Kdramas with virgin male lead

I think Ho Goo's Love fits this criteria, its about a more reserved, cute type guy who has never dated going after a super popular girl, a member of the national swim team. I thought it was sweet, and the male lead is definitely not the cliched rich, rude chaebol.

I Am Not A Robot - due to a childhood trauma the ML develops a phobia against human touch/contact. He's 29 when he gets his first GF, the FL.

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• What's Wrong with Secretary Kim 
• Kill me, Heal Me
• Black
• Bring it on, Ghost
• Chicago Typewriter
• Come and Hug Me
• Feel Good to Die
• Healer
• Mask
• Missing You
• Moon Lovers Scarlet Heart Ryeo
• My ID is Gangnam Beauty
• Thirty But Seventeen 

So Koreans kill me with a lot of their virginal leads! I wasn't aware that many of these dramas featured virgin MLs. Dæbak! Nothing wrong with being a virgin, mind you! Virgins rock, esp in today's world where everything & everyone seems so oversexed! I just find it ironic that a whole grown adult, esp those in their 30s pushing 40 manage to live to their age and not have ONE relationship prior to meeting the other lead??? In some rare cases, there are veritable reasons why a lead may be a virgin (ie, I Am Not A Robot), but in general I find it hard to accept that certain leads in certain positions and having been born with certain privileges ... and generally just being of the male sex ... can be sold as believable virgins. They can't (at least not in my book).

Take Feel Good To Die, for eg. As far as I know the lead is a whole grown adult who is or is close to being 40, how realistic is it that he's a virgin at his age??? I found the fact that an wealthy, arrogant, over confident guy like the ML in Secretary Kim is a virgin pretty darn comedic, and not in a good way. Black ... the ML is Song Seung Hoon ... admittedly I don't know his character in this drama since I haven't seen it, but I can't associate the word 'virgin' with SSH in any capacity! I mean have you seen him? The man is literally sex himself! I will have to see the drama with my own eyes & make that determination for myself.  Come & Hug Me ... I guess the veracity of the ML's condition in this regard is debatable, but for me ... not realistic at all (and quite dramatically uninteresting).

Abstinence is just not behaviour most young men between the ages of 18 - 45, in South Korea or elsewhere, engage in. Even if they're not necessarily sexually active, they are sexual ... so looking at porn, hentai, having wet dreams about the girl they like etc. This is a proven fact ... which is never realistically portrayed in K-dramas. They're so big on realistic portrayal of everything else, except human sexuality. It's kinda frustrating because it can be done without stepping on any conservative toes. Truly. China, Taiwan & Japan all do it, to an extent. Not all the time and in every drama, but in general they don't tend to treat their characters as sexual non-beings. They deal with this aspect of human relationships with more credibility than Korea ever does, which is a pity because Korean dramas have everything else going for them.

This odd trope of leads never having had a relationship before they meet the other lead is so ridiculous, but I understand it is done to mostly appease conservative Korean housewives, the core audience for most K-dramas, who are scandalized by the merest of physical contact between a man and a woman. While I have respect for this difference in cultural perspective, given that I am not Korean & often can not switch off my rational mind, these cultural appeasements get no where with me. They will tend to make me enjoy a drama less.

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I agree @PrettyCarEyes, that some of these ones is weird they are virgins.

I understand the usual excuses Korean writers give as to why male leads (and even female leads) are virgins, I just don't & can't buy any of it most of the time, is what I'm saying ... including some of the titles you explained above (nrs 5 - 10). Unless the ML is literally allergic to human touch like the ML in I Am Not Robot or too mentally ill (KM,HM - Bring It On, Ghost), then it would always be more realistic and more likely that the ML is not a virgin, no matter his situation or whatever angst he may be going through. Korea isn't anywhere close to being a sexless society like say, Japan ... and yet Japan - when they're in a mood for it - portrays sexuality in a far more credible manner than South Korea. So there's no excuse, except rabid conservatism.

