There will be a bad guy in almost any drama. However, I am looking for dramas with good and iconic villains  with any of these qualities (could be even one): smart, calm, chaotic, twisted, manipulative, powerful, corrupted, short-tempered, cunning. Either way, it should be a villain that poses a challenge for the main character, and make them think, rather than just someone who loses easily. It should be someone hard to beat, but it would also be good if there were back and forth interactions, where the main character is winning, but then the villains comes out on top later, etc. Some of the dramas with good villains that were hard to take down that I liked:

- 3 Days ( powerful, twisted, corrupted )

- Remember: War of the son (powerful, twisted, short-tempered, chaotic, corrupted)

- Defendant (powerful, cunning)

- Hello Monster (twisted, calm, smart, manipulative)

- Girl who sees smells/ Sensory Couple (twisted, calm, smart, cunning)

- Come and hug me (twisted, chaotic, cunning)

I feel like you're talking about Chae Do Woo, so I would definitely recommend A Man's Story.  That whole drama is back and forth between the two male leads.

  • Queen SeonDeok - Mishil
  • Story of a Man - Cha Dowoo
  • The K2 - Choi Yoojin
  • Scholar who walks at night - Gwi
  • King 2 Hearts - Kim Bonggoo
  • Princess man - Prince Suyang
  • Bridal Mask - shunji

Thanks, that's a big help. I wanted to watch A story of a man, but now I'm 100% sure of it!

Empress Ki - Yeon Chul

I hear your voice. The villain is great at playing innocent.

Prison Playbook is also a good one. 

Nirvana in Fire ( it a total battle of wits for this one)

Emperor: Owner Of the Mask - He was a force alright. His empire was very well constructed (better than the king's) even though it all depended just on one plantation. While the strongest point can be the weakest, he kept that strong point going for decades.