I didn't think it was possible, but I actually disagree with EVERYTHING you have said here. You seem to be making the same argument again and again, that "feminine = quiet and sweet and nice" and "masculine = mean, loud, aggressive, etc." I call BS on that. First of all, women and female characters don't have to be likable or ask permission of men (or other women) to say what they need to say as characters and to still have inherent worth as characters (and human beings.) In the long run, it doesn't really matter if men think these female characters are unlikable because the characters are there to tell a story - the writers, directors, actors, and crew have put them in that place to tell a specific story in a specific time. And there are a million different ways to tell a story, no matter if you are male or female or transgender or genderqueer or anything in between. Human beings are way more complex than how I think you are portraying them to be here.
But this is what irks me the most about what you said. Who are you to say what's "attractive" or not in a female (or male) character? And who says that only "lowly men" are mean and loud and aggressive? Who gets to decide that? If certain female characters have had a thousand years of trauma and heartache and disappointment and grudges (Hotel del Luna), for instance), then it wouldn't make any sense if they acted out of character.
"The typical female lead in current K-dramas is usually an unfeminine mean woman with narcissistic traits who…
Also, please explain how the FL in Witch's Court was anything but what she needed to be. She dealt with sexual crimes all day long. Or The King: Eternal Monarch - she was a police officer. I'm curious.
As a feminist, I say the word "feminine" with the highest and utmost respect, so I'm not sure where this is coming from. I was responding to the OP here who said , "Fortunately, romcoms' female leads are not always like that" "that" meaning loud, obnoxious, mean, etc, etc. And I took issue with THAT, frankly, because we all know that rom-coms have availed themselves of certain tropes, which have included an overly naïve, (bordering on stupid sometimes), woman who has to always be sweet and kind as her supposed lover walks all over her. And I was partly asking for some clarity about that statement.
I will repeat myself here and say there is a lot of room between feminine and masculine - it's a huge spectrum and I made a point to the OP about how I didn't agree with their representation of those two concepts. So I'm not the one who's going to think that a female is acting masculine when they're badass. I don't really understand your last statement actually - of course a woman can be feminine and badass...that was my entire point.
And what's wrong with a female character being loud??! You're darn right I'm going to praise those characters for being loud when they want to be loud, because they've probably been told, like I've been since I was a child, that they're TOO LOUD and as an adult, they can finally be what they want to be, and maybe that's too loud, and maybe that's aggressive, and maybe that's not being nice - to anyone, including men, God forbid.
I'm not sure you're understanding my original point, and I hope I cleared it up a bit. If not, I can try again later.
No one is saying they're "masculine" if they're not feminine in a stereotypical way. There is A LOT of room between feminine and masculine - those aren't the only choices out there. And your statement about female characters in rom-coms not being "unfeminine" is very problematic for me if you mean that these characters are only acceptable if they're steeped in overdone tropes - like being overly naïve or stupid, clumsy, docile, etc.
I liked your articles! LOL. I would add Han Groo's character from Marriage, Not Dating here because she is willing to throw a HUGE scene if and when it was needed, and to not be docile or sweet or appropriate. And her character development over the course of the drama was really nice too,.
I liked your articles! LOL. I would add Han Groo's character from Marriage, Not Dating here because she is willing to throw a HUGE scene if and when it was needed, and to not be docile or sweet or appropriate. And her character development over the course of the drama was really nice too,.
And while I'm on a roll, here are two other actors that I will gladly watch older dramas for: Yeon Woo Jin and Lee Joon Gi (they are both so swoon-worthy.)
1) Tale of Arang (YWJ *AND* LJG together!) Tale of Arang continued the 2012-was-an-epic-year-for-dramas. YWJ was nominated for an award for his role, LJG won an award for his role, and LJG and Shin Min Ah won Best Couple. YWJ: 2) Marriage, Not Dating (2014) This drama is just dripping with sweetness and fiery chemistry between the two leads. I've watched it more times than I can count. 3) Divorce Lawyer in Love (2015) Not quite as good as the Marriage drama, but still lovely.
I have just seen A gentleman's dignity and the only issue i have with your description of this drama is what you…
LMH was awesome in The King: Eternal Monarch and so I strenuously disagree with your statement that he can't act. I think the military break was good for him in this regard. Also his acting has really improved from 2012 (Faith) to 2020 - there are a lot of K-actors who are better now than they were eight years ago as well, as one could imagine. And yes, LMH is serious eye candy but he's not only that....which is why he's famous.
