Soft male lead or unusual male leads

My faves, so far, are: (Some you may already have seen, but i still include them)

• Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo  (super supportive, sweet friends to lover/coming of age story)
• Mr. Queen  (Enemies to lovers done right, and after their rocky start ML is so whipped/hearteyes for FL. Drama is also funny af,)
• Extraordinary You  (Rowoon/Haru is best puppy ML and super supportive, caring and sweet)
• Moonshine  (ML is smart, resourceful and principled, but definitely very soft for whirlwind, badass FL after starting off on a wrong foot at the beginning. )
• Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (ML is hearteyes for her from the get go and never stops despite their bickering in between. I mean this scene says it all :D)
• Our Beloved Summer (same here, tho with a more complicated but very satisfying, multidimensional and emotional exes back to lovers spin. )
• Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung  (independent and pragmatic female lead meets innocent puppy prince who loves to write romance novels)
• Angel's Last Mission: Love ( Cute puppy Angel ML, also very worth a watch for the fantastic acting of Shin Hye Sun in general. Very underrated drama, imo)
• Crash Landing on You (ML is so protective, supportive, soft, and respectful of FL's boundaries, all in one *chefkiss*)

 Ichika Kaneki:

just asking : i haven't watched this but isn't the fl also another ml

Yes and no xD It is a bit more complicated but this is what makes the drama so fun and multifaceted. Basically it is no classic soul/body switch but a duality/tug between two souls, with the male chef from modern times taking the steering wheel in the body for the majority of the drama in mannerism, speech and actions. But Queen Kim So Yong is never fully gone or "dead" as she is in hiding inside her own body and letting Bong Hwan (male chef/soul) taking the lead (story explains well why, and for very valid reasons) She is getting more dominant the further the story progresses and as both souls "blur more together" in regards of her feelings toward the king (ML), her memories, inner voice etc. Shin Hye Sun excels in portraying exactly this duality with more masculine mannerism, movement and speech patterns which differs greatly from the feminine grace/behavior of Kim So yong that is slipping through from time to time. Such a stellar acting performance.

But yeah, I see Bong Hwan more as an involuntary hitchhiker in the body of Joseon's queen who helps her to get her voice heard and justice for herself as well as recognition/attention from ML with his brazenness, lack of propriety and arrogant behavior a (noble) woman of that era was not permitted to show. Many argue that ML falls for that whack ass behavior of Bong Hwan and not the actual queen, but the prequel/special episodes shows she had a michivious streak from the get go, and that he loved her all along. ML just suppressed his feelings since she is from the clan who murdered his whole family and placed him as puppet king on the throne (he is more than meets the eye too) Thus he mistakes her as being the same as her corrupt family instead of an innocent woman used as a tool against her will (hence the whole, well done enemies to lovers development as story progresses as they find common ground and more)  

Anyway, long story short, it is no BL story, nor one-sided love on ML's part. Even if moments of "gay panic" questioning of gender and sexuality happen, these are rather superficial but still entertaining to watch tho. And while ML is 95% confusion whenever he meets FL due to that duality of souls and odd behavior, he is utterly fascinated by and all in for her, learns to understand, respect and accept her as she is, and trails after her like the dorky puppy king he is for her, Hence why this one of my most fave ML/FL dynamics in kdrama <3 Not only have they great rpmantic chemistry/development, but they are also Joseon's resident royal clown duo ?.

Sorry for geeking out about Mr. Queen, i just looooove this drama so much, whoops?

 Ichika Kaneki:

dayum!! thanks for the insight. i guess i totally like the idea now.

one more question : does ml ever return back to his own time?

Major Mr. Queen end spoilers, so tread with caution:

KJH/King Cheoljong is the ML so he stays in Joseon being a badass reformist king (at least in the drama, not in reality tho xD) But i think you mean the soul of the time-traveling chef Bong Hwan. Yeah, he does return to his body in modern Seoul in the end through circumstances you better watch for yourself. But going back and living his life as a man had been always his goal throughout and was foreshadowed a few times.

Queen Soyong also gets her happy ending as her own person, ruling with her hubby. Both of them grew through the experience, aka she got more assertive/outgoing and he is less of an arrogant/egoistic douche through Soyong's influence, so i am probably in the minority of people who liked the ending since it made them into better versions of themselves. Only caveat i have with it is that his return happened too abrupt imo, but oh well *shrug*

 Ichika Kaneki:

thankieee soo much, i mean i already know the entire plot now but its making me wanna watch it even more. arigato!!

haha, you are welcome, even as you have seen i tend to overshare xD There happens still enough events/plot/character things of which you don't know yet, so definitely give it a watch :D

 bloomingtide:

haha, you are welcome, even as you have seen i tend to overshare xD There happens still enough events/plot/character things of which you don't know yet, so definitely give it a watch :D

Thanks for the long list. I have watched a lot of them, what can I say, I am a sucker for this type of ML. But you really sold Mr.Queen. Having been burned by Sageuks before I totally ignored it, but it really sounds interesting!