if you want strong chemistry - no love triangles or opposing parents in this one. Have you seen it? your list is not complete so I don't know what you've seen or dropped. There is an element of time apart not including the time travel aspect but it shouldn't put you off this drama. It is very romantic and the male lead is awesome. Not your usual aggressive/arrogant guys. Secret Garden is very good. Awesome and satisfying ending. Great chemistry between the 2 couple leads. Hey I'm a big Personal Taste fan too...I know it gets mixed views on here!!! LMH was drop dead gorgeous in this. How often do you get such a hot looking guy go into a phamacy to buy "you know what" :) I still re-watch my favorite parts in this series. I have to look at my list to see what else I can come up with. I'm still a newbie so please go with other recommendations as well.
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darkangel662008
Pasta Cityhall The Greatest Love Prosecutor Princess- just be patient with the first few ep. The Princess' Man For Japanese: Love Shuffle Pride
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goldenseal50
first, I love your post!!! you should be a writer for MDL :p
try
http://mydramalist.com/japanese-drama/32/nodame-cantabile
http://mydramalist.com/korean-drama/57/oh-my-lady
http://mydramalist.com/taiwanese-drama/58/it-started-with-a-kiss
http://mydramalist.com/taiwanese-drama/760/sunny-happiness
http://mydramalist.com/korean-drama/39/sungkyunkwan-scandal
http://mydramalist.com/taiwanese-drama/133/mars
http://mydramalist.com/korean-drama/1548/the-greatest-love
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Triskani
My girlfriend is a gumiho! If you don't mind fantasy, they had great chemistry. I agree with the others about City Hall, Queen In Huyn's Man and Greatest Love. You might want to choose between Greatest Love and City Hall though, the leading man is the same and even though I like him a lot, it might be weird watching one right after the other. If I was looking for chemistry alone I'd take City Hall because they were very good together but I think Greatest Love overall story and comedy is way better.
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DammitJanet
Wow you guys are fantastic!! :D I really appreciate your responses. I'm at work (clearly not working!) so I have to find time to update my drama list! Thanks so much for the suggestions! I will definitely try Queen In Huyn's Man.. it sounds romantic and almost bodyguard like,*dreamy over bodyguard types* (but someone please confirm he's not a wimp!) I read somewhere also that they are a couple in real life, so the chemistry should be really really sweet! I've been wary regarding Secret Garden because of the length of the episodes.... I've screamed at my screen countless times when something should have ended to make it perfect, but it drags on like a starving man pulling on a dead horse (bad anology I know!). (Examples are princess hours, my girl, even coffee prince and lie to me.) I haven't really sampled all that Japanese drama has to offer. I think this is because after watching Lie to me, I tried Ouran High School and although funny, the characters were too extreme. Also the same in Mei's Butler O_o (The guys looked sooo SHINY!!) I'll definitely be on the look out though! It makes me reall Happy to see that you all have the same tastes I do! Arigato Gozaimasu, Kamsamnida, Xie xie
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Winnie
If you like Jdrama and you like romance I can suggest Tatte Hitotsu no Koi.....ummm..."blush" it has my dream drama boyfriend in it. I really fell for Hiroto in this series. My profile will explain my strong attraction to this guy :) Only 10 episodes so not too long!!! BUT it does have a time gap thing!!!!
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blueaoichan
QUEEN IN HYUN'S MAN DEFINITELY ! lol . Just saying. The chemistry between both leads is awesome ! Secret Garden also has good (well more than good actually) chemistry ! And the ending is good too ^^ Maybe you can try Reply 1997 too ? Well I personally loved it. I don't know about the chemistry but I think they're like the best couple for me. They are cute, funny and sweet. <3 Anyway, I'm also new in dramaland let's help each other ~ hehe
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allyson
I am glad to hear that I am not the only person who absolutely cannot stand when there is a huge time gap at the end!! I would like to repeat the Queen In Hyun's Man suggestion. It is seriously an amazing drama, especially chemistry wise. And don't worry, Kim Boong Do is not a whimp at all! Seriously, I think women all over the world redefined their ideal man, just from watching that show :p Also, you should check out My Princess, King2Hearts and You're Beautiful. I require a great romance and lots of chemistry in everything I watch or read, and all three of those definitely deliver ;)
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shaz22
DammitJanet wrote: I haven't really sampled all that Japanese drama has to offer. I think this is because after watching Lie to me, I tried Ouran High School and although funny, the characters were too extreme. Also the same in Mei's Butler O_o (The guys looked sooo SHINY!!) I'll definitely be on the look out though!


I totally get what you have gone through in 'Ouran', it's not for everybody. I was at a loss after first ep also( I dropped it XD)! But they have so much to offer and some are very realistic.
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Ginger
Well you loved My name is Kim Sam Soon...
So I'm gonna advice you to watch...
Scent Of A Woman http://mydramalist.com/korean-drama/2659/scent-of-a-woman very inspiring & the same female lead
Secret Garden http://mydramalist.com/korean-drama/8/secret-garden cute and funny with the same male lead
also try to change the type of dramas...that's how you don't get bored...
try...
I Miss You http://mydramalist.com/korean-drama/5364/i-miss-you
Sang Doo Let's Go To School http://mydramalist.com/korean-drama/496/sang-doo-lets-go-to-school
Innocent Man http://mydramalist.com/korean-drama/4295/nice-guy
Sorry I Love You http://mydramalist.com/korean-drama/1146/sorry-i-love-you
Gaksital http://mydramalist.com/korean-drama/3394/the-bride-mask not so romantic but great
The Princess' Man http://mydramalist.com/korean-drama/2591/the-princess-man
those are some fine dramas...I consider them a must watch
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tiabelle
I will definitely concur with watching Queen In Hyun's man, the leading man is most definitely not a wimp. However personally i wouldn't recommend watching You're Beautiful unless you really want to have second leading man syndrome which I guarantee you will. One of my favorite dramas which i recently discovered is Smile You you will definitely feel the chemistry between the two leads even though its a little long with 45 episodes but i think it is totally worth it, but also be prepared with some kleenex just in case. Another long drama i think is really good and the chemistry between the leads is good as well is New Tales of a Gisaeng it has 52 episodes but the one bad point about it is that there are too many scenes of the gisaeng house but otherwise i really enjoyed it. King2Hearts is really awesome as well.
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atslipinbag
Ur writing is so fun to read !!! Like many have suggested, the greatest love is very entertaining to watch i like the lead actress n the lead actor is totally hillarious n they have good chemistry. hello miss is another drama with the same lead actress frm my girl . although her feelings for male lead develops quite later, this drama is jovial, cute n fun
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