Regarding Come & Hug Me since I'm currently watching this ... on the one hand I suppose I can understand why the ML would give women a wide berth. After all, he's portrayed as emotionally damaged, probably depressed, withdrawn, shy ... but on the other hand, it's very common for many people, esp men, who've experienced trauma (or not) to seek solace/escape in relationships and or sex. It's clear that his hoobæ (the girl he taught to fight) is into him. Realistically, he probably would have gotten involved with her sexually, even though he doesn't necessarily love her, in a (misguided) effort to forget Nak Won and at least try to move on with his life somehow. After all, until they decided to have go at it regardless of what people think, wasn't he telling himself that he could never be with Nak Won? So you mean to tell me he was planning on being celibate his whole life? Nah, can't buy that. But of course ... in k-dramaland, they always choose the path less sensible. Sigh ...

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@PrettyCarEyes, how were you able to quote me? I try to quote you and get this message of "unable to quote a long post", lol.

Highlight the particular area you want to quote (it can't be too long or it won't work). A 'Quote' button will pop up in the top left of the highlighted section. Click it and the highlighted section will pop into your dialogue box.

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Anyways, I still think it depends on the series, except for the ones I mentioned at the end, all the other ones I can see genuine reasons why they wouldn't have a relationship. You also have to take into consideration the culture. Since I'm Mexican, I find a lot of the relationship portrayal of US dramas weirder than some of these ones. As in having the characters have sex, yet fret in telling each other they love one another. It has always felt to me that they got the order wrong. You love someone first, then you have sex with them.

I do consider the culture. It is what I'm saying, Korean culture is not sexually conservative (like the Japanese). They're mostly conservative about public displays of physical touch & affection, so technically you can depict the characters' sexuality realistically without going too far.  The drama It's Okay, That's Love was kind of good at realistically showing how two people in love interact with each other - the spontaneity of touch, they kissed (deeply, spontaneously ... not fakingly - yes, I made up that word),  they made love. Their interaction was not awkward & cringey. I mean, what excuse could one have to make whole grown adults kissing with their eyes wide open? Hugging like it's the most foreign concept ever? Acting like babies & sex are alien inventions?

This is one of the reasons why I love older Japanese dramas - eg, Ice World, Aishiteru to Ikketure etc. They were so good at showing realistic romantic relationships, in a way that respects their culture but doesn't totally insult your intelligence at the same time. It's hard to explain in words without being too long-winded. I suggest you just watch these shows to see what I mean, esp Ice World (because I often hear people complain that romance ruins other genres, but here is a drama that's a psychological, detective drama in which the romance is seamlessly woven into the plot). I think you'd like it.

And regarding Western shows, I totally agree with you! I hate how sex is just a function of bodies, rather than two people coming together in love. It's among the many reasons why I've basically stopped watching them.

Please don't get me wrong. I am NOT saying:

1) I want Asian dramas, and K-dramas in particular, to be like Western shows in regards to sex. I always feel like I have to constantly repeat this because people always seem to think this is what I'm saying. No. What I'm saying is that they don't have to be as raunchy as Western series to show realistic physical interactions (kisses, love making, spontaneity of intimacy etc). It's ridiculous to always be portraying grown adults as overly pure, innocent & asexual in every drama (just as western series tend to go overboard with all the sex). Can we just meet somewhere in the middle? I'm not a fan of either extremes.

2) All the reasons you give for why the MLs (or FLs) are virgins are fine. Totally fine. What tends to be absurd is that in pretty much ALL dramas, there's always a reason why they're virgins. Why can't there ever be a reason for them not to be a virgin? I mean, I don't really care whether they're virgins or not, but I'm tired of the formula. Creatively, Koreans just don't seem to know how to do anything in moderation. Once they hop on a badwagon, they beat it like a dead horse, and rarely does anyone think to do something different AT ALL. This constant sameness is disturbing, and is a remnant of their dictatorship past - when people were indoctrinated to dress the same, think the same, act the same ... basically, conform to preserve the "harmony"  of society, a core tenet of Confucian teachings - the value system that underpins Korean, and most Asian, societies.

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Agree 100% with this, especially the hug thing. Me being latina makes me wonder why they don't hug back! That's akin to rejection here! And yes, some natural interactions would be so much better. I wonder how much of that awkward touching has to do with the network and how much with the actor/actress.