OMG not just this drama, ALOT of American people potrayed in Korean dramas are so bad at acting and their accents…
I wouldn't even mind if they were Canadians - plenty of great actors from the north are professionals here in the US. :-) And I honestly don't mind Europeans acting like they're American, they just need to mask their accents (which they're actually really good at already). Or else just be European. Not all international characters need to be American, for crying out loud. Just don't suck. That's the bare minimum I ask for in an actor - just don't suck. LOL.
The third one is the only one I havent watched yet. Will give it a shot!
It does....a bit, anyway. It's not the main focus of the story, but thankfully there is some. I could have always used more, but I can always use more romance in everything. Hahaha.
I loved King2Hearts a lot, (like a lot), but it had the MOST ATROCIOUS "American" "actors" I had ever seen....then and still now. I don't know where they found those people, but they weren't American, for sure. However, what was even worse was that they were such bad actors it was embarrassing, and it made their scenes unwatchable. The villains were so bad it became cartoonish (and not cartoonish like anime or something cool.)
So this drama ended up having two things: some of the most heartfelt and well-written scenes in dramaland: between the King and his beloved, between the previous King and the new King, between the King and his friend, between Hang Ah and her father, etc, etc, and 2) some of the poorest execution of a portrayal of international folks out there.
And I want to go on record here disagreeing with anyone who is being negative about the FL's character - either her accent or her voice or how she looks. Ha Ji Won could turn her character from cutesy and sweet into a badass in seconds - that's acting skill, folks.
1 
First of all, women and female characters don't have to be likable or ask permission of men (or other women) to say what they need to say as characters and to still have inherent worth as characters (and human beings.) In the long run, it doesn't really matter if men think these female characters are unlikable because the characters are there to tell a story - the writers, directors, actors, and crew have put them in that place to tell a specific story in a specific time. And there are a million different ways to tell a story, no matter if you are male or female or transgender or genderqueer or anything in between. Human beings are way more complex than how I think you are portraying them to be here.
But this is what irks me the most about what you said. Who are you to say what's "attractive" or not in a female (or male) character? And who says that only "lowly men" are mean and loud and aggressive? Who gets to decide that?
If certain female characters have had a thousand years of trauma and heartache and disappointment and grudges (Hotel del Luna), for instance), then it wouldn't make any sense if they acted out of character.
I will repeat myself here and say there is a lot of room between feminine and masculine - it's a huge spectrum and I made a point to the OP about how I didn't agree with their representation of those two concepts. So I'm not the one who's going to think that a female is acting masculine when they're badass. I don't really understand your last statement actually - of course a woman can be feminine and badass...that was my entire point.
And what's wrong with a female character being loud??! You're darn right I'm going to praise those characters for being loud when they want to be loud, because they've probably been told, like I've been since I was a child, that they're TOO LOUD and as an adult, they can finally be what they want to be, and maybe that's too loud, and maybe that's aggressive, and maybe that's not being nice - to anyone, including men, God forbid.
I'm not sure you're understanding my original point, and I hope I cleared it up a bit. If not, I can try again later.
And your statement about female characters in rom-coms not being "unfeminine" is very problematic for me if you mean that these characters are only acceptable if they're steeped in overdone tropes - like being overly naïve or stupid, clumsy, docile, etc.
1) Tale of Arang (YWJ *AND* LJG together!)
Tale of Arang continued the 2012-was-an-epic-year-for-dramas. YWJ was nominated for an award for his role, LJG won an award for his role, and LJG and Shin Min Ah won Best Couple.
YWJ:
2) Marriage, Not Dating (2014)
This drama is just dripping with sweetness and fiery chemistry between the two leads. I've watched it more times than I can count.
3) Divorce Lawyer in Love (2015)
Not quite as good as the Marriage drama, but still lovely.
And yes, LMH is serious eye candy but he's not only that....which is why he's famous.
So this drama ended up having two things: some of the most heartfelt and well-written scenes in dramaland: between the King and his beloved, between the previous King and the new King, between the King and his friend, between Hang Ah and her father, etc, etc, and 2) some of the poorest execution of a portrayal of international folks out there.
And I want to go on record here disagreeing with anyone who is being negative about the FL's character - either her accent or her voice or how she looks. Ha Ji Won could turn her character from cutesy and sweet into a badass in seconds - that's acting skill, folks.