heroines who defy the stereotype of their genre

As I watch Korean dramas, I'm noticing that 90% of the time the female main characters are typically these beautiful girls (that are called, on screen, average or ugly looking by the supporting characters), and that there personality tends to be idealistic (usually set juxtapose the pragmatic male lead), innocent (even when they're 30 years old!), and sentimental and caring (where are the cool-headed women?) The heroines also usually have this impossible-to-sustain schedule where they juggle a half-dozen low-wage jobs in order to make a living. Or, if the heroine works in just one job, they tend to be entry-level workers; they never are, for example, the owners of a restaurant (most of the time they are the new chef employee) and they never are the manager or CEO of anything (they're clerks or secretaries or office workers). As far as I know, other Asian dramas seem to follow the same trope as described, with minor variation. So this request is for all those heroines who defy this innocent-Candy stereotype in some way or just defy stereotypes of their genre in general. Maybe they are a 30 year old CEO, renown in the field for her talent and ingenuity, and the drama follows her everyday obstacles in her job and her failed romantic relationships? (closest I have seen to this is "Still, Marry me" and "Obstetrics and Gynecology") Maybe it's about a girl with bad intentions, who succeeds in making all the wrong choices, as she struggles to make it in the world? ("Cinderella's Sister", "Cheongdamdong Alice") How about stories about the female outsiders and black sheep--the otakus, the loners, the tomboys, the nerds, the goths, the gamers, the socially-awkward, or the eccentric, quirky girls ? ("Nodame Cantabile", "Cat Street", "Skip Beat") Heck, just having an over-weight or obese women as a main character makes it in my book; as long as they actually look it on screen, they can't get a crazily thin actress for the part and then have the characters say she could stand to lose some weight. ("200 Pounds of Beauty" and "My Lovely Kim Sam Soon" are some good examples of this). So please, could anyone recommend/list the dramas that fulfill my criteria and explain (in three words, a sentence, however long you like) how exactly the heroine defies the dramaworld stereotypes? Thanks in advance.

In nice guy there is moon chae won. She is a kickbutt, intense woman who drives super well, never takes no for an answer,and is pretty much a genius.Probably one of my favorite characters ever, until but she gets amnesia. But still! Another...interesting female character is in switch girl, about a girl who appears perfect in front of others, but is actually really very strange, a little gross, and thinks about sleeping with her crush a lot. There is also the female lead in inborn pair, a Taiwanese drama. In it, the woman thinks love is a worthless distraction and just wants to focus on officially becoming a lawyer. Also, I'd say yeoweol in the gu family book is special because she fights like a boss, goes around dressed like boy, and refuses to be looked down on because she's female. She is actually a respected teacher at her dad's martial arts academy even though she's a girl.

Last Friends

The two girls are actually pretty unique. Ruka is very tomboyish and secretly in love with her girl best friend Michiru. Michiru is in an abusive relationship.


Busu no Hitomi ni Koishiteru

There are mixed reviews, but the lead actress is actually overweight and unattractive. Some of it is unrealistic and cheesy.





Zenkai Girl

The lead girl is ambitious (and cold-hearted at first) and trying to become a international lawyer. Also the girl falls for the "nice guy" for a change.


Zhong Wu Yan



The lead girl has a strange birth mark. A memorable scene is when she tries to cover it up with makeup but realizes it isn't her. The birthmark doesn't magically disappear.

I have previously seen...
My Girl (She is one of my favorite heroines since such an unusual and hilarious personality. She is one of the few I remember with any fondness.)
Nice Guy (I too liked the female lead until she got amnesia. I'm mad that they stripped a badass female lead of everything that made her herself. But still...the drama had lots of things I liked. Both of the leads acting drew me in, made them fascinating and interesting, even as the writing took a downturn.)

Dramas on my list to watch (mentioned in the order they appear):
Switch Girl (I just started this and I love this. The female lead's gross habits and comical expressions made my day. Thanks for recommending hugepuffball!)
Inborn Pair
Gu Family Book
Stars Falling From the Sky (I like the description of this. I'm gonna watch this soon. Thanks to samsoons for recommending it.)
Couple or trouble
Punch
Last Friends
Busu no Hitomi ni Koishiteru
Zenkai Girl (The way you describe it now I want to see it. This and Zhon wu Yan sound a lot more unique than any drama I've ever watched. Thanks for recommending it and taking the time to write such great descriptions and posting such good pictures.)
Zhong Wu Yan
I Need Romance 2 (A sexually-experienced female lead in an asian drama? This I have to see. Thanks hadassa.)

Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond. I appreciate it more than I could ever articulate. I have a nice list to watch and I'm pretty sure that at some point I'll give each a try. Dramas with awesome female leads are hard to come by, after all.

I don't know if you watch longer dramas, but the female lead in Unexpected You is one of the best ones I've seen. She doesn't just take things sitting down.

You really need to watch Salaryman, Yeo Chi was somehow priceless.

A currently airing TW drama, Amour et Patisserie, stars a female chef who graduated from Le Cordon Bleu with Honors in France, then returned to Taiwan to run her own pastry/dessert shop. She is strong willed and resourceful, scolding her sister for trying to look pretty and put all her hopes on marrying a wealthy guy. I find her pretty refreshing :) Black and White has two female leads who are utterly kickass. Ivy Chen plays a ganster's daughter, and she is not afraid to stand up for her ideals and pummel bad guys. Janine Chang plays the head forensic scientist at the police department, and her quick thinking saves the day/the lives of our rather clumsy male leads. I highly recommend highly recommend this drama!