I'm American with Caribbean roots so our cultures might be similar in that not hugging back & having the guy do all the work when it comes to kissing & so on ... that's definite no, no in our parts. Thing is, it is rejection in Korea too! Most young Koreans don't watch TV dramas because they think a lot of the story lines are too dumb (the lack of natural intimacy is a big part of that dumbness according to them). Man, that's why these dramas got me all the way messed up ... so much so that I was shocked when I went to Korea and saw couples engaging in full on PDA in the streets!  I was like wuhhh? Y'all do that here??? Yes, they do. And Korean men are real horndogs, like all other men. They're very healthy & hot-blooded; even the women like sex too. Which is why I have to give these damnable dramas, acting all innocent and pure all the bloody time,  a massive side eye. LOL!

Yes, it does have a lot to do with the networks, as it is everywhere. There are certain things that can not be shown or said on prime time TV, but those things are dictated by the cultural climate of the day. When it comes to public intimacy, the wider Korean audience finds this too salacious and indecent. Just as in America, public intimacy is not very frowned upon so we see a lot of raunchiness on TV. Some actresses may also want to promote a certain image so they don't want to seem too eager about kissing multiple different co-stars. My rebuttal to that is ... well, it's your job, honey. If you're gonna half-ass it, probably just stick to modeling?

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I think it would be interesting to start a thread asking people the opposite of what OP asked here, which is to say, which are some good dramas in which the characters acted more natural when it comes to intimacy. That's not to say steamy, but just natural. There are a number of dramas that come to mind which have pulled this off. Chief among them is the interaction between the leads in Lawless Attorney!

There are actually several threads about this exact topic already. I've seen them here on the forums. If you do a search they might come up. Goes to show I'm not just some perv who wants to see my favourite actors' naked butt (although I sure won't look away if I do! ;-). A lot of viewers want more natural intimacy. K-dramas are slowly becoming more progressive in this regard (as It's Okay, Love, Another Oh Hæ Young and so on shows), but they often take one step forward in one drama, then two step backwards in another drama. Crazy. There's no consistency, so you never know what you're gonna get when you start a drama. That's why I no longer start a drama before approving the kiss scenes on YouTube. 8/10 times if they don't meet my standards I won't watch the drama. I'll make an exception under special circumstances. I've seen the kiss in LA; it's hot ... but the one and only kiss in a whole 16 episode drama?!? SMDH. 1 step forward, 2 steps backward.

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I think there are even enough things to cover this topic to write a full article about! It could def. de something interesting. Like maybe choose five dramas where the ML is a virgin which doesn't make sense with what we're told (like in WWWSK) and ask people what they think about it. Do they buy that the character would be a virgin or do they don't?

Yes, well, that would indeed be interesting. MDL is populated with tweens, teens and young adults ... many of whom are from conservative cultures that are also scandalized by natural intimacy on screen. Should we collaborate on it? We could do a series 'Pretty & 3G talk TV and cinema' or something like that, and we have a friendly back & forth (like we're doing now) about our views on various aspects of TV/cinema. I imagine it could be fun ... esp since you also have a visual arts, creative background! I'm only half serious ... because you may not be interested in a writing partner & I know I probably won't have time but ... just an idea.

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I've added Ice World to my PTWL. I haven't been able to find a good Japanese gateway drama (hopefully this one is it!). I've tried Japanese dramas before, but the acting turned me off and I ended up dropping them. I did watch the Library Wars movies, but that’s only because I'm a huge fan of the manga. The movies didn't make the manga justice in my eyes. But the fighting scenes were some of the best at least!

So gateway Japanese dramas. Hmm ... you seem to like sweet, cuddly, nice guy type of heroes, right? Then you've got to check out Orange Days, Buzzer Beat, Tatta Hitotsu No Koi (I didn't really care of this one, but you might). Many people also liked Nagareboshi, but again ... the fake intimacy turned me off. It's not a bad story though, and you might like it a lot more than I did since you might care as much about natural intimacy as I do.

Dramas with MLs that are a little more rough around the edges, but good at heart: Pride

You can find Aishiteru to Ikketure here. This is one of my all time favourite romantic dramas. I rewatched it recently (I basically never rewatch anything) & it still left me with all the feels ... but I have to warn you, the ending is not ... ideal. I don't know if you're big on endings like that. Let me know if you want me to reveal more. The ML is amazing ... he's sweet and vulnerable like Na Moo. The FL is okay, but at some point in the drama she hit her head somewhere and went batsh*t crazy. Still a must watch for fans of the genre, I just had to put that out there.

Okay, this has gotten waaay too long.